Experience proved ACA to be a sham

Last fall at the height of Affordable Health Care's problematic rollout, you published my letter chastising the naysayers and touting the ease with which I had enrolled. To any readers who may have enrolled because of my letter: I apologize.

As the new fall enrollment period approaches, please know this: my Blue Cross Blue Shield Affordable Health Care insurance is insurance in name only; it's a sham. My experience thus far: after a recent injury, I called BCBS to find a doctor in my PPO. They gave me a name. I called the doctor, he refused to accept the insurance. I called BCBS again. Again, new name, same result. In the end I called 23 doctors that BCBS said were in their network and 23 doctors refused my BCBS insurance as in network.

I have a separately purchased BCBS Affordable Health Care Dental policy which I chose to cancel because it has less a than 1 percent discount/coverage rate. The government's Marketplace people told me they couldn't cancel it, call BCBS to cancel. BCBS told me they couldn't cancel it, call the government Marketplace.

In a subsequent conference call, the Marketplace rep said they couldn't cancel the dental plan without canceling the health plan as well. I said fine, cancel both, since there exists no real insurance benefit in either plan and the Marketplace representative told me I would be forced to pay a hefty fine to the government for the cancellation of my (non) insurance policies.

My advice: buyer beware.

Finally, to the zealots on either side of the debate who will jump on this: a pox on both your houses.

To Republicans: you vehemently blocked any real consideration of health care reform such as single payer, available and successful in more that 30 countries.

To Democrats: to save face you settled for this hollow sham and called it real insurance.

As for me, I'm still in pain, still looking for an inplan doctor and still paying, as are all of us.

Paul Vandendolder

Hawthorn Woods