Dylan Ratigan, former MSNBC host, recently tweeted a rant bemoaning the fact that his premium for a new health insurance policy will triple.
After some quick research, I'm not so sure he knows what he is talking about.
Let's go below for a peek at his tweet and to crunch some numbers.
Here's the Tweet:
Now, based on some readily available info about Ratigan, it looks like he can do better -- a lot better. He just needs to go to the "Covered California" site and do his homework. He can get a Bronze level plan for $222 a month from Anthem Blue Cross, or, at the other end of the spectrum, he can get a Platinum plan (the very best plan possible) for $420 a month from Anthem Blue Cross. That's what I found when I searched for available plans for Ratigan as a single male, age 41, in Dana Point, California 92629 (information about Ratigan I found after 3 minutes of Googling). Now, it's very possible that Ratigan's insurance company is pushing an expensive plan on him and counting on the fact that he won't check it out himself (like I did on his behalf, in about 5 minutes). This scam has been well covered by Kossack
Vyan and others, so let me continue with Ratigan.
Now, I've had my own problems with the ACA and have struggled to reconcile my expectations about it with the actual realities of implementation. But I do want to debunk hysterical claims about the ACA whenever I can, so people that have to buy their own insurance can at least try to shop and compare real plans and prices. As we know, however, there are a lot of crazy claims like Ratigan's flooding the media. In that spirit, may I make a suggestion? How about a recurring "ACA Myth" compilation diary, updated periodically?
Or maybe there's another venue or method for debunking some of these. Anyway, I'm interested in what you think.
Disclaimer: I acknowledge that I had to assume a few things to get quotes for Ratigan: that he is male, age 41, lives in Dana Point, California, earns over the subsidy cap and is buying insurance just for himself. I apologize if I have made mistakes.