Obamacare will cancel thousands of New Jersey policies

50,000 New Jersey seniors are told that their current plans will not be available in 2014.

Hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans opened the mail last week to find their health insurance plan would no longer exist in 2014 because it does not cover all the essential benefits required by the Affordable Care Act.

The news surprised some who were unaware that provisions in the new law known as “Obamacare” were forcing insurance companies to scrap some plans they had previously offered.

“The Affordable Care Act is driving many changes to products and pricing,” said Thomas Vincz, a spokesman for Horizon. “Horizon BCBSNJ is actively working to help our members find new insurance plans that meet their needs and budget,” reports the New Jersey Star-Ledger.

The changes will impact more than 800,000 people in New Jersey who purchase insurance on the individual and small-employer markets, according to Ward Sanders, president of the New Jersey Association of Health Plans.

Those in the individual and small-employer markets aren’t the only ones receiving letters because of the Affordable Care Act. There are changes coming to some Medicare Advantage plans as well, which are due, in part, to the new law.

Horizon sent notices to 50,000 of its New Jersey members explaining to seniors that their current plans will not be available next year.

“Due to increasing health care costs and continued federal government cuts to Medicare Advantage, Horizon BCBSNJ had to discontinue certain MA plans, create new plans, and increase premiums, in order to continue to be the only carrier offering MA plans in all 21 counties of New Jersey,” Vincz said.

One reason for the change is that Obamacare stole about $200 billion from the Medicare Advantage program, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service. Some of that money was used to pay for other parts of the law.

Bend over and spread your cheeks.
You get what you vote for.  Enjoy it.