We were told we could keep our insurance plans, our doctors, all the stuff we liked about our old plans. Not so fast, says Ashe Schow of the Washington Examiner. Here are 5 things you CAN’T keep under Obamacare.
- Your health insurance plan, even if you really, really liked it. In theory, you were supposed to be able to keep it, but now, well…
Millions of Americans have received notices canceling their existing health plans because they did not meet the requirements of the health care law, which forced insurers to include one-size-fits-all benefit packages in all plans.
- Your health plan premiums…you know, the ones you could afford. Now, everyone (and Obama means EVERYONE) has to pay for things like maternity care…even if you’re a guy.
- Your doctor. We’ve been told over and over that it is imperative to good health care to work with a medical professional on a consistent basis, in order to get consistent care. But, Obamacare isn’t really interested in that. If you really want to stick with your doctor, you may have to pay more for that “privilege.”
- Medications. Really. That’s kind of a zinger, isn’t it? It turns out some medications aren’t covered under Obamacare.
As Scott Gottlieb, a former commissioner for the Food and Drug Administration and current scholar at the American Enterprise Institute wrote:
“The out of pocket caps on consumer spending only apply to costs incurred on drugs that are included on a plan’s drug formulary. This is the list of medicines that the health plans have agreed to provide some coverage for.
“If the drug isn’t on this formulary list, then the patient could be responsible for its full cost (with little or no co-insurance to help offset that cost). Moreover, the money they spend won’t count against their deductibles or out of pocket limits ($12,700 for a family, $6,350 for an individual.”
- Your choice of hospital. Obamacare restricts some hospitals from being included all together (such as Cedar-Sinai in Los Angeles) and has made such extreme changes to Medicare that some hospitals may choose to no longer accept it.
According to Schowe, we need to prepare for “chaos” after the first of the year, when Obamacare kicks in. Given all this, “chaos” doesn’t seem like hyperbole.
Read “Five Things You CAN’T Keep Under Obamacare” in the Washington Examiner.
