The Next Step For Healthcare... Employer Based Healthcare Plans.

[rsmith6621]

..When you change jobs you generally have to wait anywhere from 45-90 days for your company plan to take effect.

This need to be changed to a seamless transition or no longer than the the 1st day of the first full month of employment.

People should not be penalized because of a job change.

[Schema Thing]

1. Agree, though the ACA does go a long way towards fixing this

If you change or lose your job, while COBRA will still be in available, most people will just choose to buy the much more reasonably priced insurance available in their state exchange.


It will still suck, but not nearly as bad as the cost of COBRA.

[FarCenter]

2. Why would insurance through the exchange cost less than COBRA?

If it did, the exchange insurance would certainly offer less service, higher copays, higher out-of-pockets.

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) requires most group health plans to provide a temporary continuation of group health coverage that otherwise might be terminated.

COBRA requires continuation coverage to be offered to covered employees, their spouses, their former spouses, and their dependent children when group health coverage would otherwise be lost due to certain specific events. Those events include the death of a covered employee, termination or reduction in the hours of a covered employee's employment for reasons other than gross misconduct, divorce, or legal separation from a covered employee, a covered employee's becoming entitled to Medicare, and a child's loss of dependent status (and therefore coverage) under the plan.

Employers may require individuals who elect continuation coverage to pay the full cost of the coverage, plus a 2 percent administrative charge. The required payment for continuation coverage is often more expensive than the amount that active employees are required to pay for group health coverage, since the employer usually pays part of the cost of employees' coverage and all of that cost can be charged to the individuals receiving continuation coverage. The COBRA payment is ordinarily less expensive, though, than individual health coverage. While COBRA continuation coverage must be offered, it lasts only for a limited period of time. This booklet will discuss all of these provisions in more detail.

http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/publications/cobraemployee.html

[Schema Thing]

3. Your quote explains why exactly.

Cobra will be the last outrageously priced insurance in America - to the individual. "Employers may require individuals who elect continuation coverage to pay the full cost of the coverage, plus a 2 percent administrative charge."


It's not a mystery what the "service, .... copays, .... out-of-pockets" of the insurance sold in the exchanges will be, so it's time for people like you to stop acting as if it is. Instead of saying "offer less service, higher copays, higher out-of-pockets", you can just tell whoever it is you want to inform exactly what the service, copays, out-of-pocket payments will be, because those things are now published, uniform and part of the law of the land. I think it would be the rare instance where the exchange was not FAR cheaper than their COBRA.

[FarCenter]

4. Employer's cost plus 2% is going to be cheaper than individual insurance policies

Employer's are negotiating for group plans and have more leverage in keeping the cost of their group plans low.

Policies for individuals are going to cost more. Or they are going to offer less.

[Schema Thing]

5. The exchanges ARE group plans.

There will be variations at the gold, silver, and platinum levels, but all insurance is going to be sold priced on age and nothing much else from here on out until we make another big change.

[ashling]

6. The way to change it is

Single payer Universal Healthcare like Medicare for all.