New insurance policy options under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, are now available to millions of Americans. Most people have now heard of the various tiers from bronze to platinum that you can select. But until now, it's been hard to know exactly what Obamacare platinum plans would look like in real life.
In the following video, Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool's director of investment planning, takes a look at Obamacare platinum plans and what kind of coverage you can expect from them. Dan notes that the idea behind the platinum tier is that insurance companies pay 90% of expected costs while you pay 10%, but that doesn't mean all your expenses are split 90/10. In California, state law doesn't allow any deductible on platinum plans, with maximums of $25 for doctor visits and an annual out-of-pocket maximum of $4,000. In Massachusetts, though, actual policies tend to have deductibles of between $0 and $500, with co-pays for doctor visits of $20 to $25 and out-of-pocket maximums in the $1,000 to $1,500 range. As insurance companies Humana (HUM +2.18%), Aetna (AET +0.00%), and UnitedHealth (UNH +2.60%) aim to figure out the best combination of traits to remain profitable and attract clients, it'll be interesting to see whether Obamacare platinum plans change to reflect varying demand for certain types of insurance policies under the Affordable Care Act.
