Seriously? (Health Ins. Rant)

So I just got health insurance while I am trying to find a job. Thank god I did because if this kidney stone fiasco I had on Christmas.

So the Heath insurance due date is the first of every month, however that does not work for me. I have to pay my rent on the 1st as well. I cannot afford to pay both being unemployed. However, I can pay the insurance later in the month.

So I call them and explain my situation. I tell them I can pay them, it just can't be on the first. They tell me they can only change the date if they do automatic withdrawal, but it can't be changed for any other payment. I won't do automatic withdrawal because I have had issues with it in the past.

The lady I spoke to was kind enough to put in the notes my situation and that my payments will be at the end of the month. Don't think it will do me any good, but oh well.

I'm not happy about it, but there's nothing else I can really do.

Yeah, I just found out that Obama thinks that my health insurance is too good, and is forcing my company to reduce the level of services it provides and increases our payments. Thanks a lot...affordable healthcare my butt.

Our company is self insured, but BCBS of NC administers it. Nothing changed much except the maximum out of pocket went up 2X.

The other day the oncologist said my white blood cell count was borderline (common chemo side effect) so they prescribed a shot that will bring that back up. I waited for about an hour and a half, then finally got hold of a nurse. Seems they had to call for preapproval and the preapproval number kept going to a message that they were in training. This was the week after Christmas. So the oncologist said pay for it and get your money back, oh HELLS no BTDT, never did get my money. The oncologist finally said let's get it done and we will work it out with the ins later. I said fine as long as I don't pay any part (hit my MOOP three months ago). Just makes me wonder why they shut down the WHOLE DEPARTMENT for a week?

Curmudgeon wrote: Just makes me wonder why they shut down the WHOLE DEPARTMENT for a week?

Lower costs... no one there to say yes that whole week... Some Exec just got a bonus

pinchvalve wrote: Yeah, I just found out that Obama thinks that my health insurance is too good, and is forcing my company to reduce the level of services it provides and increases our payments. Thanks a lot...affordable healthcare my butt.

Beep – Beep – it’s 2015 so make way for the Cadillac tax – Beep – Beep.

It has been a while since I checked so somebody correct me if I'm wrong but I think the tax on any benefits that are deemed better than necessary is 40%.

Insurance never seems to be good news. From the other thread:

nderwater wrote: Just got my new insurance cards:

One thing I do not understand is if your company had insurance (like mine) when ACA passed, why the hell it would effect that insurance, if it met the stupid minimums.

spitfirebill wrote: One thing I do not understand is if your company had insurance (like mine) when ACA passed, why the hell it would effect that insurance, if it met the stupid minimums.

Because they want to tax you if [ gasp ] you have insurance that is better than crap, so they can pay for all the people who can't pay for their own insurance. You know, to make it "affordable care". They deem anything more than minimal insurance a "Cadillac" plan so that it sounds more like the usual "those fat cats should pay their fair share". Anybody who doesn't think that "fat cats should pay their fair share" (who's considered FAT and what's considered FAIR are never defined) must hate poor people and children. And they probably smell like Republicans, too.

spitfirebill wrote: One thing I do not understand is if your company had insurance (like mine) when ACA passed, why the hell it would effect that insurance, if it met the stupid minimums.

Because politics and greed (capitalism!) trump everything. If your company and/or insurance can make more money off you and blame something else (ACA) they will. Guess what? Insurance rates have been skyrocketing for decades.

Notice the employer contributions climb faster than the actual premiums? That's not ACA, that's employers asking you to pay more.

I have had great insurance for more than a decade. My policy has only changed for the better and has not been hit by any Cadillac tax since ACA. Why? Because my insurer and the company that provides my healthcare aren't greedy pieces of E36 M3.

Who would have guessed that a healthcare topic that has absolutely nothing to do with the ACA would turn in to "ZOMG, Obamacare is teh work of teh devil!"

Cone_Junkie wrote:

spitfirebill wrote: One thing I do not understand is if your company had insurance (like mine) when ACA passed, why the hell it would effect that insurance, if it met the stupid minimums.

Notice the employer contributions climb faster than the actual premiums? That's not ACA, that's employers asking you to pay more.

So, what about 1999-2002, and again in 2004-2007, when employer contributions went up faster than worker contributions did? Were all the greedy capitalist running dogs on vacation during those years?

On the flip side of things.... I work for the health insurance company and havent had christmas eve or day after christmas off in 8 years unless they fell on a weekend.

Cone-Junkie, there's far, far more to it than you realize. Medical costs in general have skyrocketed during those years, not just insurance. My experience is a bit more personal since my wife runs an office, and a family friend is head of the board of directors at our local hospital.

The costs of doing business in the medical field has far outpaced insurance. There are many reasons for this, but to name a few, federal regulations on filings and reporting, the treating of people without insurance, and the fact that the US mostly pays for all of the medical rand drug research for the entire world.

In most countries there are government mandated caps that can be charged, so those charges are applied in one of the only countries where the costs can be recouped; the US. Also, the amount of time it takes to comply with government regs is beyond what most people can comprehend. Their small office had to hire a person to just to make sure they don't go to jail. For all that additional work, they get roughly $25 per person for most Medicare visits. That's fine and all, but they need to average $95 per person for the office to break even, not make a profit. You and I have to pay the rest.

These are just the tip of the iceberg. There is certainly a lot of money flowing through this industry, but to claim it's all the people sitting back and raising rates to get rich is simply not true.

As for our company, it's fairly small with only about 20 people. They do not have to supply insurance by the ACA, but they do. And besides payroll, it is the single largest expense the company has, and it has almost doubled in cost in the last few years for less coverage.

Hi Cone Junkie,

I do hear you.

Healthcare is literally a matter of life and death for millions of Americans and it represents 18% of our total economy so it’s inevitable that there are going to be huge winners and losers whenever you alter something this critical.

I happen to be on the losing end as I work in the Med-Tech field and the device tax has devastated our industry. The politicians keep saying “it’s only 2.3%, what’s the big deal, you’ll make it up in volume anyway”.

Well, the 2.3% is on gross sales not net profits and since the average profit margin for medical device companies is only around 12%, it’s actually a 19% tax on top of the existing 35% corporate tax.

In terms of making it up in volume, how many people do we let die in the street for want of a pacemaker? If you said “basically none”, you’d be correct and so the volume thing is just more B.S..

Bottom line, we’ve gone from four shifts to just one and built a huge manufacturing facility in Malaysia to cover the loss. Personally, it’s a miracle I still have a job…given all the layoffs, there’s only a 1.75% chance I should still be around.

So, I am sincerely happy for you and all of the other winners but please show some sympathy for all of us losers.

Please don’t ridicule or be dismissive of those that are suffering.

Know what I’m saying…it’s the whole salt on a wound thing.

Thank you, Brett

that graph is a strange read...I don't like the ones that start from 0% like that, it implies to the viewer that there is a dramatic contrast ratio of costs growing instead of showing what the percentages were actually in 1999.

...but, even before the ACA passed, there was a documented dramatic shortfall in health care providers in the late 90s, and reported again in the mid 00s.

nothing in the ACA addressed the shortage of medical care to provide to people, instead it increased demand even further, and therefore costs.

"We're from the government and we're here to help."

Scariest phrase ever!

I know healthcare costs have been rising across the board for decades (that's why I mentioned it), for many reasons. The purpose of the chart was the disturbing trend of the employers shuffling more of the cost to the employees. Which explains why premiums are going up despite the fact that the current insurance plan met all the criteria of the ACA. The ACA has been a great scapegoat for pundits, insurance providers, and employers to jack up the cost of insurance. Blaming ACA for every insurance problem from here on out is bad logic, and just getting old.

I don't believe healthcare SHOULD be the responsibility of employers. Unfortunately we (collective) have decided that's how it works, so therefore that's how it is (for now). I think not dying is a basic human right. Maybe someday we'll join the rest of the first world countries and provide basic healthcare to all our citizens. It would still leave plenty of room for insurance companies to provide premium healthcare for employers to provide or people to buy outright if they have the means.

pinchvalve wrote: Yeah, I just found out that Obama thinks that my health insurance is too good, and is forcing my company to reduce the level of services it provides and increases our payments. Thanks a lot...affordable healthcare my butt.

Your company is the one screwing you.

OTOH, thanks to the small-business clauses of the act, in lieu of a wage increase, I got 100% employer funding of my health insurance. That was like a $500/month raise for me, and it gets him incentives because he is covering for more than 51%, so it costs him less in the first place.

I'd still prefer to have a single-payer and the required income tax increases required to cover that.

In reply to iadr:

There is no fixing it. It is corrupt to the core. The only way is to be more corrupt than they are.

OMG DATA!!!! NO!!!! WE CANT HAVE FACTS AND DATA AND FIGURES!!!! IT DOESN'T GO WITH MY PRECONCEIVED NOTION OF THE PROBLEM! I CAN'T HANDLE THE FACT THAT MY PRIVATE INSURANCE COMPANY AND MY BOSS ARE THE ONES ACTUALLY berkeleyING ME!!!

You're going to have to explain how the insurance company is berkeleying you harder today than in 1999.

Though really, doesn't it get old when i ask that question in every thread on this subject?

I think not dying is a basic human right. Maybe someday we'll join the rest of the first world countries and provide basic healthcare to all our citizens.

What a Nobel cause, how generous you are with other people's time and money. Because that is what the ACA is. Confiscation of wealth from one group to transfer to another. And do you know what happens when people get something that they haven't paid for or earned? They abuse it, further driving up the costs for the paying parties. Health insurance was never supposed to be used as it is today. It was intended for catastrophic illness and injury, not every malady know to man. You paid out of pocket for the everyday stuff. Now we want to cover everything for everyone- but everyone doesn't pay- is the outcome any surprise at all?

FIX YOUR GOVERNMENT! YOU need it (to work properly)!

You know who would strongly disagree with you? Those who founded our government. Their distrust of government was so strong that they did everything they could think of to limit it's power and protect the people from it. Those protections have been severly eroded over the last 50 or so years, and the ACA is just one glaring example. We've surrendered a 5th of our economy to our government, and literally control of life and death matters. While that may be welcomed by some, it horrifies many of us. Human nature and history show us that it may not be a wise decision, even if the cause was well intended. They usually are, why else would people willingly give up their freedom?

OMG DATA!!!! NO!!!! WE CANT HAVE FACTS AND DATA AND FIGURES!!!! IT DOESN'T GO WITH MY PRECONCEIVED NOTION OF THE PROBLEM! I CAN'T HANDLE THE FACT THAT MY PRIVATE INSURANCE COMPANY AND MY BOSS ARE THE ONES ACTUALLY berkeleyING ME!!!

If you believe the insurance companies and your employer were screwing you, mandating that you HAVE to buy insurance from them is a funny way of fixing the problem. Prior to the ACA, you didn't have to buy insurance, and "get screwed." Many people bought high deductible, low premium catastrophic care insurance for the big stuff, and paid out of pocket for most of what people consider healthcare. Without insurance, it was a free market. If you needed a scheduled surgery, you could shop around like you were buying a car. The cost was usually pennies on the dollar Vs. what the insurance companies paid. That's gone, because that type of plan doesn't meet required minimums.

Don't get me wrong, our healthcare system has plenty of room for improvement. But we're doing it wrong, and many are giving a lot for the benefit of the very few. Surely there are better solutions.

Swank Force One wrote: You're going to have to explain how the insurance company is berkeleying you harder today than in 1999. Though really, doesn't it get old when i ask that question in every thread on this subject?

Unfortunately, this is not what I meant when I started the thread.

Boost_Crazy: You listed zero facts in your post. I will address what had some semblance of fact and not just your opinion.

The founding fathers were divided on how much power the Federal Government should have. Many wanted a constitutional monarchy. That is the reason for the division of powers and the Bill of Rights.

Your employer does not mandate you buy insurance from them. That has never been part of any program. If you refuse the benefit of the group rate and the smaller and smaller subsidy they offer, you can shop on your own. I live (for the next two weeks) in a state that refused the Medicaid expansion. I could have purchased exponentially better insurance than what I was getting through my employer for my entire family through the exchanges for $200 a month more. Make sure you understand the statement. Better Insurance, No Subsidies, $200 more per month. My company straight told us they weren't going to pay as much of our premiums anymore. At least they were honest.

You can hate the ACA, you dislike the government, you can even like Taylor Swift's music but get your facts straight and if you do believe your actual response change your news sources.

Edit: Oh yeah and your penalty for not having insurance is $95 per adult. Less than what you would pay for any plan.

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote:

Swank Force One wrote: You're going to have to explain how the insurance company is berkeleying you harder today than in 1999. Though really, doesn't it get old when i ask that question in every thread on this subject?

Unfortunately, this is not what I meant when I started the thread.

I know.

I should just avoid these threads completely. Pretty obvious that nobody ever learns anything.