Grandfathered Health Insurance Plans?
 

Not sure if this is the right place, but since it might involve politics, I figured I'd post it here...

My 2 year fixed rate for individual plan health insurance is almost up and the premium is nearly doubling to over $300, which I can't afford. I called to make some changes and was told about the extremely confusing "grandfathered" status of my plan, since I applied before health care reform. If I make the changes I want to lower the bill, I will lose this status.

The woman I spoke to on the phone was rude and not very helpful at all. Research on the topic has presented me with a mountain of legalese I don't really understand. Is there anyone here who might be able to explain the the significant benefits of grandfathered plans vs. new plans? Or point me to a site that does?

Re: Grandfathered Health Insurance Plans?
 

Is your health insurance plan considered a "Cadillac" plan? Just curious. The company you work for might be trying to get a few extra bucks before they actually have to start paying taxes on it in the future (2018 I think).

Re: Grandfathered Health Insurance Plans?
 

Cadillac? At $300 it sounds more like a Ford Focus.

Re: Grandfathered Health Insurance Plans?
 

Depends if he's young and single or old and married with kids.

$300 is definitely a Cadillac for somebody that's 25, single and no preexisting conditions.

I recently looked at switching plans and my carrier didn't even have a plan that approached $300 given my criteria. I think the most expensive plan was something like $230 or something.

Re: Grandfathered Health Insurance Plans?
 

What kind of deductible and copay were attached to that plan?

Re: Grandfathered Health Insurance Plans?
 

Can't remember exactly, but it was good enough for me.

500 bucks maybe. Can't remember the co-pay. I only go to the doctor once a year at most, so medical expenses just isn't something I focus on.

Obviously things can always change, but I ended up switching to the lowest plan I could find, which was about $60 a month.

It's a $15,000 deductible, so basically it's just insurance in case something really bad happens to me and I'm just taking my chances that I won't need anything minor and won't have to go to the doctor 4 or 5 times throughout the year.

My thinking is that I'm healthy and I don't forsee my health changing in a major way in the next year, so I shouldn't need to go to the doctor more than once and I'll just eat the cost of the one doctor visit, but if I get into a car accident or something my medical expenses are going to be so far above the 15 grand that it won't really matter and since if I can afford 15 grand if I REALLY have no other choice (certainly won't like it, but it won't break me) I plan on just NOT having to pay for extra medical expenses and pocket what I would have spent on insurance and I'm covered in case something really bad happens to me and I rack up 300 grand in medical costs.

Re: Grandfathered Health Insurance Plans?
 

My initial reaction is that if she was rude, she was not trying to help you with her suggestions.

Re: Grandfathered Health Insurance Plans?
 

For those asking I am 33 and single. The only pre-existing condition was excema, which is kept under control by creams and isn't really even that bad. Nothing expensive. Only had surgery once as a teenager after a bad car accident.

The plan was not a "cadillac", although I remember them trying to sell me one of those 2 years ago. It was upper tier though, but didn't cover a lot of regular doctor stuff. It was geared more toward coverage for surgery, hospital stays, etc. I pretty much never go to the doctor. I've been maybe 5 times since I graduated high school. I rarely get sick. This plan was intended to protect against serious injury in car accidents, sudden unexpected shit like cancer... you get the idea.

It was $160 a month for 100% coverage after a $5000 deductible. It's the first insurance plan I've ever had since leaving my parents at 18. Starting in 2 weeks they want $312. It's just too much. By dropping down to 80% or 50% coverage and decreasing the cost, I lose the so-called grandfather status. But nothing I've read online has really been able to tell me exactly what that means.

Re: Grandfathered Health Insurance Plans?
 

Essentially, this covers any incident that occurs on someone's lawn.