$!?$@!?! Anthem Blue Cross just raised my HC premium by 38%.

[wtmusic]

This is not a "Cadillac" plan, mind you - there's a $3,500 deductible. If I was going to pay it (I'm not) annual insurance for a family of four would be $26,760.

They are out of their minds.

[villager]

1. When do we reach the point where it's clearly better to save that money

...rather than shovel it over to insurance companies, for incredibly minimal "benefit," each month?

[wtmusic]

3. It's fear of the big accident or illness that keeps me writing checks.

We're all healthy, we don't smoke, AFAIK we've never even gotten past the deductible.

It pisses me off that they're even allowed to pull this shit.

[villager]

10. It's a valid fear. But I wonder, really, if anything short of a "rent strike" will bring them down?

The Two Coward -- er, "Party" -- system clearly won't reign them in...

[wtmusic]

13. Maybe.

I'm so taken aback by this I don't know what I'm going to do.

[Bandit]

30. Change we can believe in ......... and vote for..

"Where else you gunna go?"

[kenny blankenship]

11. That option has been canceled

At least until that shitty law is overturned anyway.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

28. 20 years ago.

Bear with us; we're a little slow as a people.

[okieinpain]

38. man I had a kidney stone, and for 2 hours in the emergency

room it was $10,000 dollars. the 2 hours didn't help so I then had to go to a whatever you call them and he removed the kidney stone for which the hospital charged $10,000 dollars for 2 days, well a day and a half and I think the doctors charge was around $8,000. so for 1.5 days the total was somewhere around $28,000 dollars.

I'm glad I had insurance.

[Shagbark Hickory]

2. Welcome to the world of being self insured. Start practicing your sad "puppy dog" face.

It works wonders when asking doctors and dentists to help you out with the cost.

[yurbud]

4. you'll be a real test of whether health care reform actually helps costs (for users not insurance

companies).

[wtmusic]

7. I. Can't. Wait.

I asked a very pleasant sounding rep on the phone how she justified a nearly 40% increase and she couldn't stop stumbling over herself.

How can you, except blatant exploitation? Something has to give.

[louis-t]

5. Did they send you a letter blaming Obama?

They did it to me. BCBS of Mich. raises my premium every 2 years about $12. This time it was the same except they blamed the new health care law.

[progressoid]

6. But but but...

We won health care reform. Remember?

[matt819]

8. It's ridiculouis

My increase over last year was 20%. Total health insurance for me, spouse, and one child (second covered by insurance from school) is $15,850. Like the OP, not a Cadillac plan, $5,000 deductible. It's an outrage. We've considered dropping insurance for me and spouse, but you know full well trying to get insurance later is going to be even more difficult and probably twice the price. And don't get me started on health care costs and the medical billing abyss. My blood pressure is rising just writing this much.

[OHdem10]

9. Help me out here. Did I not read somewhere that the Insurance

Companies are finding their businesses unsustainable.

What kind of Idiots do they have running the operations?
When we have millions unemployed, this means millions
cannot purchase insurance.

Their response seems to be--raise the premiums ON THE FEW
WHO CAN AFFORD some type insurance, so darned high that
even they will drop out.

The Insurance Companies have fought HCR and it is coming
back to bite them???

Do I totally misunderstand what is going on??

It reminds me of the Auto Companies, it was as if they
totally lost sight of globalizations effect on this country.
They ended up Bankrupt? Many Large Companies, I believe
are going to find themselves in similar positions. There
are only so many people in the upper income group. We have
millions who are just making it or poor. What do you think??

[wtmusic]

14. You got me.

Seems if there was one company that would provide decent coverage for a reasonable rate they would clean up.

"Their response seems to be--raise the premiums ON THE FEW
WHO CAN AFFORD some type insurance, so darned high that
even they will drop out."

I agree. I'm tired of being the f*cking fallback for their profit margin.

[aquart]

16. No. You have an excellent grasp of the situation.

[okieinpain]

39. that's exactly what is happening, they are raising rates because

the number of people with insurance is smaller. yet more people are going to the hospital.

[Lint Head]

12. The DOJ is on their tail!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704474804576222804064289720.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsThird
http://forum.minneapolisfinder.com/ptopic15346.html
http://www.legalhie.com/health-plans/antitrust-risks-what-att-and-blue-cross-have-in-common/

[wtmusic]

15. Whoa. Thank you.

I am going to contact them. :thumbsup:

[wtmusic]

23. I just emailed the DOJ antitrust head cited in the WSJ article.

Thanks again. Maybe if enough people do it, it will make a difference. :thumbsup:

[Armstead]

17. There ought to be straightforward price controls......but nooooooooo

We can't do that because......er,uum

[howaboutme]

18. Has anyone ever thought about moving out of the USA?

Almost every other industrial country in the world has better health care than the USA. We US taxpayers even pay foreign aid to countries to assist them in providing health care for their citizens while ours go without. Americans have paid enough to some countries such as Israel that anyone who wants to immigrate there should be able to do it without question.

The only way the USA is ever going to become competitive in the global economy is to provide health benefits to all by way of increased taxes on corporations and on the top elite that currently pay less in tax rate than their lowest paid workers. The status quo as private insurance or as as separate benefits from employers is not going to work.

[slackmaster]

20. Our problem is one of delivery, not of care per se

If you get treatment, you can get some of the best available in any country.

[piratefish08]

21. we're making plans to move to VT in the next 4 months. that's 'sorta' out of the country.

and a quick hop to Canada........

[slackmaster]

19. I have a $3,500 deductible Anthem Blue Cross PPO plan as well

I picked a bad year to have a significant health problem that requires attention, but there it is.

[wtmusic]

24. Actually it's a good year, if you have insurance.

(not that it's ever a good year for that kind of thing)

[slackmaster]

26. I'm making it all work by having a huge amount of tax deductions

I will probably be out about $8K for medical, plus I'm doing an $18K solar energy project on my house for a 30% federal tax credit).

My net federal income tax should end up lower than it has been in about 25 years. If I get my health back, it will all be worthwhile.

[wtmusic]

27. If McCain had been elected

the solar credit would be gone and the medical deduction would probably have been reduced. Trying to find a silver lining here.

Keep us posted in Environment/Energy on the progress of your panels :thumbsup:

[slackmaster]

32. Will do, and I'll post my big medical tourism adventure (to Florida) once that plan gels

:hi:

[jannyk]

22. We're at $12,000 a year for 2 w/a $10k deductible each!!!

and even when the worthless piece of shit insurance kicks in, it only pays 70% of the rest.

We now have evolved our own plan 'B'.

We are off to Taiwan in May, to renew my husband's Government run 'Universal Health Care' there. I am going back to the UK later in the year to re-activate my Government run "Universal Health Care" there. We'll keep the shitty insurance for major 'accidents' and go 'home' for any 'illnesses'.

[wtmusic]

25. Wish I had that option.

We're going to have to move to a higher deductible, I fear.

[jannyk]

31. I hear you. Less than 10 years ago we had $1k deductible for less

than $6k per year. We also had 80% coverage and full Rx then too as well as a good dental policy (that fell by the wayside ages ago).

The premiums just kept piling up each year, and eventually we had to raise the deductible. In the last 5 years we have gone from $1k to $2.5k to $5k and this past year $10k (!) per year each. The premiums are double what we were paying ten years agofor far better coverage, and the new policy does not include Rx either.

The really sad part is, that neither of us have been to a US doctor in over 10 years - we are scared to, in case what they find goes on our 'record'. So we pay to see 'private' doctors abroad (Mexico/Canada/UK/Taiwan)when needed - only minor ailments so far, like my husband's occasional gout, my allergy flare ups - but they are 'pre-existing conditions' here, and I stagger to think what our premiums would be with those added. So we are paying $1,000 a month for a piece of shit insurance we are too frightened to use - this cannot go on.

We had a very long talk about it all over xmas, and we will be looking at permanent options in both Taiwan and the UK during these upcoming trips - personally, I'm rooting for the UK. Sad to think we may be forced out of our 'home land' of 35+ yrs by lack of access to affordable medical care.

[liberal life]

29. That is the ridiculous amount they are charging for teacher's health care as well

Everyone keeps talking about Wisconsin, unions and teaching salaries but rarely mention the cost of health insurance in there, insurance companies who frequently take as much as a starting teacher's salary. I know it pissed off my husband and I when he started teaching. Seemed unfair they got as much as him for doing nothing and here he was thinking and working on school 24/7. But teachers are the greedy, lazy, overpaid people?

Single payer could have fixed all of the state's budget problems, and it still can.

And we can get the Republicans on board, because when you run the numbers, it just makes sense!


On Vermont!
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/7052/vermonts_single-payer_salvation/
On February 24, the Republican Mayor Christopher Louras, of Rutland, urged the state to adopt the single-payer legislation, noting that more than a third of the city’s $7 million annual payroll is consumed by healthcare costs. “The only way to fix the problem is to blow it up and start over,” Louras said.












http://fucorporatemedia.com/

[wtmusic]

33. Single payer is looking more and more like it's the only way out of this mess.

Makes a lot of sense to me, it seems that even MDs are warming to it.

It means going up against Big Pharma and the insurance lobby. That's a toughie.

[sarcasmo]

34. The insurance companies in this country are all about GREED. I feel you're pain.

[lumberjack_jeff]

35. Your costs are going up primarily because you are a man.

The healthcare law eliminates gender as a rating criteria.

[Sonicmedusa]

36. Well then, you'd better send money to Obama's campaign, fast.

*Sarcasm*

[KitSileya]

37. Honestly, I would have thought 'private' insurance plans,

on a sort of co-op principle, would be popping up like mushrooms after rain right about now. You know, making a non-profit health insurance scheme sort of like the funeral clubs of old.