General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThis might be a dumb question, but why is there an open enrollment period that closes for ACA?
I have some really crappy insurance right now and would like to see what I could get under ACA, but open enrollment always seems to be closed. Plus, I hate even shopping for insurance anymore since any inquiry seems to lead to unending sales calls and spam. Any suggestions out there?
mopinko
(69,806 posts)if you have an event that changes your insurance coverage, liked divorce, unemployment, aging out, etc, you have 60 days to get a new policy.
and the spam, yeah, bout to turn 65, and ready to throw my phone in the lake. my shredder is workin overtime.
Ohioboy
(3,222 posts)Why is there such a time period where the damn thing closes anyway?
mopinko
(69,806 posts)it's the only way to keep people from waiting until they are sick to buy insurance.
it dont work that way.
Ohioboy
(3,222 posts)Other insurance is available to buy year round, is it not?
dpibel
(2,803 posts)Most individual plans, and some group plans, have waiting periods for coverage of various conditions. Same effect: prevent you from waiting until you get sick to buy coverage.
SoCalNative
(4,613 posts)has open enrollment once a year if you want to change coverage or plans, you have to wait until then. But you are covered when you start you job.
Voltaire2
(12,626 posts)Because the current system is crap.
Open enrollment locks people in for a year. Guarantees rent income to the insurance company you chose. You made a bad choice, sucks to be you. Great system, wouldn't want to change it.
OilemFirchen
(7,143 posts)There's open enrollment for Medicare, too.
Voltaire2
(12,626 posts)OilemFirchen
(7,143 posts)Chalk it up to the morons who decided to call it Medicare for All instead of Medicaid for All in the first place. Don't they have grandmas in nursing homes?
Also, Medicare exists. No joke.
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)You don't have to sign up. You should be able to view a number of policy options that meet your (and family) particular needs.
gratuitous
(82,849 posts)Republicans have worked very hard to sequester information about the ACA from the citizens, running practically no public service ads and certainly not going out of their way to help people get signed up.
The government website is here: https://www.healthcare.gov/blog/when-is-2019-open-enrollment/
If you have experienced a significant life event (moving, getting married, having or adopting a child, losing your current coverage), you can change your insurance outside the open enrollment period.
Ohioboy
(3,222 posts)Thanks for the info though.
Skittles
(152,964 posts)why is there an enrollment period at all?
Ohioboy
(3,222 posts)songbookz
(23 posts)To prevent people from waiting to buy insurance until they get sick. You need plenty of healthy people paying premiums to afford to insure the sick ones.
For example, about 5 years ago and my wife drove me to the hospital, they diagnosed me with pneumonia, heart failure, and high blood pressure. The four day stay cost about $48,000. My premiums at the time were about $450 (a lot of it paid by the ACA subsidy, so. it would take 107 months worth of premiums just to pay for that visit or 107 people paying premiums without going to the hospital. To hvae allowed me to wait and buy insurance on the way to the hospital would bankrupt the system because most people would do that'
Skittles
(152,964 posts)where you are just always covered
Voltaire2
(12,626 posts)Think of the poor CEOs put out to pasture.
Midnightwalk
(3,131 posts)You can no longer be denied coverage for preexisting conditions.
Say you could sign up for coverage or change plans whenever you wanted.
Many people would wait until they were sick before signing up or would get the cheapest plan possible and upgrade only if they got seriously ill.
That would make insurance even more expensive since no one would pay premiums up front.
The enrollment period is the work around for that.
Universal coverage wont need that patch for the things it covers but supplemental insurance would need some similar thing if it still exists.
Ohioboy
(3,222 posts)You would think they would want as much business as possible, and not just limit sign up to a certain time.
Midnightwalk
(3,131 posts)Im just a dumb engineer explaining what I thiught the rationale was.
I do remember that eliminating preconditions was an important achievement and something more subtle like you suggest probably makes that message less clear.
You can imagine the sound bites. Not only does ACA suck, it didnt even get rid of preconditions. Its harder to explain that yeah it did get rid of them just not in this particular case.
Youd also have to be able to write the law in a way that didnt let insurance companies screw people back into being denied for preexisting conditions
For example imagine an insurance company sending out offers to save 5% on premiums by switching your plan. But switching means they could deny coverage for preexisting conditions.
Hell I can imagine them mining patient data just to do that even if it is illegal.
Universal coverage is simpler. It is just hard to get there.
Trenzalore
(2,331 posts)It is why there was the mandate.