Because of the initial problems with Healthcare.gov, and later the panic of "Cancelled" policies (which weren't really cancelled, they should have been Grandfathered but instead were wrongfully replaced with more expensive plans by the insurance companies in a "Twisting" scam to soaked them for money and keep them off the exchanges until the President unilaterally restored their Grandfather Status earlier this week) we know see that there is a brand new scam afoot.
Insurance Companies are now offering New Junk Insurance Plans that violate ACA minimum requirements knowing that they will cause the client to a) Not have usable Health Care and b) Not meet the Individual Mandate so they'll have to also pay the tax penalty. And the key is that they offering these effectively useless plans so cheaply, that even after paying the penalty, they're still cheaper than lowests end plan on the exchange.
Because, well, they can - at least until someone in State Insurance Commisioners Office STOPS them.
Details over the flip.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/...
Georgene Mortimer, who runs a winery and lives in Hilton Head, S.C., was recently having trouble accessing the online health insurance exchange. So she decided to check in with the local insurance agent who in 2010 had sold her an individual health insurance policy from a company named USHealth Group. It didn't take long for Mortimer to realize something was off.
"She started to basically tell me how bad the exchanges are, and that the exchanges are only for the very sick people," Mortimer told TPM in an interview last week. "And she said, 'Have you had cancer, heart attack, you or your husband?' And I said no. And she said, 'Good, because if you said yes, I would have had to recommend the exchanges.'"
The agent then proceeded to offer Mortimer a product that she touted as not meeting the minimum coverage requirements set by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The agent strongly recommended that Mortimer sign up before Jan. 1, and said that she could lock her premiums in for three years.
So you see, insurance companies are trying to drain the pool of the less sick - and less expensive - health care clients.
The Exchanges are for Sick People.
Yeah, the people that companies like this wouldn't even offer insurance to prior to the Affordable Care Act because of their "Pre-existing Conditions". And so far all the hype about Obamacare and the broken Site is only helping them hone their snake-oil sales pitch.
USHealth Group's pitch is three-fold, according to accounts provided to TPM by Mortimer and another prospective customer. First, it says, it is a misconception that everyone needs ACA-compliant insurance. Second, USHealth Group plans are cheaper than ACA-compliant policies, even after customers pay the tax penalty for failing to comply with the ACA's individual mandate. Third, Obamacare is scary.
Got that? You don't need a big fancy Insurance Plan with wheels, and a drive shaft, and brakes and mirrors and an
Engine. All you need is this little
Red Solo Cup Plan here. Drink up, just don't expect it to take you to the Hospital or anything.
They even took their Rat and Pony show on the road, talking to various companies. They told people that they wouldn't be able to keep their existing plans - due to Obamacare. That they wouldn't qualify for subsidies. That Obamacare would create a nightmare of six month long waits for care (As if that isn't the case already, because it is!) That spouses would be dropped from their plans (only one company, UPS, did that, and all of those spouses were working and could get care from their other employer). That the tax penalty was merely ploy to "Make the Government Rich" and that the Obamacare website was merely a Kickback to Obama Supports by paying them for a Site that doesn't work.
They even offered a pamplet to one company TPM talked to describing how "Awful ObamaCare" is to help sell their junk product.
PPACA & You by tpmdocs
TPM then consulted with Sabrina Corlette, a Georgetown Research Professor.
"That's going to be a common thing," Corlette said. "I think there are going to be a lot of companies out there trying to sell that kind of stuff... it's not just fixed indemnity we're seeing, we're seeing really wacky kinds of policies out there."
So yet again we have another example of how the Insurance Industry, is not our friend.
Vyan
11:42 AM PT: The House has passed the Upton "Keep Your Plan" bill by a vote of 261 to 157. 39 Democrats voted for it, 4 Republicans opposed it. The interesting thing about this bill is it would codify into law the exact practice attempted here by USHeath.
http://thinkprogress.org/...
Democrats offered their “motion to recommit” as an alternative to a proposal introduced by Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) that allows insurers to maintain their existing policies and permits issuers to offer these plans to new customers. The Democrats’ version only extends grandfather status to current policyholders who have received cancellation notices and includes consumer protections missing from the Upton bill. For instance, the measure mandates that insurers notify policyholders of exchange options and consumer protections. It also explicitly clarifies that existing rate review authorities apply to renewed plans.
The alternative offered by the Democrats to Upton's Bill was blocked from being voted on a rules technically. Essentially the Republicans claimed that offering consumer protections was not "germaine" to the original bill - therefore the alternative wasn't not relevant to the issue at hand, which apparently is letting Insurance Companies screw people over in any which way they choose.