Last year I went to Mayo Clinic. I have ACA insurance, but it is HMO-only (all ACA insurance in Indiana is HMO, not PPO), and Mayo is not in network. I actual

Last year I went to Mayo Clinic. I have ACA insurance, but it is HMO-only (all ACA insurance in Indiana is HMO, not PPO), and Mayo is not in network. I actually considered getting married just so I could get PPO insurance (life change event) and be covered at Mayo. Since the insurance companies now have to cover pre-existing conditions, and don't want to do that, they came up with another plan: don't answer the phones except during open enrollment. I tried calling several insurance companies (major carriers) just to get quotes for health insurance, and none returned my call. Some had phone trees that went in a circle so you could not get to a person. I did get one broker to talk to me, and he said pre-existing conditions weren't covered for 24 months. First, that's a lie, and 2nd, it's illegal (ACA outlawed this practice). By only accepting applications during open enrollment, the insurance companies have effectively done an end-run around the law against pre-existing conditions. Note: this is for an individual to get insurance. I'm sure companies can get insurance for their employees any time they want it. Follow-up: it turns out that if I did have PPO insurance and was covered at Mayo, then with the same bill from Mayo it would have cost me $8000 more with coverage than it did without insurance, paying cash. That's truly f'd up!