The policies that were garbage, sub-standard and "bad" are now acceptable if people qualify for a "harship exemption". Those people has had their prior coverage canceled and who “believes” that Obamacare’s offerings “are unaffordable.”
They just keep CHANGING the law that supposedly, according to democrats, couldn't be changed, defunded or repealed.
How is it fair to make this type of exemption for some people and not to others? I hope everyone starts demanding the same exemption and it causes this piece of crap legislation to go away.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2013/12/20/utter-chaos-white-house-exempts-millions-from-obamacares-insurance-mandate-unaffordable-exchanges/It’s hard to come up with new ways to describe the Obama administration’s improvisational approach to the Affordable Care Act’s troubled health insurance exchanges. But last night, the White House made its most consequential announcement yet. The administration will grant a “hardship exemption” from the law’s individual mandate, requiring the purchase of health insurance, to anyone who has had their prior coverage canceled and who “believes” that Obamacare’s offerings “are unaffordable.” These exemptions will substantially alter the architecture of the law’s insurance marketplaces. Insurers are at their wits’ end, trying to make sense of what to do next.
The new ‘hardship exemption’ applies to those with canceled coverage
Section 1411(c)(5)(A) of the Affordable Care Act grants the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services the power to grant a “hardship exemption” from the individual mandate that requires most Americans to purchase health insurance or pay a fine. The administration has, in effect, declared that Obamacare’s regulations are themselves a “hardship” worthy of mass exemption.
“If you have been notified that your individual market policy will not be renewed, you will be eligible for a hardship exemption,” announced the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. All you have to do is “complete a hardship exemption form, and indicate that your current health insurance policy is being cancelled and you consider other available policies unaffordable.”
Obamacare’s ‘catastrophic plans’ are also unaffordable
The administration has also expanded the availability of the law’s so-called “catastrophic” plans. But the catastrophic plans under Obamacare aren’t like the ones you might be familiar with. ACA-compliant “catastrophic plans” have to cover all of the services defined as “preventive” by the government, along with all of the Obamacare-defined “essential health benefits,” like drug-addiction therapy.
The major difference between the regular Obamacare “bronze” plan and the Obamacare “catastrophic” plan is that the catastrophic plan covers three primary care visits prior to hitting the deductible. Which isn’t that much of a difference at all.
The catastrophic plans are supposed to be available only to those under 30, and those older than 30 who can’t find coverage for less than 8 percent of their income. And the catastrophic plans are not eligible for Obamacare’s premium support subsidies.The upshot of all this is that the catastrophic plans aren’t that much cheaper than the regular Obamacare plans. In California, for example, the median cost of a pre-Obamacare plan on eHealthInsurance.com, for a 25-year-old male non-smoker, was $92. The Obamacare bronze plans cost an average of $205 a month. The Obamacare catastrophic plans? $184. In some parts of the country, the catastrophic plans are actually more expensive than the bronze plans.
For this reason, I don’t expect many Americans to sign up for the catastrophic plans. If you think that the Obamacare bronze plans are unaffordable, you’re likely to feel the same way about the catastrophic plans. Instead, you’re going to take advantage of the “hardship exemption” and go without insurance altogether.
