# My health care / Anthem - Blue Cross Blue Shield



## Dargo

As many here know, my oldest daughter has had 2 brain surgeries in the last couple of years.  One in Indy and the other at Harvard.  During that time I had 2 knee surgeries and one shoulder surgery.  It still cost me a LOT out of pocket because I had $5k deductible per person and then 80/20 after that with NO dental or vision.

My son is coming off my policy since he is now active military and my injuries are considered "completed" with no further care needed.  However, Mel's brain issue is still very much an issue and I think about it every day.  Riley's, Methodist in Indy, Harvard, John Hopkins and Mayo have no real diagnosis, therefore, no real cure.

Soooo, *I got a letter Monday from my Anthem telling me that I now will have $10k deductible and my premiums are going up to $1700 per month!!*   Holy shit Batman!  Two years ago it was less than $700 a month with $2000 deductible.  With Melanie's condition a "non-resolved" health issue, no other insurer will even give me a quote.  So, I'm paying over $20,000 a year in premiums and at least $5000 more (if it's just one person) before they pay dollar one.  On top of making damn sure I paid Harvard and all the physicians for her treatment last year, this $25,000 out of pocket per year before anything is covered just seems like a kick in the teeth!   Worse, I'm stuck with that.  Literally my best financial move would be to have her renounce her citizenship and then she would be treated and, with no assets, not have to pay anything.  That's sad.  I'm not going to do that.  I try to do what's right and I get, metaphorically speaking, raped on health insurance.

The only positive is, even with constant headaches and double vision at times, Mel has pretty well made up two years of college, taking the hardest courses for pre-med, in one year and has continued with her perfect 4.0 GPA.  With her working that hard, I'll be damned if I don't do my part to help in any way I can.  It may be a long shot, but she has gotten the attention of several professors and physicians at Harvard.  If she finishes undergrad in 3 years, with her health problems, and scores well on the MCAT, she could possibly get into Harvard med school.  If she does, I'll work until I'm 100 years old to pay her tuition there for her!!  At the rate I'm going, I may be paying a hundred grand a year for health insurance by then.  I'll just switch it and cover her med school if it comes to that.  If _anyone_ deserves to get into Harvard Med school, after all she's been through, I certainly feel Mel does.  I'm keeping my rants on what it's costing me for health care away from her.  She has more than enough on her plate without worrying about that right now!

Okay, rant off....


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## thcri RIP

Trade ya,  I am paying $2,300 per month with a 5k policy.  Minnesota is one of the more expensive states due to no Pre existing conditions


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## Dargo

thcri said:


> Trade ya,  I am paying $2,300 per month with a 5k policy.  Minnesota is one of the more expensive states due to no Pre existing conditions



My math is wrong at the bottom (digging ditches by hand does that to me), so it looks like we are very similar since I have a $10k deductible now with my new higher premium.

This will really suck if, instead of retiring at age 55 as I've planned since I was about 16, I have to ask my wife to get a job outside the home instead.  I figured that raising 5 kids was more than a full time job and made sure she never had to work after we had our 2nd born.

I really hadn't planned on it, but at this rate I may have to divide up a 175 acre parcel of land I have into 3 acre subdivision lots.  A guy directly across from my property did so and sold out at $10k per lot.  Obviously I'm partial, but I honestly do think my property has more character with 11 lakes and rolling topography whereas his was pretty well just a flat wooded area.


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## Dargo

thcri said:


> Trade ya,  I am paying $2,300 per month with a 5k policy.  Minnesota is one of the more expensive states due to no Pre existing conditions



Question, and you don't have to be specific if you don't want (obviously); is your property taxes on land pretty high too?  In IN, unless it's your actual homestead parcel, they kill you on property taxes.  That's the part that hurts so much with holding on to large parcels (in my mind 175 acres is large; to some it's a dot) of land is the financial drain of property taxes.

I really don't see how young couples who inherit nothing (like my wife and I) can afford to live.  It takes what I consider a scary amount of money each month to keep my little world turning and I don't owe a penny on anything.  If I had to make payments on something, man, that would really squeeze me hard.  I don't care who is president, our tax code that has 'hidden' tax increases for us small business owners is pure bullshit!  By 'hidden' tax increases, I'm talking about not being able to deduct kids, medical expenses etc., that most people automatically think you can deduct.  It seems that about the only thing that isn't "phased out" is my tax bill each year!  Most people don't understand that the percentage reported as my tax percentage is really NOT a true reflection of the percentage I paid because I lose so many deductions.


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## jimbo

My congratulations to your daughter.  You are right.  Hard work in spite of problems should pay off at some point.


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## Danang Sailor

Dargo,

You have my sympathy on the cost of health insurance; my sister is getting reamed as well.  If you haven't looked into the new
Pre-Existing Condition Insurance it might be worth a peek:
http://www.pre-existing-health-insurance.com/?ptv1=ps-ms-4930-g-mb3fGQEq


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## Dargo

I have now spent (wasted) just over 64 hours of my time trying to obtain health insurance for me and my family since 10/16/2013; when I was told my health insurance I'd had for decades was going to be terminated 1/1/14 because it did not meet Obama's standards. GRR!  The company where I applied, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Indiana, is *not taking phone calls from customers at this time* and I have *no health insurance coverage of any sort since 1/1/2014!*

I have been a licensed agent for health insurance since the early 90's and know the product and process quite well.  At most, it took me maybe a couple of hours to get a company setup for insurance back when I sold the product.  Now, with a verifiable history of intimate knowledge of the product and process, it should be reason for impeachment of Obama because an insurance professional cannot obtain a simple individual policy that also covers immediate family members in OVER 60 hours of time!!  What *really* makes this scenario a disaster is the fact that I paid for January 2014 coverage back on 12/14/2014, and have a copy of the receipt where I paid and also a canceled check!!  *However,* yesterday I received a letter telling me that my "application is being terminated" because I have failed to pay for the first month's coverage!!  WTF?!  It was paid in full OVER a month ago and I have copies of a receipt AND a copy of a canceled check!!  However, there is *no ability for customers to call Anthem!*

Anthem shut off ALL call centers nearly a month ago and, since then, I've emailed them 5 different times without a single reply!  My question for anyone is; What can I do?!  I've jumped through every flaming hoop, waited countless hours on hold, had my case 'escalated' a dozen times and thought I finally got through the entire mess only to discover that they literally just stole my money and are terminating my application!  With no ability to call them, what can I do?!  My physician (new one; old one quit after this shit started) tried to electronically check to see if I had coverage and reported to me that I have no coverage; even though I have a clear receipt showing where my application was accepted and where I paid for coverage!

Help!!


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## Kane

*Write or Call the White House*

 President Obama is committed to creating the most open and accessible  administration in American history.  That begins with taking comments  and questions from you, the public, through our website.

*Call the President*

*Phone Numbers*

 Comments: 202-456-1111
 Switchboard: 202-456-1414

*TTY/TTD*

 Comments: 202-456-6213
 Visitor's Office: 202-456-2121

*Write a letter to the President*

 Here are a few simple things you can do to make sure your message gets to the White House as quickly as possible.

*1. *If possible, email us!  This is the fastest way to get your message to President Obama.

*2. *If you write a letter, please consider typing it on an 8 1/2  by 11 inch sheet of paper. If you hand-write your letter, please  consider using pen and writing as neatly as possible.

*3. *Please include your return address on your letter as well as  your envelope. If you have an email address, please consider including  that as well.

*4. *And finally, be sure to include the full address of the White  House to make sure your message gets to us as quickly and directly as  possible:

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500


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## Adillo303

Kane - I have to ask. Do you really think any of that will help? I mean really down drop inside you?


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## Dargo

Nobody cares. Government workers have their coverage so, literally, the could not possibly care less about the tens of millions of us who have become uninsured because of Obama and his total incompetence. Have you seen the media outlets talking about the millions who have become uninsured?  No?  That's because they won't cover it or their FCC license may not be renewed next time it's due. We now truly live in a dictatorship. It will take a 4 star with some balls to stop the demise of our country. Five years ago would you have ever believed tens of millions would become uninsured AND one of the largest insurers would close all of their phone centers?!


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## Kane

Adillo303 said:


> Kane - I have to ask. Do you really think any of that will help? I mean really down drop inside you?



We've been asking Doc for years to get us a sarcasm emoticon. Then posts like that would make sense.


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## Dargo

Pardon my language, but my 'give a dam' broke a long time ago.  Just since my last post, I've *wasted* just over 7 more hours trying to get healthcare coverage for me and my family with zero success!

What just irritates the living fuck out of me is that I fucking paid for coverage, supposedly to begin 1/1/2014 at 12:01am, right as my healthcare coverage that I've had for almost 2 decades was terminated because it did not meet or moron in chief's standards!  WELL, even though I have written proof from BCBS that I fucking paid for January 2014's coverage in full as of 12/14/2013, the mother fuckers tell me that I did not pay for coverage and that is why I have no coverage!  I went to the doctor towards the end of this month and, to no surprise, I was informed by the doctor AND the hospital that I have NO healthcare coverage!

Now get this; Tuesday I get a mother fucking letter from BCBS telling me that if I do not *immediately* pay for February's premium, my application will be terminated!!!   What the fuck?!!!  *So now the roughly $2000 I fucking paid for January's coverage (for which I got nothing) is just considered some sort of fucking tip?!*  If that isn't enough to make your blood pressure soar after the months I've spent to try to prevent this fucking disaster, it gets even worse!!  *Anthem BCBS literally has shut off their entire customer support phone system!!  Even if I wanted to just piss away $2000 for no coverage for January, there is literally NO possible way I can even pay them for February!!*  Holy shit!!  

A couple of weeks ago they shut off their fucking customer support because they were "overwhelmed" with millions of people trying to call them because they had lost their coverage 1/1/2014.  So, shutting off any possible way for people to contact the insurance company is somehow supposed to help?!!  Now if you call the phone number on the back of any BCBS card and go through enough stupid human tricks to actually either try to speak to someone or make an "automated payment", the fucking system says *"Due to the bad weather, all call centers are closed.  Please try to call again at a later date". * *WHAT IN THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?!!!  WHY, WHY, WHY IS THIS NOT THE LEAD STORY OF EVERY SINGLE NEWS REPORT IN OUR ENTIRE COUNTRY?!*

It's bad enough that it's totally fucked and Michelle O hired some jerkwater dirtbags she is friends with to run the website that is the pillar of Odumbo's administration!  Rather than pull the plug and hire a REAL company, the fucking Obamas literally let America swinging in the breeze for a couple of months, paying hundreds of millions to dumb fucks who are not qualified to create a website to sell basketballs!  Now hundreds of millions are uninsured, our largest insurers claim they were not given any information ahead of time so they are just going to fucking do nothing and, in the interim, NOTHING is happening!!

*Literally, Obama should not only be impeached over this, but he and his fugly wife should be jailed for a LONG time!*  Never mind the fact that Odumbo is a "constitutional lawyer" who totally fails to comprehend the separation of powers and what the legislative branch is to do and what the executive branch is to do and has proceeded to totally trample our constitution, the stupid fucker is literally laughing that he exempted himself and his family from this healthcare cluster fuck and NOBODY is holding his fucking feet to the fire for ANYTHING!!!

I *NEVER* thought I'd seriously say this, but I literally am getting prices on homes and property outside the United States.  This is fucking nuts!!  I really don't care who reads this; Hey Obama, FUCK YOU, you Communist bastard!!


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## BigAl RIP

So what you are saying is your interested in my home in Panama ?

    I think a family of 4 can get major medical for around $100 a month . Did I tell you the John Hopkins Hospital is in Panama City as well as 4 other major name hospitals .


   All kidding  aside , Obama is the downfall of America .


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## Snowtrac Nome

we have a new company plan because blue cross wasn't compliant, now this web tpa is really dicked up none of our local doctors are on the web tpa list so we have to get pre authorization to visit a dr. the reality is Obama care is fucking everybody in the end the insurance company's aren't going broke and the working people will once a gain fill in the slack for the lazy. I'm betting if blue cross didn't have these new financial burdens associated with Obama care they would never have changed your plan and came looking for more money.


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## Dargo

I wonder if I can get anyone in politics interested in my case.  After I proved, with Anthem's own receipt, that I had in fact paid for coverage last year, they finally sent me a notice saying that my application had officially been accepted as of 1/29/2014.  *However,* the thieving incompetent pricks insist that my premium of over $2000 be considered payment for January; _literally, the last 3 days of that month!!_  Honest to goodness, I'll post their damn letter here!  They literally expect me to say "Uh, okay, thank you" for screwing up, refusing all medical claims my daughter incurred (that I had to pay for on the spot with my credit card) as late as 1/21/2014, and then literally charging me $691.33 *per day* for the last 3 days in January!!

Pardon me for being upset, but fuck them!!  I ended up spending over 91 hours of my time during a 4 month time frame to get butt fucked by the morons at Anthem!  I suppose I need to find a few hundred who had the same thing happen except the huge amount of money Anthem stole for a few days of coverage _is completely from the taxpayers._  I'm 100% positive that happened because the dumbasses at Anthem admitted as much!  Anyone think that will get a politician's attention?

After I've wasted this much time with the totally fucked up system, I'm not about to let it drop and have them steal over $2000 from me!  Fuck that!  I paid for nearly a thousand in medical bills out of my pocket in mid January, which I've been assured I will NOT be reimbursed for since I did not have coverage, (even though I have several indisputable records of my payment being last year and that is 100% of what they are hanging their case on for denying me coverage).  I suppose I'll try some politicians and then attorneys tomorrow.  My guess, if it is all exposed, is that just Anthem stole several hundred million dollars from people (and taxpayers) just in the month of January 2014.

*If someone from Anthem is reading this and doesn't like it, CALL ME!  I'll backup every single word with proof just like I did when you said I didn't pay for my coverage when I was holding a receipt FROM YOU proving I had in fact paid in full LAST YEAR!*

Obama started this disaster and now insurance companies, well, at least Anthem, is making it far worse and is literally stealing from individuals and taxpayers!  What a circle jerk!!


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## XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Healthcare costs was one of the reasons I went back to work after 8 years as a consultant.  There were other reasons but having employer based healthcare is pretty nice - especially when your spouse has it too.  I understand that ultimately I am still paying for it but it doesn't seem as bad.


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## Dargo

At this rate, it looks like a person would need to transfer all their assets into someone else's name and then renounce their citizenship to be able to afford to live in the United States. If I have no assets, and I'm not a citizen, I get all my healthcare free at the emergency room.


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## Dargo

Just an update on how sweet ObamaCare is.  In case you don't have time to read all the previous, I'd been insured for nearly two decades and was content with my health insurance.  However, Obama decided it wasn't good enough and in early October 2013, I was given notice that my policy would terminate at midnight on 12/31/2013.  I promptly began trying to get insurance on 10/16/2013.

After my 'give a dam' broke a couple of weeks ago, I turned it all over to my wife since she just couldn't understand WHY I was having such a hard time getting us health insurance because she knew that back when I sold health insurance (and am still licensed to do so), it took maybe a half an hour to get someone insured.  Just Monday and Tuesday of this week she has spent just under 20 hours on the phone with ZERO success.  The latest is that they wanted us to just start the application process again!  F that!!!  Between my wife and I, we now have over 140 hours of our time and over $6000 spent for healthcare coverage that, apparently, we still do not have!!! 

I cannot post what I want to do when I see our lying sack of shit of a president on TV bragging about what a success his total shit executive order has done to our healthcare industry.  Every single physician I've known over the years who were family practitioners has retired after this crap became law.  Unfortunately, I do not have the ability to just 'retire' from having health insurance.

*With millions having the same problems I am having, why is this NOT the lead news story every single night?!*

**edit**
I forgot to mention this; all three of the helpful 'supervisors' I've worked with during the last 6 months of trying to obtain health coverage coverage have resigned.  All 3 have called me to apologize that they could not help me and that their jobs consisted of taking phone calls from furious people who had their insurance terminated and were unable to obtain replacement coverage after months of trying.  All 3 of these supervisors said that no amount of money would make it worth it to work in that industry where it was impossible to do what is right for the consumer!  All three also told me that they had voted for Obama in the past and wish there were some way for them to go back and change their votes.


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## NorthernRedneck

Say what you want about the canadian health care system.  All I know is I'm at the hospital right now waiting for my fiancee who is in surgery and I can leave here knowing I don't have to worry about my health care pln being cancelled and I won't have to work two jobs for the next six months to pay for the surgery she's currently in.  Soo glad I don't have to deal with worrying whether or not my health care is covered.


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## Leni

Oh Man!  Your story makes me so glad that I worked for California for 34 years.  I am vested in my health care.  I have Kaiser and so far do not have to pay a premium.  If the cost goes over a certain amount then I would have to pick up the balance.  Until then I pay $10 a visit and usually only $5.00 for medications.  On the down side however, I earned a lot less than I would have in private industry contrary to popular opinion.


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## Danang Sailor

Leni said:


> Oh Man!  Your story makes me so glad that I worked for California for 34 years.  I am vested in my health care.  I have Kaiser and so far do not have to pay a premium.  If the cost goes over a certain amount then I would have to pick up the balance.  Until then I pay $10 a visit and usually only $5.00 for medications.  *On the down side however, I earned a lot less than I would have in private industry contrary to popular opinion.*



Amen to that!  People who haven't been there don't understand how that works; they think all government
employees get paid like career politicians.  I spend most of my active duty time trying not to  when some
idiot started jammering about how we were so "overpaid"!


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## bczoom

Dargo,

We're sliding out of insurance a bit.  If this continues, I'll move the posts to a new thread.



Danang Sailor said:


> Amen to that!  People who haven't been there don't understand how that works; they think all government employees get paid like career politicians.


Not counting the military since that's the only public sector job I've had and I think the pay/benefits sucks as bad now as it did 30 years ago when I was in.

As for comparing private vs. public sector, here's the 2012 CBO report on the subject.
http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/01-30-FedPay.pdf

In summary (first page of the report _which to be honest is as far as I looked since it's a 28-page report)_): 
Federal benefits are better than private across the board.
- Less than a masters degree, you're pay/benefits package is greater in the gov't.
- Once you get to a Masters degree, your salary matches the gov't pay (but the gov't benefits are better).
- Once you get a doctorate, your private pay/benefits now exceeds gov't package.


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## Melensdad

I honestly don't understand why this is all a problem. My wife is looking at retiring from teaching. We will lose her insurance when she does so. I talked to an agent today about getting a policy, he quoted me different rates for platinum through bronze policies. All were reasonably priced.  All were available for my family without any issues. He is an agent for a major insurance company. 

Now I'll admit all are higher prices than pre-ObamaCare prices. But I was expecting them to be even higher, based on the horror stories I've heard. Guess my surprise was the prices were not as bad as I expected?


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## bczoom

I don't know the difference between bronze through platinum but we currently have BC/BS Premier plan.  I'm pretty sure it was right around $1600 per month for our family (then add dental, vision...).


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## Melensdad

Prices vary from state to state, the lowest Bronze plan offered to me from Assurant was just over $1000/month and highest Bronze plan was at $1207 per month. 

Platinum (there are 2 of those) was about $1900/month. 

Network size, choices, co-pays, deductables all varies with plans. Platinum plans cost the most up front but gave the best coverage, most choices, lowest co-pays, etc.

My brother has the same insurance I just had quoted, different agent, but he is paying the same rate I was offered. He chose one of the Bronze plans.


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## Dargo

Melensdad said:


> I honestly don't understand why this is all a problem. My wife is looking at retiring from teaching. We will lose her insurance when she does so. I talked to an agent today about getting a policy, he quoted me different rates for platinum through bronze policies. All were reasonably priced.  All were available for my family without any issues. He is an agent for a major insurance company.
> 
> Now I'll admit all are higher prices than pre-ObamaCare prices. But I was expecting them to be even higher, based on the horror stories I've heard. Guess my surprise was the prices were not as bad as I expected?



I've been a licensed agent since 1992 and there is no reason it should be difficult at all or take more than perhaps a half an hour.  The clear problem is that it simply does not work as you are told.  Remember the promise "If you like your current coverage, you can keep it"?  Same thing applies to what you are told you can get and then actually getting coverage.  Lies, more lies, and then damn lies.  I'm associated with 7 different carriers still as an agent (although I haven't sold auto or health insurance in almost 20 years) and most companies are already sending out memos to their agents that 2015 rates will likely double or triple from 2014 rates.

Remember, almost all of those signing up now are just those of us who lost our coverage we had and were forced into this screwed up piece of shit program.  Supposedly in 2015 all of these programs will become "free" to those deemed as low income people *and* illegals in this country.  The sudden influx, that insurers will have no choice but to accept, will cause rates to skyrocket.  Did you know that if just you and the Mrs. decide to get insurance only for the two of you, your policy will be required to include pregnancy, abortion and a lot of other "benefits" you'd never need yet must be included in your plan.


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