Health Care Stories: "My Premium was Being Raised to $1,355 a Month"

With a universally-available, high-quality, affordable public health insurance option competing alongside private insurance plans, Bill will have the opportunity to choose among more affordable healthcare options.   In many states, Bill would have to wait as long as 18 months for coverage to begin because he had a pre-existing condition.
 

“About 5 years ago I and about 500,000 other Tennessee residents lost our TennCare coverage.  When this happened we all were told that we had 60 days to apply for private insurance and that the insurance companies couldn’t turn us down because of pre-existing conditions.  They offered me a guaranteed issue policy at $850 a month for the premium plus $170 a month for my meds…This July I got a letter from BCBS stating that they were proud to be able to protect me from the high cost of healthcare.  Oh, and by the way, in order to do this my premium was being raised to $1,355 a month…” 

Bill, Tennessee

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*Please note that actual names have been changed to protect individual's confidentiality.  Media interested in interviewing HIV-positive people about health-coverage issues should contact AFC Communications Director Johnathon Briggs at jbriggs@aidschicago or 312-334-0922.