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As of yesterday, WIN Health Partners announced it's upside down and closing it's doors ASAP. They will be returning their insurance company license to the state of Wyoming at the end of December this year. Approx 60 employees will be laid off.
Why? because the ACA provisions required them to accept new individual clients that their rates could not cover in spite of substantial premium increases, raising the co-pays, and increasing the annual minimum that an insured had to pay. The gov't subsidy to WIN Health to make up the shortage was not being paid as promised which put the company $millions short, unable to continue to do business.
There's thousands of covered folk in Wyoming who are now losing their health insurance coverage, including a whole bunch of municipal and county employees covered under WIN's group coverage plans. Neighbors of ours, county employees, got notified yesterday that their health coverage was being terminated. Of course, the county is doing their best to find replacement coverage but it's on very short notice, expecting to go up substantially in cost to the county and the employee contribution each month.
My understanding is that this is not the only insurer in the area going out of business right now, and all hold the ACA coverage requirements as the causation of their economic distress.
My plan was classified a "cadillac plan" and was dropped because of the burden on my Company. It now costs me a couple hundred more a month for the same coverage.
My plan was classified a "cadillac plan" and was dropped because of the burden on my Company. It now costs me a couple hundred more a month for the same coverage.
Those greedy insurance companies should reach into their own pockets and pay and quit trying to make a profit off of sick patients!! Well, that's what people tell the doctors.
As of yesterday, WIN Health Partners announced it's upside down and closing it's doors ASAP. They will be returning their insurance company license to the state of Wyoming at the end of December this year. Approx 60 employees will be laid off.
Why? because the ACA provisions required them to accept new individual clients that their rates could not cover in spite of substantial premium increases, raising the co-pays, and increasing the annual minimum that an insured had to pay. The gov't subsidy to WIN Health to make up the shortage was not being paid as promised which put the company $millions short, unable to continue to do business.
There's thousands of covered folk in Wyoming who are now losing their health insurance coverage, including a whole bunch of municipal and county employees covered under WIN's group coverage plans. Neighbors of ours, county employees, got notified yesterday that their health coverage was being terminated. Of course, the county is doing their best to find replacement coverage but it's on very short notice, expecting to go up substantially in cost to the county and the employee contribution each month.
My understanding is that this is not the only insurer in the area going out of business right now, and all hold the ACA coverage requirements as the causation of their economic distress.
What people don't understand is premiums are priced at claims experience, mostly. The ACA was an unknown for the most part but if this company was so far behind that they could not pay claims, they did not hold enough in reserves or did not plan well enough ahead to anticipate claims. Sorry, this is not the ACA's fault. There are plenty of insurance companies that are well prepared for this. Insurance companies are required to keep 1 1/2 times possible claims in reserve.....thats a lot of extra money...not to mention what they keep outside of reserves. People gripe and complain about these big bank balances insurance companies have.....and this is WHY they have these big bank balances. You can't have it both ways.
Oddly enough, they don't have any of this on their website. They did announce they were not offering any exchange plans in 2016 though. But, being that they are an HMO only model provider, if they really are going out of business, that's not surprising....
My plan was classified a "cadillac plan" and was dropped because of the burden on my Company. It now costs me a couple hundred more a month for the same coverage.
My husband and I are 53 and 57. We enjoy good health. I take zero meds and have zero "pre existing conditions." My husband takes a prescription for high blood pressure and has no other pre existing conditions.
We are self employed.
At this time last year, our BCBS plan cost us $575 a month. In January 2015, due to the ACA, it more than doubled - to $1137 a month. THIS IS WITH A $6000 DEDUCTIBLE EACH.
Just got a notice in the mail - now THAT plan is canceled and we have to get a new one, and you KNOW it's going to be even more expensive. My gosh, that payment is like a mortgage payment! This is a chunk of the money we need to be using to save for retirement - and WERE saving for retirement till this past year.
And yes, before you ask - we shopped around, including on the "exchange." The plan we have is the least expensive plan we could find that included any preventive care.
What people don't understand is premiums are priced at claims experience, mostly. The ACA was an unknown for the most part but if this company was so far behind that they could not pay claims, they did not hold enough in reserves or did not plan well enough ahead to anticipate claims. Sorry, this is not the ACA's fault. There are plenty of insurance companies that are well prepared for this. Insurance companies are required to keep 1 1/2 times possible claims in reserve.....thats a lot of extra money...not to mention what they keep outside of reserves.
Sorry, but you've completely missed that WIN was promised funds from the ACA programs that would keep them in financial conformity with the reserve requirements. Those promised funds, in conjunction with the premiums (priced at claims experience) collected, were sufficient to keep the company in good standing.
But the promised funds were not to be paid, and WIN was notified after the fact. WIN had performed in good faith, and were blindsided by the funding shortfall. They issued polices in good faith per the ACA requirements and guidelines required of them.
You've also missed that the latest update is that WIN is getting out of the market here, to include their group health plans. That's what was significant in yesterday's news to the county employees. WIN has advised that they will be turning in their insurance company license certificate the end of this year, and laying off their 60 employees.
Trying to put the responsibility on poor management by WIN isn't going to fly. This is a direct result of being required to issue insurance per ACA standards and promised funding which was then not paid.
As well, you've completely overlooked my personal situation where WIN Health was required to issue insurance coverages which did not meet my needs. As mentioned, I don't need maternity coverage, and I personally wouldn't choose to have "first sniffle" coverage for every conceivable illness event. My premiums shot up over 100% while my deductibles tripled and my co-pays were doubled. All due to ACA guidelines for insurance polices and capturing the premium income stream to provide the mandated coverages for others who use insurance differently than I do.
I don't know how you would conclude that "I worked to make the money, but now its used to pay for you". We've been covered under an employee health plan in another state than the one in which you live for decades before the ACA became law. I'm assuming your point is that your money is being used to subsidize the health insurance of other people with poor health or low wages that don't allow them to afford health insurance.
The ACA was enacted by a majority vote of Congress and signed into law by the President. If it as unpopular with others, as it is to you, than it ought to be a simple matter for you to get this law repealed.
Get it repealed and you can go back to the "good ole days"--which were pretty miserable for those unfortunate enough to have preexisting health conditions.
I wouldn't hold my breath though. A lot of us don't want to go back to the "good ole days".
The good old days is when I paid for what "I" needed not when I pay for something someone else needs. Now I don't have the insurance coverage "I" need.
Sorry, but you've completely missed that WIN was promised funds from the ACA programs that would keep them in financial conformity with the reserve requirements. Those promised funds, in conjunction with the premiums (priced at claims experience) collected, were sufficient to keep the company in good standing.
But the promised funds were not to be paid, and WIN was notified after the fact. WIN had performed in good faith, and were blindsided by the funding shortfall. They issued polices in good faith per the ACA requirements and guidelines required of them.
You've also missed that the latest update is that WIN is getting out of the market here, to include their group health plans. That's what was significant in yesterday's news to the county employees. WIN has advised that they will be turning in their insurance company license certificate the end of this year, and laying off their 60 employees.
Trying to put the responsibility on poor management by WIN isn't going to fly. This is a direct result of being required to issue insurance per ACA standards and promised funding which was then not paid.
As well, you've completely overlooked my personal situation where WIN Health was required to issue insurance coverages which did not meet my needs. As mentioned, I don't need maternity coverage, and I personally wouldn't choose to have "first sniffle" coverage for every conceivable illness event. My premiums shot up over 100% while my deductibles tripled and my co-pays were doubled. All due to ACA guidelines for insurance polices and capturing the premium income stream to provide the mandated coverages for others who use insurance differently than I do.
The same exact things is what is causing a Colorado co-op to fail. They were promised funds and they won't be getting them.
The same exact things is what is causing a Colorado co-op to fail. They were promised funds and they won't be getting them.
Health Republic in NY as well.
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