My health insurance premium DOUBLED in 2002, and I can't figure out why. I haven't been sick - no claims whatsoever. Okay, I did turn 40, but hell, I don't smoke and have no health problems.

Anyone else notice a jump in premiums lately?

Don't feel bad, my division was recently bought from a 10K employee firm, by a company with no employees. My healthcare, as a result, more than tripled. In 6 months, I paid more for heathcare than I would have paid in 2 years!!!

For those of us who live without insurance, it's a mystery to me.

I've heard, regarding car insurance, that they pass the bill over to their customers - regardless of driving record - you merely get "less of an increase" than the others do.

Maybe there has been a boom in health claims?

It's way out of control. How about $4K for my personal policy for 2002!

I wonder where it all goes. In the Bay Area, hospitals are generally losing money (some are closing), doctors are leaving in droves because reimbursement continues to fall, and insurance co-payments keep rising even as premiums skyrocket.

TheMax said:

It may be just because your company is in a financial bind and doesn't want to contribute as much -- so they're sticking you with a larger premium.

LaVisHh said:

As a nation, we've never spent more on healthcare as we do now. The cost of new technologies and medications have to be the main driving force in the inflation.

Everyone should have access to healthcare - no one should be without insurance. We're spending enough money - I think it just needs to be distributed more efficiently and more sensibly. In my opinion, the last people to be paid with our healthcare dollars are the CEO's of the insurance companies.

applekisses said:

That's just it - I'm self-employed and pay my own premiums. Not only that, but I offer health benefits to my employees, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to offer this benefit.

TheMax said:

Oh jeez...maybe the insurance company itself is in financial danger...the economy sucks right now (as you know) my brothers-in-law are in the same boat as you. They both own businesses and are having trouble paying for insurance for their employees.
Is there any way you can increase the employee contribution a bit?

TheMax said:

I've often wondered why citizens aren't granted healthcare coverage for free.

Any ideas?

LaVisHh said:

Some companies do offer that. And there is nothing deducted from the employees' paycheck either. But it seems that specific benefit has dwindled among many employers. And then there are those who offer almost free healthcare while you only pay $1 per perscription.

Supernova said:

My roommate had a bladder infection last year, and her parent's health insurance only covered 80 cents of a $40 prescription. Nuts I tell you.

Natsume said:

Yeah, roommate.

bkw said:

AAAGGGHHH!!!

Natsume said:

That was actually pretty good. You better thank me for handing that to you on a silver platter.

Natsume said:

Now see, that's just dumb.

Natsume said:

Thank you my dear.

i blame gay people ...

MrBliss said:

That's just BAD.

MrBliss & bkw...

LaVisHh said:

It was your thread that started it, therefore, you are to blame!

bkw said:

:O

Don't blame me.

It was an innocent enough thread...now run along silly boy...

LaVisHh said:

I know I don't have a solution, but here are a few thoughts.

Other countries have socialized health care, but they are increasingly threatened bothered by inflation as well. It becomes a huge tax item, the way Medicare and Medicaid already are, and with the government in control there are always other types of inefficiencies and waste. Somehow, I prefer a private model, but wish for many changes.

I think that low income or unemployed people should have fair and unfettered access to comprehensive healthcare that doesn't cheat patients and doctors the way that the current Medicaid/Medicare system does. Make it fair so that doctors welcome these patients. For this, I'd gladly pay higher taxes.

For those who are able to pay, then self-pay should be the rule. Insurance should be limited to catastrophic claims, leaving ordinary visits to the doctor and routine tests to be paid without involving insurance companies. This keeps costs lower by cutting out huge amounts of insurance costs, and keeps costs "real" for doctors and patients because they're not playing the shell game with inflated bills (that insurance winds up severely discounting anyway).

This would have the added benefit of having people take more responsibility for their own health. For example, if one smokes, it costs the smoker more for routine care, so some might rethink unhealthy choices if it costs directly impacts them financially. Same goes for poor eating or lack of exercise.

Obviously for some, severe acute illness or chronic medical conditions are random misfortune. That's where state/federal support and/or catastrophic coverage would come into play. No one would be left out, yet the insurance companies would have a much more limited role in the day-to-day, ordinary interactions between doctors and patients.

Lastly, I think we need to become more realistic about end-of-life care. It's generally VERY expensive, and by definition, so often futile. The hard part, of course, is knowing when a person really has reached "end of life," so that attention can be devoted to comfort, not overpriced, painful, and futile medical heroics.

I think if such a system were in place, my premiums would be a fraction of what they are now.

Thank you, TheMax.

So in summary, there really is no clean-cut answer to the healthcare problem in America.

I know, as a hairstylist, I have gone without insurance for most of my life (beyond my youth). Most salons don't cover it, and the ones that do, cut so deeply into my income that I pass on it.

I did, however utilize the Medical Assistance program on my 7th month of pregnancy - I was charging all of my visits onto a credit card, and knew that had to stop. So I was on it for 2 years, then they promptly cut me off.

It's really a tough call. I only worry because my daughter, like most children, is prone to injury.

Again, thank you for going into such detail for me, it was very much appreciated.

TheMax said:

I would too.

As I see it, the problem (at least in the USA) is that if you don't have group health insurance through your employer, you're forced to purchase individual health insurance. In most states, the issuers of these policies can pick and choose whom they'll insure, and they tend to be very picky. I recall reading something where a health insurance executive basically said, "If you tell us that you had a cold, we'll turn you down for an individual policy."

Here in Indiana, there is a state-mandated health insurance program for people who cannot obtain an individual health insurance policy, but the premiums are sky-high, and I suspect that many of the people who need this program can't afford it.

I don't know what the solution is. Universal health care sounds nice, but I've heard horror stories about the delays that people sometimes face in getting health care under such systems.

Fortunately I have health insurance through my employer, and they pay 100% of the premium. However, our firm's last health insurance company went belly-up, and my wife (I was insuring her under my policy at the time--now she has her own insurance through her job) got screwed out of a few hundred dollars as a result. The insurance company is being liquidated, and we might get pennies on the dollar some day, but I've already written it off as a total loss, at least in my head.