On December 14th, I signed up - through a buggy and a poorly designed site - and was able to purchase health care for a family of 5 for $870/month no subsidies in CA.
I ended up choosing the Blue Shield Silver PPO plan as it allowed me to see some doctors closer to us. Kaiser was great but not as convenient anymore - now that we moved - but we like Kaiser. The push to change was the Blue Shield Silver was $200/month cheaper than Kaiser - so we switched and pulled the plug.
When we signed up it said once you make your selection you cannot change it. Fine - we made the selection of the PPO after triple checking that we can use it at a pediatrician's office that a friend of the family suggested for our new area.
Cut to today - I was getting a little worried as I hadn't heard anything from CoveredCA and the new year was getting closer.
I finally got my letter. I opened it up. It said EPO... not PPO. But on the site it said PPO - I bought a freaking PPO.
"And it said you cannot change it" was all that went through my head.
Frantically I put in a call to Blue Shield and waiting on hold. While waiting I call the pediatricians office about this EPO plan - and they SAY THEY DON'T TAKE THAT OBAMACARE PLAN.
But I searched on the Blue Shield site and the PPO worked with them.. So I go to the Blue Shield site again and search under EPO.
AND I GOT ZERO PROVIDERS FOR ANYTHING IN MY AREA.
So now I'm really pissed off and frantic. I was bitching about the clusterfuck that everything is and why don't we have single payer and I'm stressed because "it said we cannot change it" and I'm thinking I'm screwed - I've just screwed my family over and now we have a plan that we can't use and I even began to think about how everything the RW said was right and it's coming true after all.
Then the woman came on the phone. She patiently waited for me to stop as I ranted and flustered.
And then she said that it is a known issue. CoveredCA sent the wrong letters to people saying they have an EPO when they really have a PPO. The letters were sent by CoveredCA and not Blue Shield and they've been dealing with calls like mine all day.
I have a PPO plan - my pediatrician will take my plan. If they take a PPO now then the Obamacare one is THE EXACT SAME PLAN.
So my heart attack was over.
But it got me thinking - how many other people got the same letter? and then freaked out and called the news or told their friends that they now have a worthless ACA plan that covers nothing?
CoveredCA just sucks as a web site and this bureaucratic kerfufle just really sucks and adds fuel to the fire and we just don't need it.
I don't need it.
But long story short - all is well.
I still have a PPO plan. And I can see the pediatrician I wanted to,
Well my kids can. I'm going to see an adult doctor, thank you very much!