Last time we checked up on Whitney Johnson, the Texas multiple sclerosis patient whose divinely provided health insurance, a "blessing from God" at $325 a month, was being canceled, just over a month ago, she was asking her friends and fans to pray:
I actually just found out moments ago that in order to be added to my husband’s insurance (which is the route I thought I was going to be able to go) it is going to cost me $900 per month, and the insurance is awful. It doesn’t cover my treatments, and I have to pay $5k out of pocket before any co-insurance even picks up! We simply can not afford $900 per month for my health care alone. I also got word that my friend with type 1 diabetes just got quoted a premium of $600 per month with a $14,000 deductible!!! This is just outrageous. I trust The Lord will provide for me and my family or just heal my body so I no longer need treatments.I was able to demonstrate a few holes in her story, including the fact that that diabetic pal was imaginary (she pulled him out of the rightwing rumor mill), but not to say exactly what her Obamacare policy was actually going to cost. This has now been taken care of by Maggie Maher at healthinsurance.org:
But the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, which has known the facts for a month, won't publish a correction....she had found a $350 Blue plan outside of the exchange. Based on the details she provided, I managed to locate it. (The premium is actually $347.92 a month.)It turns out to be very similar to the exchange policy I had found. The premium is higher, but the deductible ($1,000 instead of $1,500) and co-pays for medications ($10/50/100 vs. $35/75/150) would be slightly lower. The provider network would be the same (Blue Choice).
I expressed my concern that inaccuracies in the story would discourage readers who were thinking about signing up in the exchanges. He suggested that I sounded like an “advocate” for Obamacare.(h/t Jed Lewison at Daily Kos)
