The pooch-screw that is healthcare.gov continues.  The website continues to have lots of problems and delays.  I am still waiting for the website to officially declare me a human.  But that’s not what this post is about.

I received a letter from my current insurance company (Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois) informing me that my current plan is being cancelled because it does not meet the minimum requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  This was highly surprising to me given how comprehensive my coverage was supposed to be.  What’s frustrating is that the letter is not very descriptive of what exactly was missing in my plan that the ACA requires.  As best as I can tell, the only thing missing from my coverage that the ACA requires is pediatric dental care.  One would think that it would be a much simpler matter to just add pediatric dental care to my plan instead of having everyone on my plan switch to something else.  But maybe it’s not.

The interesting thing is the options that Blue Cross gave me as alternatives.  They gave me three alternatives.  All of them were considered Bronze level coverage according to the letter.  The three options were: 1) a base Bronze plan, 2) a Bronze plan that was closest to what I pay now for my current plan, and 3) a Bronze plan that was closest to the coverage of my current plan.  The base Bronze plan was noticeably, but not significantly cheaper than the other two plans.  The Bronze plan that was closest to what I pay now was, shock of all shocks, right at what I pay now.  The Bronze plan closest to my current coverage was only a few dollars more per month than my current plan.

I was shocked at a few things.  First, that my current coverage fits neatly into a Bronze plan.  I was fully expecting to find that my coverage was Gold level or higher.  Second, I can get an ACA plan that offers greater coverage than what I’m paying now for only a few dollars more a month.  Score!

I have yet to dig into the nitty gritty details of the three plans Blue Cross offered me.  I’ll write another post about them later.  Horrible website issues aside, Obamacare is looking pretty good so far for yours truly.