Blue Cross to offer one-year Obamacare reprieve
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By Deena Winter | Nebraska Watchdog
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska announced Monday it will allow policyholders whose individual health insurance was canceled to comply with Obamacare to keep their current plans for one more year.
EXTENSION: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska will give customers who buy their own insurance a one-year reprieve from cancellation due to Obamacare mandates.
The insurance company this fall sent notices to 46,000 Nebraska policyholders informing them that their insurance plans would be canceled at year’s end because they didn’t comply with the federal Affordable Care Act.
Customers were given the option of new policies that included benefits required under the federal health insurance law, or they could shop around on the health insurance exchange on Healthcare.gov. But glitches with the federally run website have made it difficult for people to shop for new coverage.
For that reason, President Obama recently said insurance companies can give people one-year reprieves. Nebraska’s state insurance commissioner, Bruce Ramge, recently ruled that insurers can offer such extensions, and Blue Cross is taking him up on that offer.
Blue Cross said in a news release that individual policyholders who received cancellation notices can keep their current 2013 plan or choose new insurance that complies with Obamacare mandates. Blue Cross’s individual plans will now be effective from Dec. 31, 2013, through Dec. 31, 2014, for customers with coverage in place by year’s end.
A provision in state insurance law allows insurers to set an early renewal date and keep the 2013 policies in force.
“Simply stated, we’re doing this because it’s the right thing to do for our customers,” said Blue Cross President and CEO Steve Martin. “We are glad to have the opportunity to offer customers the choice between their current plans and 2014 plans that comply with the Affordable Care Act.”
Blue Cross customers who had already chosen a new Obamacare-compliant plan will remain on that plan unless they notify the company or work with an agent to revert back to their old plans. People who choose to stay on their 2013 plans won’t qualify for federal tax subsidies available under Obamacare, and likely will see a premium increase.
“Customers will need to process their options quickly,” said Tom Gilsdorf, director of product development for Blue Cross. “We’re working diligently to ensure everyone is covered on the plan of their choice.”
Blue Cross is the state’s largest health insurer, with nearly half the individual market. It’s also one of four companies selling insurance on Nebraska’s health care exchange, which is being run by the federal government.
Contact Deena Winter at deena@nebraskawatchdog.org.
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