I sent the damn check in two weeks early just to be covered (actually called several times before it was due to confirm they had received it!), but the check got "mishandled/misplaced" for about ten days post due date while I paid out of pocket for a routine continuing care treatment. After several hours of phone calls and faxes I was eventually reimbursed, but it was a nightmare.

I can envision this type of thing happening a lot more and I do not wish it on anyone. I was lucky that I was in good enough health and had enough free time to devote to rectifying the matter.

It worked out after a whole lot of back and forth between him, his job's HR and the insurance company. I suggested that then on he send the payments certified mail withe letter tracking. It's beyond unfortunate that an extra 8-10+ dollars needed to be spent to keep these guys honest.

He had to go out again a few years ago and the same sort of thing happened with his check being cashed but they had "no record" of it. The difference between this time and that was his ability to show without doubt that the payment had arrived at their doorstep, was signed for, and was on time.

I was talking to him recently and he told me about a friend of his that was forced to go to social services for temporary insurance because a number of her payments(while cashed by them as stated by her bank) had went missing. She wasn't notified they weren't missing until a visit went to the doctors office ended in her being informed at the desk that her insurance was deactivated; 2 months ago. The insurance company offer to her was to pay all of what she owed while they "investigated the situation".


I don't even know what to say about this particular provision. This is evilness pure and simple. People are going to die and they don't care.

I was friends with a D.C. Insurance exec who ironically was injured in an auto accident. She said if they didn't want to renew you they threw your check in the trash and said that they never received it. Of course , everything' was on paper. She advised to pay in person if possible or mail return receipt. So I would definitely get a conformation code and hold on to it.

You cannot have 'no penalties/refusal of coverage for pre-existing conditions' on the one hand, and then not have SOMETHING resembling 'the mandate'. The numbers simply do not work out. Not to mention, the Ins. Co's will never allow our Representatives to f*** them in that manner.

So this type of thing (along with the steep increases in premiums allowed when someone lets their ins. lapse, which I'm sure is ALSO still part of the deal) is one other substitute/alternative to accomplish the same objective ... but one which CONVENIENTLY hands over what WOULD have been tax dollars going to pay for the subsidies, instead directly to the ins. co's. Winner-Winner Chicken Dinner for you, Big Insurance! WOOT!

One 'positive note' is that the existence of this penalty at least tends to imply there's going to still be at least some form of 'pre-existing conditions are covered' type of scenario ... in the new bill.

HOWEVER ... whatever protections Our Glorious Leaders (i.e. Trump/GOP) deign to provide us in this regard will almost surely suck bigly, and be limited in numerous ways that coverage is currently NOT allowed to be limited.

Of course, I mean, that's a given.

Because, well, you know ... tRump and the Repub Senators suck a huge amount of ass, and not in the fun sense of the phrase.

So the protections will suck and the penalty (no insurance for 6 months) is completely counter-productive, evil and stupid ... but at least they'll get to say "See, we got rid of the hated mandate for you! No More Big GUBMINT, aren't we your HEROES, wingnuts?"

about ACA?
How many times did they scream about BIG GOV forcing people to participate in the insurance system by penalizing them if they do not have insurance....,,????

But now, apparently, a BETTER idea is to PROHIBIT enrollment due to a lapse in coverage resulting from non-payment... then I assume the PENALTY will apply to the NEW policy.... meaning you will probably miss another payment.....

How exactly does that make sense?
Oh, right, the idea is to facilitate bankruptcy followed shortly thereafter by death...

Frees up a lot of real estate to be bought at fire sale prices....

It they were sick before the lost their insurance coverage, then banning them from getting any healthcare for another 6 months is pretty much a death sentence for many people. Dead people don't need healthcare so Republicans get more more to funnel into their own pockets and make generous gifts to their rich friends.

am terrified of accidentally missing a payment and giving them an excuse to cancel me and force me to answer health questions. Clearly, I would immediately be uninsurable as there is one enrollment period, when one turns 65, when they can't ask.

I put them on auto-pay obviously, but probably should let them take the $$ from my account as double protection.

There should be a longer grace period than one payment! If I had to rely on this proposed tax-cut health bill, and had a single screw-up, then 6 months without chemo would kill me.

I realize this isn't news, but the number of people who will die is breathtaking.

A lot of employers are going to make their employees pay most if not all of the premium, with the rate increases that are coming if this piece of shit passes.

I see many working folks dropping their children off from coverage as well.

Very rare, but it happens every couple of years. For bills that are not auto-pay, I almost always send payment within a day after they arrive. But there have been times when the bills arrive late or off the normal billing cycle and I'm on vacation.

Missed payments are something that can happen to everyone, no matter how financially secure and responsible.

that costs millions of dollars to care for and might have a very bad outcome. We really need to stop this and go straight to single payer.

We need single payer.