Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: rogwar on April 07, 2014, 11:41:17 AM
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So what has happened to yours? same, gone up or down?
Our cost is up along with what we pay out of pocket. Not as bad as some of other peoples. We are using more of the flexible spending account.
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In. Old insurance was cancelled (didn't meet standards of ACA); new one costs about the same premium-wise, but higher out of pocket costs (combined with lower flex-spending available, again due to ACA changes). My daughter, who self insures had her premiums raised by 8% this year.
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Cost is up a bit since my employer absorbed the brunt of the increase. More meds are being added to the "do not use" list unless all others have been tried, in other words, unless you've tried all the generics we aren't paying for what you want. Flex spending now can be rolled over to next year, that helps.
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Mine went up 50% in the last 6-months.
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40% price increase immediately after the new law went into effect.
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My Health Insurance in the UK is pennies a day and covers a cut fingers and full cancer cover care :old:
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See Rules #14, #6
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I used to be a licensed rep for one of the largest Health & Life insurers out there and there are many many issues that can cause a person's rates to go up....or even get dropped.
Getting older (usually in 10 year increments), having expensive health problems or procedures, are obvious reasons. Now that companies cannot discriminate for pre-existing conditions THAT is one expensive problem for companies. Considering if someone had cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, etc. those issues can ring up a very expensive tab in a year when before those people normally couldn't get coverage -- even at a extremely high rate.
Also, it does matter if you get health insurance as an individual or as part of a group (through an employer, i.e.). Individual rates are almost always higher than group. Group rates can go up depending on the health and ages of those in the group. Working at a large law firm, for example, where most all of the employees are over 50 will have far higher rates than a daycare where most of the employees are in their 20's and 30's.
I am not going to get into the problems of the current national problem of health care other than the fact that if you force a business to do something that drastically screws with their bottom line and profit margins they will jack the rates up to compensate themselves for the extra pay-out costs or simply drop a policy holder who seems to be a greater liability to them in a heartbeat -- with usually no recourse available to the "dropee".
Health and life are both things that if you get it while you are young, say early 20's, will always be cheaper...however most young people think they are bulletproof and don't care to get either.
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I dont even want to talk about this. I'll get banned from the forums were my views known.
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premium up
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My Health Insurance in the UK is pennies a day and covers a cut fingers and full cancer cover care :old:
I pay 0,82% of my salary for health insurance for full coverage, including dental.
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Odly enough it was health insurance that made it possible for the great leaps forward in medical care in the US. They were willing to pay which gave healthcare companies incentive to develop products and services.
When I was a boy, the doc came to your house, opened his black bag and pretty much, your healthcare came out of that bag. No, MRIs, no CT scans, no wiggly things that went up the unspeakable orifices in the human body.
It is a wonderful healthcare system we have but it is just real expensive.
My best advice for young people, get a job with a government either state or local. LOL My next door neighbor complained because his state teachers insurance plan went up to 70 bucks a month. When I told him how much we paid, he never said another word.
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See Rules #14, #6
My health insurance premiums went up 40%. I wanted my old plan but I couldn't keep it.
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mine went up. i've got at least 3 customers, and 2 friends that've lost theirs. moms went up, along with her deductible. i've got a customer that's a doctor.....he's saying that there's some ridiculous deductibles. like $6k/year ridiculous that many people don't realize yet.
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mine went up. i've got at least 3 customers, and 2 friends that've lost theirs. moms went up, along with her deductible. i've got a customer that's a doctor.....he's saying that there's some ridiculous deductibles. like $6k/year ridiculous that many people don't realize yet.
And I've heard one story of a guy with pre-existing Diabetes and other issues, saw deductible of 16k.
Opted out and was notified that IRS would get info to assess his penalty, because he opted out.
Wait till the supporters of it realize theirs :aok
:cheers: Oz
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First years fine is supposed to be around $100. I pay 271 with a subsidy of 313. Without it, I wouldn't have insurance, so I'm grateful. Been looking at 600+ a month for years and couldn't afford it. Have lots of potentials...esophageal cancer, heart disease, etc all hereditary. As bad as opinions are, there will be fewer people not paying for the health care they receive, so I think, in the long run it will be a positive.
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Mine didn't change.
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Haven't had insurance since I was 18. Now I do. I will pay $62 a month. With $500 deductible and $25 copays for visits and medication.
I am a fairly healthy guy, I rarely hurt myself severely, so I never considered owning insurance at the cost it has been for me in the last 10 years. I figure at this price, It is safer and cheaper (if something bad should happen) to have it, than not.
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See Rule #14
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See Rules #2, #14
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First years fine is supposed to be around $100. I pay 271 with a subsidy of 313. Without it, I wouldn't have insurance, so I'm grateful. Been looking at 600+ a month for years and couldn't afford it. Have lots of potentials...esophageal cancer, heart disease, etc all hereditary. As bad as opinions are, there will be fewer people not paying for the health care they receive, so I think, in the long run it will be a positive.
$6k deductible. remember that. that means that till you've spent that much in a year, you pay for everything. even though you've got insurance.
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See Rules #2, #14
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Its def made healthcare more affordable for this family. Still expensive for a pretty poor service to be honest (compared to what i was used to in the europe), but less silly cost by far.
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Mine is about to go up by a considerable amount.
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I was able to get insurance for my family, something that was prohibitively expensive previously.
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See Rule #14
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It is based off of your income. If your premium is really low they have probably pushed you toward state medicaid (which is fed sub'd). I noticed that if you are in the medicaid bracket you ought to add dental...Get 'em pearly again.
Also the fine is based off of income...
Like Forrest said, dat's about all I'm gonna say about dat
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I'v been in the individual market all my life, rates were fine till I hit my 50's, then they started to shoot up, no claims to speak of, in good health. I'm over 60 now still in good health, rates about 45% less this year than last.
The thing that I'm interested in finding out is how claims payments are gonna be handled, in the individual market it was a nightmare, the companies fought everything, this isn't covered, this is coded wrong..etc always had to jump through hoops that my friends with group coverage didn't have to deal with.
We shall see.
shamus
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Odly enough it was health insurance that made it possible for the great leaps forward in medical care in the US. They were willing to pay which gave healthcare companies incentive to develop products and services.
When I was a boy, the doc came to your house, opened his black bag and pretty much, your healthcare came out of that bag. No, MRIs, no CT scans, no wiggly things that went up the unspeakable orifices in the human body.
It is a wonderful healthcare system we have but it is just real expensive.
It is completely over priced. Healthcare costs are so inflated it isn't even funny. When my wife was in the hospital after going through a c-section for our second son, she had to get a CT Scan of her chest to check for pneumonia. Do you know how much the bill was for just the CT Scan alone? If you guessed $5,000 you would be wrong. If you had guessed $10,000 you would be wrong. If you guessed $15,000 you win! $15,000 for a CT Scan? Are you f'in kidding me. The total bill for her procedure (due do internal bleeding complications after the surgery because the doctor "may have nicked something but wasn't sure and probably wouldn't be able to find it if they opened her back up") was over $100,000. That is quite an expensive child birth if you ask me.
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I lost mine when my company forced me down to 18 hours a week when I was injured... Doctor's note stated I can work "up to" 30 hours a week...
Sad thing is they pressed me down long enough to loose my coverage meaning I had to wait 1 year again in order to qualify back on their insurance...
The problem is I've been waiting to get surgery for nearly 4 years now and recently got new private insurance... I'm tired of walking in a cast, but I cannot rush into it since I'll probably be out of work for about 2 years...
I spend about $350 dollars now a month for what I need/going to need...
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for me and my son I pay 180 per month. if it hadnt been for the new rules, my son wouldnt have had insurance as he works for wall-mart. I have 30 dollars copayments but there's a clinic at my work with no copays. medication costs at most 10 dollars each.
my insurance rate has been going up about the same for the last 6 years. when I started it, it was free for employee now it's 90 bucks. I get my insurance thru kaiser permanente.
we are also given free dental,vision and life insurance. so i guess I am a lucky one that my job offers great insurance. then again one of the guys really messed up his knee getting drunk during the superbowl and now is looking at about 5k in deductibles. the difference between his insurance and mine is that he picked the "low" option to save 40 bucks a month, since he "never gets hurt or sick".
semp
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I was stuck in a portability policy as I could not get an individual policy due to pre existing bs.( osteo arthritis? MILD osteo arthritis?) that plan had a $1000 deductible and 20 percent coinsurance and was from Pacific Source which has a good reputation and I never had a problem with them paying,(than again they never really did what with the deductible and all.) The last check I wrote to them for a months premium,age 50, was just shy of $900. Now I have a no deductible plan with kaiser for 457 a month. No subsidy. No bs.
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See Rule #14
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See Rule #14
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My costs of family insurance now are about 10% of my pay every week and would go up every year about 5%. This past year though it went up 20%. :headscratch: Maybe someone could INform me why?
The Doctors and Lawyers used to live on the same street as the common folk. Now they sequester themselves in their private sections of town much like a monarchy. I think we should forget our rebellion and ask for the queens forgiveness.
But will they take back such rebellious children? (http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l479/maljohnson_bucket/new_bucket/FlagWaver.gif) (http://media.photobucket.com/user/maljohnson_bucket/media/new_bucket/FlagWaver.gif.html)
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This thread was intended to be about the cost of health insurance. Has it gone up, down or stayed the same for you and/or family?
I am lucky enough to work for a major company with good benefits. The amount I pay for our family in every paycheck has gone up. The copays have increased. Deductibles have gone up as well. The prescriptions seem about the same but none of us were on meds anyway so I can only compare the occasional med and the likes of generic flonase. We are now paying a notable amount more than a few years ago.
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40% price increase immediately after the new law went into effect.
My employer was pro-active and raised it a week before it became law. :lol It's up about 80% (premiums) since.
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National Heath Service :D
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To those who keep referring to rule 14....there have been no politics discussed, so you(who are opposed, despite the positives) can leave it alone.
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i was14'd.....but i don't think i said anything political......but it's ok. i tried to keep it away from needing editing, and didn't do so well enough.
as i mentioned earlier, i know people personally that've lost their coverage, that've had their costs go up, some that've lost hours, and one or two that've lost their jobs.
i have ideas on the fix.....but they're not something that can be typed here. and not because they're bad. but i know that would be stepping over the line, which i'm trying not to do.
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To those who keep referring to rule 14....there have been no politics discussed, so you(who are opposed, despite the positives) can leave it alone.
I think it will be okay as long as the "O" word isn't used.
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I pay 0,82% of my salary for health insurance for full coverage, including dental.
I have 3 sets of teeth :old:
The dog ate one set it was like a crime scene when they emerged, they have not fitted right since :old:
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it goes up every year just like the cost of living, 8 years ago I paid $15 a month for insurance, and 2 years ago when I left the same job and same insurance I was paying $360 a month. I have also known people Cap that have lost their coverage and premiums went up considerably, I hope I dont cross the line here, but IMO there are MANY other things that are in need of redoing other than insurance, and I will leave it there.
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it goes up every year just like the cost of living, 8 years ago I paid $15 a month for insurance, and 2 years ago when I left the same job and same insurance I was paying $360 a month
The last 2 places I worked insurance premiums went up, deductibles went up and coverage went down. Just like clockwork.
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stayed the same, my employer pays for part, I pay for part and to my knowledge neither side is paying more than before (the amount they pay is fixed).
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NHS. It's not perfect, but it works.
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my insurance has been going up at the same rate for the past 7 years and not because "some new law was passed". since I have been allowed to put my son (he's 22 now) 3 years ago my insurance has been going up about 20 or 20 bucks a year. I think the op was interested more in knowing if the insurance as been going up at the same rate as in past years of if it took a big jump or went down in the last couple.
at my work some people whine and complain about how much we pay. the top choice is about 250 a month for a family with a husband, wife and 1 or more kids. 30 dollars office visits and 10 dollars for each prescription. we also have a clinic at work where we have no copayment. when I worked at my last job that offered insurance back in 98 I paid around 400 bucks for me, wife and 3 kids.
I am lucky that at my pay rate it takes less than 8 hours to pay for my health insurance. my company offers free dental and vision benefits along with life insurance and add&d. btw my company has about 1100 employes.
semp
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Nevermind I'm about finished with this place......
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What happens if you lose your job guncrasher?
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There was no reason for premiums to go up. These slimy insurance companies used this for an excuse to increase profits knowing the average joe would believe it was the law's fault. Same game oil companies use to jack up prices when the wind blows the wrong way in Saudi.
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There was no reason for premiums to go up. These slimy insurance companies used this for an excuse to increase profits knowing the average joe would believe it was the law's fault. Same game oil companies use to jack up prices when the wind blows the wrong way in Saudi.
How dare you!
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There was no reason for premiums to go up. These slimy insurance companies used this for an excuse to increase profits knowing the average joe would believe it was the law's fault. Same game oil companies use to jack up prices when the wind blows the wrong way in Saudi.
i got no problem with companies making profits. but there is a difference between profiting, and gouging. insurance companies have been gouging for a very very long time.
EDITED TO REMOVE LINK. if you want link, message me(if that's allowed?)
as for oil prices? that's the fault of futures traders mostly. but that would deserve its own thread.
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I have a Health Savings Account, meaning I pay everything out of pocket, first $5,600 a year. After that the HSA pays every penny up to $5 million a year. I've had this HSA for my small family for 6-years. In those 6 years we exceeded the $5,600 once, by about $2,000. That means they paid the $2,000, not us.
My monthly premiums went up to $745 a month, from $471. That is a 58.17% increase. Not thrilled about it at all. That is essentially a new, mid-priced car payment a month. All for the same coverage.
:furious :bhead
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i got no problem with companies making profits. but there is a difference between profiting, and gouging. insurance companies have been gouging for a very very
You bring up a question I've never been able to adequately answer, which is: what is the difference between a fair profit and gouging? I feel like I know it when I see it but that's about it. Extortion seems clearer but the guy selling water for 10 dollars a gallon after a hurricane probably thinks he is earning an honest living while I would tend to think he is a s. bag. Sorry for off topic.
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See Rule #14
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Rather pay the fine than be told what to do ....
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What happens if you lose your job guncrasher?
most liked they will hire somebody to replace me.
semp
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You bring up a question I've never been able to adequately answer, which is: what is the difference between a fair profit and gouging? I feel like I know it when I see it but that's about it. Extortion seems clearer but the guy selling water for 10 dollars a gallon after a hurricane probably thinks he is earning an honest living while I would tend to think he is a s. bag. Sorry for off topic.
i'll use a local example of gouging.
remember hurricane irene? well, originally, she was supposed to hit cape may head on. they evacuated. i had to drive down there the night before to remove some of our (CAP) assets from cape may county airport. gas down there was about a buck a gallon more than it was up here, only 50 miles away. that's gouging.
in the insurance industry, i'd say that it would be more of a simple raising of rates, if nothing else has changed except that it's now required by law. i'd also say that when you purchased a policy that's supposed to cover XXX, then suddenly when you try to use it for that coverage, and they go out of their way to find a way to not pay out, or pay less than agreed....that i believe is a form of gouging too.
BTW.....when i drove down to cape may that night....i felt like i'd driven through a time tunnel back into 1979, with the long lines to get gas.
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One thing to note, the more people without any kind of insurance the higher health care cost will be. Rural hospitals are going under at an alarming rate. Our hospital is the only one left open in this tricounty area.
My wife works in the business office of our hospital. They fight day to day to keep the doors open. Several times employees spent their own money to buy copy paper and even monitors for their PCs. Many layoffs have happened to just try to keep going.
Biggest problem, the uninsured.
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All the uninsured people only have themselves to blame?
Being poor is not a crime :old:
Selfishness is :)
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There was no reason for premiums to go up. These slimy insurance companies used this for an excuse to increase profits knowing the average joe would believe it was the law's fault. Same game oil companies use to jack up prices when the wind blows the wrong way in Saudi.
you speak of the obvious... how dare you challenge overpaid TV political pundits/hot hair blowers...
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All the uninsured people only have themselves to blame?
Being poor is not a crime :old:
Selfishness is :)
what about bad pie?
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One thing to note, the more people without any kind of insurance the higher health care cost will be. Rural hospitals are going under at an alarming rate. Our hospital is the only one left open in this tricounty area.
My wife works in the business office of our hospital. They fight day to day to keep the doors open. Several times employees spent their own money to buy copy paper and even monitors for their PCs. Many layoffs have happened to just try to keep going.
Biggest problem, the uninsured.
it's actually just the opposite. if we eliminated insurance all together, over a long period of time, all healthcare costs would start to come down.
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This was not intended to be a debate about health insurance but it is weird when you see the doctor's bill for a regular visit and the charge is like $330, insurance paid a negotiated rate of $120 and your co-pay was $25. I understand about negotiated rates but what kind of weird arse business model is that based on? And for a drug that's not covered they call it non-formulary. What the hell kind of word is that? Very little sense to be made of the health insurance industry.
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This was not intended to be a debate about health insurance but it is weird when you see the doctor's bill for a regular visit and the charge is like $330, insurance paid a negotiated rate of $120 and your co-pay was $25. I understand about negotiated rates but what kind of weird arse business model is that based on? And for a drug that's not covered they call it non-formulary. What the hell kind of word is that? Very little sense to be made of the health insurance industry.
remember my infected toe from a few years back? i think i'd posted pictures of it, along with the chunk of nail that'd grown in and caused the infection.
anyway......i went to the doc for that, in all obviousness. as he was looking at it, he asked if i had insurance. i told him no i didn't. he said that was better then, as now he could look at it right then/there in his office. had i had insurance, i'd have to have gotten a reference from my family doc, and then seen him at his office at the hospital. he told me it'd be costing me less, since i was paying cash. he also took just as good care of me as i could expect.
on a side note......the dude was WAY cool, with one hell of a sense of humor. he took care of the venous ulcer i had on my ankle too. it too was less expensive, and much easier since i was paying him directly.
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Blue Cross Blue Shield is terminating my policy within the next year I was just informed.
Forcing me...
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BTW.....when i drove down to cape may that night....i felt like i'd driven through a time tunnel back into 1979, with the long lines to get gas.
I bet you hoped you would have driven a Prius then huh? :neener:
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it's actually just the opposite. if we eliminated insurance all together, over a long period of time, all healthcare costs would start to come down.
How dare you!
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There was no reason for premiums to go up. These slimy insurance companies used this for an excuse to increase profits knowing the average joe would believe it was the law's fault. Same game oil companies use to jack up prices when the wind blows the wrong way in Saudi.
If you do not think that suddenly being forced to add people who are poor risks, (or outright guaranteed losses in some cases) is a reason for rates to go up, then you do not understand how insurance works.
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If you get ill and are poor its your own fault and no ones else's
You be rich and then get ill
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I bet you hoped you would have driven a Prius then huh? :neener:
HA!! NEVAH!!
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If you do not think that suddenly being forced to add people who are poor risks, (or outright guaranteed losses in some cases) is a reason for rates to go up, then you do not understand how insurance works.
it is still not a reason. those poor risks should be paying for their own risks, not the rest of us.
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it is still not a reason. those poor risks should be paying for their own risks, not the rest of us.
This is 100% not the fault of the insurance company that is now forced to "insure" a high-risk individual that they normally wouldn't write a policy for. (and really "insure" is a term that should be used loosely when you're talking about a guaranteed loss)
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it is still not a reason. those poor risks should be paying for their own risks, not the rest of us.
If they are stupid enough to get ill its no ones fault but their own :old:
Vudak is right poor folk are to blame for being poor :old:
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If they are stupid enough to get ill its no ones fault but their own :old:
Vudak is right poor folk are to blame for being poor :old:
just an fyi......i ain't exactly rich. if i were, i wouldn't be working 6-7 days a week.......
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If medical costs to insurance companies are so high, why and how are they making BILLIONS of dollars a QUARTER in profits? The medical industry has immunized itself from the law of supply and demand. There are no real price variances between companies for the same policy, so you can't drop one for a cheaper company and get the same coverage. There is no incentive for insurance companies or medical practitioners to make their prices competitive, as there's no competition. They name their prices and we get the shaft. I say charge them for monopolistic practices, and price fixing. the RICO Act also comes to mind.....
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How dare you coppr :old:
Why would they do such a thing :old:
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This is 100% not the fault of the insurance company that is now forced to "insure" a high-risk individual that they normally wouldn't write a policy for. (and really "insure" is a term that should be used loosely when you're talking about a guaranteed loss)
You are not really that naive to think that we don't all pay for the uninsured already are you?
The whole point of this healthcare law is to get those who normally do not get insurance, to start getting pre-emptive care. Which, theoretically should reduce costs in the long run for those who are in the medicare / medicaid rut. Less cost to you- the taxpayer - theoretically.
Insurance companies don't want it because it messes with the profit models- which are based on not insuring people who might or actually most likely will get sick, but playing the house odds of collecting money from those who most likely will not get catastrophically sick for many years. Thus the annuities their house players ....err... accountants / lawyers.. invest in for 20 to 30 year payouts will continue to make them profitable,.... enormously profitable.
It is not a concern of the insurance companies to make sure that those who can afford good insurance coverage continue to be their main concern. It is - how can we avoid having to provide good coverage and not have to lose all those enormously profitable returns on those good people who give us a monthly check for which a larger percentage are making deductible payments which practically covers the whole cost already.
No one talks about how all this - in theory - should reduce medicare or loss preventative measures for large city or rural medical facilities. Lot of thumping by those whose campaigns are financed by the insurance companies, but very few people who understand the whole motives behind those who are for and those who are against the whole health insurance packages. There will problems with the system, of course there will be. But I like the idea of not having poor people needing medical care in their early 50's to mid 60's if at least average medical attention was provided early for them. I think that it will make it a better society for my grandchildren.
H@#@ isn't that the point?
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If medical costs to insurance companies are so high, why and how are they making BILLIONS of dollars a QUARTER in profits? The medical industry has immunized itself from the law of supply and demand. There are no real price variances between companies for the same policy, so you can't drop one for a cheaper company and get the same coverage. There is no incentive for insurance companies or medical practitioners to make their prices competitive, as there's no competition. They name their prices and we get the shaft. I say charge them for monopolistic practices, and price fixing. the RICO Act also comes to mind.....
Just went and looked at some of the major health insurance company's annual financial reports and current stock/investment data. Yeah they make money but their profitability is not anything remarkable. For the most part the industry's financial performance is lackluster. In fact I would not have a burning desire to go buy any of their stock based on what I saw.
Here is AETNA for example.
http://www.aetna.com/investors-aetna/
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You are not really that naive to think that we don't all pay for the uninsured already are you?
Skuzzy will probably strike this down, but all the States I've looked into already have some kind of public insurance program that brokers rates with the hospitals within its borders. In Connecticut it is called "Husky" and covers children and low income families that are determined to have need.
The biggest fear the health insurance companies have is destabilization. The rapid increase in insurance costs most of us suffered over the past few years was designed to help insulate the insurance companies from uncertainty (in addition to rising healthcare costs in general).
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Cost went up about 20%. Deductibles went up.
This has been exactly the wrong way to handle it. The right way is more market competition, not less of it.
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Complete gibberish :old:
The REASON health care insurance increased was because they cannot invest your payments on the stock market anymore and get a good return :rofl
Poor people are to blame :rofl
Its Putin as well to blame :rofl
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You are not really that naive to think that we don't all pay for the uninsured already are you?
I think the big disconnect here is some of you are talking about health care while I'm talking about insurance. They aren't one in the same. Insurance is a risk management tool. A national health care system is a society's decision that they want people to be able to go to the doctor. I'm not going to comment on whether that is good or bad. That is political and that is not the point of this thread.
My point is that if we are expecting an insurance company to suddenly "insure" a large class of people who are very high or guaranteed risks, then rates will tend to increase. To take the wildest example in an attempt to be clear: A health insurance company being forced to write a new policy for a person who is terminally ill with cancer, and to pay for treatment of that pre-existent condition, is the same thing as an auto insurance company being forced to write a new policy for, and to pay for the repair of, a vehicle which has already been damaged in an accident.
That situation folks, is not insuring risk, but financing certainty.
A few other high level points while we're on the topic:
1. An insurance company's profit is typically derived from investment income that they earn on premiums invested before a loss. These investments fuel our economy and help businesses and it is a good thing that they should continue, but if an insurer must set aside adequate reserves to pay for a higher presumed future loss, investment decreases.
2. States tend to regulate insurance, and insurance rates. Many states require an insurer to submit their proposed rates for approval before they can start using it. Others allow them to make adjustments within certain boundaries to account for market changes (for example you might be able to raise or lower them by 10%). There are also other arrangements. So not to get political but if you're having an issue with how much it's costing you, why not call your local insurance commissioner? Your own state might be the one setting the amount.
Don't get me wrong there are a ton of problems with insurance... But this thread is evidence there are a ton of misconceptions too.
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Hey, not to call the kettle black, ( I went off topic about gouging myself,) but can we reel it back in and just keep it to what your insurance rates are doing now as compared to before like the original poster asked?
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just an fyi......i ain't exactly rich. if i were, i wouldn't be working 6-7 days a week.......
Its poor peoples fault you have to work 6-7 days a week, it was on the news :old:
Making money out of peoples mis fortune :rofl
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Ever check the healthcare.gov site? All it is basically is a list of insurance providers and it give's you the option of using your tax refund to pay. So basically it's nothing that doesn't already exist. I also noticed that all of the rates were MUCH high than any insurance I've ever had via an employer.
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Ever check the healthcare.gov site? All it is basically is a list of insurance providers and it give's you the option of using your tax refund to pay. So basically it's nothing that doesn't already exist. I also noticed that all of the rates were MUCH high than any insurance I've ever had via an employer.
it is one big thing that didn't used to exist.
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it is one big thing that didn't used to exist.
How so?
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How so?
Servitude
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Ever check the healthcare.gov site? All it is basically is a list of insurance providers and it give's you the option of using your tax refund to pay. So basically it's nothing that doesn't already exist. I also noticed that all of the rates were MUCH high than any insurance I've ever had via an employer.
Individual rates are always higher than group rates, plus your employer usually pays part of your premium.
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I'm the one at our company who handles the health insurance, so I know what we pay (and for my company, we pay 100% other than the deductible, which is then up to employee). Coincident with Obamacare, for the same plan, rates have gone up substantially, and deductibles have gone up some.
This is not a mystery but as expected. If you take a system and add more regulation (which has compliance costs) and mix in some extra people that others pay for, costs go up.
I also have experience in the healthcare business (diagnostics services, specifically, which then includes experience with the market, insurance, and regulatory aspects). The way to bring down cost of healthcare is not more regulation and more centralization, but the opposite. This is why we have affordable, plentiful car insurance, house insurance, microwave ovens, carpeting, pizza, children's toys, cell phones, computers, TV's, air conditioners, paint, hamburgers, clothes, aluminum, lumber, filing cabinets, bed frames, cough syrup, automobiles, airline flights, restaurant meals, etc. and why today's epidemic is obesity and not -- as it was for the first 200,000 years of man's existence -- starvation.
If our healthcare system had regulation reduced and markets freed up, in 15 years, people would consider health insurance and healthcare about as urgent a topic as car insurance and car care.
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My Health Insurance in the UK is pennies a day and covers a cut fingers and full cancer cover care :old:
I got some of that. Comes with a wedge of MRSA or Legionnella if you fancy too.
Also they hire pudding shaped women to clean the wards with a level of ineptitude that defies belief .I.E if they died and fell down on the spot, with the mop in their hands they would accomplish more than they usually manage :uhoh
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Part, and an important one, is 'hospitals' are required to serve all who come thru doors...whether they have 'insurence' or not...
Now, I know this will breed contention..but they must stabilize/help all...
Am I wrong?
JGroth
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How so?
a law.
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Gotta say on top of it simply being allowed to exist at all. I am amazed this thread has lasted this long
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Depth of neccesity.....
JGroth
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Gotta say on top of it simply being allowed to exist at all. I am amazed this thread has lasted this long
ha! me too.
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In. Old insurance was cancelled (didn't meet standards of ACA); new one costs about the same premium-wise, but higher out of pocket costs (combined with lower flex-spending available, again due to ACA changes). My daughter, who self insures had her premiums raised by 8% this year.
THat lower flex spending cap went into effect last year for this plan year. I'm on my corporate plan but my cap was cut in half... didn't like that AT ALL...
Otherwise, my company (Ford) has made few changes.
BTW, I made a bet with a friend in WA state on his costs. He figured they'd drop. No. He's 'fessed up and owes me a steak and crab dinner. His/his wife's premia climbed by a whopping 70%.
Otherwise, IN. You know this one won't end well.
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See Rule #14
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Gotta say on top of it simply being allowed to exist at all. I am amazed this thread has lasted this long
This is a health insurance thread, not a #14 one.
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BTW, I made a bet with a friend in WA state on his costs.
If you are ever around Redmond, WA, I will buy you a beer for making that bet and helping him to see the (obvious) light. :aok
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See Rule #14
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See Rule #14
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If you are ever around Redmond, WA, I will buy you a beer for making that bet and helping him to see the (obvious) light. :aok
His problem: his woman. He's sort of <mraaaaaoooow, crack>, if you follow - and she's a typical my-good-intentions-trump-reality types. THe insidious thing about this impulse to help is that it gets gulled in the service of a lot of things that havve nothing to do with helping anyone other than the well-connected. I've got some history, both in Ford and with the civil service, of how this works in business and industry. That's why it's possible for the government to spend enough to provide living wages to the entire 40-50 million Americans at the bottom of the income range yet see no reduction in the poverty rate - and that's leaving the entire incentives issue aside.
BTW, your point about regs driving the premia up is entirely correct (although you would probably know better than I, given your area of specialty). Part of the mandate is that offered insurance now carries a mandated floor of coverage that is essentially one size fits all. THe size of the risk pool is higher but the mandate requires than, for example, an 80-yo woman has to purchase maternity coverage. Meanwhile, the act also mandates the ratio of cheapest/most expensive coverage.
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See Rule #14
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That's why it's possible for the government to spend enough to provide living wages to the entire 40-50 million Americans at the bottom of the income range yet see no reduction in the poverty rate - and that's leaving the entire incentives issue aside.
There's an excellent book on this that you might like: Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950-1980, by Charles Murray.
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See Rule #14
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I'd edit that before Skuzzy sees it. It will definitely get the thread closed as you are attempting to do, but it will probably also get you a week or two vacation from the boards.
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It is funny that in every case hyped by the media where so and so had their rate go up or the plan canceled and so on and how horrible it is, a better plan than they had was available for less than they had been paying through an exchange.
Those here who are saying their rates went up (beyond the normal 10-15% annual rate increases) are either making way more than I am or never checked their options on an exchange. When your insurance company tries to sell you a compliant plan they don't calculate the help you might get via an exchange, they just give you the raw price. The exchange, at least the Federal one, show you the raw prices, but then applies the assistance based on what you set for income and people to be insured and such.
Basically, if you didn't try an exchange and are claiming your rate went way up you may have had options to avoid that, depending on income.
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See Rule #14
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See Rule #14
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It is funny that in every case hyped by the media where so and so had their rate go up or the plan canceled and so on and how horrible it is, a better plan than they had was available for less than they had been paying through an exchange.
No, there are a lot of people who can't get an exchange plan that is as good as the plan they had before, and the replacement (which isn't as good) costs them more money anyway.
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See Rule #14
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See Rule #14
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I dont even want to talk about this. I'll get banned from the forums were my views known.
Same here but I would be banned for the world if I told my views
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am I curious, am I the only one in the this thread who's insurance has been going up at the same rate for the past 7 years? when I started at the company my insurance was free for the employee. with wife or family it was a bit more. then it kept going up 15 or 20 bucks a year. it double to a whooping less than 200 bucks a month when the current law allowed me to add my daughter and son to my insurance, since they're over 18 but under 26. my daughter got married to an air force guy (oh the shame), so I only have my youngest son (he works for wall mart while going to college ) on it and my insurance went down. I pay about 180 or a 190 a month, cant remember exactly.
doctor's visits are 30 bucks but my company has a clinic at work where we pay no deductibles. medication is at most 10 bucks each for a 30 day supply. btw at work I have the most expensive insurance, kaiser permanente, others have cheaper alternatives that I hope work for them.
me and a coworker were talking about insurance and he said it was unfair that my company was being forced to add my kids to my insurance. I asked him if it was fair that his wife's employer is being forced to pay for his insurance (he declined to get it at our work), he just mumbled that it wasnt the same thing.
anyway, I guess I work for the only company that likes to negotiate rates to be as low as they can with the insurance company.
semp
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anyway, I guess I work for the only company that likes to negotiate rates to be as low as they can with the insurance company.
My company has 7 people in it. Such companies don't negotiate rates with insurance companies. I look at the large number of plans and terms available and pick the one we like best (best mix of benefit for the price).
By the way, what company doesn't want to get the lowest prices for the things it wants to buy?
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My company has 7 people in it. Such companies don't negotiate rates with insurance companies. I look at the large number of plans and terms available and pick the one we like best (best mix of benefit for the price).
By the way, what company doesn't want to get the lowest prices for the things it wants to buy?
that's the thing. when a company has 1000 employees it has a much better chance of getting lower price than one with 7 employees. just like everywhere else. if a company has 100k employees it has an even better chance of getting better rates if the company is willing to ask for them.
I currently pay less per month for my health insurance than at my old job 15 years ago that had 30k employees. at my old company they wouldnt bother to negotiate rates, they would just take whatever was given to them. I know this because I knew people from HR who told me that.
semp
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See Rule #14
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See Rule #14
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See Rule #14
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See Rule #14
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It is funny that in every case hyped by the media where so and so had their rate go up or the plan canceled and so on and how horrible it is, a better plan than they had was available for less than they had been paying through an exchange.
Those here who are saying their rates went up (beyond the normal 10-15% annual rate increases) are either making way more than I am or never checked their options on an exchange. When your insurance company tries to sell you a compliant plan they don't calculate the help you might get via an exchange, they just give you the raw price. The exchange, at least the Federal one, show you the raw prices, but then applies the assistance based on what you set for income and people to be insured and such.
Basically, if you didn't try an exchange and are claiming your rate went way up you may have had options to avoid that, depending on income.
I think this assertion suffers from an evidentiary deficit. First, while you're entirely correct that the prices quoted are pre-sub, the sub cuts off at 49k for an individual, somewhere in the 80-90 range for a couple. Most of the people signing up are those who had insurance but whose plans were killed off by the coverage floors. How d we "know" this? We don't. However, it looks like the number of drops is approximately equal (slightly greater, actually) to the number of new signatories. Unless you believe that they're different clientele, you can look at the drop group as exemplary of the "typical" experience. Most are older and of higher income - we KNOW this because PPACA signup has fallen well short of the important under-30 category, sign-up wise. But, perhaps the government could tidily solve this speculative issue by releasing, fully, the income/age data for the signatories. Yet, they refuse to. It seems to me, if this were such a success as you assert, that data would be trumpeted from the tower walls.
As for your assertion that they're better - by whose standard? Does the 70 yo woman who now has to buy obstetric coverage, have a better plan, just because it has broader coverage? Sho could make that choice on her own before.
Meanwhile, due to the runaway success of this you cite, Sebelius is about to step down. Apply the laugh test here. Leaders of runaway successes don't leave by the back door at night. This thing is a disaster and those that helped pass it are hastily dissembling to try to get over their November hurdles.
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I agree 100%.
Me too. It's all about getting the right balance.
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This thread has nothing to do with Health care
Its all about people feeling hard done by
Grow up
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that's the thing. when a company has 1000 employees it has a much better chance of getting lower price than one with 7 employees. just like everywhere else. if a company has 100k employees it has an even better chance of getting better rates if the company is willing to ask for them.
semp
perhaps THIS is the kind of bs that should've been addressed, rather than forcing a new tax on virtually everyone.
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See Rule #14
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See Rule #14
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Read the thread its stating everyone is blaming everyone else apart from themselves
POOR and OLD people are not the reason you pay daft prices for healthcare
The fact that the majority are unwilling to state the obvious "Healthcare is a commodity" like anything else and "Spreading the myth of Market Forces is shameful"
The health system is a business and in the UK it is no different, its another myth, its not free I pay for it every month, its called "Health Insurance".
Its not perfect but it works, in 20 years time it will be owned by a Insurance group based in Shanghai owned by a US company who is investing the money
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Read the thread its stating everyone is blaming everyone else apart from themselves
POOR and OLD people are not the reason you pay daft prices for healthcare
The fact that the majority are unwilling to state the obvious "Healthcare is a commodity" like anything else and "Spreading the myth of Market Forces is shameful"
The health system is a business and in the UK it is no different, its another myth, its not free I pay for it every month, its called "Health Insurance".
Its not perfect but it works, in 20 years time it will be owned by a Insurance group based in Shanghai owned by a US company who is investing the money
Thanks for this, Zack - this is a little more useful. However, I'm still not sure I understand what you're saying. Please elaborate.
BTW, I'm in London right now. This place is a zoo, mainly because of the marathon, but it sure is a beautiful city.
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See Rule #4
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See Rule #14
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They are offering us free market healthcare in China and India :rofl
Yes. That's why medical tourism is a blossoming industry in India.
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_tourism_in_India :
"Confederation of Indian Industry reported that 150,000 medical tourists came to India in 2005, based on feedback from the organization's member hospitals. The number grew to 200,000 by 2008. A separate study by ASSOCHAM reported that the year 2011 saw 850,000 medical tourists in India and projected that by 2015 this number would rise to 3,200,000.[8]
Most estimates claim treatment costs in India start at around a tenth of the price of comparable treatment in America or Britain.[9][10] The most popular treatments sought in India by medical tourists are alternative medicine, bone-marrow transplant, cardiac bypass, eye surgery and hip replacement. India is known in particular for heart surgery, hip resurfacing and other areas of advanced medicine."
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See Rule #14
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cap except for the last few years didnt we had the opposite of what we have now? and poor people couldnt afford insurance?
I was talking to my sister this morning during breakfast and we started talking about health insurance. she mentioned that she was dropping the coverage she had at work for another under the new laws as it would be cheaper. I asked her how much she was paying and she said it was 90 bucks a week just for herself. about twice what i pay for me and my son a month and she she will also have access to the same hmo I have.
semp
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cap except for the last few years didnt we had the opposite of what we have now? and poor people couldnt afford insurance?
I was talking to my sister this morning during breakfast and we started talking about health insurance. she mentioned that she was dropping the coverage she had at work for another under the new laws as it would be cheaper. I asked her how much she was paying and she said it was 90 bucks a week just for herself. about twice what i pay for me and my son a month and she she will also have access to the same hmo I have.
semp
no we didn't. the opposite of being forced to buy insurance would be no insurance.
lawsuits, insurance, excessive regulatory interference, and a host of other things drive costs up.
many of these cheaper policies will come with hidden costs. i(as mentioned previously) know several friends that lost their excellent coverage. because it didn't meet the new standards. i know others that their rates went up. my own mothers went up. as did her copay. and her deductible. and she shopped around to see if she could find anything better. she couldn't.
a dr customer mentioned deductibles(total for a calendar year) in the $4k to $6k range.
also, i do not believe for a second that the insurance companies do not want this. i mean really? would you not want a guaranteed increase in your customer base?
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I have cheap insurance meaning I pay low premiums but I dont have cheap coverage. like i said before I pay 30 dollars for doctor's visits and 10 dollars per 30 day prescription with no deductibles. my sister is switching to 10 dollar doctor's visits with 5 dollar 30 day prescription with no deductibles.
also may I mention that my insurance company is a non-profit company and yet it was one of the highest insurance rates around. the for profit companies around have lower premiums but really crappy coverage. with the same zero deductibles and co-payments.
as an example last year I needed to have a certain procedure done since i am almost 50. my doctor made the referral and within 2 weeks (had to delay one week due to work) I had the procedure done. a co-worker of mine had to have the same procedure done and he waiting 3 months for an appointment just to get a referral and another 2 months to have the procedure done. he pays 20 bucks a month less than what I pay.
semp
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See Rule #14
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Its an outrage!
Bluddddy Colonials!
How dare you agree with me,i pay good money to argue with people on this forum :cry
So your on business in the UK selling "Battery operated rubber products"? How much are said items, Pipz's is curious :old:
Well, they're very expensive, of course. OTOH, they're guaranteed to produce sensations that are decidedly unnatural.
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See Rule #14
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Well, they're very expensive, of course. OTOH, they're guaranteed to produce sensations that are decidedly unnatural.
(http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p563/DFbothma/DFBothma_deadly_creative_ghost_freelance_writer_copywriter_creative_director_cape_town_vd1.jpg) (http://media.photobucket.com/user/DFbothma/media/DFBothma_deadly_creative_ghost_freelance_writer_copywriter_creative_director_cape_town_vd1.jpg.html)
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All it took was one person to derail this thread. Amazing how many followed suit after that one post.
Hope everyone enjoys their vacation from the board.