House Rules for Insurance Companies at ACASignups.net

A few weeks back (upon my request) I was sent updated enrollment data (both on- and off-exchange) from CoOportunity Health, which operates in Iowa and Nebraska.

Earlier today (upon my semi-request...that is, I had asked about it a couple of weeks ago but kind of forgot about it), I was sent a press release for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, which included their ACA Open Enrollment data breakdown (well, most of it...I had to have them clarify the rest).

A few minutes ago, without any doing on my part, eHealth Insurance (which I've written about a couple of times for off-exchange data, and which is actually a broker, not an insurance company themselves) tweeted out a link to one of my stories about them.

There's nothing wrong with any of this, of course; in the first two cases I asked, and the third one was a reasonable thing for eHealth to do. However,  I think you can begin to see my concern is about where this may be heading.

I do want as much valid, relevant enrollment data as I can get to make sure the spreadsheets/graph are as accurate, comprehensive and up to date as possible. To that end, some of this info (especially the off-exchange information) is only available from the insurance companies & co-ops themselves. So, if an insurance company wants to send this data to me (in as clear-cut and no-BS a way as possible, please), I welcome it, and will be happy to post the relevant data here.

However, just to be clear before it becomes an issue: I am not and will not be endorsing or intentionally promoting for any private insurance company.

As I've stated on the FAQ and elsewhere, the great irony here is that I'm actually a single-payer guy. What that means--by definition--is that if it were up to me, the private health insurance industry would be pretty much wiped out and replaced with (gasp!) a Big Scary Taxpayer-Funded Government Program® (aside from perhaps some value-added services and the like which go beyond the coverage included in the ACA).

That doesn't mean I dislike individual companies or representatives for those companies. I have friends who work for private health insurance companies (well, ok, one friend, and she just left it); it's not like I want them to be out of a job or anything. I just happen to feel that a) single payer is a lot more efficient and b) let's face it, the ACA wouldn't have to curtail abuses like rescission and the like if private insurance companies (some, not all) weren't guilty of them in the first place.

I don't see the ACA as the destination, I see it as a rest stop on the road towards something better...although it looks like we'll be hanging out at this spot for quite some time, so we might as well make the best of it.

Now, I do have a warmer place in my heart for the Co-Ops. As far as I can tell, those are more along the lines of a Credit Union, in that I believe they're owned by their members, and are sort of a public/private hybrid organization. However, that doesn't mean I'm gonna be singing the praises of a particular one either, beyond touting their enrollment data/etc.

So, similar to what I posted this morning about "off the record" information, if any insurance companies or co-ops want to send me their enrollment data and/or other related data, I'd welcome it...but don't expect me to post anything aside from that data on the site, unless it's an unusual situation.