Apparently some of the media and some of our less-than-truthful politicians are not trying to spin this as though the insurance companies have made some decisions on their own to cancel your coverage. This is not even remotely true.
I noticed that Covered CA has moved the links to information on the health plans solicitation requirements (on the hbex site) so I will, as time permits, find the actual solicitation requirement which states what I wrote above.
Peter Lee is on record with the LA Times just 4 days ago (October 26th) confirming the same thing. And he runs the exchange!
Anthem is not canceling your plan because they want to. Neither are Kaiser, Blue Shield nor Health Net. They are forced to do it by Covered CA as part of the rules to participate in Covered CA. Stop blaming the insurers, the exchange set the rule!
All these cancellations were prompted by a requirement from Covered California, the state's new insurance exchange. The state didn't want to give insurance companies the opportunity to hold on to the healthiest patients for up to a year, keeping them out of the larger risk pool that will influence future rates.
Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California, said the state and insurers agreed that clearing the decks by Jan. 1 was best for consumers in the long run despite the initial disruption. Lee has heard the complaints � even from his sister-in-law, who recently groused about her 50% rate increase.
"People could have kept their cheaper, bad coverage, and those people wouldn't have been part of the common risk pool," Lee said. "We are better off all being in this together. We are transforming the individual market and making it better.
LA Times Article October 26th
Dave
www.davefluker.com
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