I was one of the lucky 27K who enrolled in a healthcare plan through the national exchange in October. I wrote a couple of diaries reporting my frustrations, defending my right to complain and reporting a positive result. Then, after I actually had a good result if not a smooth experience of enrolling, the whole damn world became one big "IT'S BROKEN!!!!" whiny meme. Therefore I feel compelled to come back to report that my healthcare.gov experience has gotten both more frustrating and ends up saving me even more money than I thought in the beginning.
I am a heavy healthcare user. The protections for the millions of us with pre-existing conditions are truly a load off my mind. I have been a member of a high-risk pool since 2009. Before that, after my horribly expensive COBRA policy ran out there were several years when I couldn't buy health insurance at any cost. If I have the money I don't mind paying but not to be able to buy ANYTHING was truly scary.
In my final ACA report I am glad to announce that my final savings (I don't qualify for subsidies) will be [drum roll please] $101.12 less per month than I am paying now, my deductible will go down from $1,000.00 to $0 and my prescription co-pays go from $10, 25%, 50%, to $3, $6, & $9. If you want more details of my National Exchange experience and one super-valuable tip for anyone still having problems signing up, follow me below the magic squiggle.
ARC - that is the magic word for problem solving at healthcare.gov. It is a typical government acronym that stands for Advanced Resolution Center. Let me explain.
I communicated with many phone people, chat helpers and FAQs trying to change the plan I signed up for in October. See, in case you hadn't heard, healthcare.gov was broken. So I was able to sign up in October but the menu of options I was offered was wildly incomplete. When the site was working better I found a plan that suited my needs a whole lot better for less money so I called the helpline for the national exchange. After working through the same script I had worked through scores times during my initial enrollment, I was told that I had to speak to my insurance company if I wanted to make a change. The nice folks at my insurance company said I had to talk to healthcare.gov. The good folks on the front line of customer service at the exchange kept telling me to call my insurance company. It was about this time that I started asking everyone I was on the phone with for more than five minutes if they had ever read a Kafka short story. None had. "I've never heard of Kafka," one very frank and exasperated young woman announced.
Finally, a customer service rep at my insurance company said, "we were briefed just this morning on making changes, the new regulations prevent us from making ANY change to ANY policy that comes from the national exchange. We are prevented by regulation from doing so. I suggest you speak to a supervisor at the exchange and tell them I said this." "There are supervisors?" I thought.
Soooo, I call back and work my way through the menus and verbal scripts and finally have a chance to say "I need to speak to a supervisor." Silence ensues. Silence apropos of a Kafka short story. "One moment please." Then a new script appears with all sorts of new questions about my problem. "I just want to change my plan to one that is more suited to my needs." Silence. "I'll transfer you to a supervisor." The line goes dead.
After asking for a supervisor I was disconnected on five different occasions. Just before what was to become my fifth dead line, the young lady says, "I'll transfer you to ARC." ARC! I hadn't heard this before. "What's ARC?" I asked just before she cut me off. "Advanced Resolution Center," she said as if I had never heard of One Direction or something. Click. Disconnected.
But she had slipped up. Now I knew the magic word.
I called back and asked first thing to speak to an ARC supervisor. No script was read to me. My call went straight through to a knowledgeable, empowered, smart, well-versed if utterly exhausted woman who understood my request, acknowledged my frustration and within five minutes, FIVE MINUTES, made the change I requested. My insurance company was notified of the change and today I made my first payment. My new Obamacare insurance card is on the way.
Thank you Mr. President, for the weeks of entertainment and, oh yeah, for saving my life.