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Things that make me go hmm… Parsing the Insurance Cancellation Debate

Yesterday I got some good news. Aetna confirmed that I could continue to keep my grandfathered health insurance plan in 2014.  Here is the letter.

2013-11-14_06-44-51-Aetna 

It is kind of sad but all of the chaos surrounding health insurance cancellations heightened my fears. Despite the President making that conservative argument that if I like my insurance plan I could keep it, it became very important that I figure out what factors allowed me to keep my insurance plan beyond 2013. My trust that the President said what he meant and meant what he said is about zilch. I think the key factor can be found in the second paragraph. I had purchased my plan before March 23, 2010.

Coincidentally I received an email from www.ehealthinsurance.com that covered some of the factors that kept some people from keeping their insurance plans. Here is what they said. Once again the key factor appears to be when you purchased the plan.

AARP® Essential Premier Health Insurance Plan, insured by Aetna
For Non-Grandfathered members in: Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Washington D.C., Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri*, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina*, Tennessee, Texas, or Virginia –

Effective January 1, 2014, your current AARP® Essential Premier Health Insurance Plan, insured by Aetna will no longer be available. As a result of the many health coverage options and policies available under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), AARP will not be co-branding a 50-64 health insurance product in the 2014 Exchange marketplace.

Because your current co-branded plan was purchased after the passage of the ACA on March 23, 2010, it does not meet all the new standards required in 2014. As a result, you will need to select another plan with an effective date no later than January 1, 2014. You should have received more details from Aetna, including information about a December 1, 2013 option for an Aetna Individual Plan.

If you do not make a new plan selection by November 25, 2013, Aetna will automatically move you to an Affordable Care Act (ACA) qualified health plan (where available) so you have continuous coverage. You must continue to pay premiums on your current coverage through December 31, 2013. This change will go into effect on January 1, 2014.

Please note: There aren’t any Aetna 2014 ACA options available in Missouri and South Carolina. There is only an Aetna December 1, 2013 option.

For more information, please visit http://HealthInsurance.Aetna.com. Should you need help with enrollment, you can call Aetna directly at 888-352-1047, Monday ”“ Friday from 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. ET.

*There are no Aetna 2014 ACA options in Missouri and South Carolina only an Aetna December 1, 2013 option

Hmm… are the really saying if a person purchased AARP® Essential Premier Health Insurance Plan after March 23, 2010, their plan is being canceled even though the exact same plan exists for other people in the state.