Friday, October 08, 2010

The Sad (Real) Faces of ObamaCare©

Yesterday, I had to turn away two prospective insureds. That's happened before ObamaCare© was a gleam in Ol' Nancy's eyes, but it was particularly troublesome because there are fewer choices now on which these folks can "land."

Let me explain:

Steve is a 45 year old gentleman who was laid off from his job last month. He's eligible for COBRA, but his means are (obviously) more limited, and the cost is prohibitive. With ARRA subsidies gone, he's stuck. Compounding his troubles is the fact that he's way to short for his weight, and has a number of other health issues. In fact, but for one "glitch," he'd be a prime candidate for the ObamaPool©.

Unfortunately, he's been insured within the past half-year, so he's outta luck, and outta the 'Pool©.

Then there's Tonya, a young lady in her late 20's, a single mom with a healthy five year old. Her employer offers a very nice group insurance plan, which just experienced a 35%+ rate increase, much (most?) of which comes courtesy of ObamaCare©. She'd like to jump off, but she has a number of problems.

No, her height and weight are within normal guidelines, but she's a Type I diabetic, and therefore uninsurable in the "regular" market. The 'Pool© might be a great option for her, but - you guessed it - no can do. Adding insult to injury, she can't do what we used to do: peel Junior off the group plan and put him on his own, much less expensive, policy. It's really a nasty trick, because even though we could write Junior on a plan with Mom, if Mom doesn't qualify (and she doesn't), Junior's not eligible. Then again, it's doubtful now that they'd save any money if they could get him his own plan.

I guess now that we're seeing what's in the bill....
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