“Karmel Allison was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when she was nine years old,” a White House description read. “She has stayed on the same insurance ever since, despite constantly rising costs, for fear she would not be able to find a plan that would cover her due to her pre-existing condition. Allison recently began researching her options on CoveredCA and has publically described her experience as finally feeling equal to others, including her young and healthy husband, when it comes to access to coverage.”It sounds reasonable that a person with a pre-existing condition like Type 1 diabetes might have trouble getting insurance. So, who is Karmel Allison? According to her bio at A Sweet Life where she blogs about diabetes:
Karmel Allison was born in Southern California, diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of nine, and educated at UC Berkeley. Karmel now lives in San Diego with her husband, where she is loving the sunshine, working in computational biology at the University of California, San Diego, and learning to use the active voice when talking about her diabetes.So Ms. Allison works for the University of California, San Diego. What were her health insurance options? UC appeared to offer 8 plans to choose from pre-ACA.
It looks like Ms. Allison had a lot of choices, but what about that pre-existing condition?UC offers five Value plans and three Choice plans. The Valueplans have lower costs while the Choice plans provide moreflexibility and options. Use the information below to help you choose the right medical plan for you.
From page 5 of a UC group insurance eligibility fact sheet for employees and eligible family members:
Rules Regarding Pre-Existing Conditions
When you enroll in any UC-sponsored medical, dental or vision plan, you will not be excluded from enrollment based on your health, nor will your premium or level of benefits be based on any pre- existing health conditions. In fact, you will not be asked for a statement of health. The same applies to your eligible family members. However, enrolling in or increasing coverage for Supplemental and Dependent Life insurance and Supplemental Disability insurance outside of a period of initial eligibility (PIE) does require a statement of health. Pre-existing conditions may also limit the amount of benefits you can receive under Supplemental Disability during your first year of coverage.Unless I am missing something, Ms. Allison already had 8 plans to choose from with no health questions or pre-existing condition exclusions. She doesn't seem to be especially political from her twitter stream, but she does look like an Obama admirer from 2009.
I admit it. I liked you before, but date night? Funny, I believe in you more as a leader all of the sudden, Mr. Obama: http://bit.ly/4sEegGIt is likely Ms. Alllison is a big Obamacare supporter because, regardless of her insurance status and possibilities, she is an activist for others with diabetes.
— Karmel Allison (@karmel_a) October 31, 2009
You read and you decide.
The WWE has more unscripted moments and characters than this paranoid White House.
ReplyDeleteShe's a doctoral candidate at UCSD. If she is uninsured, then the UC system would mandate she take their health coverage. That would run over $2600 a year in premiums, according to rates posted on UCLA's site. As long as her income is less than 250% of the Federal poverty level, she would DEFINITELY pay less than that under Covered California. So, yes, she would certainly benefit.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous Anonymous said...
ReplyDelete"She's a doctoral candidate at UCSD. If she is uninsured, then the UC system would mandate she take their health coverage. That would run over $2600 a year in premiums, according to rates posted on UCLA's site. As long as her income is less than 250% of the Federal poverty level, she would DEFINITELY pay less than that under Covered California. So, yes, she would certainly benefit. "
The WH and her blog post don't mention her saving money. They talk about getting coverage with pre-existing condition. We don't know here income level anyway, so there is no way to calculate if she would save money.