2018 Health Insurance Increases

[Skip]

Carp! I can't just be me.

Can I vent a bit?!? ~23% increase in our small biz "group" plan now more than my mortgage!!! We have $6,000 individual deductibles, $40/80 copays, all sorts of other costs (prescriptions have ranged from $10 - 140). Everyone in the house is relatively healthy. Thank God!

Yes, I am used to the annual increases and expected something. Previous years were anywhere from a few bucks to a hundred. This is insane!

I think they timed these letters until people mailed in their ballots. Still cheaper than Single Payer, but it won't be far off the way this is going. There is no way our household is getting the healthcare we are paying for with these premiums. And it's not really insurance with pre-existings covered no matter what--it's cost sharing.

[Irving]

I hear you. I got three stitches back in February. It wasn't an emergency, and I didn't want to go but thought it might be a big deal since it was on my hand. I called around to the clinics at grocery stores and they all said they'd just send me to the emergency room. I went and it ended up costing me over f'ing $6,000!

One of my life coaches pointed out that I could have flown first class to Panama gotten the stitches and flown back for less. Health "insurance" in this country is completely fucked and has been for a long time. Now I'm angry about that all over again.

[Skip]

[snip]

One of my life coaches pointed out that I could have flown first class to Panama gotten the stitches and flown back for less. Health "insurance" in this country is completely fucked and has been for a long time. Now I'm angry about that all over again.

Sorry, that really sucks.

I'm pissed about this too. It's going to get to the point where people give up and we go full Commie. I really don't see another solution.

My wife is our "benefits coordinator" and she has two months to come up with something. Obviously, we can pay for a lot out of pocket in lieu of these premiums, but I've always thought it was irresponsible to not have an insurance product since I have a family.

If it was just me? They could f right off.

[hollohas]

I'm pissed about this too. It's going to get to the point where people give up and we go full Commie. I really don't see another solution.

And ^this was the specific purpose of the ACA. It purposefully made costs go through the roof so people would accept full commie single payer in the future.

[crays]

And ^this was the specific purpose of the ACA. It purposefully made costs go through the roof so people would accept full commie single payer in the future.

QFT

[Fentonite]

I hear you. I got three stitches back in February. It wasn't an emergency, and I didn't want to go but thought it might be a big deal since it was on my hand. I called around to the clinics at grocery stores and they all said they'd just send me to the emergency room. I went and it ended up costing me over f'ing $6,000!

One of my life coaches pointed out that I could have flown first class to Panama gotten the stitches and flown back for less. Health "insurance" in this country is completely fucked and has been for a long time. Now I'm angry about that all over again.

That sucks on many levels. I am the guy who sews people up in the ER (among other things). Depending on my patient load on that particular day, I would have probably been paid around $40 to see/examine you, evaluate the injury, order xrays, interpret them, manage your care, repair your wound, and arrange appropriate aftercare (not to mention, personally and likely solely absorb any possible liability if something goes wrong). That is about what I earn (before taxes) for each laceration, heart attack, stroke, assault, psych, pneumonia, overdose, fracture, anaphylaxis, abdominal pain, head injury, flu, etc, etc, etc, that I see every day. And you get a bill for 6 grand; ridiculous. Granted, the nurses, techs, radiologists, registration clerks, etc all need to be paid, but I expect most of your cost was a facility fee, going to the hospital. And sure, there is a real cost to having world-class equipment on hand and available for any emergency (MRI, CT, every imaginable specialist paid to be on-call, cath lab, OR, etc) that is absorbed by those using the ER, but I suspect most of your $6,000 was billed to cover the vast number of folk who come to the ER and do not pay. Like our current insurance system, it is just another way we are all subsidizing those who do not pay their share. And believe me, the guy (or gal) taking care of you is not getting rich doing it. The mega-companies that hire us?, that is another story.

[MrPrena]

I hear you. I got three stitches back in February. It wasn't an emergency, and I didn't want to go but thought it might be a big deal since it was on my hand. I called around to the clinics at grocery stores and they all said they'd just send me to the emergency room. I went and it ended up costing me over f'ing $6,000!

One of my life coaches pointed out that I could have flown
first class to Panama gotten the stitches and flown back for less. Health "insurance" in this country is completely fucked and has been for a long time. Now I'm angry about that all over again.Now I'm angry about that all over again.

This. ^
I actually know 2 who did similar.
One was my own mother 10 years ago.
She saved 12k on cost of surgery. MD did fellowship at Johns.
Facility was top notch ge and siemens stuff.

In major cities, they sell medical vacation packages and it is pretty popular.

The country she got a surgery at, they are far more advanced in stem cell than us. They are about 3 years behind -mab's.

[Irving]

Since I don't have an employer, I get zero help paying for health insurance. I make sure to fund our HSA as best as I can though each year. If people aren't aware, you can fund an HSA pre-tax, and do so for as long as you have it. If you build it up to be very large and don't use it, it just turns into another pre-tax retirement vessel at some pre-defined age.

[copfish]

Same boat here.... I'm retired and PERA's plans suck... But looking at Connecting Colorado I can make up to $100K for a family of four and premiums are way cheaper than what PERA-Care charges...

[Grant H.]

Hence why I use CHM (Christian Healthcare Ministries).

Basically a catastrophic event type of system, so we pay out of pocket for normal stuff. Telling most providers that we are cash customers, and having researched what Medicaid/Medicare would pay, we've been able to do pretty well in negotiating good cash prices.