New Starter Pack: People being awesome

Hey there —

We’re back with a brand new Arm and a Leg “Starter Pack” — plus some Obamacare news. 

Last month, the federal government issued its annual update to Obamacare rules and regulations— an 1,100+ page set of terms that will affect how much plans cost, what’s in them, and how you sign up. 

In March, before the rules got finalized, we wrote about some proposed changes — including one to allow plans with out-of-pocket costs as high as $31,200. 

In the end, the feds approved that change and more. Keep reading for some links unpacking these updates — including one eye-popping detail unearthed by the New York Times last week. 

More on that below, but first: 

Let’s get inspired by some awesome people and their victories. 

There’s a lot of fight ahead: for a better health care system, and just day to day. We need inspiration. 

So we thought we’d collect some of our favorite stories of people being awesome — scoring wins big and small. 

Starter Pack: Tell me a story about someone being awesome

We’ve picked out a half-dozen stories. It’s more than you probably need all at once, so go ahead and bookmark it; you can go back whenever your spirit could use a boost.

New Obamacare rule will cost more money and insure fewer people

In KFF Health News, Julie Appleby reports that the new federal ACA rule will reduce enrollment in Obamacare plans by 2 million — and by the government’s own estimates, will cost $1.3 billion each year. That’s actually like, the plan. 

Here are some of the big changes:

• Non-network plans: The new rule allows plans with low premiums but zero in-network providers. In this new model, your plan would pay a set amount for any given medical service, and if you can’t find a provider willing to take that amount as payment in full, you’d be on the hook for the rest of their charges.  
• Catastrophic plans: These plans have relatively low monthly premiums, but offer very thin coverage — and until recently, were only available to people under 30. But anyone who doesn’t qualify for a subsidy will now be able to sign up. 
• Bigger and bigger out-of-pocket costs: The rule increases the amount bronze and catastrophic plans can make you pay before covering anything – to $15,600 for individuals or $31,200 for families. 
• More paperwork: To qualify for a subsidy to help cover your premium, you’ll have to provide more documentation of your income than before. When these tweaks got proposed, Georgetown University expert Katie Keith told us, “They would bury families in red tape.” Which, studies show, means fewer people sign up. 

“Why not borrow the money from your health insurance company?”

That’s how a New York Times story about the new rule (gift link) characterizes the feds’ suggestion for enrollees facing huge out-of-pocket costs. 

Meaning: if you get a giant medical bill, instead of being in debt to a hospital — which would be required by law to offer financial assistance — people could end up owing money to insurance companies, on who-knows-what terms. 

None of the insurance companies the Times interviewed confirmed they were interested in offering that. But at least one company already operates a bank that makes payday loans to doctors. 

We’re going to keep following these stories — and all things Obamacare — as we inch toward another open enrollment period. 

But we have a nice long summer until then. Let’s all enjoy it while we can.

— Emily 

P.S. Someone who’s definitely enjoying it? Our own Claire Davenport gets to watch the Egypt v. Iran World Cup game in person tonight. I’ll be watching to see if I can spot her in the crowd.