[jyl]

Thought I'd post about my experience with health insurance - COBRA and ACA and Medicaid.

I quit my job in February. After checking out the options under the ACA (Obamacare) I decided to stick with my existing coverage under COBRA. Set up autopay from my bank account using the employer's website. The website seemed very clunky so I started taking screenshots of the "due/paid" screens just in case. In May, they terminated my COBRA for non-payment. I called, spoke to a puzzled person who said she couldn't see why I was cancelled but I'd have to appeal. Appeal was denied with no explanation. I wrote them a letter with all the screenshots showing payment of premiums (about $4,500) and pointing out Oregon's pandemic emergency order prohibiting termination of medical coverage even for non-payment. I also filed a complaint with the Oregon state insurance office, which was then referred to the US Dept of Labor office in Seattle.

Having no family medical coverage during the pandemic is not an option, so I went to the ACA (Exchange) and tried to get coverage. The plan I selected refused to use my COBRA termination as the effective date, so I had to pay three months' back premium (back to February) plus the current month's premium to get coverage, oh and I had one day to do so or miss the window for getting ACA coverage. Ouch (that's nearly $7,000), but no choice.

I also started getting notices about my family coverage under the Oregon Health Plan, which I didn't understand. After some calls, figured out that in March the state had enrolled us in Medicaid, probably because I'd stated zero current income when I was checking out ACA options back in February, which was a true statement at the time.

A month later, my former employer contacted me, conceded that my coverage had been wrongfully terminated, and offered to reinstate COBRA. I said I didn't want to be on COBRA medical anymore, but wanted a refund of all premiums I'd paid since February, and to be reinstated to some other parts of COBRA (term life, dental, etc). They agreed to that and refunded my prior COBRA premiums.

This week I called the Oregon Health Plan to sort out the Medicaid coverage. They agreed that I had been eligible for Medicaid in February, that I am now no longer eligible due to my current income, but that the pandemic order prohibited them from ending my Medicaid coverage despite my non-eligibility. I asked if I expressly instructed them to terminate my coverage, could they then do it; the answer was yes, so that's what I did. I'm supposed to get a letter confirming withdrawal of Medicaid coverage.

This has been a big PITA.

I'm lucky because I can splash out several thousand dollars on a minute's notice and to keep records and file appeals to get my money back, and because I can afford to pay for medical coverage without any employer benefit. But for a lot of families, especially those who've lost income during this economic crash, that's not possible.

We need a better healthcare system.