Obamacare delay would send rates soaring

[ladyhk13]

I'm confused...so delaying Ocare would make rates skyrocket right? From almost everything I have heard most peoples rates have already skyrocketed. So what am I missing? My sister works for the county school system and as soon as the law was passed they all got called in and were told that their rates were tripling due to it. The rates have actually been increasing for the past three years in preparation for the law but the major hit is coming now with huge deductibles which I think may be very hard on families to budget for.

[cwconnertx]

I'm confused...so delaying Ocare would make rates skyrocket right? From almost everything I have heard most peoples rates have already skyrocketed. So what am I missing? My sister works for the county school system and as soon as the law was passed they all got called in and were told that their rates were tripling due to it. The rates have actually been increasing for the past three years in preparation for the law but the major hit is coming now with huge deductibles which I think may be very hard on families to budget for.

You have not seen anything yet. The people who designed this either designed it to fail or know nothing about economics, I tend towards the latter because everything I see passed through congress appears to ignore the reality of economics (economics in my mind being the study of human economic behavior)

1. I think some rather naive people believed that when young people might pay 100/mo for healthcare and old people were paying 800/mo enacting a law that limited old people premiums to no more than three time young people premiums would decrease old people premiums to 300/mo, while people with a clue realized this would result in young people premiums going up to 266/mo (800/3).

2. Insurance companies have lost their incentive to be efficient, since no more than 15% of premiums can cover administrative expenses and profits. If I can only keep 15% of what I charge, my incentive is to charge more and increase the amount spent on healthcare, not to be innovative and rein in healthcare costs. I need healthcare costs to increase so that my 15% increases, I cannot reduce healthcare costs and make more money, because if I reduce the 85%, I reduce the total and my 15% as well.

The whole thing is a clust3rfu*k of horrible economic policy. However... we now know that young people are not enrolling at the predicted rate... so the risk pool is skewed even more to old sick people... and since old sick people can pay no more than 3x young healthy people, next year the rates will have to escalate, followed by more young healthy people dropping out, and rates escalating again.. this is what the delay people worry about, if we let young healthy peopl voluntarily sit out without penalty the rates will escalate and quickly. I don't think that is going to be a problem, the penalty is already vastly cheaper than the insurance, so the people will sit out anyway, the concern is unfounded. The rates are already too high and the damage is done.

You are right, the skyrocketing has begun.. but just wait, the real fun is yet to come.

[ElevenBravo]

I would have thought that AFFORDABLE health care, would be affordable.

I pay $870 a month for a family plan, which is *1/3* of my gross. That, is NOT affordable, thats highway robbery IMHO.

EB

[helomech]

I would have thought that AFFORDABLE health care, would be affordable.

I pay $870 a month for a family plan, which is *1/3* of my gross. That, is NOT affordable, thats highway robbery IMHO.

EB

Wow, that is nuts. I think I pay 20 bucks a month for the plan (high deductible) then my company gives me 1000 in earnest money for being in that plan instead of the 750 plan. Then I put 400 a month into my health savings account, that money pays for the cost of my health care till I hit my deductible of 5000. After that the company pays 100%. My company is self insured, so outside influences don't really effect us too much, except when the government mandates stuff.

[ladyhk13]

I would have thought that AFFORDABLE health care, would be affordable.

I pay $870 a month for a family plan, which is *1/3* of my gross. That, is NOT affordable, thats highway robbery IMHO.

EB

That is pretty much the situation my sister is in. She works just to have insurance, most all of her pay goes to the premium and she doesn't even have kids. The county told them up front that their premiums were going up because of o'care as soon as it was passed, they didn't even wait for its implementation.

[greg48]

Izzy, I'm not using tri-care, got a few buddies that are, what I hear is the tri-care rates are gonna triple when OBcare is fully implemented?

[Gunfixr]

Our insurance is through my wife's job, and it only went up a small fraction, which happens every year anyway. It met mandates, so no changes were required.
I know, we got lucky.
You guys don't know who wrote the obamacare? The vast majority was written by the insurance companies, and they wrote it to guarantee good profits. They handed it back to the White House, who added the mandates and other crap, and now we have it.
I thought folks knew that.
Because of the mandate, and requirements to take everybody, no matter how sick, with limits on charging certain groups, all are charged high enough to guarantee profits even with a good percentage of sick.
Essentially, the young and healthy would carry the money output for the older and sicker.
Without the young and healthy's input, the "money pool" is smaller, as is the profit margin. Thus, rates will be hiked even more.

The insurance companies are only concerned for their bottom line.
FedGov wants everybody more dependent, aids in their control, plus the "fine" gives them more money.

Another straw (perhaps the final one) in the fleecing of America.

[ElevenBravo]

1) Allow me to clarify, when I said 1/3 of my gross, that is including about 10 hours OT a week, so as you see I dont make much money. Its even MORE of a pisser to take home a small check even AFTER working so long and hard.

2) Last year, BCBS went up about $90 a month

3) Already had the BCBS open enrolment meeting and they stated NO INCREASE this year. I figure, there going to double it NEXT year as a joyous surprise.

EB

[Sniper-T]

Wow. financially, I feel sorry for you guys. I certainly wouldn't want to pay that kind of coin! But allow me to put US vs. Canada health care into perspective on a non-financial point.

My brother's son (living in the US as dual citizens, and with healthcare) buggered his knee skiing. Ambulance to hospital, xrays, ultrasound, MRI, casted, spent the night, and released.
all costs picked up by insurance, premium paid.


Me, in Canada, buggered my shoulder at work. drove to hospital, waited for 7 hours, saw doctor, waited for 4 hours, got x ray, waited for 4 hours saw doctor. sent home. (Ultra sound ordered)
5 weeks later (while I've been off work on 55% compensation, I go in for an ultrasound, go home.

3 weeks later, go see the doctor. ultrasound was inconclusive, MRI ordered, sent home.

4-1/2 Months later, MRI. .. go home

2 weeks later, see doctor. torn this, torn that, referal to surgeon, go home

6-1/2 months later see surgeon. Yep need surgery, go home
3-1/2 months later, go in for surgery, go home
2 weeks later see surgeon, start physio.
...


In total I was off work collecting 55% for 19 months before I was cleared to go back to work on light duties.

Your care may be expensive, but I woul gladly have paid it to be fixed in a reasonable time.
perspective, not counting the overtime that I regularly worked, I was out of pocket over 40K. You seriously don't want to know how much it would have been including OT

So no, our health care may be free (it's part of the taxes that we pay), but the standard of care certainly isn't the same. If I could have gotten my doctor to refer me, I would have happily drove down to the Mayo clinic and paid to get it fixed.

[ElevenBravo]

Your care may be expensive, but I woul gladly have paid it to be fixed in a reasonable time.

Thanks Tee, that really does put things into perspective.

EB