I really, really hate to quote the Washington Examiner, but unless the guy's actually into fabrication (like Breitbart, but I'm guessing), there are problems. (Oddly, or not, nobody on the "progressive" sites seems to be applying their undoubtedly superior critical thinking skills to ObamaCare's rollout at all.) Richard Pollock, Washington Examiner:
States and insurance companies are supposed to use an "Actuarial Value" calculator. The actuarial value measures benchmarks for the four state standardized plans.
An AV value of 60 means the state plan covers 60% of the costs and enrollees pay 40%. The four plans range from 60% to 90% coverage.
Employers are to use a "Minimum Value" calculator, which assesses whether an employee health plan meets minimal federal criteria.
CMS released "beta" versions of the calculators in November 2012 and a "final" calculator this February.
The most glaring problem, according to users, is that the calculators do not reflect real world conditions.
Paul Hencoski [is] a lead partner at KPMG, the audit and accounting firm [which] represents 19 states trying to set up health care exchanges.
"There's been some question around the results they've been getting. And whether they represent the true actuarial value of what was being offered, Hencoski told The Washington Examiner.
Julie Peper, a senior consulting actuary at Wakely Associates in Denver, CO whose firm is advising Oregon, Vermont and Massachusetts agrees. "There are some things that are different in the AV calculator than what will be in practice," she said.
Mark Jamilkowski, director of KPMG's actuarial services practice told The Washington Examiner the situation is so acute "There are some states we know of that are interested in launching their own calculator."* KPMG would not identify the states.
Insurance brokers who assist employers say the MV calculator contains flaws too. Susan Rider, an account executive with the Indianapolis brokerage firm of Gregory & Appel told The Washington Examiner, "they don't ask the right questions. There are a lot of things missing from it that I as a broker look for in a plan."
Rich Stover, a partner with New Jersey-based Bucks Consulting, an actuarial firm, says the MV calculator is so rigid it cannot accept special features in large employer plans.