John applies for health insurance through the ACA exchange and a pre-ACA private insurer (2013)
story · status: told 2×, last update 2015 · last event: update (2015-03-24)
In October 2013 John applied for health insurance twice on camera, through the new Affordable Care Act exchange and through an old-style private application, and neither got him insured that day. By 2015 he called those early months awful, said signing up had become easy and was himself insured through the exchanges.
About: Affordable Care Act, Health insurance marketplace
| date | event | what | video |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-10-08 | told | John applies for health insurance through the ACA exchange (account errors, ID upload, 49 minutes) and through a pre-ACA private application (2 hours 16 minutes of medical history); neither yields insurance yet. | Applying for Health Insurance: Then and Now 00:00:00 |
| 2015-03-24 | retold | John recalls that trying to sign up for exchange insurance in its early months was truly awful. | Is Obamacare Working? The Affordable Care Act Five Years Later 00:03:53 |
| 2015-03-24 | update | John says signing up is now really easy and he is among the more than 12 million Americans insured through the exchanges. | Is Obamacare Working? The Affordable Care Act Five Years Later 00:04:01 |
What is said about it
13 statements, by date (the events above are the turns of the thread; these are the details).
- 2013-10-08 · Applying for Health Insurance: Then and Now — announcement: John says he will apply for health insurance twice: through the exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act and through the pre-ACA private insurance options, which still exist. — 00:00:00
- 2013-10-08 · Applying for Health Insurance: Then and Now — In the description John says it is too soon to tell which option will be cheaper or offer the best coverage; he wanted to compare the still very glitchy exchanges with the pre-ACA experience. (unsure) — video description
- 2013-10-08 · Applying for Health Insurance: Then and Now — John: Starting at 1:11 p.m. via Google, John's exchange sign-up repeatedly fails ('please wait', 'sign up unsuccessful', 'system is unavailable'); five minutes in he calls it a little underwhelming. — 00:00:26
- 2013-10-08 · Applying for Health Insurance: Then and Now — John: Once he has an account, John enters himself, his wife, his son Henry and his new baby, and finds the questions easy to answer. — 00:01:35
- 2013-10-08 · Applying for Health Insurance: Then and Now — John: At 2 p.m., 49 minutes into the ACA application, John has uploaded a photo of his driver's license to verify his identity before choosing a plan. — 00:02:04
- 2013-10-08 · Applying for Health Insurance: Then and Now — John: The pre-ACA private application warns that incorrect or incomplete information may void coverage or lead to claim denial, which John calls the really scary part. — 00:02:34
- 2013-10-08 · Applying for Health Insurance: Then and Now — John: The private form asks about moving violations, pregnancy, diagnoses including mental or behavioral disorders, and drinking over 14 drinks a week; John answers with jokes. (playful) — 00:03:03
- 2013-10-08 · Applying for Health Insurance: Then and Now — John says the private application is fully 25 pages, its language makes his head hurt, and he must look up different doctors' phone numbers. — 00:04:06
- 2013-10-08 · Applying for Health Insurance: Then and Now — John: At 4:13 p.m. John considers his medical history finished after 2 hours 16 minutes, skipping the information-practices fine print he doesn't understand. — 00:04:55
- 2013-10-08 · Applying for Health Insurance: Then and Now — John sums up: he got insurance in neither case, but even with the server errors, applying through the ACA exchanges was more than twice as fast as the old way. — 00:04:55
- 2013-10-08 · Applying for Health Insurance: Then and Now — John says the new way is also much less confusing and intrusive: the old way listed every doctor visit, the new one asked only whether he smoked. — 00:05:24
- 2015-03-24 · Is Obamacare Working? The Affordable Care Act Five Years Later — John says the ACA phased in slowly, its core starting in 2014; the late-2013 exchange rollout and healthcare.gov were a disaster, though buying private insurance before was arguably worse. — 00:03:31
- 2015-03-24 · Is Obamacare Working? The Affordable Care Act Five Years Later — John says the exchanges now work well: more than 12 million Americans have signed up, premiums rise more slowly than before, and more insurers participate. — 00:04:01