And the ACA hits just keep coming

Yes, I was just reacting to the perfect timing.

And while Obama was talking about sticking to ACA deadlines, the man himself was once again late for his own scheduled press conference.

Rick wrote: So lets just review what has hapened here... "sub-par" plans of millions get cancelled so that new Obama approved sub-par plans can replace them, with higher premiums and deductables. What's not to like?

Oh its way better than that. Your current plan CANCELLED. You get to go to the exchange and apply for PERMISSION for an exemption from the penalty. And you may now have no insurance in 2014. A nice crumb thrown to the subjects before Obama the Health-Czar-N-Chief Jets off to Hawaii in Air Force One.

Enjoy!

LOL wrote:

Rick wrote: So lets just review what has hapened here... "sub-par" plans of millions get cancelled so that new Obama approved sub-par plans can replace them, with higher premiums and deductables. What's not to like?

Oh its way better than that. Your current plan CANCELLED. You get to go to the exchange and apply for PERMISSION for an exemption from the penalty. And you may now have no insurance in 2014. A nice crumb thrown to the subjects before Obama the Health-Czar-N-Chief Jets off to Hawaii in Air Force One.

Enjoy!

But they also "provided, "granted", "allowed" another option for people over 30 who have been shafted by the law... they get to buy one of these "junk policies" that normally wouldn't comply for a higher price than the old junk policies they were forced to lose. I'd love to be a fly on the wall of these liberal households that get this wonderful news. I would imagine it's the same expression of a guy who just bought a lemon from a used car dealer he thought was cool and honest. lol

Like I said before, just a FYI the catastrophic and Bronze plans are not much different in bennies or price.
What is needed is true major medical "insurance" basic plans. These ain't it. It is an illusion and non solution to a gov't created problem.
FYI Its basically a $5000 vs. $6350 deductible.

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/he ... -insurance

I won't raise taxes on the middle class...

The Chapmans acknowledge that they are better off than many people, but they represent a little-understood reality of the Affordable Care Act. While the act clearly benefits those at the low end of the income scale — and rich people can continue to afford even the most generous plans — people like the Chapmans are caught in the uncomfortable middle: not poor enough for help, but not rich enough to be indifferent to cost. …

A 60-year-old living in Polk County, in northwestern Wisconsin, and earning $50,000 a year, for example, would have to spend more than 19 percent of his income, or $9,801 annually, to buy one of the cheapest plans available there. A person earning $45,000 would qualify for subsidies and would pay about 5 percent of his income, or $2,228, for an inexpensive plan. …

David Oscar, an insurance broker in New Jersey, another high-cost state, said many of his clients had been disappointed to learn that the premiums were much more expensive than they had expected.

“They’re frustrated,” he said. “Everybody was thinking that Obamacare was going to come in with more affordable rates. Well, they’re not more affordable.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/21/busin ... ted=2&_r=0

Another lie.

Maybe if they keep saying these plans are affordable enough times our wallets will start believing it. But really, none of this can be cured with speeches and promises, people are going to notice the cost, the loss of doctors, and the loss of medical facilities.

LOL wrote: Like I said before, just a FYI the catastrophic and Bronze plans are not much different in bennies or price.
What is needed is true major medical "insurance" basic plans. These ain't it. It is an illusion and non solution to a gov't created problem.
FYI Its basically a $5000 vs. $6350 deductible.

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/he ... -insurance

Yes, Bronze generally have slightly better deductibles (though still terrible at around $5k). And both the Bronze and catastrophic plans have huge $6350 or $12,700 family max out of pocket expenses. So I consider them both to be catastrophic plans.

The biggest difference with the catastrophic plans is that they do not qualify for any subsidies. So if you make under about $46K as an individual, or $62K as a couple, a catastrophic plan will generally cost you more than a Bronze plan. So why get one?

These plans were set up to cover people 30 yrs and younger. And now with a slip of a pen, Obama changes all of that and says anyone who had their insurance cancelled can now get a catastrophic plan at this late of a point. So now insurance companies are expected to cover 50-60 year olds with a plan that was priced out for 30 year olds. I suppose they can raise the rates, but only according to the 3-1 increase in the original law. This will cost them much more than that.

This is really an admission by the Obama administration that the plans cost too much and too many people cannot afford them. If your insurance was cancelled, a Bronze plan was supposed to be even more affordable. But it's not and people are getting angry and Dems are in a panic. So now they offer the catastrophic plans, but again those will only make sense for the minority making over $46k/$62k.

And the biggest change of all is that Obama has just eliminated the individual mandate for those who have had their insurance cancelled. A very sweeping, last minute change! Does anyone really think he has the right to change the law like this?

Does anyone really think he has the right to change the law like this?

In his mind, he can do anything he wants to, and so far, it has been mostly true.

Has anyone challenged his doing so? If not, should they, themselves, (congress) be blamed?

I'm guessing a court challenge could come eventually, it takes time though.

One thing they seem to be doing is issuing "Bulletins" instead of regulations to side-step the normal regulatory process, eliminating the need for comment reviews and cost analysis. Bulletins I believe were intended to clarify not re-write laws. But this Obamacare act from the beginning was rammed thru congress using extraordinary maneuvers, so it should not surprise anyone.

Here is an example: http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2012/01/13 ... n-essentia

This is really an admission by the Obama administration that the plans cost too much and too many people cannot afford them. If your insurance was cancelled, a Bronze plan was supposed to be even more affordable. But it's not and people are getting angry and Dems are in a panic. So now they offer the catastrophic plans..

Pine, very good summary. And the reason they are not affordable (w.o. subsidies) is because the benefits EHBs are locked in with no choices. Really your only choice with these metal plans is whether to pre-pay your deductable. Compare that to Medicare A B C D where you can choose benefit levels. Medicare A is the only thing that is mandatory