Maryland Unveils Obamacare Prices - Among Lowest in the U.S.

[ProSense]

Maryland Unveils Obamacare Prices - Among Lowest in the U.S.

by ericlewis0

From The Washington Post:

Maryland insurance officials approved final rates Friday for health plans to be sold in the online marketplace for individuals beginning Oct. 1. The rates offered by nine carriers are among the lowest of the 12 states that have proposed or approved rates for comparison and among the lowest in the D.C. area, according to an analysis by Maryland officials who will be operating the state’s marketplace.

The Maryland Insurance Administration approved premiums at levels as much as 33 percent below what had been requested. For a 21-year-old non-smoker, for example, options start as low as $93 a month.

“We are pleased that Maryland is among the lowest in the country,” said the state’s health secretary, Joshua Sharfstein. He said the approved rates were an important step for the fall launch of the online marketplace, the Maryland Health Connection.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/maryland-issues-insurance-rates-among-lowest-in-us/2013/07/26/724e55f2-f612-11e2-a2f1-a7acf9bd5d3a_story.html

Nice to see the seditious Goposaurs walking into a strong head wind as they desperately try to shut the whole ACA thing down.

#GoodbyeGOP

- more -

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/07/26/1226864/-Maryland-Unveils-Obamacare-Prices-Among-Lowest-in-the-U-S

Krugman: Republican Health Care Panic
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023345167

[leftstreet]

1. These changes are great! But why is participation mandated?

And please, dear Obama Ardent Supporters, don't cram some bullshit in here about 'lowering rates if everyone participates blah, blah, pool, blah, blah...'

There's nothing in the Obamacare clusterfuck legislation that forces insurers to lower rates

This legislation could have stood on its own in helping the currently insured, or giving more access to those with the means to pay for it. There was no reason to mandate it

[ProSense]

3. Krugman disagrees with you. Read his piece. n/t

[cthulu2016]

4. Why do objects fall? And don't give me any of that blah blah about gravity

[Pretzel_Warrior]

11. bahahhaha! yup. hey, why do seat belts work? and don't give me any crap about

inertia and kinetic energy mumbo jumbo.

[zappaman]

75. It's a miracle!

Behold the worst song ever made...

[Recursion]

5. So you want any response other than the actual answer

Par for the course, really.

PS: Medicare is mandatory and administered by for profit companies.

[leftstreet]

8. REALLY?! Seniors get fined if they don't buy Medicare?

Fuck me, I didn't know that!

Holy Shit, do they have to pay a penalty if they don't buy Social Security too?

[Recursion]

19. yes in both cases

By all means, try not paying your FICA or Medicare

You will actually go to jail, rather than just having a higher tax bill like with ACA


ROTFL

[leftstreet]

24. Retired seniors don't pay those

[jazzimov]

40. Because they've already paid them.

Yes, there are some people who are disabled and benefit from Medicare - which is why we need a pool.

[Gore1FL]

43. They paid in advance, prior to being retired. n/t

[Recursion]

59. Of course they did. Also, seniors pay Medicare premiums

I seriously suggest you look into how our entitlement programs work.

[Mass]

81. Actually, a premium is taken each month from their social security for Medicare

[madrchsod]

62. you have no idea what you are talking about.

it is administered by for profit companies because it is cheaper for them to do it than the federal government. if i remember correctly the charge to the government is around 2%.

medicare is not mandatory. i have to sign up for it. secondly it costs be around 100 dollars a month and covers around 85%. i can buy extra insurance to cover the rest of my bill. do i get first class treatment and i`m i denied any procedure?..no. i just racked up close to 500,000 dollars worth of medical bills when i had my cardiac arrest.

[Recursion]

65. Paying Medicare levies is ABSOLUTELY mandatory

You will go to jail if you don't.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

7. you know nothing about insurance.

[leftstreet]

9. I know a lot about nonprofit single payer

ask me anything

[Pretzel_Warrior]

12. well a couple of conservadems and 100% of Repukes didn't offer that option

the only thing whiners could say was that Obama wasn't leading the charge enough.

[leftstreet]

14. Democrats arrested single payer advocates

when they tried to gain access 'to the table'

Nice

[Pretzel_Warrior]

18. your brief accusation screams for more detail

care to describe under what circumstances said single payer advocates were arrested? Perhaps being uninvited trespassers?

[A Simple Game]

76. You need to learn how to use the Google, leftstreet is right.

President Obama is the one to not allow single payer on the table and yes advocates were arrested.

Here is a quick start for you with the Google:
http://www.google.com/#sclient=psyab&q=single+payer+advocates+arrested&oq=single+payer+advocates+a&gs_l=hp.1.0.0i22i30.1334.8359.0.11362.24.19.0.3.3.0.1616.7630.0j7j3j2j1j2j2j0j1.18.0....0...1c.1.22.psy ab..3.21.7551.4M0i1lnmsoU&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.49784469,d.dmg&fp=46b3c5f405766905&biw=1229&bih=636

[jazzimov]

28. You said you know a lot about single-payer

and to ask you anything:

OK, how many times was a single-payer system proposed in congress and ignored?

[leftstreet]

29. 1 less time than proposed bank bailouts n/t

[jazzimov]

33. Wrong!

There is at least one Congressperson who has proposed it every single session since that person was placed in office. Can you name them? Feel free to use Google.

Maybe you don't know as much about single-payer as you claim.

[valerief]

77. I'm going to guess. Bernie? nt

[jazzimov]

16. I would LOVE a single-payer

system! Medicare for all! But we couldn't even get a Public Option through because people were afraid it would lead to a single-payer.

[pnwmom]

57. And because Ted Kennedy died when he did, changing the composition of the Senate.

His influence was the only chance we had of getting a public option through at the time.

[Just Saying]

31. I would love a single payer system!

Healthcare should be a right not a privilege.

But let's be realistic, that's not an option right now and Obamacare is not only an option, but the law of the land. And it does a lot of good things like requiring coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, ending caps, requiring insurance companies use most of our money for actual care and giving us more options for affordable coverage.

For my family, I'm self-employed and we get insurance with a co-op thru my husband's small business. We are middle class with 2 small kids and our insurance is expensive. If my state gives me options similar to what we're seeing in CA, out rates will be cut by 75%! That's a lot of money to us so please, don't try to tell me Obamacare sucks.

It's not about being an ardent Obama supporter (although I like him and voted for him). It's about the need for change in our healthcare system. I'm lucky enough that we have coverage and we're fairly healthy, but there are those that can't wait around for the perfect solution and are very happy with the realistic solution.

[leftstreet]

32. LOL you both typing off the same script?

[jazzimov]

35. Yes, it's called "REALITY".

[Just Saying]

36. No, we're agreeing with each other.

And you, in case you didn't notice.

[jazzimov]

38. Yep! nt

[Recursion]

60. Apparently not, if you think it is non-mandatory

[Pretzel_Warrior]

68. paying into it is a payroll tax. no ifs, ands, or buts. we are taxed on our wages

and the beauty is that money doesn't go to a war in the desert or to fund mining operations. it goes to fund other retirees.

however, it is not mandatory for seniors to enroll in or participate in Medicare when they are eligible to do so.

[Recursion]

69. Well, sure; you don't have to use your insurance under ACA either

I guess I don't get the point. DU now wants non-mandatory single-payer insurance?

[Mass]

82. So, you know that people pay for it?

And that it is mandatory? You pay with your taxes, which is fairer than a flat fee, but you pay.

[jazzimov]

13. I disagree. In fact,

during the 2008 Dem primary I was originally AGAINST Obama because he was against a mandate. He later changed his mind, and I supported him.

It's a pool - only works if everyone is in. Just like SS, Medicare, etc.

[leftstreet]

15. It is not like SS and Medicare. Not at all

Social Security isn't a for-profit scheme run by insurance companies

But you probably already know that

[Pretzel_Warrior]

20. How about Medicare Advantage?

[leftstreet]

26. A scam on the working class n/t

[jazzimov]

30. A scam perpetrated by those same Insurance

companies, but perpetrated by Medicare. Which was his point.

The ACA eliminated a lot of those scams.

[madrchsod]

70. medicare advantage is not a scam!

i won`t go into the gory details of why i should have signed up for it. medicare pays only 85% or in some cases 100% of procedures. most people who are on social security have medical problems that can easily cost over a hundred thousand. so is it worth paying 100 or so extra a month to cover that 15%.

i know i should have and i`m going to in jan.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

71. I didn't call it a scam. But it is a part of Medicare that often involves paying premium to private

insurer which was my point.

[madrchsod]

73. opps..i did`t mean you said that...

i`m being distracted by my granddaughter. she thinks grampa is a sticker board.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

74. lolol. enjoy. I'm off to pick my little son up from day care. cheers.

[Historic NY]

85. Its a private plan.....

http://www.medicare.gov/sign-up-change-plans/medicare-health-plans/medicare-advantage-plans/things-to-know-medicare-advantage-plans.html

[jazzimov]

22. You missed my point.

I didn't say it was like SS, I said it was a POOL like SS is.

And you seem to be forgetting some of the restrictions put on Insurance companies, such as at least an 80% MLR, the inability to deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions, the extermination of lifetime caps, etc.

Not as good as single-payer, but a HELL of a lot better than the old system.

[Just Saying]

17. Rates would be lower because the insurance wouldn't just have older and sick people insured.

Younger people would pay less, but also likely spend less, offsetting others. And may very well need their health insurance and almost certainly will at some point.

But how about this reason: You can't afford not to!

This HHS study explains the situation:

Lacking health insurance poses a greater risk of financial catastrophe than lacking car insurance or homeowner’s insurance. Although an individual is 50 percent more likely to have a car accident in a year than to be hospitalized, the average bill for a hospitalization is over two and a half times higher than the average loss for a car accident. And, while the bill for a single hospitalization is about the same as the loss from an average house fire, a person is ten times more likely to be hospitalized than to experience a house fire.

More information at the link: http://insurance.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=insurance&cdn=b2b&tm=24&f=00&tt=2&bt=1&bts=14&zu=http%3A//www.hhs.gov/news/press/2011pres/05/20110510a.html

[jazzimov]

23. Excellent post! nt

[leftstreet]

27. You believe insurers will voluntarily lower their rates

That's so awesome!

[jazzimov]

37. They have to, when someone else does it.

Otherwise they'll go out of business. When faced with lower rates vs going out of business, which do you think they'll do?

[Just Saying]

42. What I believe is that with more people paying for healthcare,

And Obamacare requiring insurance companies to use 80% of premiums for actual care, they will have to lower the rates.

Also, I responded to your request for other reasons for the requirement with my link and quote. Please take the time to click on it.

I'm 100% in agreement with you that the insurance industry is greedy and corrupt and making billions off giving subpar coverage to sick people. Throw in the pharma industry for good measure! My last trip to the pharmacy for 4 prescriptions was almost $500! And I know a lot of that cost is to line execs pockets and make commercials for drugs that seem to be worse than the diseases they treat.

I see Obamacare as a first step to protecting patients and making sure people don't die of curable disease just because they're not rich enough to afford it. I think when Americans see how this program can help them, they will be more willing to go further. We need to change minds about how healthcare works and then maybe we can work for Medicare for all.

[Gore1FL]

55. Define Voluntary

If the choice is to be uncompetitive in a ballooning market by being unresponsive to the efforts of your competitors, or lower your prices in hopes of winning many of those new customers,then what would you pick? You can make either choice--In that sense it is voluntary. It's involuntary in the sense that it's a Hobson's choice for them in the end.

Additionally, Obamacare requires health insurance companies to spend at least 80 percent of each premium dollar to provide care. If someone decides not be competitive, they'll get screwed by this, too.

[madrchsod]

66. my hospital bill was close to 500,000

that does`t include my 3 month rehab schedule. ya


try not having insurance or medicare

[Generic Other]

91. Your story is exactly what every American should fear

I hope you are recovered completely. I sense this was horrific for you financially. It is my worst nightmare and keeps me from ever thinking I can retire. I am horrified by the stories DUers tell of the price they pay for insurance. Ruinous.

I dread getting any sort of catastrophic illness. So I support the people who will/or are being helped by this act. I want more, but we clearly need something better than we have now. And this is better than doing nothing.

Offering insurance to young people until they are 26 has meant young people don't just skip getting needed care during their early adult years. And the working poor are subsidized. So you can afford the luxury of working at a job you love that does not pay enough or you can take a risk without endangering your future health or financial wellbeing. You are not locked in to jobs for life because you need the benefits.

After we get this ACA going, we can start the next phase: single payer.

[bluestate10]

49. Krugman explained it, but clearly you plugged your ears and eyes.

If healthy young people are not required to get insurance, they wouldn't. As a result of healthy people not being in insurance pools, the pools would be filed with sicker people and end up being prohibitively expensive. Having healthier people in insurance pools lowers the average cost for participants, yes the healthy do pay higher rates than nothing, but for that they get assurance that they won't be financially ruined.

Private companies that offer employees health insurance routinely require mandatory participation by all employees. The mandatory participation lowers the cost of offering insurance for the companies. You can argue against that fact, but it remains a fact.

[riverbendviewgal]

78. my healthy Almost 25 year old son suddenly had seizures at work

Three days later he was getting his first brain operation. He had 3. He had the same type of brain tumour as ted Kennedy. My kevin survived 18 months, dying at 26. He had the same treatments as Ted Kennedy, I looked it up. My husband was diagnosed at 51 with non hogkins lymphoma. Two months after our son. My husband survived 3 years. Our medical costs. Zero.

The good die young and don't think it can happen to them.

[pnwmom]

56. Because not mandating has been tried -- and failed.

New York State for a long time has had insurance available to all that has NOT been mandated. Consequently, people have only joined it when they need expensive care, and the rates have gone up and up as the pool consists only of sicker and sicker people. The only way to lower the average rate is to bring healthy people into the pool. But since ANYONE could get in a car accident or develop cancer ANY TIME (they're deluded if they think otherwise), this is fair.

And you're wrong about there being nothing in the legislation that forces insurers to lower rates. There is a provision that requires insurers to pay at least 80% of premiums on actual health care, not administrative or marketing costs, and that has already resulted in some insurers having to pay rebates to their customers.

[BenzoDia]

58. For the same reason that the Dutch and Swiss do.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. Healthcare.gov

https://www.healthcare.gov/

[Pretzel_Warrior]

6. It is hilarious as evidence mounts that Obamacare will do what it was intended to do in AFFORDABLE

health care, the GOP and a few naysayers here will have to STFU or come up with some other spurious line of attack. Let me guess which they will choose.

[sufrommich]

10. Yep, lots of sour grapes.

Politics makes strange bedfellows,indeed.

[Cha]

21. Good on Maryland & Obamacare!

Mahalo, ProSense

[GiaGiovanni]

25. Any word on California's rates?

Thanks!

[BumRushDaShow]

41. Here

http://www.coveredca.com/

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/may/23/business/la-fi-calif-health-rates-20130524

[GiaGiovanni]

63. Thanks. That actually looks doable for most people.

.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

48. yes. right here....

http://www.californiahealthline.org/articles/2013/7/26/federally-run-insurance-exchanges-likely-to-see-lower-premiums

This is early word anyway.

[Mojorabbit]

34. Are these kinds of rates only for states that set up exchanges?

I did the calculator thing and it looks like we will be paying way more than that for my hubster. Unfortunately Rick Scott is not setting up any exchanges here.

[ProSense]

46. The federal government will be running the Florida exchange.

[Mojorabbit]

83. So it will be the high rate then since we will have no competition. Thanks.nt

[Pretzel_Warrior]

87. I don't think you understand how state or federally run insurance exchanges work

It is composed of multiple companies who have won the right to be interexchanges by putting together the most attractive rates and coverage packages.

[Mojorabbit]

88. I live in Fl. We will not have state exchanges.

I have looked up the fed calculator for the aca and obtained a number. Hopefully we will have state exchanges in the future.

[CindySessoms]

39. Boring!

[sufrommich]

44. What does that even mean?

Stay out of threads you find boring.Problem solved.

[uppityperson]

84. post building. eom

[Pretzel_Warrior]

50. speaking of boring. I love boring into a hot pizza

that sounds good right now on a Friday evening. mmmm Pizza.

[Scurrilous]

90. LOL

[Rene]

45. I'm very much in favor of the concept of Obama / Affordable Health insurance

BUT watch out for the details of what they're up do in the Insurance industry, to cut costs to themselves.
.
They've outsourced the decisions about who gets certain diagnostic tests....OR NOT...

My 6ft 4", 220 lb son has a heart issue that's been giving him dizzy spells/near fainting for a few months now, his Dr proscribed a Nuclear stress test.......his insurance company's third party DECISION MAKER vendor, DENIED THE TEST.

They're going to 3rd party vendors that are little more than a PC in a closet with who knows what experience person making these critical decisions.....that have to be appealed by the Dr.

Reminds me of early Managed Care if Dr's deviated from the programmed decision chart.
These are 3rd party companies making these key decisions hold NO ASSETS....in the cast that someone would legitimately want to sue them for failure to help find the cause of health problems thru needed testing..

I'd like to see mandatory DOCUMENTATION and AUDITING of Testing requests, reasons, decisions, outcomes.....patient recovery hopefully.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

51. and this is the fault of Obamacare how?

as you yourself mentioned, they have been pulling this shit for years. Thus the need for Obamacare.

[Iliyah]

47. My father reached the age of 65 and Medicare sent him

all the needed paperwork so he could have the benefits of Medicare. He refused. Why, because when he retired from the County of Los Angeles, Kaiser Permanente Healthcare became his main healthcare provider (HMO) and as a Vietnam Vet, the VA was his secondary. His retirement paycheck still takes out for Medicare.

So although he doesn't use Medicare he still pays into the system.

[elleng]

53. so he should sign up,

and receive whatever residual benefits would result.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

54. small price to pay for someone who has ALL OF THIS coverage. He's extremely well set. He should be

thankful. At least now if the shits of the world try to go rob pensions/insurance of LA County retirees he will have both VA and Medicare to fall back on.

[Recursion]

61. Are you complaining about that?

That's how single payer works.

[liberal N proud]

52. Meanwhile all the conservatives and their minions proclaim that they don't know the impact of ACA

[hobbit709]

64. Even those rates are out of reach for some people.

And a tax credit doesn't do much for you the day the bill is due.

Tax creits are like comp time-what will they get you at the store?

[Iliyah]

67. Universal Healthcare would be perfect huh.

Won't happen in my lifetime because greed supersedes the health of the many.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

72. you are misrepresenting how subsidy works. it's not a tax credit you claim

it is an actual lowering of your out of pocket monthly expense. please debate this honestly.

[BenzoDia]

79. You get the tax credit ahead of time, not at the end of the year.

[Scurrilous]

80. K & R

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

86. So proud of my state!! Yes, Maryland!!!

[ProSense]

89. You have a wonderful Governor. n/t

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

93. Agreed!!! :)

[Corruption Inc]

92. How does that compare to the Universal Health Care most Americans demand?

Just a rational question based on real numbers. How much can the for-profit health insurance be increased every year too?

Also, who gives a flying F what any corrupted lying Rs say about anything?

[ProSense]

94. This is good news. n/t