Health Insurance Plan Costs

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JHZR2

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Its almost open season, so I looked at my health insurance options and costs.

I use an HDHP, and so for a family HDHP in my part of NJ, biweekly premiums went from $157-173.

Is that good or bad? $16 per pay period isnt a lot... However it is >10%.

What surprised me is the regular open access plan (granted the high option). Last year it was $926/pay period, this year it is $1142/pay pd. That's per pay period! As in $29692/yr for health insurance, and over 22% increase over last year!

Absolutely crazy! Unbelievable in fact. Now, this cannot be political. Dont go there, Im just stating my facts. I do know though that I didnt make 22% more this year, nor did anyone else I know. Maybe all but the sickest folks are jumping ship from these types of plans, shifting the actuarial risk so much higher that the cost explodes. I just cant figure it any other way... besides that there must be some rich doctors. Of course since negotiated actual rates for specialists bill at roughly $1000/hr, whether burdened or not, someone is making money bigtime.

How has anyone else fared with plan cost increases? Double digit year or did you manage to fare better? It looks like some of the BCBS plans actually decreased in price by a fraction of a percent.
 
Originally Posted By: Y_K
$1k for 1 hr of OR time is nothing. You could try it yourself.


Where did anyone state OR? Irrelevant. The dermatologist charges $244 (negotiated final rate) to spend 10 minutes looking at moles. I wasnt sleeping well and the sleep doctor charged roughly the same to read a simple questionnaire that I filled out.

Yep, real complex stuff.
 
I dont know how they have changed, but I know I went to get health insurance last year. They wanted $150 biweekly for a 22y/o disease free non-smoker. Cant handle 20-25% of my check disappearing.
That was with a huge deductible too. I cant remember, but IIRC it was >$5k.
I didnt take it.
Funnily, my Mom put me on hers, and it raised it less than $20 biweekly.
 
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For me it has been $55 bi-weekly for the premium PPO plan. But our company self-insures for a certain amount then reinsures the rest.
 
Originally Posted By: crinkles
1.5% per annum of my taxable income.


Actual health care costs were around 7% of income tax revenue when the medicare levy came on, and run around 8% of tax+medicare levy.

But the levy was introduced on top of an already free system.

So an "average" Aussie is paying something like $5k p.a. in total, or $7.5k if they carry private (which is now ruling out hips, knees, cardio, cancer, and dumping it back to public).
 
It seems like people in some other states pay crazy amounts for health insurance. My employer paid full family plan costs them about 1200 a month with some modest deductibles and no prescription coverage. This is a small company with about 20 people using the plan and most are over 40 years old.

Last year I had a total hip replacement and it cost me about 500 dollars total and most of that was copay for phisical therapy.

Before the new law covered my kids we were paying 85 a month each for my college age son& daughter for a seperate young adult high deductible plan with blue cross.
 
Originally Posted By: Colt45ws
I dont know how they have changed, but I know I went to get health insurance last year. They wanted $150 biweekly for a 22y/o disease free non-smoker. Cant handle 20-25% of my check disappearing.
That was with a huge deductible too. I cant remember, but IIRC it was >$5k.
I didnt take it.
Funnily, my Mom put me on hers, and it raised it less than $20 biweekly.


Heres a good example of how much cost varies . My 22 year old is healthy and had a young adult Blue cross poicy with 3000 deductible and it cost us 85 a month. My kids are all covered now at work.

BTW colt45ws, you are now covered by your moms insurance till you reach 26 weather a student or not even if you dont live at home.
 
My BCBS plan is 24K per year. I have no children. Folks, that ain't cheap. Especially when 60K salaries are involved.

I had a very long talk with the BCBS salesman. It seems that a significant part of the jump was driven by new regulations. Put another way, the cost increase this year would have been roughly 1/3 what it was.

Now, I don't get anything extra for my money. I've been with the company for 15 years. But, others get coverage, due to new regulations, that they otherwise would not have been eligible for.

A more "well off" friend self insures his family. His story is remarkable and his yearly costs are far lower than mine. Hospital visits and 3 kids too!
 
Discussions like this are why I had a positive opinion on McCain's idea of making insurance premiums taxable income. That way employers would not hide the true cost of the health care from their employees and people would be able to compare apples to apples.
 
1. Government requirements/mandates such as allowing preexisting conditions, requiring adults to be covered under family plan.

2. Lawsuit/liability limits

3.Free care for illegals and others who can not pay.

4. Extraordinary costs that keep people alive for short periods of time when there is no hope.

5. Extraordinary costs associated with new technologies, beyond the sustainable cost/price of a human life.

Those are the big ones but it all centers on the value of a human life vis-a'-vis what it is really worth (affordable)..This health care animal will grow just like the ponzism of the rest of our Government, society and "economy". It will eat us all up.
 
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Two major costs:

- end of life care. According to a report from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), about a quarter of the total Medicare budget is spent on services for beneficiaries in their last year of life3,4, 40% of it on the last 30 days5.

- care for premature babies.

Eliminate these (chuck the sick elderly to the street and let premature babies die) and your health care costs will go down substantially.

The thing is, will you, yourself, put your money where your mouth is?
 
Originally Posted By: CivicFan
The thing is, will you, yourself, put your money where your mouth is?


That's really the best question. Lots of armchair strong talk. I dont know the right answer, that's for sure.
 
Originally Posted By: CivicFan

The thing is, will you, yourself, put your money where your mouth is?

The answer will only come out of necessity. Instead of a 50% solution thought through and implemented there will be a 5% solution out of necessity (when there is no money). "Kick the can down the road"
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: CivicFan
The thing is, will you, yourself, put your money where your mouth is?


That's really the best question. Lots of armchair strong talk. I dont know the right answer, that's for sure.


It's not really a tough choice. When it's you or a relative, you want absolutely the best care available.
 
Originally Posted By: CivicFan
Two major costs:

- end of life care. According to a report from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), about a quarter of the total Medicare budget is spent on services for beneficiaries in their last year of life3,4, 40% of it on the last 30 days5.

- care for premature babies.

Eliminate these (chuck the sick elderly to the street and let premature babies die) and your health care costs will go down substantially.

The thing is, will you, yourself, put your money where your mouth is?

What are the regulatory costs per year?

What are private insurance companies overcharged by providers to make up for Medicare underpayments?
 
Blaming the ACA for their gouging on premiums is common for insurance companies. I've yet to hear of a insurance company going belly up due to government mandates.

My Medicare supplement policy costs me $77 (for next year) does not include drugs (covered by VA).
Show around. Some stick with high priced policies for various reasons; instead of changing to a lower cost option, they blame the federal government.

Had discussions with a self absorbed type that moved half way across the country and then complained that he couldn't take his old insurance (health) with him.

Geeeze. You pay for the location you live in, not where you were two years ago.
 
Originally Posted By: CivicFan

It's not really a tough choice. When it's you or a relative, you want absolutely the best care available.

'Wanting' and being able to afford are two different animals. You "want" the best for your relatives but if 'you' can't afford it then what?

We have been conditions that what we "want" we get without regards to cost. That has to and will change.
 
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you've got to be kidding if you think you can post something like this and have it not be "political". Of course the typical talking points blaming "regulation and illegals" have already been covered, so is it OK if I mention that heath insurance profits from some of the biggest insurance companies are at record levels? In other words, insurance companies are charging more because until the new regulations take effect, they can.

Here's what NOT causing it: increased expenditures due to regulations. If anyone can point to some concrete examples of how it is, I'd like to see it.
 
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