My Insurance Was Canceled -- And That's O.K. My journey to get a new health insurance policy is just about complete. As I wrote in my previous post, I received a letter in October canceling my current individual health insurance policy effective Jan. 1. The first decision I had to make was whether to go to the individual marketplace or buy group coverage, as I used to, for my employees. As it happens, most people on my staff get insurance through their spouse's employer, and my two single employees have individual insurance. While they expressed interest in group insurance, neither really wanted to take a cut in pay to cover their share of the costs. So I decided to determine how to get insurance for myself. On the advice of my broker, I tried to apply at HealthCare.gov. But I had the same problems a lot of other people had, and I got nowhere fast. At the end of the process, I couldn't even tell if my application had been accepted. I reached out to a health care advocate, Valerie Arkoosh, who is a senior policy adviser with the National Physicians Alliance, after hearing her speak at an event. When I asked if I should give up on the government's troubled website, she said I should keep trying, partly because the pricing could be better on the site than going through a broker or an individual insurer. After waiting for the site to be upgraded in November, I decided to go back into the system at the beginning of December. My account had been updated and my application was submitted. As I expected, the site confirmed that I was not eligible for a subsidy. And yet, despite the progress, I still could not see any pricing information or details about the health plans available through the site. And then I became ill with a sinus infection, which meant I needed to use my existing coverage one final time last week. My co-pay with my primary care physician was $30 (the plan charges $50 for specialists), and I paid $10 for a generic prescription at the local pharmacy. That was in addition to the $613.48, I have been paying each month for my current plan, which was canceled because it does not comply with the Affordable Care Act. With the Dec. 15 deadline to secure health insurance looming - it has since been extended to Dec. 23 - I had no choice but to move forward. Even though I knew that the plans offered through the government exchange might be cheaper, I decided to check out what my current carrier, Independence Blue Cross, was offering. Oddly enough, I had trouble with its website, too. So I called the help number, and a customer service representative transferred me to an insurance agent. After a couple of minutes, a pleasant women named Octavia got on the line. What happened next amazed me. She asked if I qualified for a subsidy and warned that we could not move forward if I did - we would have to wait until the website was working. When I assured her that I did not qualify, she asked me what kind of coverage I wanted. I said Platinum P.P.O., which was the rough equivalent of the policy I had. She said that I would have $10 co-pays and $40 specialist co-pays. Then she asked my age, birth date, gender, address and whether I ever used tobacco. She asked if I was a current customer and for my policy number. Two minutes later, she said my new policy amount would be - drum role, please - $443.59 a month. I was shocked and thrilled. It was a savings of $174.84 a month, which is substantial. Octavia said that a paper bill would be generated Dec. 8 and mailed to my house and that it would have to be paid before Jan 1. She gave me her phone number and encouraged me to call her if I had any problems. While the introduction of the Affordable Care Act and its website was poorly executed, I am delighted that the law has eliminated pre-existing conditions and lowered rates - at least for me. My big question now is whether the law will keep my insurance company from raising my rates arbitrarily in the future. I'll keep you all posted. Melinda F. Emerson is founder and chief executive of Quintessence Multimedia, a social media strategy and content development company. You can follow her on Twitter.