Attention Main Stream Media. Regarding Obamacare… I Told You So!

Gulag Bound  –  By: C. Steven Tucker –  Cross-Posted at the NoisyRoom

Back on August 3rd, 2013 I wrote a piece exposing what I stated then will soon happen to millions of Americans if we do not support the Tea Party and Republican lead effort to defund Obamacare. In that piece, I stated when President Obama promised – “If you like your plan, you can keep your plan and no one will take it away from you, period” he was not telling the truth. Watch President Obama make this false promise below:

Video: “If you like your plan, you can keep your plan.” – Barack Obama

Below I will link to some real world examples of what is beginning to happen because the Obamacare “Health Insurance Exchange Marketplaces” opened on 10/1/13 and were funded (once again) by Republicans in the most recent Continuing Resolution on the evening of October 16, 2013.

Below I will link actual policy termination letters from four of my existing clients who hold individual health insurance policies from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois. The last names and policy numbers have been redacted in order to protect the privacy of these clients per 1996 HIPAA law.

• Click here to download Stephen’s Obamacare termination letter.
• Click here to download Robert’s Obamacare termination letter.
• Click here to download Kathleen’s Obamacare termination letter.
• Click here to download Michael’s Obamacare termination letter.

Please also note that in every case, the PPACA compliant ‘replacement plans’ offered to these clients are priced higher and in most cases much higher than what they are paying now. However, they’re not just priced higher, they expose these clients to a much higher out of pocket risk each year. Up to $12,700 for a couple and a family. Below are the outlines of coverage for each PPACA compliant alternative plan offered to these clients:

• The Blue PPO Bronze 005. Click here to view the outline of coverage.
• The Blue Bronze PPO 006. Click here to view the outline of coverage.
• The Blue Choice Silver PPO 003. Click here to view the outline of coverage.
• The Blue Choice Bronze PPO 005.Click here to view the outline of coverage.
• The Blue Choice Bronze PPO 006. Click here to view the outline of coverage.

Notice the out of pocket costs with each of those plans? Every one of them has a higher out of pocket risk to this client than the risk his family assumes now and all of them are more expensive than what he pays now. With the exception of the “Bronze PPO 006? plan which more than DOUBLES his family’s out of pocket risk exposure on his current “HSA 100%” plan.

Secondly, here is a sample copy of a letter that my Humana individual and family policy holders are now receiving. They too are now being forced into the Obamacare exchanges either on 12/31/2013 or on 12/31/2014 depending on when they purchased their health plan. Notice that this client’s Obamacare replacement plan will triple his premium.

Thirdly, here is a sample copy of a letter that my Aetna clients are already receiving. These clients are now losing their individual and family health insurance plans. They too will be forced into an Obamacare compliant plan as of 12/30/2013 or 12/31/2014 where the cheapest – “Bronze” plan – will expose a couple or a family to a $12,700 out of pocket risk exposure each year for in network covered charges.

Fourthly, about a month after I penned my original piece on August 3rd, other Blue Cross associations all over the country began sending our their policy termination letters. You can see the Independence Blue Cross policy termination letter if you click here.

Click here to read another policy termination notice and Obamacare compliant replacement letter from Regence Blue Shield of Nebraska. Pay particular attention to $12,700 annual out of pocket expense risk that this family will now face when they are forced to switch to an Obamacare compliant “Bronze” plan on 12/30/2013. Notice that their premium doubled as well.

One thing you can be sure of, all Individual and Family health plans sold in Illinois by Blue Cross Blue Shield, Humana and Aetna after March 23, 2010 a.k.a. ‘non-Grandfathered’ plans will be terminated and replaced with an Obamacare compliant plan either by 12/31/2013 or by 12/31/2014 depending on when you purchased the plan. Also, since the aforementioned June of 2010 ruling was a federal ruling, this will be the case for any carrier who offers plans inside the exchanges in all other states as well.

Millions of individual and family health insurance plans have already been terminated and 16 million more Americans will soon lose their individual health insurance plans because of Obamacare.

• CBS: A charter member of the Main Stream Media finally reports on 2 million Americans who have already lost their health plans:

Video: CBS: Over 2 Million Americans Have Already Received Insurance Cancellations Due To ObamaCare

• CBS: They finally report on the true cost of Obamacare approved health insurance:

Video: CBS: ObamaCare Website Dramatically Underestimating Costs For Consumers

• CBS News: Also reporting on hundreds of thousands losing their health insurance plans because of Obamacare:

Video: CBS: ObamaCare Forcing Hundreds Of Thousands To Lose Health Insurance Coverage

• CBS News: “Obamacare resulting in dropped coverage and higher premiums:

Video: CBS: ObamaCare Resulting In Dropped Coverage And Higher Premiums

• NBC News: Consumers facing sticker shock and policy cancellation notices due to Obamacare:

Video: NBC: Consumers Facing Sticker Shock Due To ObamaCare

• Kaiser Health News: Thousand of consumers getting insurance cancellation notices due to health law changes.

• NBC News: Thousands getting health insurance cancellation notices.

• NBC News: Half a million Californians losing their health insurance plans because they don’t comply with Obamacare.

• The worst part about all of this is that NBC News is now reporting that President Obama knew, as early as July of 2010 that millions of Americans would lose their health insurance plans because of his health care law: 

Video: NBC: Obama Administration Knew ObamaCare Would Terminate Half Of Individual Plans

Below is a photocopy of a page of the federal register that proves that the Obama administration knew in 2010 that millions of Americans would lose their Individual & Employer Sponsored health insurance plans because of Obamacare. This regulation was written on purpose so that millions of existing policy holders would be forced to purchase health insurance inside the exchanges instead. The forced addition of millions of these policyholders – all who were assured by president Obama that they could ‘keep their plan‘ – will lower the cost or further subsidize the high cost of insuring sick people who will most certainly be purchasing subsidized health insurance inside the exchanges. In other words this was a deliberate action taken by HHS and a direct violation of the president’s promise.

President Obama is also falsely referring to these canceled plans as “substandard plans” from the ‘old market’. Nothing could be further from the truth. These plans were designed in large part by his health care law. All individual plans sold since 9/23/2010 already include 8 out of the 10 “Essential Health Benefits” that he states must be “added’ in January of 2014 in order to make them ‘better’. In fact, my clients who selected Maternity coverage with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois already have 9 out of the 10 “Essential Health Benefits”. Yet the President’s health care law requires that these plans must also be terminated and replaced with even more expensive plans in 2014. The evidence in this post prove that these plans are far from ‘substandard’ plans from the ‘old market’.

Remember, president Obama also promised rates would go down by $2,500? Watch him make that promise here:

San Jose Mercury News: Two time Obama voters shocked to receive policy cancellation notices and massive premium increases.

Video: Obama Says His Healthcare Plan Will Save Families $2,500

You can run your own Obamacare compliant rates by clicking on my Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois quote engine below:

If you’re not in Illinois, you can run your own Obamacare approved rates using my Humana quote engine here:

Please note: There is one major difference between my online quote engines and the “Health Insurance Exchange Marketplace” at HealthCare.gov. Mine actually work!

Months after I penned that original article – on August 3, 2013 – a flagship member of the main stream media – NBC – finally confirmed in their article entitled “Thousands get health insurance cancellation notices“ that I was indeed speaking the truth and not a ‘fear-mongerer’, ‘racist’ or ‘liar’ as I have been labeled repeatedly by our ‘friends on the Left’ since writing that piece.

Several days before NBC finally confirmed I was right. A newspaper in California detailed the anger and frustration by two time Obama voters who were also losing their health plans and facing an increase in their family premium of $10,000 a year. You can read that California newspaper clip if you click here.

Oh and it’s not just individual and family policy holders who are losing their health insurance policies because of Obamacare. It’s employer sponsored group policy holders as well. Click here to see a copy of the California Farm Bureau Federation group policy termination letter sent to their insured members. The CBO is predicting that 14.5 million Americans will lose their health plans after 2014. I disagree. I am predicting more than 40 million Americans will lose their employer sponsored health insurance plans. I discussed why for the Fox Business television network. View the video on the Fox Business web site by clicking here:

Worse yet, those whom we count on to provide us with the care we need are also losing their health insurance plans because of Obamacare. Here is a letter that doctors and dentists in Illinois received all over the state. They too will be losing their health insurance plan as of 12/31/2013.

All of these policy holders are being forced to forfeit their existing plans and agree to accept an Obamacare compliant plan (along with the premium increases required) by December 31, 2013 or December 30, 2014 depending on when you purchase your plan. I discussed this for the Fox Business television network on 09/30/2013 the day before the Obamacare “Health Insurance Exchange Marketplace” opened.

Video: C. Steven Tucker Fox Business TV Network 09 30 13

Why is this happening now?

I will use the state of Illinois as an example. Governor Quinn had originally expected 16 health insurance carriers to offer products within the Illinois Obamacare exchange. Only 6 carriers have chosen to sell plans within the exchange. They are as follows:

• Humana
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois
• Aetna
• Coventry
• Land of Lincoln Health
• The Carle Foundation, a nonprofit hospital network based in Urbana

Since these carriers have chosen the option to offer a “Medal” (Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum) product within the exchange, individual/family health insurance plans that they have already sold in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 must be terminated and replaced with a plan that conforms to the design of the “Medal” plans sold inside the exchanges. Either on 12/31/2013 or 12/31/2014 depending on when the plan was purchased. These new replacement plans must include all 10 of the federally mandated “Essential Health Benefits” and they must conform in design to the deductible and other out of pocket expenses that will be included with the “Medal” plans sold inside the exchanges.

There are however two large insurance carriers that are staying out of the new Obamacare “Health Insurance Exchange Marketplace” in Illinois and most other states. Those carriers are United HealthOne and Assurant Health.

Although these two carriers must still adopt all 10 of the new federally mandated “Essential Health Benefits” and they must also offer guaranteed insurability (no preexisting conditions) to all applicants during ‘Open Enrollment” periods in 2014. The deductible and coinsurance arrangements that they offer to their clients can be different than the standard deductibles and coinsurance arrangements that will be offered in the exchanges until December 30, 2014.

This means that their prices will be inherently lower than the “Medal” plans sold inside the exchanges. And, the out of pocket expenses don’t have to be $12,700 out of pocket for a couple of a family as is the case with the cheapest “Bronze’ plan sold inside the Obamacare “Health Insurance Exchange Marketplace”. This is most especially true for individuals with MAGI – Modified Adjusted Gross Incomes – higher than 400% above the Federal Poverty Level. Those income levels would be anyone who makes less than the following income levels:

• $46,960 for an individual
• $62,040 for a couple
• $78,120 for a family of three
• $92,200 for a family of four
• $110,280 for a family of five
• $126,360 for a family of six

Those Americans will receive NO taxpayer funded ‘subsidy’ to artificially lower the high cost of the expensive Obamacare Qualified Health Plans that will be sold within the new ‘Health Insurance Exchange Marketplace”.

Because these two carriers are staying out of the Obamacare exchanges around the country. They are both able to make the following commitment to potential new policy holders. If you purchase a health insurance plan from either of these carriers prior to 2014 you will not lose or have to change that health plan and you will not receive a premium increase until December 30, 2014. You will also be able to design your own plan with your own deductible, your own co pay and other policy features that after 2014 will be designed by the federal government.

Watch United HealthOne make this promise here.

Run your own quotes from United HealthOne by clicking on their logo below:

Read Assurant Health’s promise here.

Run your own quotes from Assurant Health by clicking on their logo below:

It’s not just health plans that have been terminated. Health insurers have also been terminated.

It’s not just health plans that have been terminated. We’ve lost 13 carriers as well. In July of 2013 we lost the 13th individual health insurance carrier since Obamacare passed. See this insurance company’s exit letter here. The other individual health insurers who have pulled out of the individual health insurance market since the passage of Obamacare are as follows:

1. American National
2. American Republic > 35,000 people LOST their health plans when American Republic exited the market. Hundreds of jobs were lost as well.
3. American Medical Security
4. American Community Mutual
5. Standard Life & Accident
6. Principle Financial
7. nHealth
8. World Insurance
9. Unicare
10. Guarantee Trust Life < One of my clients in Naperville, Illinois who received that letter lost her plan during Breast Cancer treatment!
11. Coventry
12. Physicians Benefit Trust
13. Independence Holding Group

Obamacare is creating a massive insurance monopoly. These smaller carriers that I used to be able to offer to my clients, the carriers with the good prices are now gone. They are being gobbled up by the larger carriers. We now have only a handful of health insurance carriers left in the country. Think about it, you know this. Look at the exchange plans and see if you can find more than 5 carriers who are offering plans.

Eliminating health insurance carriers and creating a taxpayer funded monopoly is not ‘competition’. It is a monopoly and nothing drives up prices like a monopoly. Period.

Article originally published on C. Steven Tucker blog, October 22, 2013

**The only good thing about being right when nobody listens to you, is to be able to eventually say, “I told you so”.  The problem with ObamaCare and the whole Obama presidency is that it is and has been so devastating to our country and freedom in general that it isn’t even fun or rewarding to be able to say it!  AskMarion~