Fwd: qotd: Expanding eligibility for catastrophic plans

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-------- Original Message --------
Subject: qotd: Expanding eligibility for catastrophic plans
Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2013 11:26:20 -0800
From: Don McCanne <don@mccanne.org>
To: Quote-of-the-Day <quote-of-the-day@mccanne.org>



HealthCare.gov
Accessed December 20, 2013
What if my individual health insurance plan is changing or being cancelled?

If your insurance company cancels your plan, you have several options:

* Buy one of the plans the company offers in its place.
* Buy a new plan in the Marketplace.
* Buy a plan outside the Marketplace.

Additional option if your plan is cancelled: A catastrophic plan

If your plan has been cancelled and you can't afford a Marketplace plan
to replace it, you can apply for a hardship exemption. This will allow
you to buy a catastrophic plan. A catastrophic plan generally requires
you to pay all of your medical costs up to a certain amount, usually
several thousand dollars. These policies usually have lower premiums
than a comprehensive plan, but cover you only if you need a lot of care.
They basically protect you from worst-case scenarios.

http://www.healthcare.gov/what-if-my-current-individual-plan-is-changing-or-not-being-offered-in-2014/


Comment: As the numerous reports in the media indicate, the insurance
industry is not particularly pleased with the prospect of a large influx
of older and sicker individuals enrolling in the catastrophic plans
designed and priced for healthy individuals under age 30. Instability is
an inherent characteristic of such a dysfunctional financing system.

This rule modification is simply one more reason why we need to enact a
simplified, more affordable, and more effective health care financing
system - an improved Medicare for all.