President Barack Obama’s ObamaMart—that HealthCare.gov contraption—is up and running, or so Obama and his chief shill, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, claim (even though some very serious—dangerous—warts remain).  I decided to try it out and see what the Obamacare law itself would offer me in terms of plans that are cheaper and better than the ones I have through my wife’s employer (which, knock wood, still are legal…so far).

Aside from the dental plans still being required to offer newborn and maternity care coverage (scroll the top window to the second image), here’s what I found without having to give up “my information,” from a not particularly random walk through the ObamaMart erected here in Texas.  I looked for plans available for my spouse and me, ages 62 and 60.  For a baseline, my existing health plan, available through my wife’s employer, charges a $1,700/year premium, has a $3,000 deductible, covers 80% of our medical costs after the deductible, and it’s so far still legal.  We have this High Deductible plan because it’s required in order to have an HSA.

The first plan in the list that comes up in ObamaMart is Blue Cross Blue Shield’s Bronze “Blue Advantage Bronze HMO 006” plan.  This plan comes with a $9,800/year premium and a $12,700 deductible.  Bronze plans only cover 60% of post-deductible costs, though, so we’d be paying $22,500/year just to get to the point of BCBS picking up the next 60% of our expenses.  For that year.  Next year would be a whole new $22,500 before coverage began.  The financially astute will note that those annual costs approach the annual limit on a 401(k) contribution for my age cohort.  Hmm….

And what coverage do I get for that princely sum—besides “free” contraceptives, prenatal, newborn, and maternity care for us empty-nesters, I mean?  The DETAILS button does not have the answer.  Or even any details.  I get no information on what’s actually covered.  The Summary of Benefits and Plan Brochure links on the popup that appears under the DETAILS button just take me to PDF files that assure me that if we go outside the BCBS network, our coverage is zilch.  In truth, before Obamacare we had to talk to an insurance salesman to see a policy.  But I thought Obamacare was supposed to be better, as well as…cheaper….

It takes a Gold Plan to give us the 80% post-deductible coverage that our present plan has, though, so that’s the next look.  The top of the list here is BCBS’ “Blue Advantage Gold HMO 001” plan.  This one wants a $17,000/year premium, but it only charges a $9,750 deductible to make up for it, for a total annual cost of $26,750/year before coverage actually kicks in.  If I thought I could afford any part of a 401(k) under the Bronze plan, this Gold cost disabuses me of that foolishness.  The Gold’s DETAILS button is just as vague and useless as the Bronze’s, too.

Yeah, I’m better off, now that ObamaMart has been “fixed.”

Recall the Bowie State University Obamacare kerfuffle [emphasis in the original].

Bowie State University has suspended offering health insurance for domestic students for the 2013-2014 academic year.  Due to new requirements of the Affordable Care Act which will go into effect on January 1, 2014, the cost of insurance for domestic students will increase to approximately $1800 per year [from $54/semester].  If you were covered by the university health insurance last Spring 2013, your policy will expire on August 29, 2013.

Earlier this month, BSU student Eugene Craig objected via the BSU newspaper, The Bulldog Collegian; his article had this closer:

Dr [Rita, BSU Wellness Center Director] Wutoh made the announcement that the university would not be providing coverage for students this academic year, and that they could obtain insurance through the Maryland Health Insurance exchange.  I guess if you like your coverage you really can’t keep it as millions of Americans have been finding out over the last month.  As the plan the University has provided for many semester is considered to be out of compliance with the rules that HHS released for Colleges and Universities the University is forced to send everyone to the Maryland Exchange.  This is one sure way to make sure those “Invincible Millennials” are on the exchanges to make sure the cost of the ACA is balanced out.

Craig since has been roundly criticized, including by school administrators and via his Facebook page.  There, alumni (!) are calling him the “wanna be grandson of Clarence Thomas.”

Worse names, indeed.

…of Obamacare.

Unlike drug addicts, alcoholics, or the obese—all of whom represent higher-than-average medical costs—smokers are the only such group with a pre-existing condition that ObamaCare penalizes. It allows insurance companies to charge smokers up to 50 percent more than non-smokers for an identical policy….

There are a couple of things about this.  One is singling out a particular group for special treatment.  This is what the Obama administration does routinely, though.  Equality under law simply is inconceivable to President Barack Obama and his cronies.

The other is that “[Obamacare] allows insurance companies to charge” bit.  Big Government knows best.  Heaven forfend that a market solution, with individual Americans making our own decisions in an environment where businesses compete for customers without government interference, should be allowed.  Likely at lower cost to us, to boot.

And this double whammy especially hurts the poor, whom Obama studiously ignores in his drive to…deal with…the middle class.  The same high premiums hammer these poor—their low incomes are a major part of why they’re in that “47 million” who don’t have insurance, in the first place—but the subsidies for which they’re eligible cannot be used on the smoker surcharge, which is the mechanism by which the insurer is permitted to plus up the basic premium.

For instance, 64-yr-old non-smoker can get a Silver health “insurance” plan for $9,000 (!) per year.  A 64-yr-old non-smoker will pay $13,600 for the same plan.  Both non-smoker and smoker of an income level can get a subsidy for the $9,000 basic premium, but the smoker is on his own for those additional $4,600.