There are large parts of the country where there are or were no exchange coverage policies available, failed state exchanges and other problems stacked up in the IRS and courts. Not being a lawyer I will not speculate on how and when that will change the law but wild cards are probable.What does it mean when an insurance company Opts Out of Obamacare? Does that mean they can't or won't write insurance in the state? If they're not part of the Obamacare network, what are the ramifications for a policy holder?
Specifically asking because Aetna just announced that in MA they may opt out of Obamacare, and I was simply curious?
There are two provisions of the ACA that are at work here. First, health insurers are free to join or not join the state or federal marketplaces as they see fit. This is usually the case currently when the news reports that a given carrier is "not participating" in a given state.
Second, the ACA requires that all health insurance meet certain standards to remain eligible for favorable tax treatment. The administration delayed this provision until 2015 to allow companies to renew non-compliant policies people already had.
Everyone is still free to buy any policy any company may offer no matter how crappy it is. For example, if next year you want to buy a policy that has a $25,000 annual deductible and does not cover cancer, heart disease, or metabolic disorders; you are free to do that. You just cannot claim the medical insurance premium for income tax purposes. Realistically, only a few hospital indemnity, accident policies and similar policies will survive without being modified to meet the ten standard requirements.
YIKES!
I was considering another approach. Instead of suing to stop ACA because it imposes too much. What if I sue that it doesn't cover EVERYONE with free to low cost health care
as I believe policy should do IF it is going to be universalized by federal govt.
It is not meeting 14th Amendment equal protections but leaving too many people out.
I believe for 100 a month, people could be fully covered if
* spiritual healing were required for all members seek free to low cost coverage
under a universal program (in order to maximize resources and minimalize waste)
* anyone convicted of premeditated crimes, violations or abuses would be required
to pay restitution or buy insurance to cover costs of their misconduct if they can't afford it
(ie only in cases where people commit some crime or violation where this is necessary)
* all people were required to learn conflict resolution, and also financial and property management to maximize their ability to cover their costs and not impose on others
* any and all restitution for crimes or related costs incurred to health and medical expenses, debts and damages to people or property, including administrative costs
would be paid to the victims and/or to the respective states to invest in converting prisons and building more teaching hospitals and medical schools and facilities to serving the public, including housing and health care combined in sustainable business districts.
If people do not believe in the same plan for universal care that I do, we have the right to fund our own plans without conflict or imposition by law. So I ask for equal freedom for people like me of different standards and beliefs than ACA to have equal freedom to fund and develop our own choices for health care, which I recommend organizing by party.