Dentist’s Family and Employees’ Insurance Plan of 7 Years Canceled — Now What?
Kelsey Lucas /
A family dentist in Colorado has provided the same insurance plan to his family and five employees for more than seven years. But now, thanks to Obamacare, that plan is canceled.
Dr. Mark Albers is a solo practitioner in general and cosmetic dentistry in Colorado Springs. His wife, Carla, contacted Heritage last week after their family and employees received notices saying their plan “will not be offered anymore because of the Affordable Care Act.”
Mark and his wife operate the practice as a family-owned small business, and have utilized an insurance broker to help guide them through the complicated world of health insurance for years. But Carla said their broker now shares the same irritation they do.
“We are very frustrated to not know what our options are as a small business offering coverage to our employees,” Carla said. “Our broker has been inundated with calls and is anxious as we are to see what we will have available.”
Because the family changed the deductible on the Humana insurance plan two years ago, their plan was not grandfathered in — something Carla said they had no idea would happen.
Carla and her husband counted on President Obama’s promise to honor insurance plans, but now join the millions of other Americans whose plans have been terminated in a state of uncertainty.
“Will we have other options as a small business or will we all be dumped onto the exchanges?” Carla said.
Based on Heritage’s state-by-state breakdown of the Obamacare exchanges, Carla explained she knows Colorado’s plans may not face significant cost increases like other states, but sees cost as only one factor in her “unhappiness with Obamacare” and reluctance to sign up.
“We’ve had a number of surgeries the last couple of years and have been happy with our doctors, the hospitals, and the way the claims were handled,” Carla said. “We don’t know if these same doctors will be available to us.”
Carla is also “leery” of government having access to private, sensitive information. She feels proper security measures are not in place and the website is vulnerable.