RE: “How insensitive to public opinion did Wellpoint have to be to send out notices of 39% increase?
Or was there another agenda?”
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I’m not sure there’s a hidden agenda. They like to just throw increases out there and deal with flack when people cry ‘foul.’
The problem is that there are few choices. Costs for individual healthcare policies in CA ARE competitive, if you call price gouging competitive. I have an Aetna policy that jumped some 30% as of 1/1/10 and called around to check competitors’ premium prices. I was told by more than one broker that they are ALL raising premiums and I should just stick with what I’ve got. I called a few companies directly to confirm that.
Many insureds are cancelling their policies due to price hikes and this means the insurers raise their premiums even more to make up the loss.
It’s all a ridiculous cycle and I’d cancel, too, except if you have any savings at all, one big illness would rob you of that — it really pays to be BROKE in CA, because you can get fabulous health care and pay next to nothing.
I saw it over and over again during my years at WellPoint. People on Medicaid get the best care at little to no cost. Management would shake its collective head in disgust. I am one who really believes all the governmental intrusion into our lives and all the subsidies and the unions have created this horrifying mess.
Wow
except for the poor( and that comprises a huge part of our population thanks to raising the floor on how much income makes you poor) we are all screwed.
It is bad IN Texas but nothing like what you are going rhough in Calif.
There is no answer. We screwed ourselves when we started giving health insurance as an employee perk in lieu of increased pay. From there these huge ancillary industries have grown.
How can we give nearly everyone health care without forcing people to buy insurance?
Even letting insurence be sold across state lines won’t work since in Calif you require so many extras in your insurance than for instance idaho doesn’t require.