Obamacare’s new insurance form
Yesterday, the Department of Health and Human Services released it’s proposed form that all insurers must provide to all insureds beginning in 2014. Remember, a piece of Obamacare required all insurance companies to supply a “brief” summary of benefits to all insureds that would help them understand what was covered, and what was not covered.
The headline of the last link is a bit misleading as, when it was written, the summary could be no longer than 4 pages. The final version of Obamacare brought the page limit back to 6 pages. In any event, we now have the proposed 6 page form.
Please take some time to review it and let me know whether you think anyone will take their time to read it, and, if they do, whether they will pay any attention to it. I ask this because the summary begins with a large “Warning” symbol, and follows with the words, “This is not a policy.” in bold faced type.
The form hasn’t received the final seal of approval from HHS, yet, but, comments from insurers are already rolling in.
Insurers said they were concerned about the potential cost and administrative burden of the new requirement, particularly if they have to create different iterations of the form for every possible plan design a consumer could explore and for every single employer.
‘Some plans would be providing tens of thousands of versions of this document,’ said a spokesman for America’s Health Insurance Plans, an industry group. [emphasis supplied]
Well, that should certainly lower premiums.
And, perish the thought that one of those tens of thousands of versions be given to the wrong person.
The more we see, Ms. Pelosi, the more we don’t like.
16 Comments
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http://links.govdelivery.com/track?type=click&enid=bWFpbGluZ2lkPTE0NDI2NzMmbWVzc2FnZWlkPVBSRC1CVUwtMTQ0MjY3MyZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTEyNzY2Njg4MjkmZW1haWxpZD1jaGVyNjg3N0Bjb3gubmV0JnVzZXJpZD1jaGVyNjg3N0Bjb3gubmV0JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&100&&&http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2011pres/08/20110818a.html
Is it just me?? I really don’t understand the point behind the section “What are some of the assumptions behind the Coverage Examples?”….are they saying that the assumptions are incorrect or correct?? Just a wee bit ambiguous, but then again the whole document is, too.? You can’t use the coverage examples to estimate cost of care, but you can use the coverage examples to compare policies.? AND they refer to “out-of-pocket costs” as well as “co-insurance” which refers (per this document) to the patient.? Sounds like an awful lot of out-of-pocket for “free” obamacare…guaranteed it’ll be more than I’m paying now.?
SOS, is this where the cost shifting is taking place, perhaps?
Is recycled paper required for these forms?? If not, why not?? We need more regulations.
WHO is going to read six pages of lawyer generated legalese?
All six pages designed to deny you coverage? Simply by making application for coverage, you are disclosing a preexisting condition and are not covered?
I’ll bet that this form was originally produced by the Department of Redundancy Department (DROD) in conjunction with the Department of? Obfuscation (DOG)!
The more things change, the worst they get!
‘Funny, ironic’ how they cannot do the same for our Federal Income Tax code.
?
Oh, wait, there is a 1040EZ form but, I don’t know anyone who qualifies to file this except students.
I just checked the Evidence of Coverage tome from my current health insurer. It’s 160 pages long w/o counting the Provider directory, a guide to the plan and other miscellaneous information. And they are complaining about 6 pages?
Sam, your plan is now 166 pages long.? I find the brief, 6 page descriptive to be helpful but as SOS points out, there are 1,000’s of possible versions.? It may be a good idea (on paper, haha)if we have each insurer using a common format but it is rife with predictable mistakes and errors when cross-referencing the actual policies they respectively apply to.? Once again, we will let history show…
?
And, this
I am sure that history will show…. On the other hand, “pretending” that what we have now is not unwielding is delusional.
On page 1 regarding the premium question and why it matters it says “your application may be denied.” Then on page 6 regarding the Q&A? and the assumptions behind the coverage examples it says “Patient’s condition was not an excluded or preexisting condition.” [emphasis supplied]
But wait. I thought we had to pass Obamacare to stop those “eeeevil” insurance companies from denying coverage to anyone for any reason, especially preexisting conditions.??
?
(I wonder if the crafters of Obamacare are saying “Oops, my bad!” or “Gotcha!” Either way, we’re doomed.)
Would that ?bamacare itself were subject to such brevity requirements!
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?bamacare is not only unwieldy, it is not understood by those who claim to have written it, and voted for it, and the implications (unintended consequences) have not been fully considered.
?
The unwilling, let by the unqualified, doing the unnecessary, for the ungrateful….
No surprise, Dims, lawyers wrote Obamacare and all regulations.
You mean our legislators, charged with the duty, dropped the ball?? Surely you jest.
?
If our so called representatives had done the job, it would have been pretty short!? (and possibly even legible….)
Our representatives, save a few, are all lawyers.
The bottom feeders of their class, no doubt.
This is the equivalent of a sticker price for a new car. The one you can afford, without any “help”?is lame and has no extras. Very little return on investment.?
The top feeders are in lobbying groups and litigating the laws that they promoted to Congress.