4 ms·

There's a lot going on in this post, and it's not the most structured, but the graph of healthcare costs by county at age 59 was fascinating: https://s3.amazona

by jefftk 5y ago

There's a lot going on in this post, and it's not the most structured, but the graph of healthcare costs by county at age 59 was fascinating: https://s3.amazonaws.com/mx.sairamachandr.in/moogle.cc/blogposts/attachments/rf7putgc45s3qicnr4tb0nebntf1humgj5kvnh81/health%20care%20compared%20to%20king%20county.PNG?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4R7E54H5HNTA5RM4%2F20210707%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20210707T095152Z&X-Amz-Expires=604800&X-Amz-Signature=b6d1135b2569f9a85508d3775b466909e379e6c975cc48bf2972394138598daa&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host https://s3.amazonaws.com/mx.sairamachandr.in/moogle.cc/blogp... ("This map of the 2018 2nd Cheapest Silver ACA plans shows the variance against the cost for 2 people, aged 59, with King County, Washington as the base. The olive green color is zero-ish variance. The darker the green, the cheaper the health insurance is in that county. The darker the red, the more expensive that county is compared to King County, Washington.")

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mumblemumble 5y ago
I'm having a hard time interpreting that because I don't know enough about the Affordable Care Act. Is this making an apples-to-apples comparison? Are Silver ACA plans roughly comparable in terms of quality of coverage? One anecdotal experience in this area for me is that my employer recently switched health insurance companies on us. On paper, the new plan is equivalent to the old plan, but appreciably less expensive. In reality, I would gladly pay even more than the old plan cost, just to go back to it. And probably save money (certainly be able to hold onto my hair color a bit longer) in the process.
- burnished 5y ago
  Can you qualify why specifically you would prefer the old plan even though it is 'on paper' the same?
  - Judgmentality 5y ago
    Not OP, but switching providers could mean one actually provides coverage and the other regularly denies it. I have upgraded health plans in the past, only to discover I spent more time fighting my insurance company because they just refused to honor the coverage. I actually had to get a lawyer involved at my own expense. I find it bizarre how many people just trust that insurance companies will actually honor their contracts. In my experience, they likely won't. This is just my anecdote.
    - shoemakersteve 5y ago
      As a non-American, that sounds pretty fucked.
      - lotsofpulp 5y ago
        It is not as bad as it sounds. There is an appeals process: https://www.healthcare.gov/appeal-insurance-company-decision/appeals/ https://www.healthcare.gov/appeal-insurance-company-decision... And in general, anything the insurance company might not want to pay for required a “prior authorization”, which usually happens if the insurance company’s doctors think there is another option for treatment or the proposed option does not have sufficient evidence. I imagine there is similar processes in taxpayer funded healthcare systems too to properly allocate resources. Although, I am sure there are many cases of problems caused by insurance companies in the US, due to the bureaucracy.
        ThePowerOfFuet 5y ago
        It really is as bad as it sounds. >I imagine there is similar processes in taxpayer funded healthcare systems too to properly allocate resources. What the doctor orders is what you get. You can typically choose your doctor, as well as get a second opinion. The doctors are generally paid the same.
        lotsofpulp 5y ago
- canadianfella 5y ago
  > On paper, the new plan is equivalent to the old plan, but appreciably less expensive. In reality, I would gladly pay even more than the old plan cost, just to go back to it. And probably save money (certainly be able to hold onto my hair color a bit longer) in the process. I don’t understand what you are saying here.
- lotsofpulp 5y ago
  Yes, the same metal level plans are comparable since the coverage all health insurance has to provide is the same in the US (excluding the weird church plan loophole but they are not actually insurance and no one uses them) https://www.healthcare.gov/choose-a-plan/plans-categories/ https://www.healthcare.gov/choose-a-plan/plans-categories/ What will change is the network of healthcare providers that are in network for you. This is how I think price discrimination will work in healthcare in the US going forward. A more expensive silver health insurance will have more doctors in network since it will reimburse at a higher price (from your or your employer’s higher premiums). A less expensive silver health insurance will have fewer doctors in network, since fewer doctors will accept that price. Or it will have overworked doctors, or you will have to see nurse practitioners or physician’s assistance instead of MDs. If you find your employer’s in network doctors worse, then it is basically a stealth pay cut from one perspective.
rob74 5y ago
"it's not the most structured" is an understatement - to me it feels like some kind of "stream of thought" writing, where someone just writes down everything that comes into their mind. The result of that is comprehensible to the person who wrote it, but really hard to follow for anyone else. So, if she really wants to promote the service she built based on this, the article could use some editing...
- sundvor 5y ago
  I found it interesting to follow the thought process, and enjoyed the read myself. It struck me that energy costs (which involves location etc) weren't included, but perhaps that's in the final service?

by jefftk 5y ago

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

mumblemumble 5y ago

I'm having a hard time interpreting that because I don't know enough about the Affordable Care Act. Is this making an apples-to-apples comparison? Are Silver ACA plans roughly comparable in terms of quality of coverage? One anecdotal experience in this area for me is that my employer recently switched health insurance companies on us. On paper, the new plan is equivalent to the old plan, but appreciably less expensive. In reality, I would gladly pay even more than the old plan cost, just to go back to it. And probably save money (certainly be able to hold onto my hair color a bit longer) in the process.

burnished 5y ago
Can you qualify why specifically you would prefer the old plan even though it is 'on paper' the same?
- Judgmentality 5y ago
  Not OP, but switching providers could mean one actually provides coverage and the other regularly denies it. I have upgraded health plans in the past, only to discover I spent more time fighting my insurance company because they just refused to honor the coverage. I actually had to get a lawyer involved at my own expense. I find it bizarre how many people just trust that insurance companies will actually honor their contracts. In my experience, they likely won't. This is just my anecdote.
  - shoemakersteve 5y ago
    As a non-American, that sounds pretty fucked.
    - lotsofpulp 5y ago
      It is not as bad as it sounds. There is an appeals process: https://www.healthcare.gov/appeal-insurance-company-decision/appeals/ https://www.healthcare.gov/appeal-insurance-company-decision... And in general, anything the insurance company might not want to pay for required a “prior authorization”, which usually happens if the insurance company’s doctors think there is another option for treatment or the proposed option does not have sufficient evidence. I imagine there is similar processes in taxpayer funded healthcare systems too to properly allocate resources. Although, I am sure there are many cases of problems caused by insurance companies in the US, due to the bureaucracy.
      - ThePowerOfFuet 5y ago
        It really is as bad as it sounds. >I imagine there is similar processes in taxpayer funded healthcare systems too to properly allocate resources. What the doctor orders is what you get. You can typically choose your doctor, as well as get a second opinion. The doctors are generally paid the same.
        lotsofpulp 5y ago
canadianfella 5y ago
> On paper, the new plan is equivalent to the old plan, but appreciably less expensive. In reality, I would gladly pay even more than the old plan cost, just to go back to it. And probably save money (certainly be able to hold onto my hair color a bit longer) in the process. I don’t understand what you are saying here.
lotsofpulp 5y ago
Yes, the same metal level plans are comparable since the coverage all health insurance has to provide is the same in the US (excluding the weird church plan loophole but they are not actually insurance and no one uses them) https://www.healthcare.gov/choose-a-plan/plans-categories/ https://www.healthcare.gov/choose-a-plan/plans-categories/ What will change is the network of healthcare providers that are in network for you. This is how I think price discrimination will work in healthcare in the US going forward. A more expensive silver health insurance will have more doctors in network since it will reimburse at a higher price (from your or your employer’s higher premiums). A less expensive silver health insurance will have fewer doctors in network, since fewer doctors will accept that price. Or it will have overworked doctors, or you will have to see nurse practitioners or physician’s assistance instead of MDs. If you find your employer’s in network doctors worse, then it is basically a stealth pay cut from one perspective.

rob74 5y ago

"it's not the most structured" is an understatement - to me it feels like some kind of "stream of thought" writing, where someone just writes down everything that comes into their mind. The result of that is comprehensible to the person who wrote it, but really hard to follow for anyone else. So, if she really wants to promote the service she built based on this, the article could use some editing...

sundvor 5y ago
I found it interesting to follow the thought process, and enjoyed the read myself. It struck me that energy costs (which involves location etc) weren't included, but perhaps that's in the final service?