Obamacare sign-ups soar to record 16.3 million for 2023

[Scott]

A record 16.3 million people flocked to the Affordable Care Act exchanges for 2023 coverage, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Wednesday.

Open enrollment on the federal exchange and most state marketplaces ran from November 1 to January 15. But those who lose health insurance coverage, have a qualifying life change or have very low incomes can obtain policies throughout the year through special enrollment periods.

Sign-ups on the federal exchange, healthcare.gov, have skyrocketed nearly 50% since the Biden administration took office in 2021, thanks in large part to enhanced federal premium subsidies and increased outreach efforts.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/25/politics/aca-enrollment-2023/index.html

[radiochaser]

I checked obamacare out when it first went on line.   My yearly income was $100 or $150.00 too much for the subsidized health care, which would have cost about $100.00 a month if I made $200.00 a year less.  

The cheapest bronze plan would have cost me $1200.00 a month with a $24,000.00 deductible for myself and my wife!   It was valid in only 5 states (U.S. of A) and only in the county I lived in, in Pennsylvania.  

I would have had to ask permission to see, any, health care provider if I did not need emergency, life saving, medical treatment!  If I did not ask permission first, before I went to a medical professional, then I would have to pay 100% of the bill!  The subsidized plan would have given me better coverage, but not much better!

Good thing I kept my health insurance plan that I had before I retired.   It was about $475.00 a month in 2010 and is almost $800.00 a month now.  It covers me anywhere I go in the U.S. of A. and anywhere in the world.   Deductible has gone up a lot though.   Yearly fee increases were minimal before obamacare, monthly costs increasing from $295.00 to $475.00 in 23 years, or only about $180.00 a month.   The increase in monthly costs since obamacare went into effect are a little over $300.00 a month!   I wonder if I am one of the people subsidizing the $100.00 a month obamacare plan!

The obamacare website was sending me 3 - 4 emails a week this year, urging me to sign up for their service.  

Back in 2019, I was in the hospital for surgery.   There was a pre-prep waiting room where patients were on a gurney waiting to go into the pre-surgery room for administration of anesthesia.   I heard two guys take a man in the next stall in to pre-surgery.   One guy asked the man, where is your pillow?  The man said, they didn't give me one.  The guy said, oh, you must be on the obamacare health plan!  Man said yes.   Me, I had three pillows on my gurney!

[placeholder]

21 minutes ago, radiochaser said:

I checked obamacare out when it first went on line.   My yearly income was $100 or $150.00 too much for the subsidized health care, which would have cost about $100.00 a month if I made $200.00 a year less.  

The cheapest bronze plan would have cost me $1200.00 a month with a $24,000.00 deductible for myself and my wife!   It was valid in only 5 states (U.S. of A) and only in the county I lived in, in Pennsylvania.  

I would have had to ask permission to see, any, health care provider if I did not need emergency, life saving, medical treatment!  If I did not ask permission first, before I went to a medical professional, then I would have to pay 100% of the bill!  The subsidized plan would have given me better coverage, but not much better!

Good thing I kept my health insurance plan that I had before I retired.   It was about $475.00 a month in 2010 and is almost $800.00 a month now.  It covers me anywhere I go in the U.S. of A. and anywhere in the world.   Deductible has gone up a lot though.   Yearly fee increases were minimal before obamacare, monthly costs increasing from $295.00 to $475.00 in 23 years, or only about $180.00 a month.   The increase in monthly costs since obamacare went into effect are a little over $300.00 a month!   I wonder if I am one of the people subsidizing the $100.00 a month obamacare plan!

The obamacare website was sending me 3 - 4 emails a week this year, urging me to sign up for their service.  

Back in 2019, I was in the hospital for surgery.   There was a pre-prep waiting room where patients were on a gurney waiting to go into the pre-surgery room for administration of anesthesia.   I heard two guys take a man in the next stall in to pre-surgery.   One guy asked the man, where is your pillow?  The man said, they didn't give me one.  The guy said, oh, you must be on the obamacare health plan!  Man said yes.   Me, I had three pillows on my gurney!

Whatever you may have experienced before, the subsidies for ObamaCare have since been greatly increased.

Edited January 27, 2023 by placeholder

[Chomper Higgot]

Hugely popular in Republican controlled states.

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2022/01/13/politics/obamacare-aca-red-states-medicaid/index.html

 

[placeholder]

27 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Hugely popular in Republican controlled states.

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2022/01/13/politics/obamacare-aca-red-states-medicaid/index.html

 

Every red state that has had a chance to vote to in referenda to enable Obamacare Medicaid, has voted for it. 

[Scott]

Record-high Obamacare enrollment: The numbers behind Biden’s health care victory lap

Enrollment for health plans through the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, insurance marketplaces reached a record high during this year's open enrollment period, a feat applauded by President Joe Biden this week.

 

“I promised to lower costs for families and ensure that all Americans have access to quality, affordable health care,” Biden said in a statement Wednesday. “Today, we received further proof that our efforts are delivering record-breaking results.”

 

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/obamacare-enrollment-numbers-record-biden-victory-lap-202202359.html

[Tug]

Well it’s pretty simple to tell witch party does the most for the American people!

[radiochaser]

On 1/26/2023 at 10:34 PM, placeholder said:

Whatever you may have experienced before, the subsidies for ObamaCare have since been greatly increased.

So, people who have a lower income than I can get it with monthly payments of less than $100.00?  

 

[Chomper Higgot]

26 minutes ago, radiochaser said:

So, people who have a lower income than I can get it with monthly payments of less than $100.00?  

 

So people on low incomes can afford health insurance.

[radiochaser]

9 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

So people on low incomes can afford health insurance.

If I, as a non low income individual, had to pay the government for their low quality health insurance, then I would also be low income after making the payments.


 

Edited January 30, 2023 by radiochaser

[Chomper Higgot]

10 minutes ago, radiochaser said:

If I, as a non low income individual, had to pay the government for their low quality health insurance, then I would also be low income after making the payments.


 

I’m sure that makes sense, somehow.

 

 

[radiochaser]

2 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

I’m sure that makes sense, somehow.

 

 

Yes.  Besides as I wrote, the bronze obamacare plan only covered me in one county in Pennsylvania and only 5 states, but only when I would be traveling.    

I also checked out their, I think it was the gold plan,  it was, if I recall correctly, $2500.00 a month!  But the yearly deductible was only still pretty high.   

[Chomper Higgot]

8 minutes ago, radiochaser said:

Yes.  Besides as I wrote, the bronze obamacare plan only covered me in one county in Pennsylvania and only 5 states, but only when I would be traveling.    

I also checked out their, I think it was the gold plan,  it was, if I recall correctly, $2500.00 a month!  But the yearly deductible was only still pretty high.   

Well don’t sign up for it then, nobody is forcing you to.

[placeholder]

 

51 minutes ago, radiochaser said:

Yes.  Besides as I wrote, the bronze obamacare plan only covered me in one county in Pennsylvania and only 5 states, but only when I would be traveling.    

I also checked out their, I think it was the gold plan,  it was, if I recall correctly, $2500.00 a month!  But the yearly deductible was only still pretty high.   

I just went to the Kaiser's Obamacare calculator. I gave Pennsylvania as a place of residence in a wealthy district of Philadelphia since the costs would be higher there. I typed in an income of $150,000 per year. I wrote that there were 4 adults being covered by the plan. 2 were age 64 and 2 were age 25.  I used the age of 64 since that would be the highest age before Medicare kicks in.

For a silver plan the cost to such a family would be $1063 per month. The subsidy would be $1413

Here's the link

https://www.kff.org/interactive/subsidy-calculator/

[radiochaser]

36 minutes ago, placeholder said:

 

I just went to the Kaiser's Obamacare calculator. I gave Pennsylvania as a place of residence in a wealthy district of Philadelphia since the costs would be higher there. I typed in an income of $150,000 per year. I wrote that there were 4 adults being covered by the plan. 2 were age 64 and 2 were age 25.  I used the age of 64 since that would be the highest age before Medicare kicks in.

For a silver plan the cost to such a family would be $1063 per month. The subsidy would be $1413

Here's the link

https://www.kff.org/interactive/subsidy-calculator/

That is interesting.   Those are much lower figures than the obamacare website provided when it went on line, which is when I checked, a few months later.   

I also called the call center for the obamacare system and spoke to a woman.  That was how I found out that I had to get permission to visit a health care provider, or I would have to pay the entire bill if I did not have permission.   She also told me that the bronze plan was only good in the county I resided in, Bucks, and was only good in 5 states if I were traveling through (or in) those states.   

Perhaps things have changed.  I will still keep my health care plan as it covers me anywhere I go in the world (first world countries) if I need medical care.   I can and have used it in Thailand.   Sometimes the caveat is, if it isn't emergency medical care, then I send the bill in to the insurance company and they reimburse me.   

I just checked that website.   My income is much greater than what you entered and there are only 2 in the family.  The payments are much lower than it was after obamcare was instituted.   I pay a little more than that per month for the health care plan I kept when I retired .   Still, the obamacare plan's  out of pocket expenses $18,200.00 are much greater that what I have now, by about $6,000.00.   But it would only matter if I were to be hospitalized.   

My wife is still under SS age right now and the copay is only $30.00 a month.   The other thing is, she does not need a referral from our doctor to see any medical professional.   When the office rep asks if she has a referral from her doctor (which they asked me too) she says no and tells them what health insurance we have, they say ok, you don't need a referral.   

I also have very good pharmacy coverage.    e.g.  I picked up a large number of pills  one time for my wife.   I asked how much and the pharmacist said, fifty cents.   I immediately and erroneously exclaimed, what?  Per pill?   She laughed and said no.  Fifty cents for the prescription!     I get a 90 day prescription of pills that I have to take  1 daily.   Without my pharmacy coverage that would be $270.00, with my coverage it is $32.00. 

I don't understand why you had higher monthly figures unless they costs are higher in Philadelphia county.  The website said the silver plan for the two of us would be $618.00 a month or $7420.00 a year.  I pay about $1000.00 more a year.  But again, my out of pocket expenses are over $6,000.00 less. 

Edited January 30, 2023 by radiochaser

[placeholder]

10 minutes ago, radiochaser said:

That is interesting.   Those are much lower figures than the obamacare website provided when it went on line, which is when I checked, a few months later.   

I also called the call center for the obamacare system and spoke to a woman.  That was how I found out that I had to get permission to visit a health care provider, or I would have to pay the entire bill if I did not have permission.   She also told me that the bronze plan was only good in the county I resided in, Bucks, and was only good in 5 states if I were traveling through (or in) those states.   

Perhaps things have changed.  I will still keep my health care plan as it covers me anywhere I go in the world (first world countries) if I need medical care.   I can and have used it in Thailand.   Sometimes the caveat is, if it isn't emergency medical care, then I send the bill in to the insurance company and they reimburse me.   

I just checked that website.   My income is much greater than what you entered and there are only 2 in the family.  The payments are much lower than it was after obamcare was instituted.   I pay a little more than that per month for the health care plan I kept when I retired .   Still, the obamacare plan's  out of pocket expenses $18,200.00 are much greater that what I have now, by about $6,000.00.   But it would only matter if I were to be hospitalized.   

My wife is still under SS age right now and the copay is only $30.00 a month.   The other thing is, she does not need a referral from our doctor to see any medical professional.   When the office rep asks if she has a referral from her doctor (which they asked me too) she says no and tells them what health insurance we have, they say ok, you don't need a referral.  

From your comment that your "wife is still under SS age", by which I assume you mean Medicare eligible age, I'm assuming you're not. So you are not eligible for Obamacare. Which means you're covered by Medicare. And your health care plan even covers you in the USA? All the international plans I've looked at for people aged 65 and over are extraordinarily expensive if they include the US. And not cheap even if they don't. What is your insurance company?

[radiochaser]

3 minutes ago, placeholder said:

From your comment that your "wife is still under SS age", by which I assume you mean Medicare eligible age, I'm assuming you're not. So you are not eligible for Obamacare. Which means you're covered by Medicare. And your health care plan even covers you in the USA? All the international plans I've looked at for people aged 65 and over are extraordinarily expensive if they include the US. And not cheap even if they don't. What is your insurance company?

My plan covers my wife and myself anywhere in the United States.  It covers us both in Thailand, or Japan, Germany, UK, India, etc.  Any where there is a U.S. Embassy, my health care plan will cover me there.   I have Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employees Plan.  

I am on Medicare, but my health care plan still pays for both of us, just more for my wife than me.   Medicare says I owe this much ..... to the medical provider.   My health care sends me a letter and says, they paid it.  Otherwise I would still be paying money.  For example, I have had multiple skin cancers last year that have been treated by radiation treatments, rather than cutting chunks of flesh from me.   I had to go in for 21 treatment sessions for each skin cancer.   More than 100 times I went in with a copay of $120.00 after Medicare   That is over $12,000.00 that Medicare did not pay for.  

[placeholder]

1 hour ago, radiochaser said:

My plan covers my wife and myself anywhere in the United States.  It covers us both in Thailand, or Japan, Germany, UK, India, etc.  Any where there is a U.S. Embassy, my health care plan will cover me there.   I have Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employees Plan.  

I am on Medicare, but my health care plan still pays for both of us, just more for my wife than me.   Medicare says I owe this much ..... to the medical provider.   My health care sends me a letter and says, they paid it.  Otherwise I would still be paying money.  For example, I have had multiple skin cancers last year that have been treated by radiation treatments, rather than cutting chunks of flesh from me.   I had to go in for 21 treatment sessions for each skin cancer.   More than 100 times I went in with a copay of $120.00 after Medicare   That is over $12,000.00 that Medicare did not pay for.  

Well, your plan is subsidized by the federal govt. In addition, In addition, since you're already getting Medicare that further subsidizes the cost of your plan. Obamacare is not for people on Medicare. So comparing Obamacare to an FEHB program isn't vaild.

[radiochaser]

4 hours ago, placeholder said:

Well, your plan is subsidized by the federal govt. In addition, In addition, since you're already getting Medicare that further subsidizes the cost of your plan. Obamacare is not for people on Medicare. So comparing Obamacare to an FEHB program isn't vaild.

Well damn!  So it is!  Color me shocked!
Excuse me while I shut up about obamacare.

[radiochaser]

On 1/30/2023 at 7:26 AM, placeholder said:

Well, your plan is subsidized by the federal govt. In addition, In addition, since you're already getting Medicare that further subsidizes the cost of your plan. Obamacare is not for people on Medicare. So comparing Obamacare to an FEHB program isn't vaild.

The government healthcare website sent me a bunch of emails, telling me that the sign up period was open, you haven't signed up yet,  hurry up and sign up for healthcare, the signup period is about to close, this is your last week to sign up, this is your last day to sign up, you still have time to sign up ... etc.  

Since that website knows what my age is (from the first time I set up an account) and knows that I am on medicare because I tried to find out the cost of obamacare one year after I was on medicare, I am now wondering why I had so many emails urging me to sign up?   

Could it be that the obamacre healthcare plan is now being used as the secondary for medicare?   I have not bothered to do an internet search so I don't know the answer.