Practical Anti-Obamacare Resources

[MachineGhost]

Health Savings Account (HSA) High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) Cost Comparison: http://www.hsafinder.com/cost-comparison-calculator

HSA HDHP Investment Options: http://www.hsabank.com/hsabank/members/hsa-investments

Concierge Physician / Direct Care Networks: http://www.mdvip.com/  http://www.choice.md/

Surgery Prices: http://surgerycenterok.com/

Medical Cost Bidding: http://www.medibid.com/

Medical Tourism: http://http://www.patientsbeyondborders.com/  http://www.medicaltourismassociation.co ... .html  http://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-t ... ctive.html

Obamacare Cost Calculator: http://kff.org/interactive/subsidy-calculator/
(There is no non-coverage penalty if you arrange your financial affairs so that you have no refund due from the IRS.)

Obamacare Exemptions: https://www.healthcare.gov/exemptions-tool/

Group Membership Exemption: http://samaritanministries.org/  http://www.chministries.org/  https://mychristiancare.org/medi-share/
(You must attest to a personal relationship with "Jesus Christ" by a church official.)

Basic Primary Care: http://patientfirst.com/  http://www.cvs.com/minuteclinic/

Telemedicine: https://amwell.com/  http://www.teladoc.com/  http://www.doctorondemand.com/

[Xan]

My wife has been a CHM (Christian Healthcare Ministries) member for some time.  She got it before she got pregnant the first time because it's pretty much the only way to have any kind of coverage for a normal maternity if you're self-employed.

We have a real insurance plan, too; we're still grandfathered in pre-Obamacare, which means it's half price compared to what it would cost us today.  Meanwhile the price of our current plan is going up 25% as of 12/1.  And when Child #2 makes an appearance, there will be a huge jump again.

With CHM, it's $450/month for the Gold plan for me, the wife, and one or more kids, with a $500 deductible (I'm sorry, "personal responsibility").  That's a heck of a deal.  And it's the same price ($150/month/"unit") for anyone, regardless of age or health.  It's not technically insurance: it's cost-sharing.  They're not legally obligated to pay anything, but they do, and have for a long time.  I'm seriously thinking about switching to that for all of us and dropping the real insurance.

The major caveat that I see is that there's a limit of $125K on the amount they'll pay for any given "incident".  You can change that to unlimited by doing the "Brother's Keeper" program, which is a bit more money.  It's a gamble, of course, like any insurance.

[MachineGhost]

Big surprise, right?

More healthcare news: UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH), the nation's largest health insurer, is warning that it may pull out of the Obamacare exchanges after 2016 due to poor financial performance. The possible move raises new questions about the viability of President Obama's signature health law and follows the departure of more than half of the non-profit insurance cooperatives this year. "If they can't make money on the exchanges, it seems it would be hard for anyone," said Katherine Hempstead, who heads the insurance coverage team at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

[Libertarian666]

Big surprise, right?

More healthcare news: UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH), the nation's largest health insurer, is warning that it may pull out of the Obamacare exchanges after 2016 due to poor financial performance. The possible move raises new questions about the viability of President Obama's signature health law and follows the departure of more than half of the non-profit insurance cooperatives this year. "If they can't make money on the exchanges, it seems it would be hard for anyone," said Katherine Hempstead, who heads the insurance coverage team at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Yes, I'm utterly shocked that Obamacare might lead to "single payer"! 

[MachineGhost]

Yes, I'm utterly shocked that Obamacare might lead to "single payer"! 

Maybe Trump will fix things.

[MachineGhost]

He has already said that allowing competition across state lines would help a lot, which of course is correct.

In regards to insurer's?  That won't help all that much if most of them can't currently cover costs or make a profit with the overinflated Obamacare premiums and taxpayer giveaway, nevermind if premiums were all forced down in a race to the bottom.  We need consumer driven, price transparency and open competition in the actual sickcare industry not just between superficial third party paperwork pushers.  Paying isn't a problem; its reducing costs and improving quality which cannot be done in a Politburo-style manner.  Look at Medicare.  They have like only a 6% or something in administrative cost overhead.  Fat lot of good that does anyone because the price controls kill willing providers.  Insurers follow the same practice.

I really, really, really wish there was something that I could fund to completely attack and disentagle this Bureaucratic Burrito Nightmare, but it is all just way too locked up in corrupt crony politics for there to be a Pull Tab that everyone is afraid to pull.  It is utterly hopeless. 

[WiseOne]

Big surprise, right?

More healthcare news: UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH), the nation's largest health insurer, is warning that it may pull out of the Obamacare exchanges after 2016 due to poor financial performance. The possible move raises new questions about the viability of President Obama's signature health law and follows the departure of more than half of the non-profit insurance cooperatives this year. "If they can't make money on the exchanges, it seems it would be hard for anyone," said Katherine Hempstead, who heads the insurance coverage team at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

What's likely happening is that newly insured people are catching up with long-deferred care.  It would be useful to know whether the large population of well people that were expected to buy into the program and thus balance out the costs have materialized.  Given the numbers (~$10M newly insured) my guess is that most of these newbies are the deferred-care types.

So this might fix itself over time...if the insurance world can hold out long enough.

[Tyler]

The ACA may very well be unsustainable, but when I read about the UHC story my first reaction was that it's a political maneuver.  I believe risk corridor payments are scheduled to end in 2017, and the insurers are somewhat capped by the exchanges (bureaucrats) as to how they can set prices.  So UHC uses one of their cards and threatens to pull out right at election time unless the government finds a way to make it "financially sustainable" for them.  That seems like typical political hardball to me.  And right now I'd put money on the administration figuring something out that keeps them in the fold.

[MachineGhost]

So this might fix itself over time...if the insurance world can hold out long enough.

Without a single national risk pool, it seems very problematic to spread costs among participants.  Do you know if the government-run Obamacare exchanges all risk pool together or are they still state separate?

[WiseOne]

State separate.

And the risk pools in many cases are hospital by hospital.  Many diagnoses are paid on the "DRG" (diagnosis related group) system, whereby a hospital is reimbursed a fixed amount for given diagnosis & level of severity, regardless of what the actual cost is.  In effect, the hospital takes much of the risk that you'd think insurance companies are supposed to take on.

Honestly, single risk pool (not necessarily single payer) makes the most sense for the big ticket items.  I still like cash for the stuff that shouldn't cost more than your phone bill, like sore throats and ear infections.