If you haven’t paid your insurance premium in over 30 days, the insurance company is under no obligation to pay for your health care. But thanks to a 90 day grace period on premiums, doctors and hospitals may not know you are behind on your insurance premiums and could end up being denied payment for services in the end.
Not good at all:
FOX NEWS – The largest doctors group in the country is raising alarm that an obscure ObamaCare rule could stick them with the tab for patients who skip out on paying their premiums.
The American Medical Association, which originally supported the Affordable Care Act, warned the rule could pose a “significant financial risk” for doctors and hospitals, and on Wednesday blasted out guidelines to help members try and avoid those costs.
At issue is a 90-day “grace period” which lets patients who are not paying their premiums keep coverage for 90 days before it can be canceled.
Under the rule, insurers are responsible for paying any claims during the first month of that period — but not necessarily for any claims during the final 60 days.
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The concern from physicians comes on top of widespread concerns from the insurance industry about the mix of new customers being signed up for coverage under the newly launched health insurance exchanges. The deadline for that coverage is March 31, and so far the Obama administration is lagging behind its enrollment projections.
But while insurance companies worry about having to take on costlier patients, medical practices are worried what happens when those patients stop paying their insurers.
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The main concern is that insurers could be allowed to place all claims incurred during the last 60 days in a “pending status” — and then deny them if coverage ultimately is canceled.
But the administration argues that the grace-period rule is limited. It only applies to people who already have paid one month’s premium, and requires insurers to tell doctors “as soon as practicable” when a customer is falling behind.
With Obamacare already pushing premiums through the roof for many and given what we saw in 2008 with the foreclosure crisis, I’d say doctors and hospitals have every right to be worried about this blowing up in their faces.
Also, given that Obamacare is nothing but a big wrecking ball in the first place to lead us to single payer, I’d say this rule is likely part of that plan.
REPEAL. REPEAL. REPEAL. We can’t stop until we get this horrible law repealed.