Just because the government is getting in on the act of this desperately needed reform doesn’t mean that available plans will be restricted. The same plans available to members of congress will be available to the public with reasonable premiums. There will be newly appointed trained experts and offices which will provide customer support. State-run exchanges will be available at affordable rates. Individuals will be able to competitively shop for policies. It would be like AT&T of yesterday and the market of telephone service providers today. AT&T was what you would call a monopoly. When one company monopolizes the business, which is great for business but not for the consumer, as they are left little choice when shopping for service. You either take it or leave it and when a company is able to monopolize the industry in such a way, then they are like highway bandits, charging excessively as they wish.
The administrations first strategy was to make the exchange on a national level, but unfortunately did not pass. Maybe some were feeling the disdain of government control; anyway it was left up to each state. The exchange would be run by either a government or non-profit agency. The government will provide money to each state for start-up cost. Now if any state refuses to implement this exchange plan then the government will have the right to step in and start the plan.
So do you fit the criteria of competitive shopping in this new exchange world? It is retirees who are not eligible for Medicare yet, for firms with 100 or less employees or individuals who want to insure themselves or is self employed. So if you do not fit the criteria you will continue with policies available to you now. Which may seem unfair but in comparison to individuals who pay between $500.00 and $1,200 in premiums it’s not great but it’s not bad either.
There will be oversight, hopefully more than there was for Wall Street. The exchange themselves will have an inspection division that would make sure the policies are in the best interest of the insured. Any price hikes by insurers will be audited for validity.
There will be 4 plan levels; Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze. I guess I will be running for the bronze or silver at most even if I come in first. “No, no, no, I’ll take the bronze thank you anyway, I still have to eat.” That’s what most people are probably thinking when they hear hierarchy level policy. Let’s see how drastic the pricing would be for the 4 levels. One good thing would be that there would be no monopolies and you would be able to go outside your exchange and shop.
