Author Topic: One-Fifth of New Enrollees Under Health Care Law Fail to Pay First Premium  (Read 346 times)

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Offline oldcoastie6468

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One-Fifth of New Enrollees Under Health Care Law Fail to Pay First Premium
By ROBERT PEAR FEB. 13, 2014

WASHINGTON — One in five people who signed up for health insurance under the new health care law failed to pay their premiums on time and therefore did not receive coverage in January, insurance companies and industry experts say.

Paying the first month’s premium is the final step in completing an enrollment. Under federal rules, people must pay the initial premium to have coverage take effect. In view of the chaotic debut of the federal marketplace and many state exchanges, the White House urged insurers to give people more time, and many agreed to do so. But, insurers said, some people missed even the extended deadlines.

Lindy Wagner, a spokeswoman for Blue Shield of California, said that 80 percent of those who signed up for its plans had paid by the due date, Jan. 15. Blue Shield has about 30 percent of the exchange market in the state.

Matthew N. Wiggin, a spokesman for Aetna, said that about 70 percent of people who signed up for its health plans paid their premiums. For Aetna policies taking effect on Jan. 1, the deadline for payment was Jan. 14, and for products sold by Coventry Health Care, which is now part of Aetna, the deadline was Jan. 17.

Mark T. Bertolini, the chief executive of Aetna, said last week that the company had 135,000 “paid members,” out of 200,000 who began to enroll through the exchanges. “I think people are enrolling in multiple places,” he said in a conference call. “They are shopping. And what happens is that they never really get back on HealthCare.gov to disenroll from plans they prior enrolled in.”

Hey, blammo! Numbers don't lie. Liars lie.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/14/us/politics/one-in-5-buyers-of-insurance-under-new-law-did-not-pay-premiums-on-time.html?_r=0
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Offline Libertas

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Re: One-Fifth of New Enrollees Under Health Care Law Fail to Pay First Premium
« Reply #1 on: February 19, 2014, 11:37:31 AM »
Thinking nefariously...as the progs often generate in me...could this be on purpose?  Could people be gaming this as a test to see if enrolled/not paid still counts and the IRS goons won't chase them down to fine them for failing to complete the purchase?  God, I hope so!  But whatever, The Dictator will merely issue another unconstitutional edict anyway...
We are now where The Founders were when they faced despotism.