One of the concerns about health insurance shopping is a lack of choices, especially in the individual market. We are one of just two plans on healthcare.gov still offering plans across Louisiana, even as other health plans have dropped out over the past few years
Sometimes we get emails and communications from our members that project a ton of uncertainty and fear. Like this one:
Every two weeks, I have the distinct pleasure of speaking to a group of Blue Cross’ newest hires in a class we call Health Insurance 101. The crux of the lesson is a simple one: What’s the point of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana? Why are we here?
Early in 2009, my boss directed me to become an expert on the ongoing negotiations in Washington, D.C. that eventually became the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), signed into law on March 23, 2010.
As I sit here in mid-April, I can’t help but think of all the times in the past four years I’ve been confronted by folks who got HUGE tax bills at the end of the year because they bought their health insurance on healthcare.gov, made some errors computing their income and got hit with a surprise bill. This is a great time to review how the Advanced PremiumTax Credits on healthcare.gov work and how to avoid getting nailed with a huge tax bill at the end of the year.
Age is a big factor in how much medical care people are expected to use. But the ACA made the ratio between how much we are allowed to charge a 64-year-old versus a 21-year-old too small. Mike Bertaut breaks it down in this new video that helps explain why young people are being priced out of the market and driving up costs for everyone else.
