I'm not into politics, religion, or even the news in general. Next years premiums are said to be at least $100 higher. I'll probably be going uninsured or changing plans next year. (I'm not really looking for some political spewings here, just a bit of general info.)

Are there any good insurance plans out there? What is the reason for the price hike?

Lucky I am covered at work. The reason for the price hikes is because the billionaire CEO's of the insurance and drug industries think they need more money.

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"I remember South Africa in the late 70's, sleeping on the beach at J-bay, smoking ganja with the blacks. On weekends we'd go to the pub in East London to drink beer and fight with the Afrikaners. They liked to fight, I liked to fight. It was a good time"

Probably should move this topic to NSR, because it is going to get political. The other reason is because T-rump announced that the Feds will no longer reimburse low-income patients' copays and deductibles to the providers, which will, therefore, be amortized across all plans.

 

Grand opening!!

 

grand closing. AND you just answered your own question!!!

The answer is orange.



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Zzzzzzz.. Zzzzzzz.. Braaaaaapp!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

My plan at work stayed exactly the same.

Didn't Trump do an executive order that says the tax penalty is unenforceable?

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I was right.

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/06/trump-preps-executive-order-that-could-gut-obamacare-mandate.html

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Waiting for waves is ok......most people spend their lives waiting for nothing.

'Best' health care my ass!

We are the ONLY industrialized nation that do not have 'single payer' and will never be able to compete globally..

Capitalism and medicine don't make a good mix.. It's called extortion and racketeering in other circles..

The statistics do not lie..  Our Expected lifespan, infant mortality etc etc put us in between Cuba and Costa Rica (#37 last time I saw) - how about them apples! Look up the WHO stats!

Who dat you say? Must be a lib organization with a hidden 'agenda' to push..

FYI - Canada, UK etc don't make near the top 10.. Not any 'model' to strive for..

The medical community hides these facts from the public..

Our 'emergency' care - with all their miracle saving operations etc - is 'great' - right? Just getting you prepped for a lifetime of being hooked on legal prescribed opioids to keep big pharma happy - then switching to heroin etc when they cut you off...

Hmm... Sounds like a great game plan?

We pay more than twice per capita than anywhere else in the world

i have a hunch that CR and Cuba pay way way way less than we do per capita..

Cuba exports doctors etc - we import them from anywhere and everywhere - and pay top dollar..

whos the real fools here?

I have been paying for my own (and family) heatth insurance  for 23 years - 

now it's just 'me' till I get Medicare in 3 years

My silver ACA plan went up from $680 to $1090 month.. Can get a equivalent very high deductible non ACA plan for $900.. Or very high deductible Bronze ACA for $770.. Choices choices - go for the bronze..

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There are NO white people at all in the Bible... take all the time you need with that...
Please stop feeding the trolls - they will go away if you do...

Working people with lower incomes and losing their subsidies are seeing some pretty extreme rate hikes.

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"The truth is incontrovertible.
malice may attack it,
ignorance may deride it,
but in the end,
there it is." -Sir Winston Churchill

How about in Maine!?! The PEOPLE voted to expand Medicaid coverage.  Thinking things like that help the costs overall...

But, the Governor of Maine will not expand Medicaid coverage; it would be ruinous to the state's budget.

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Dora Hates You

Like here.  For the People!  Well the people that are already OK.  Not for the ones that need it.

Perhaps get a full time job, most offer insurance

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I troll 2L.com to be a better person in real life

 

Try being single and self employed and making "middle class" income....

I hope proctology is covered well because I'm getting fuct by these new "policy" premiums....  not even really worth me having insurance, outside of the possibility of a tragic illness or getting runover by a bus 

 

 

Yup....would have been cheaper for my family and I to just have paid the Obamacare tax/penalty for this current year vs what we forked out in premiums and then what BCBS DIDN'T COVER.

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Waiting for waves is ok......most people spend their lives waiting for nothing.

yep, I can imagine.  I'm only paying for a healthy 42 yr old male....

Last year my rate went up over $50 / mo and my deductible doubled to 7G!

I got a notice that it was increasing even more with an even higher deductible.... I was too mad to even read the details

I tried to get on board with the Obamacare thing as I supported the general idea,.  The first year, it was comparable to what my private policy was but since then it's been a mess, as it has gotten worse each year (at least in FL).  Great for people who are broke, but basically screwed everyone else.

Mine didn't go up much, but if you consider the portion my employer pays, the family coverage I have under BC/BS PPO costs 24,000/year, plus 1,500 individual in network deductible. I forget what the family deductible is.

I was just in Australia and visited a couple hospitals for work, and I can tell you that they are able to offer state of the art care for all Australians at a 2% tax levy.

They also have access to lots of OTC generic drugs at steep discounts compared to USA. One is albuterol, I picked some up for my son from the local chemist; it's 500% more expensive in the US and requires a prescription.

We're getting screwed in the USA, but we still operate on the collective delusion that our healthcare is the "best in the world".

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“It is the heart of US policy to use fascism to preserve capitalism while claiming to be saving democracy from communism “ - Michael Parenti

 

The USA does have some of the best "healthcare" on the planet......you are referring to health insurance.

Two compleletly different topics.

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Waiting for waves is ok......most people spend their lives waiting for nothing.

When i use the term "healthcare" I'm referring to the delivery of health services to the population. So called "insurance" is only a means toward that end. The healthcare system of the USA is sadly lacking compared to those of the other developed countries.

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“It is the heart of US policy to use fascism to preserve capitalism while claiming to be saving democracy from communism “ - Michael Parenti

There's always the VA.
I hear that the Vierra VA hospital provides excellent care.

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"The truth is incontrovertible.
malice may attack it,
ignorance may deride it,
but in the end,
there it is." -Sir Winston Churchill

It’s funny how no one bitches about the in premiums they pay for car, renters or home insurance.  We insure the shit we buy but no one complains about it.  Anyone ever ask your insurance company for a refund when you didn’t file a claim.  God forbid you have cancer or something else comes up NO insurance and you can’t afford care everyone else has to pickup the tab?  Seriously? You value property more than you?  Car and home insurance required but healthcare is required?  Take accountability for yourself and it’s wrong?  Grow up and be an adult for once!  Why do I need need to suffer for your choices?

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minh

Edited: 11/11/2017 at 09:16 PM by zoomino

The problem with health "insurance" is that it is not structured like property insurance. It is structured as a means for aquisition of health care on top of insuring against big losses. 

The cause of that is the tax code that distorted the market and created the huge employer provided plans where health benefits were paid untaxed in lieu of increased salary. 

You may notice that employers don't  provide group property insurance where the guy with the $1,000,000 house in a flood zone pays the same premium as the guy with a $150,000 house up on a hill 20 miles inland. But at work if I buy the "gold" plan and my 64 year old diabetic co-worker buys the "gold" plan we pay the same premium. 

You may also notice that property insurance doesn't pay for maintenance and upkeep yet we expect out health "insurance" to do this.

Property insurance and health "insurance" just aren't analogous as the markets currently function.

 

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...

The shark nip on my hand and hernia surgery have me at my $7,000 deductible again this year, so that totals more than $55,000 over the last six years.

I have a HSA through work, not the ACA.

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I was right.

It’s definitely tricky to figuring out need over necessary but what is the alternative? Many people have coverage now. Without a balanced risk pool how do we make it affordable?  I took a job for less pay but the benefits are great.  It’s a giveand take. Call your car insurance today and ask for a refund what will they say?  

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minh

We fully balance the risk pool over all life stages.
Single payer health care.

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"The truth is incontrovertible.
malice may attack it,
ignorance may deride it,
but in the end,
there it is." -Sir Winston Churchill

All insurance is, is another government regulated business scam. IF your insurance is going to save you money then use it. If not, then why have it?

 

Its just an expensive stress relief or anxiety control for those who can afford it. But for the rest of us, if you can't afford your premiums, how can you pay for the deductible and get quality treatment. IF you can afford it, but want alternative forms of treatment its not paid for either... no one wants to have the responsibility of paying for it either so if you do get that rare or expensive illness insurance is probably not going to cover it. (They want to save $ too so if you are one of those expensive clients, what's to stop them from dropping you soon as you they can.)

 

1.)Look at the condos whose roof blew off from the hurricane which still aren't fixed. If you were to have saved your monthly premium and put it in an emergency fund savings account you'd easily have been able to hire a crew and repair a roof or just fix it yourself.(Its been over 2 months now at the building down the road from us and it's still vacant and unfixed. I'd imagine it costs a lot more in lost revenue or living expenses waiting on the insurance to do their part.)

 

2).Accidents do happen, but no need to hand over the money ahead of time for a down the road expense. I'd prefer to save it, invest it, and then cash it back out when you need it...in the mean time routine and preventive maintenance isn't too difficult if you make an effort. As I've heard before it's alot easier to already have the money up front than trying to chase after someone to collect, and I've heard how often people have to hire legal representation to get an insurance payout.

 

3).Trying to say that everyone needs insurance because its costing everyone else when they don't pay doesn't solve anything. For one the subsidies don't cover the homeless or poverty level income earners. Second, you just can't fix stupid.(I've proven that. LOL).

 

...What I find most amusing about the insurance industry is that there are groups of people getting paid to collect money from the insurance companies who are paying another group of people to do the opposite. I'm almost positive that this cost is getting passed on to the consumer.

Edited: 11/13/2017 at 07:31 PM by Sector9surf

IF your insurance is going to save you money then use it. If not, then why have it?

High deductible HSA plans are designed to make you use less medical services. They figure you will think twice before using your own money and they are right, our HR said lack of use is why our premiums didn't go up this year.

I need to get insurance for my insurance.

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I was right.

Americans sit around complaining, meanwhile, the rest of the world has national health systems for all citizens.

2% annual in Aus. You'll wait for a knee replacement, but go straight to the cathlab for chest pain. Cost? $0.00.

BTW, they call the Aussie system Medicare. Hint.

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“It is the heart of US policy to use fascism to preserve capitalism while claiming to be saving democracy from communism “ - Michael Parenti

If Republicans pass the tax bill that kills the mandate, the individual market is going to blow. Get in now, at least you'll be protected for a year.

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I was right.