Posted on 11/20/2014 10:22:46 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
Folks are used to the fact that health insurance costs always seem to go up. They've done so for the last 14 years, with the highest annual increase of about 14 percent and the lowest at about 3 percent. But the increases for 2015 are staggering, ranging from 20 percent to over 60 percent.
And consumers need to plan for more rate hikes over the next several years, especially those who have coverage through their employer. One of the biggest causes behind these increases is the Affordable Care Act (ACA), so called because it was supposed to provide more affordable health insurance for all.
According to a brief from the American Academy of Actuaries, several factors appear to be pushing health insurance premium up in 2015 and in future years. They include:
Risk pool composition: The ACA prohibits insurers from charging different premiums to individuals based on their health status.
Reinsurance fund reductions: The ACA created a reinsurance program to provide payments to insurance plans to help offset the costs of enrolling individuals with higher claims.
Rising cost of medical services: This increase, the so called medical trend, results from an ever-worsening demand-supply imbalance.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
Is this truly CBS news?
Meahwhile, health CARE costs are actually going down.
It’s why I don’t do health care insurance any more. It’s not worth the price.
Huh? It seems like the list price keeps going up and up and up.
The biggest benefit I've gotten from insurance hasn't been the insurance itself but the price "negotiation" with the hospital. For surgery with a list price of $24,000 the insurance company said the contract rate was $8,000 of which I had to pay $2,000. So they paid $6,000 (which was a little more than one year's premiums) but reduced the bill by $16,000.
1. Walmart now has in-store doctors offices that charge $40 per visit. Expect more to follow their lead.
1. With the high deductibles obamacare has, people will be less likely to go to the doctor for every sniffle, reducing demand.
3. More people are price shopping, forcing care providers to be more competitive.
Helluva job bending the cost curve down there, guys.
Of course it’s CBS News. Please keep in mind - they did wait until after the 2012 election to tell the truth about Obamacare.
But my employer is supposed to saving so much money he can give me a $3000 raise
Check into Christian healthsharing ministries -
you get the advantage of spreading risk across a group,
(a group of people with lifestyles that keep health costs down anyway),
with the advantage of telling the provider you’re paying cash.
I’ve heard sheeperal supporters of the ACA saying that it HAS reduced premiums...
you really can’t say anything to that. What color is the sky in their world, anyway?
As long as the FedGov requires me to have health insurance, I will have no health insurance. I just changed jobs and opted out.
Immediately after passage of ObamaCare, Jack Hammer’s health insurance premiums promptly doubled.
Thank you Marxist Dictator of America.
-— Immediately after passage of ObamaCare, Jack Hammer’s health insurance premiums promptly doubled -—
My insurance company just told me that they will only reimburse me for 65% of the regular treatments required for a serious, chronic condition, despite the protests of my doctor.
Needless to say, this has never happened before.
Are we having fun yet?
An example of this might be someone had gold level insurance at $500 a month, but now can only afford the bronze level at $499. The break even point depends on age and income. The young don't get much in the way of subsidies unless they are dirt poor. For someone in their mid 50's the break even point for equivalent policies is somewhere around 325% FPL with subsidies from the exchanges. That for is for my zip code..
Karl Marx is laughing in h*ll.
Mine DOUBLED.
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