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Dexter cancer patient who called health care 'unaffordable' will save more than $1K
By Marisa Schultz, March 10, 2014
A Dexter cancer patient featured in a conservative group’s TV ad campaign denouncing her new health care coverage as “unaffordable” will save more than $1,000 this year.
Julie Boonstra, 49, starred last month in an emotional television ad sponsored by Americans for Prosperity that implied Democratic U.S. Rep. Gary Peters’ vote for the Affordable Care Act made her medication so “unaffordable” she could die. Peters of Bloomfield Township is running for an open U.S. Senate seat against Republican Terri Lynn Land.
The Detroit News and fact checkers last month cast doubt on the accuracy of the TV ad. On Monday, Boonstra acknowledged which health plan she chose, offering the first evidence of cost savings.
Boonstra said Monday her new plan she dislikes is the Blue Cross Premier Gold health care plan, which caps patient responsibility for out-of-pocket costs at $5,100 a year, lower than the federal law’s maximum of $6,350 a year. It means the new plan will save her at least $1,200 compared with her former insurance plan she preferred that was ended under Obamacare’s coverage requirements.
A Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan spokesman said the insurer welcomes a chance to help members understand their benefits and alleviate concerns.
“We are here to help people like Ms. Boonstra to work their way through adjusting to the health plans we are now offering them,” the Blue’s Andy Hetzel said. “If there are questions ... they should call.”
Boonstra’s old plan cost $1,100 a month in premiums or $13,200 a year, she previously told The News. That didn’t include money she spent on co-pays, prescription drugs and other out-of-pocket expenses.
By contrast, the Blues’ plan premium costs $571 a month or $6,852 for the year. Since out-of-pocket costs are capped at $5,100 for in-network doctors and hospitals, including deductibles, the maximum Boonstra would pay this year for all of her cancer treatment is $11,952.
When advised of the details of her Blues’ plan, Boonstra said the idea that it would be cheaper “can’t be true.”
“I personally do not believe that,” Boonstra said.
She said she still fears her costs will be unaffordable because she could be hit with large out-of-pocket bills in the early months when she wouldn’t have the money to pay. She also said her out-of-pocket maximum could be higher than advertised because there’s one prescription that was previously covered by her old plan that isn’t and she now buys with a separate prescription discount card.
Hetzel said he understands patients may be confused by their benefits as they adjust. Hetzel said the Blue Cross Premier Gold plan covers all prescriptions — from generics up to specialty drugs. He advises customers like Boonstra to use the coverage instead of a prescription discount card so co-pays would go toward meeting the out-of-pocket maximum.
On the chance of being assessed the full maximum in the first month or so of a health plan, he said: “It is possible, but it’s highly unlikely.”
The development comes after Democrats launched a counter-offensive against Americans for Prosperity, the group backed by billionaires Charles and David Koch that has spent more than $30 million in advertising in competitive Senate races nationwide attacking Democrats on Obamacare.
Their spending has been unmatched in Michigan and elsewhere, prompting Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to declare on the Senate floor the Koch brothers are trying to buy elections with “untrue” ads like Boonstra’s.
In her interview with The News, Boonstra took issue with Reid’s assessment. She called Reid’s remarks hurtful and said, “I was completely outraged. I deserve an apology.”
Reid spokesman Adam Jentleson said: “Sen. Reid’s criticism is directed entirely at the secretive billionaire Koch brothers who are spending millions to rig the system to benefit themselves and the top 1 percent.”
Boonstra is the ex-wife of Mark Boonstra, the former Washtenaw County GOP chairman whom Gov. Rick Snyder appointed to the Michigan Court of Appeals in 2012. Julie Boonstra said she’s never been a political person beyond advocating for lower-cost oral chemotherapy treatment in Washington.
The initial February ad starring Boonstra was questioned by independent fact checkers based in part on Detroit News reports. After losing the health care plan she liked, Boonstra said in the spot: “Now, the out-of-pocket costs are so high, it’s unaffordable. If I do not receive my medication, I will die.”
Americans for Prosperity spokesman Levi Russell defended the claim Monday: “Before her plan was canceled by Obamacare, Julie knew what her monthly costs would be. Now those costs are unpredictable and the potential for spikes in any given month make them unaffordable ... ”
Peters’ lawyers wrote TV stations reminding them of their obligation to protect the public from deceptive ads. Americans for Prosperity fought back last week by releasing another ad in which Boonstra rebukes Peters for “trying to silence me.”
“Any charge that our campaign tried to silence her are absolutely inaccurate,” Peters’ spokeswoman Haley Morris said. “Per standard practice, we asked AFP to provide documentation for claims that AFP paid to air after independent fact checkers said they needed further substantiation.”
Boonstra, who retained her University of Michigan oncologist through the new plan and receives her oral chemotherapy, said understanding the new plan is “very confusing.” She said Monday she’s seeking a detailed contract from Blue Cross.
She was unable to provide documentation to back up her belief that her costs are going up because she has not received any bills. “I can’t really comment on numbers when I haven’t received the statement yet,” she said.
On Tuesday, the Washington Post’s fact checker, Glenn Kessler, downgraded Boonstra’s ad further from two to three Pinocchios, based on the new plan information from The News.
“We understand that change can be confusing and that Boonstra was annoyed at having to sign up for a new plan,” Kessler wrote. “But it appears she jumped on television without trying to understand the basics about her new coverage. ... In any case, one cannot claim that a plan is ‘unaffordable’ when over the course of the year it will provide you with substantial savings.”
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