Humana and the 2014 Affordable Care Act

[cereal_killer]

I'm really healthy and rarely, if ever, go to the doctor. I chose Humana for 2 reasons. Excellent rates and I ran out of patience with Blue Shield giving me the run around for 2 weeks in regards to policies. I had Blue Shield when I lived in Cali, you'd think it would be an easy transition to move over to Blue Shield Texas right? WRONG....

Anyhow I got a letter over the weekend that my policy will be updating due to the ACA (obviously) My options are Option A: keep my current plan (premium goes up $1.00) or enroll in Option B: which will include the 2014 ACA benefits.

Option B (ACA benefits) will include cutting my deductible in half and some other things (Essential Health Benefits) but it will cost me just over 2x as much. Same exact plan but deductible cut in half and EHB's.

I'm sticking with Option A (Keeping Current Policy) but I'm curious what others on Humana have gotten in the mail and what they are doing.

Thanks!

 

[Luddly Neddite]

We're staying with BCBS - for now, anyway.

As I've posted before, we've had two refunds/rebates, lower premium, some scrips are lower now and, no co-pay was charged in two recent doctor visits. I haven't seen anything about changes to our deductible.

I've got a fairly major surgery coming up in November - I'll post about any change in charges to me.

 

[cereal_killer]

Things may change next year for me, which hopefully is for the best. I spoke with them via phone yesterday and this time next year I'll get another letter from them with their ACA approved plans that I need to choose from. They said my premiums may go up or down they are not entirely sure.

Needless to say I will not be too happy if they are raised. At any rate, I'm fine for another year, I'll wait to see what happens in 2014 *fingers crossed*

 

[michael39301]

I have a Humana Medicare Advantage Plan, and it has been terrific. They deduct my premium from my S.S. check, so I never really miss it. I have not used it much in the first year and 5 months, but the times I did were very smooth. I pay a $20 copay for office visits ($30 for a specialist) and that's it. The rest is covered and paid in full by Humana, no questions asked. Plus I get a lot of free stuff, like free colonoscopy, free physical exam, etc. It is a great program.

 

[dr.d]

Things may change next year for me, which hopefully is for the best. I spoke with them via phone yesterday and this time next year I'll get another letter from them with their ACA approved plans that I need to choose from. They said my premiums may go up or down they are not entirely sure.

Needless to say I will not be too happy if they are raised. At any rate, I'm fine for another year, I'll wait to see what happens in 2014 *fingers crossed*

Thank u for bringing sanity to the ACA. Discussion...we too will be keeping our United Healthcare plan as it serves us well....At the same time, I am delighted when patients come to me telling that they finally have coverage they couldn't get before...either due to cost or a pre-existing medical condition.


Sent from my iPhone using USMessageBoard.com

 

[waltky]

Judge blocks Aetna's $34 billion Humana merger...

U.S. blocks health insurer Aetna's $34 billion Humana acquisition
Jan 23 2017 - A U.S. judge blocked on Monday health insurer Aetna Inc's proposed $34 billion acquisition of smaller peer Humana Inc, raising the stakes for rival Anthem Inc as it battles to close a $54 billion deal to buy Cigna Corp.

The ruling is another victory for the U.S. Justice Department, whose antitrust enforcement became much more aggressive during former U.S. President Barack Obama's eight years in office, which ended last week. Obama's successor, Donald Trump, and a Republican-controlled legislature are seeking to undo much of the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. The law reshaped the U.S. healthcare industry by mandating health insurance and creating online exchanges where consumers can shop for individual policies and get subsidies.

Aetna, Humana, Anthem and Cigna had cited Obamacare as one of the main reasons their industry needed to consolidate to cope with the costs of expanding coverage. Their shares ended trading on Monday at levels that suggested that investors continued to see little chance that the two mergers would happen. The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit last July to block Aetna's acquisition of Humana and Anthem's acquisition of Cigna, arguing that the two deals would lead to higher prices. Anthem and Cigna are still waiting for a judge to rule on whether their merger can proceed. Investors have long been skeptical that this deal can be approved, and Leerink Research analyst Ana Gupte reiterated on Monday that she expected to also see this deal blocked.

A trader points up at a display on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange​

In his ruling, Judge John Bates of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said the proposed deal would "substantially lessen competition" in the sale of Medicare Advantage plans in 364 counties in 21 states that the Justice Department had identified in its complaint, and on the Obamacare exchange in three Florida counties. "We're reviewing the opinion now and giving serious consideration to an appeal after putting forward a compelling case," Aetna spokesman T.J. Crawford said. Humana did not respond to a request for comment. Humana stands to receive a $1 billion breakup fee from Aetna should the deal be abandoned. Jeffrey Jacobovitz, a litigator at law firm Arnall Golden Gregory LLP, said that appeals at the D.C. Circuit succeed about one-third of the time and can take a year to resolve. He added that it would be difficult, though not impossible, for Aetna to wait for Trump's new antitrust enforcers to be named and then strike a settlement to save the merger, perhaps by offering to divest more assets.

Bates dismissed Aetna's argument that there was plenty of choice for consumers because Medicare Advantage, which is managed by insurance companies, competes with traditional Medicare for the elderly and disabled, which is managed by the government. "In that (Medicare Advantage) market, which is the primary focus of this case, the merger is presumptively unlawful - a conclusion that is strongly supported by direct evidence of head-to-head competition as well. The companies’ rebuttal arguments are not persuasive," Bates wrote in a 158-page decision. Humana shares ended trading up 2.2 percent at $205.02, as investors brushed off the widely expected ruling. Shares of Cigna, the other health insurer to be acquired, were almost flat at $145.31

SEVERAL DEALS TORPEDOED

 

[Manonthestreet]

ACA policy ,,,,twice as much......Gee that's not what was advertised was it