Questions On Health Insurance

[Kateri89]

It is officially open enrollment time at work for employees to pick a new insurance plan.  Now I'm curious if anyone on here has had a chance to look through the different plans (gold, silver, bronze, etc) and could tell me where I can quickly and easily find what is covered under, say, "preventive health services" or "maternal health"? I'm aware of the HHS Mandate and the obvious, associated moral dilemmas.  What I'm curious to know is, if all the insurance plans cover contraception and abortion services, and if I'm subsequently fined for opting not to have health insurance because of this, would the money I pay in fines still be used for said services?  And is the fine adjusted based on the individual's yearly income or is it a standard amount for any individual who opts out of a health insurance plan?

[CrossCuT]

Hey Srkateri!

The ACA doesn't determine what services are covered under all insurance providers plans. There are some bare essentials of course, but those are offered in pretty much every plan anyway.

If you are covered by your employer, you need to contact them directly in order to answer your questions. This is the same way it always has been, and the ACA does nothing to affect that.

On the birth control note, your employer is required to offer birth control coverage on every plan, but that doesn't mean the employee has to use it

 

 

 

[KnightofChrist]

You will have to do a lot of research on your own, because many of the plans will subsidize abortions and contraception, and not inform you this is the case. Below are two articles that explain the dangers of going into the exchanges.
 
How Obamacare Will Subsidize Abortion
 
Subsidized Abortions Will Be Offered in State Health Exchanges

[Basilisa Marie]

Good luck trying to find what the fine money will be used for - I did some google searches and couldn't find it. The only thing I could find was from this article, http://www.healthbeatblog.com/2012/08/the-affordable-care-acts-penalty-if-you-dont-buy-health-insurance-in-2014how-much-will-you-pay/

 

 

 

Why is the penalty so high? Because if a healthy wealthy person decides to opt out–and then later becomes sick– he will be able to change his mind and buy insurance. The point of the Affordable Care Act is to make sure that everyone has access to healthcare; no one will be barred from the system.  At the same time, it’s not fair to let someone wait until they are sick before entering the insurance pool while others have been paying into that pool for years.  So those who choose not to buy coverage will pay penalties in lieu of premiums –and those taxes will keep our health care system afloat. 

 

So I think the penalty goes toward paying for health care and health insurance programs.  I don't think there's really any way to figure out if it's not going to pay for abortions or contraception. 

 

The fine for 2014 is 1% of your income or $95, whichever is higher.  2015 it'll be 2% or $325, and 2016 it'll be 2.5% or $695. After that it'll increase at a rate tied to the cost of living. 

[CrossCuT]

"[Opting out of Obamacare and paying the fine] is cheaper and better for you. Not only do you get to pay a fine, but you dont get insurance. Its like renting instead of buying and then not getting a place to live."

 

 

 

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/429446/october-01-2013/adorable-care-act---generation-opportunity

 

[Basilisa Marie]

Oh and FWIW, the IRS can't throw you in jail or anything like that for not paying the fine.  

 

The most they can do is sue you for twice the amount, and withhold your income tax return. 

[dUSt]

Oh and FWIW, the IRS can't throw you in jail or anything like that for not paying the fine.

Well, they can't until they decide they can. So there's that.

[Anastasia13]

Well, they can't until they decide they can. So there's that.

 

The government surely would not without money from hardworking individuals who aren't (monetarily) wealthy. No one ever let's that happen...

[Kateri89]

 

Hey Srkateri!

The ACA doesn't determine what services are covered under all insurance providers plans. There are some bare essentials of course, but those are offered in pretty much every plan anyway.

If you are covered by your employer, you need to contact them directly in order to answer your questions. This is the same way it always has been, and the ACA does nothing to affect that.

On the birth control note, your employer is required to offer birth control coverage on every plan, but that doesn't mean the employee has to use it

 

 

I know I don't have to use birth control but if I purchase a plan which offers *free* birth control (which is obviously not free but paid for by us) including abortifacients, I'm essentially paying for others to utilize abortifacients; thus, the basis for the entire controversy surrounding the HHS mandate.

 

From the USCCB website:

 

The federal mandate is much more sweeping than existing state mandates. Employers can 

generally avoid the contraceptive mandates in 28 states by self-insuring their prescription drug 

coverage, dropping that part of their coverage altogether, or opting for regulation under a federal 

law (ERISA) that pre-empts state law. The HHS mandate closes off all these avenues of relief. 

 

I work for a Catholic hospital which in the past has not included contraceptive coverage in the healthcare plans so this is a change for me.  I've been doing research on the plans offered but it would probably be easier and faster simply to get in direct contact with my employer to find out specifics.  I was merely asking whether anyone else had started looking at the new healthcare plans and if so, what have they discovered in regards to the services covered and has anyone considered opting out? I obviously don't want to forego having health insurance but I can't in good conscience pay for contraceptives/abortifacients/sterilizations, etc.  Thoughts, anyone?

[morostheos]

The thing that makes the "who is paying for the contraception" question tricky is that insurance companies actually save money by offering free contraception, because it is much cheaper than pregnancy. So the ethical question is not really "is my money paying for that?" but instead "does my plan provide that?" Under ACA, the answer will always be yes.

[CrossCuT]

Srkateri, do you know what insurance provider the hospital you work for goes through?

[Maggyie]

Having health insurance is an important part of being responsible and safe-guarding the life God has given you. If there is an option that doesn't include the nasty stuff you should take it, even if you have to pay more. But please don't turn down coverage that has this stuff if it's your only option! I have worked at a series of Fortune 500 companies and I have never had health insurance that didn't cover contraception, tubal ligation and abortion. I have never used that portion of the coverage obviously. But I did use the portion of the coverage that caught a pre-cancerous condition before it galloped into something REALLY bad.

 

You can call the health insurance company directly (like if your provider is going to be Aetna, you would call Aetna) and ask what is covered. My company has a "healthcare concierge line" that we can call but I don't know if that's a special number just for employees of our company since it's such a large workforce. You do have to know what the name of the plan is that's being offered, before you call.

[CrossCuT]

Having health insurance is an important part of being responsible and safe-guarding the life God has given you. If there is an option that doesn't include the nasty stuff you should take it, even if you have to pay more. But please don't turn down coverage that has this stuff if it's your only option! I have worked at a series of Fortune 500 companies and I have never had health insurance that didn't cover contraception, tubal ligation and abortion. I have never used that portion of the coverage obviously. But I did use the portion of the coverage that caught a pre-cancerous condition before it galloped into something REALLY bad.

 

You can call the health insurance company directly (like if your provider is going to be Aetna, you would call Aetna) and ask what is covered. My company has a "healthcare concierge line" that we can call but I don't know if that's a special number just for employees of our company since it's such a large workforce. You do have to know what the name of the plan is that's being offered, before you call.

 

This.

 

I was just discussing it earlier with my boyfriend.

I kept thinking that if we had NO other options, and while healthcare is still incredibly important, I dont think God or the church can fault us for going with a plan even if birth control is covered. 

If there is truly no other option than there is no fault on our end because at the end of the day, everyone deserves healthcare. 

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

Well, they can't until they decide they can. So there's that.

 

 

That would be sad, people going to jail for a misdemeanor.

[Isidore_of_Seville]

The thing that makes the "who is paying for the contraception" question tricky is that insurance companies actually save money by offering free contraception, because it is much cheaper than pregnancy. So the ethical question is not really "is my money paying for that?" but instead "does my plan provide that?" Under ACA, the answer will always be yes.

 

You are correct with one exception. In terms of whether or not your money is indirectly paying for contraception, the ACA doesn't actually change 99% of that. The only thing it really changes (in some cases) is who is paying for it. I'll explain.

 

If you already have health insurance, which 85% of Americans do, your money (or your employers money), is already going towards paying for contraception whether you use it or not, and whether your employers offer it or not. Almost every health insurance provider in the country has at least one (usually several) coverage plan(s) that include contraceptive coverage; and now with the contraceptive mandate, the very few insurers that don't offer it will now have to (this is the 1% I was talking about). That means that no matter how you get your insurance, whether your employer pays for it or you pay for it, every single healthcare provider will be using any money they collect from anyone to cover contraception.

 

In summary...

 

Before ACA: 99% of people with insurance were helping to fund contraceptive coverage.

After ACA: 100%

 

At this point, I think it's best to heed the advice of Maggie, with one exception.

 

 

 

Having health insurance is an important part of being responsible and safe-guarding the life God has given you. If there is an option that doesn't include the nasty stuff you should take it, even if you have to pay more.

 

The one exception is that you shouldn't waste money paying more for a plan that doesn't offer contraceptive coverage, because your money is being used the same way no matter what you do, so always opt for the most cots effective choice that provides the coverage you need.