U.S. Health-Freedom Life: Will "Secure Advantage" Be Legal After 2013?

[AllenChicago]

You may be onto something. I really wonder what GR-UHC is up to. I heard recent news that UHC might be in some exchanges, and I wondered if perhaps GR would not be in the exchanges but UHC might??? I can't wait until we hear more about alternative plans that skirt some of the most expensive parts of Obamacare. If they are truly comprehensive in scope instead of limited benefit, I'm happy.

Yep..in fact, the state of Maryland confirmed today that both UnitedHealth and Aetna will be in their state Exchange. But to the best of my knowledge, the ACA law didn't state that if a holding company is listed in the exchange, that their subsidiaries had to follow the same rule(s) as the parent. Or, perhaps it varies from state to state? i.e. If UHC is not on the Arizona exchange, then they are free to market whatever plans they want to in Arizona. The Republican proposal to allow purchasing of health insurance across state lines was not included in the Affordable Care Act.

In fact Ann, there a Holding Company right in your state that owns up to 4 smaller health insurance companies at any given time. The holding company shifts sales from one company to the next to avoid the MLR in any given state.
-ac
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Does that mean that indemnity plans can be sold on the private IFP market, though?

I've heard it said that large group's minimum essential coverage can be bare bones, even something similar to the mini-meds this law was trying to replace.

Ann, you are probably remembering the LifeHealthPro online magazine article from a couple of months ago.

Ref: How minimal can PPACA-required coverage be? | LifeHealthPro

"But, to avoid paying the new PPACA uninsured penalty tax, an individual worker simply needs some kind of minimum essential coverage from the employer, not necessarily coverage through the plan that meets the PPACA minimum actuarial value standards, Holloway said."

-ac

 

[Ann H]

Yes. That was what I was remembering.

If this is all correct, then PPACA was made with a hole in the bottom. If MEC can be bare-bones and it will make Employers and Individuals avoid the penalty, then we are back to "how low can you go" market spirals. I sure hope insurers see the fallacy and create products that capitalize on this loophole yet are not a race to the bottom.

 

[Yagents]

Ruh roh...........a few companies mentioned. Get rid of these plans already, and get rid of the agents selling them incorrectly. They give us all a bad name.

Colorado targets misleading marketing for limited benefit health plans - The Denver Post