So The Stranger doesn't provide health insurance?

I was able to access the website (wahealthplanfinder.org) yesterday and compare plans. It looks like I can get better coverage than I have now for less money (and stay at my current provider, Group Health).
I was unable to login, though, after creating an account. So I'll wait a few more days and try again.

@1 Where did I say that? The Stranger provides insurance. For reporters. Who are paid to do things, like, check out insurance exchanges that don't necessarily apply directly to them.

@1 Health insurance shouldn't be dependent on employment status, regardless.

The exchange site has been a nightmare over the past several days, but it seems to be working okay now. I'll chalk that up to early bugs that have now been resolved.

As a family that will be unable to receive any subsidy, our rates will be going up for even the most basic Bronze level of coverage by at least $40/mo (the cheapest premium). However, that comes with the addition of maternity coverage (which was super expensive before), and possibly other things; I'll have to compare side-by-side with our existing plan to be sure.

For someone that doesn't have a great handle on how all of the copay/deductible/coinsurance/out-of-pocket works in every situation, the exchange website isn't all that helpful, and I'm having to go to the *.PDFs for each plan to get a better understanding. It seems to be a good start, but I think it still needs some work.

I'm still digging in to the details of the plans, so I'll report back when I understand all of our options more.

I currently have Group Health and see the comparable plans as working out just slightly more expensive in the new system, once I take into account that GH is no longer going to provide dental so I'll have to get that separate.

The big difference I'm seeing is that there are four plans available to me: GH, Premera, BridgeSpan (aka Cambia nee Regence), and LifeWise. Last time I looked several years ago neither Regence or Premera had competitive individual offerings. I'm unfamiliar with LifeWise.

As a small business I'm disappointed the exchange doesn't offer any plans in Washington state, except a couple that seep over into the Vancouver area from Oregon. But, at least the medal ratings give us a reasonable way to identify what plans we will pay for where it was somewhat hand wavy before.

I also want to give a shout out to BridgeSpan for their achingly stupid name. I would not be excited to switch to an insurance company I know nothing about. Hiding the fact that BridgeSpan is related to Regence seems incredibly shortsighted to me. Or was Regence's reputation that bad?

One thing people REALLY REALLY (REALLY) need to do is click on the "more information about this plan" link and see what those deductibles apply to.

For most of the silver plans I saw, it does not apply to many preventative and wellness services, meaning you can just pay the coinsurance/copays for the services young people need the most. So well it may be an extra 20-40 bucks a month, you likely will not ever meet that deductible, unless something horrible happens to you.

Also, when you go into the coverage calculator section, keep in mind that the "total cost" equation includes what the plan pays. It is not just what you have to pay.

If you are not 100% sure on what everything means and how it applies to you, get someone to help you, the government has resources for you to use.

It is not just the deductible amount but what it applies to. You have to include these details if you want to be informative on this issue Goldy.

I will pay over $100/month LESS and my deductible, coinsurance, copays, and prescription prices all went down, and I get to stay with Group Health. For $80 less a month, I can get a plan that was comparable to individual plans WA insurers offered 5 years ago and have mutated into exorbitant piles of shit.

Single, 33, Independent contractor for most of my adult life. Even though I can't really afford it, I buy good health plans because I don't want to end up bankrupt if I get cancer. Strike that, I don't want my PARENTS to go bankrupt if I get cancer, because it will most definitely destroy my finances.

Anyway, I'm pretty damn happy with the new plans :D

So this might be a dumb question, but if I put in myself and my wife as a household, is the number that comes up meant to be the total we'd pay for the two of us, or per person? I couldn't find a clear answer to that anywhere on the site.

@3, 4 I thought one was only able to qualify for government subsidy and / or buying insurance through the exchange if you did not have an employer provided insurance plan. I do and for that reason have not throughly investigated any "Obamacare" alternatives. Also, I missed where in the posting Goldy said he was using a hypothetical situation. It read to me as though he was going to submit an application. Admittedly, I read the post quickly.

@10: All costs should be for the plan itself, so that is the total you would pay for both of you.

@11: You are also free to decline healthcare coverage through your job if you feel you could get a better deal through the exchanges.

But I doubt you can, unless you work for a company that gives you a really crap deal on your insurance.

@6 Is Regence bad? My plan covered a very expensive and unplanned major medical event very well, including specialists, followup procedures, and so on. I have the no-copay plan and can see a specialist without a referral.
I'm just curious what your opinion is.

@10 For the two of you. But include your total household income as well. These are individual/family policies.

But you're right. The doesn't make that explicitly clear.

Now that the exchange is up, I've begun to notice an economic slowdown. Also, more people dying the streets, crying out for medical care. A lot of people fleeing the country. And wait, Swedish is closing down? Shit!

One thing I am surprised is that you don't see all the available individual plan options on WAHealthPlanFinder.org. I was looking for something comparable to the plan I had with Group Health up until a few months ago; all I see on the WA site is HMO plans, but going directly through Group Health's site it turns out they still have POS plans for a little bit more a month. You can't get the tax credit benefit buying directly through Group Health, but it would be good to know there are other options.

If I got a similar POS plan, it looks like my annual costs for medical coverage including premium and copays would be about the same without any tax credits - about $5200. But the copays for primary care went from $30 to $10 in the 2014 plan, and $50 to $15 for specialists, which would have been more incentive for me to see my therapist more often.

The main thing I loved about Group Health was that I never got billed for lab fees or physician fees after a visit - it was so much easier to find out how much something would cost than with other insurance I've had in the past. Also I never had to deal with getting my doctor to send a letter of medical necessity to my insurance provider to get my head meds covered.

There are so many factors besides monthly costs and deductibles - tangible and intangible - that are hard to take into consideration when shopping for health insurance. I don't know if WaHealthPlanFinder.org will help new health insurance buyers find the best plan for them and their needs.

Do you have to be married to be counted as one household?

Regarding deductibles, I had what would be considered a Gold plan with Group Health - the deductible was $1750, but in 2014 will be $500. I never used up the deductible when going through the GHC clinics, but that and the lower copays are a definite improvement.

@20 - You only include household size and income as would be reported on your tax return. So if you're not in a marriage legally recognized by the federal government, only include your income.

@20 Your household is your household by IRS standards: spouse and legal dependents.

More than anything else, this makes me feel lucky to get extremely high quality coverage through my job. Until the birth of my child last week, I was paying $105 in premiums with a $200 deductible. Now I'm paying $140 with the same deductible after our child is added. And the birth, which featured three lovely nights in the birth center, was free.

Someday I hope America can begin to offer that sort of coverage without forcing people to be tied to whatever job they may have. I could probably do more rewarding work elsewhere, but frankly I don't want to lose my health insurance!

If your employer offers insurance and it passes the affordability test (premiums of 9.5% or less of gross income and acturial benefits valued at 60% or greater), than you're required to accept it, or purchase insurance on the exchange, but you won't be eligible for any subsidies. It's unfortunate that affordability doesn't necessary equate to comparative affordability.

How do the marketplaces work for same-se…

Does it bother you that NONE of Swedish Hospital, Polyclinic, UW Medical Center, Harborview or Seattle Cancer Care Alliance are providers on the Premera Exchange plans? That same list holds true with Bridgespan with the exception of UW and Harborview. But Bridgespan has a much shorter doctor list in general. Both of these plans only cover about 50% of doctors typically covered in plans.

And BTW, Bridgespan is NOT Regence. Regence and Bridgespan are owned by Cambria Healthcare. Bridgespan is not a Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliate.

I would think the lack of doctor coverage would be news. The media doesn't appear to want to report it. And it is a HUGE deal, especially with the hospitals. If you use services outside of your network (even Emergency), your costs are UNLIMITED. The ACA has some provision for requiring the insurance companies pay a decent reimbursement for ER, however, the hospitals can bill you for what the insurance doesn't allow. Isn't this news -- to anyone?

It apparently IS news to Children's Hospital. They are suing because of it. But the rest of the news doesn't seem to want to report it.

Does it bother you that NONE of Swedish Hospital, Polyclinic, UW Medical Center, Harborview or Seattle Cancer Care Alliance are providers on the Premera Exchange plans? That same list holds true with Bridgespan with the exception of UW and Harborview. But Bridgespan has a much shorter doctor list in general. Both of these plans only cover about 50% of doctors typically covered in plans.

And BTW, Bridgespan is NOT Regence. Regence and Bridgespan are owned by Cambria Healthcare. Bridgespan is not a Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliate.

I would think the lack of doctor coverage would be news. The media doesn't appear to want to report it. And it is a HUGE deal, especially with the hospitals. If you use services outside of your network (even Emergency), your costs are UNLIMITED. The ACA has some provision for requiring the insurance companies pay a decent reimbursement for ER, however, the hospitals can bill you for what the insurance doesn't allow. Isn't this news -- to anyone?

It apparently IS news to Children's Hospital. They are suing because of it. But the rest of the news doesn't seem to want to report it.

Sorry for the double post...and this post, which makes 3! ;-).

Tried to sign up online about 2 1/2 weeks ago and ran into problems. I could not figure out what the problem was or how to resolve them. So, I met with navigator about 2 weeks ago and filled out an application. Now, it turns out that I cannot connect with the navigator online, therefore he is unable to finish the application.

The navigator and I have called the wahealthplanfinder several times and can't get through. Most often the call is rejected due to high call volumes.

This is an operational mess. Who is politically responsible for the portal?

I am applying as head-of-household of a family of four, my wife is German legally in the US on a green card for the last 25 years, and WAHealthplanfinder is not working for me AT ALL! I've been trying for the last three weeks to sign up completely and successfully. They are asking for a boatload of bizarre documentation -- including a signed notarized letter that I write stating that I am not currently in jail! And then when I submit that documentation, nothing happens. I try to call, and no one answer the phone. I mail them the documentation, and they do not acknowledge receiving it. When I ask question by email I don't get any reply, or when I do they say "Well, its been a week since you asked your question so we assume that someone else has already answered your question by now." If and when I do get signed up completely and successfully then only the most expensive plan (Community Health Plan of Washington) allows my family to keep our existing doctors and clinics. This plan costs us $1700 a month compared to $1300 a month we have paid in previous years on a plan which we understand Premera will be discontinuing next year -- now that Obamacare is "there for us."

Don't get me wrong, I'm a Democrat, I'm all for universal health care -- we've used is very successfully and very easily when visiting Europe -- but, Washington State's system is absolutely NOT working for our family!

We have been trying to obtain the Insurance Rammed down our throats since Dec 19th, 2013, my wife had insurance and it became null & void 12/31/13. To this day 3/1/14 we STILL DO NOT HAVE INSURANCE Coverage. This is a JOKE!!! Contacted (e-mail) Washington State Office of Insurance Commission and they sent me a reply back to my complaint that WA Health Plan Finder does not answer to anyone, Imagine That???
This Trainwreck is exactly that!!!
Wife had to Cold Turkey off of Rx's meds that your suppose to be weined off and we were told to pay up front and then get reimbursed when coverage takes effect??? Out of a $757 check we pay $480+ for premiums which we have paid 3 premiums already and NO COVERAGE (no card-and the Insurance provider does not acknowledge us as being insured with them YET???
Have made numerous attempts to get answers, and being put on hold for hours on end and all we are told, is they are "Sorry" yeah they are Sorry a Sorry excuse for Health Plans... Ask to be called back by a supervisor almost a week ago, and imagine that, NO ONE has made an attempt to call us back...
This is just the beginning of a system that does not work, if not insured by next premium due date guess we will just take the hit and say "F" IT!!! At least she will be able to pay for Rx's...
NOT A Happy American with the system at ALL!!!