Talkback: Your health costs
Health care reform looks different to each person — because health insurance options vary so much for each family.
We want to know about your health plan. If you have it, how much do you pay and what do you get for it? Is it a good plan for a reasonable amount, or do you pay a fortune for what is essentially catastrophic coverage? What does reform mean to you?
If you don’t have it, what do you do instead? Do you not visit the doctor, or do you find physicians who will work with you? Have you had success negotiating costs?. What could you pay/be willing to pay for insurance? What does reform mean to you?
Tell us your story — or the basics — and a reporter could contact you to discuss your situation for an upcoming story on CNNMoney.
I am retiring at the end of the year 1 year early. The company provided health care is the only option for me. My cost per month for 2 of us will be $1500 for really bad insurance. If you health care is from an employer there are two grredy between you and your health care at least one of them needs to go. I would like to see civilian boards negotiating with the companies for the best prices. These boards could be by county, township, state or other region. No government no corporate interference. By the way living in Central PA among Amish and Mennonite populations where this kind of negotiation already happens and it works.
People complain about the cost of medical insurance, medical services and so forth – but when I speak about socialized medicine, or more controlled costs on medicine almost everyone goes sheet white, screams socialist at me and makes the sign of the cross. America needs to make up it’s mind – are we going to continue to run on capitalism (greed) and only complain when it suits us – or get honest that our rampant greed inspired capitalism is not practical and start restructuring our mindset. Then, one day health care will focus on CARE – and the long term benefits of a healthy country.
My employer Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare just added a $10,000 penalty for not wearing a seat belt or helmet in the event of an injury. Even a child on a tricycle who fell and hit his head would trigger a penalty if he wasn’t wearing a helmet! This seems outrageous. It is supposedly a non-profit but asks like a very cut-throat corporation. Are other companies adding penalties like this? Please do a story about this. Oh and too many employees were using prilosec and other meds in that class so they cut back the coverage to the point where employees would end up paying $100’s a month. No options, not even generic. What’s next, pay by the pound. Too many people taking BP meds or diabetic meds so they’ll stop covering those too! Where will this insanity end! The puny 2-3% raises don’t help when your spending $1,000’s out of pocket with crappy health plans. Now the government wants to tax these crappy, overpriced plans. How about some relief for those of who are underinsured. I only wish their was a public option I could choose and I would do it in a heartbeat!.
My employer charges too much so I didn’t opt in. Also if I did opt the copays are too high. Come to think of it, with a family of five when I did have insurance I couldn’t afford to go to the doctor (didn’t have enough money to meet the copays) so I actually haven’t been to a doctor for over four years.
Everyone wonders why health cost is high, due to emergency room visists? Well, it’s not just the uninsured it’s the insured as well.
I called my mother’s doctor to get an appointment, because she was feeling badly. She’s 80 years old. The medical receptionist/assistant said she could not get an appointment the same day and her best bet was to go to the emergency room. Now my mother is covered 100%, but I know that the cost to treat her is like quadruple, in the emergency room, so this makes no sense that they just send you off to the most expensive place for treatment. Well the doctor’s office advised because there are not enough doctors, nurses, other medical personnel etc… they always advise patients to go to the hospital, if they need immediate care. Basically, buck up because that’s the way it is in the good old U.S. Okay, right?
Of course, if you go to any doctor’s office you will find that appointments are scheduled for 15 minute time slots. If you are there for more than five minutes, then you are getting great care. Sure you are, according to the Insurance Companies that suck up most of the dollars and force the Doctor’s to run their offices like a Fast Food Restaurant. The more folks you see the more money you make. Care, what’s care? Don’t forget you have to diagnose your own ailment before you walk in the door or the doctor just gives you a blank stare, like you want me to tell you what’s wrong, duh! This is because he has no time to figure it out.
I also have great Medical Insurance, through my employer as a PPO; however, all insurance providers work with measured services. If anyone believes they are getting the best care in the World in the U.S., then think again.
In Germany, you have a baby and you are in the hospital for no less than 5 days. In this country, if you have a baby you are getting the drive through special and out you go after pushing out the kid in less than 24 hours. Of course, they will let you stay a little longer if there are complications. That’s so nice . . .
If German moms stay home with the baby, the first year, they are provided a stipend (fixed dollar amount). In addition, there’s the annual Spa Retreat, fully paid.
We pay the most for insurance worldwide and the service STINKS! And I have a cadillac plan.
The American Public has no idea what good health care is all about, because the Insurance Companies, HMO’s, PPO’s, etc… have been telling everyone, for the last three decades that this is what you get and then try to convince you how great it is . . . NOT!
I don’t think a Health Reform Bill will work, but honestly I have no idea what is suitable to help lower costs, nor does the Administration, Congress or the Sentate. That goes for both the Democrats and the Republicans. The lobbyists are out of control and no one will ever reel them in to make things better. It’s a little thing called being re-elected . . .
Scaring people into thinking Health Reform will ration health care is really stupid. Wake up, we have all had rationed health care for three decades.
What’s the answer. Leave the country and seek out health care with better service and lower costs elsewhere.
It appears that I am in a different boat than many people on this forum.I see health insurance as simply another product just like any other insurance. The same goes for medical services in general – they should be driven my competition and supply/demand. It is the responsibility of the consumer to shop around for the best deal. Instead, most people visit a doctor without ever taking a look at the prices (which you are allowed to do, by the way). In fact, many sites exist to compare procedures online so that you can make this process even easier.
I pay $75/month for an indivdual plan with a $3,000 deductible. This allows me to have a Health Savings Account in the event that I actually do need to visit a physician. Not only is it tax advantaged, but it also encourages me to look for the best deals. At the same time, I am still protected in the event of a major accident.
I don’t mean to sound cold-hearted, but more Americans need to take charge of their own healthcare. Medicare was originally started to HELP with healthcare costs – and not to completely cover every aspect. I see a sense of entitlement in this industry that drives me crazy.
With all of that said, I DO think that healthcare costs need to be controlled. A lot of this stems from the provider level. Many hospitals and providers operate under extemely inefficient workflows that bloat costs. In addition to the open markets for insurance, I think costs in the industry as a whole need to be much more transparent. I want to see postings for how much procedures cost, and I want to be able to make informed decisions about MY healthcare. I don’t see a public option doing anything but adding unneeded costs to an already bloated industry.
In addition to open markets and transparent costs, I do realize that there will be people who still cannot afford healthcare. This should be addressed by expanding other government programs at both the national and state levels. There are programs in place, but people need more education on how they can work. Many families don’t even know that such programs exist or that they would be eligible.
Bottom line: I want to control the costs of my own healthcare by making informed decisions in a transparent marketplace. I say “no” to a public option, but encourage the expansion of state and federal programs to cover the needy. In the end, this is the responsibility of every American, so we should not wait for the government to fix it all.
Medicaid is available in every state, but coverage varies. The Feds require that the state provide minimum coverage for medical care, but other types of care are covered at the state’s option, namely dental, vision, and mental health (unless you live in a state like California that has parity laws which require that mental health be covered on par with medical).
If you are a disabled person receiving federal disability payments, a person over age 65, a person under 21, a pregnant woman, or you have a special illness, such as TB or renal failure, you can get Medicaid if you meet the asset test.
A single, disabled person with no more than $2000 in countable assets can qualify for Medicaid. For a couple, it’s $3000. Countable assests usually means money in the bank and the cash value of life or burial insurance policies. Your primary residence (your home – regardless of its value), one vehicle (regardless of its value), and most of your personal property is not countable.
Your income determines if you have to pay a share of cost for your care (share of cost is a deductible). For a single, disable person, the income threshold for share of cost is about 120% of the federal poverty level which would be about $1100 per month. It’s higher for couples and families. If your monthly countable income is in excess of that amount, you will have a share of cost.
As I mentioned earlier, people in special circumstances, such as those with renal failure who need dialysis, pregnant women, people with HIV, breast or cervical cancer, or TB, have special programs with no or higher asset and income limits.
The people at the very bottom of the economic ladder can get Medicaid. The people at the very top can afford outrageous private insurance or pay out of pocket. The people in the middle are the ones who need the help.
Why not expand Medicaid’s asset and income thresholds to include more middle class people and see if this helps the problem before enacting a new program? Costs could be offest by reasonable co-pays and deductibles and even monthly or yearly premiums.
Medicaid can’t cancel a person for a chronic, expensive illness. You can’t be turned down due to a pre-existing condition. There are no lifetime maximums.
We have infrastructure in place right now to address the problem. Medicaid and Medicare need to start paying healthcare providers a decent rate so that more will accept those patients. It needs to expand its financial tests to include more middle class Americans.
I encourage every one here who thinks they might qualify to apply for Medicaid.
My family and I currently have health insurance through my employer; though its still quite expensive its better than an individual plan. However, I am one layoff away from being without it. Because insurers discriminate against those who have “pre-existing” conditions, it won’t be as simple as me getting a coverage through a private company if I were to lose my job and had a hospital visit.
This would force me to pay COBRA which I cannot afford on one income. I have been very sick at times, but passed on going to the doctor because it would cause a preexisting condition. I haven’t even gone to the doctor because if he finds something wrong, then I would no longer be able to get insurance unless its through an employer.
When I was paying for my own insurance a few years ago, I saw my rate jump over $200 in less than 2 years when we filed NO claims. Last year, while I was waiting for my employer insurance to kick in, one insurer even denied my application because my wife was pregnant (even though she was already covered on a separate plan).
These insurance companies are nothing but corporate bullies driven by greed. Contrary to what lies they tell you; they do NOT care about your health. All they care about is how much money they can make off of you. The more claims they deny and and more they raise their rates and reduce coverage, the more money in their pocket. If you are too sick they rather you DIE then pay out claims or accept your application to begin with. This is wrong; and health insurance should be a right not a privilege to just those that can afford the exorbitant rates. This has gone on long enough; reform is needed NOW. The Dems and Reps need to come together to help the AMERICAN public. The petty partisan bickering in Congress needs to stop; and for once, the USELESS blabber needs to turn into action.
First I must observe that most of the featured comments on health care reform were biased toward a government controlled plan. Secondly, doesn’t everyone carry home owners’ or renters’ insurance and car insurance? If I don’t use mine, I’m glad, not sorry I have it. Insurance is not suppose to pay for everything. The premise is to pay for the big things you cannot affortd. However, putting away $1000 a month for health care costs is an option most middle class Americans would find difficult to do. The cost of medical care is too high. Doctors complain about their costs. However, they build macmansions and travel all over the world. They have many homes. We live in America and they should be able to prosper. However, their profession is suppose to be a noble one. In my opinion doctors make too much money, but they are not alone. At least they save lives. What do ball players do? That’s the real problem in this country, excessive payment. Doctors, lawyers, ceo’s, sports players and actors, just to name a few, are all overpaid. The gap between the middle and the upper is growing while the gap between the middle and the lower is narrowing. The trouble with health care is the trouble with everything else in this country. A small proportion of the nation controls the money. Everything needs to be more affordable, but not at the expense of certain groups of people like seniors and not with government control. How easy it is for lawmakers to make laws that do not apply to themselves. If there is a government health service then everyone should be on it, including congress and the president. They are making decisions that they know will not affect them. Money is often the deciding factor, not the well being of citizens.
This is such a complex issue that no one is going to have the answer that’s acceptable to all. Healthcare costs need to be brought into check and honestly a national healthcare option is the only way to compel this to happen. The federal government can’t impose change on the states but it can set up a system for them to compete with.
Health insurance companies are not in the position to effect real cost savings or controls because for them to perform this role they would risk alienating the groups for whom their survival depends on. Those groups being medical networks, pharmaceutical companies and the public. If any one insurance company, alone, tries to effect true cost cuts or controls they assume the real risk of alienating one or more groups for which their revenue stream depends on. If they alienate the medical community they risk loosing all or some of their network, making their product less marketable. The other option is to reduce the level of care to the consumer and risk driving them to insurers.
My hope with a national healthcare option is that people will be offered basic comprehensive coverage. If available, it would compel all insurance companies to follow suite and without the national option, for which the insurance companies would have to complete with, there is no motivation and too high risk for them to offer lower cost options. A national healthcare option should cover physicals, maintenance drugs, routine surgical procedures and basic dental. Place an annual cap of say $50,000 per individual or $100, 000 per family with options for national healthcare policy holders to buy up if they can so afford to do so. The idea is not to deprive anyone of anything. If they can afford more they’ll have the option buy up. What I’m suggesting is not so different from what we have now, which is a system of have and have not’s. At least with national coverage option we’ll all have the option of having basic coverage versus nothing.
To do nothing, will allow the healthcare industry to continue unabated price increases. Increases in some states are reported to be between 10-30% on average for this year. A 30% increase could easily translate into an additional $300 per month out of pocket for family coverage. We can’t afford to sit back any longer and do nothing.
Signed,
Mike M.
Health Insurance Company Employee
I would like us all to have ths same coverage that we pay for our congressman and senators.. that seems fair..
Most respondees are talking about Health Ins. Not health care Reform!!Insurance Cos. try to arrive @ fair premiums to pay the rising cost of the medical claims they have !! We need to address this by Tort reform and competition!! 80% of test ordered are a result Docs. practicing defensive medicine to protect themselves in the event of a suit -Malpractice Ins. cost are through the roof Why aren’t we hearing this fin the health care debates??!!
A national system like Medicare for all US Citizens is the only way to go.
Costs = scale, more scale and standardization, lower costs, and you can’t scale anything with multiple insurance carriers and middle men… I swear if you got rid of the top 10% earners in the health insurance industry and medical administration, costs, and therefore premiums would drop by 25% to 35%… Also need tort reform and malpractice insurance reform, and full government payment for a physcian’s med school and nurses training – get these gals / guys into practice without a $300K debt albatross hanging around their necks…
I can also go without if I want to – it should be my choice. I had to contribute to my employers program at a cost of about $40 per week for a single thats not bad, but $2000 a year is more than I have spent going to the doctor in the last 8 years! It is a loosing proposition for me and most other healthy people. What I believe should be done is a simple law that whomever sells a product must sell it to everyone at the same price they sell it to ANYONE, no matter who they are or what state they are in. So, if you live in NY you can buy the same policy as WalMart or some other large company who gets a volume discount – end the volume discount concept and require that all things sold to any organization can be purchased by any individual or company. If my small company could buy the same low cost insurance and get into the same pool as Walmart it would be lower cost and due to sample size (for those SixSigma people out there) would not raise the cost for the insurance company. Could you imagine if you went to the supermarket and a gallon of milk was cheaper for the lady in front of you on line because she had 5 kids and you had only one? We all need to be able to buy any policy from anywhere at the same price as anyone – it’s common sense and it’s an easy piece of legislation. Let’s push for that and it will save consumers billions without big brother involvement.
I have an HMO plan through my employer. Through this plan, I pick a primary care physician who is affiliated with an Independent Practice Association. Since I do not have a family, my company pays for 100% of my insurance- meaning I do not pay a monthly fee or a deductible. I am only responsible for $10 copays and $10 prescriptions. This plan worked wonderfully for me until I became sick this summer. Now my insurance company is denying benefit payments to me, including visits to my primary care doctor, specialists I have been referred to and visits to urgent care centers. I have clearly read all of my insurance rules and no where in their “fine print” does it say I have to pay for any of these services, I am only responsible for copays and preciptions. Apparently, all of this changes when you get sick and become more of a liability for them. In my situation, there also seems to be a disconnect between the HMO amd IPA; they have been making biling decisions independently from one another. For example, I will receive benefit notification letters from my HMO after I go to the doctors saying that I am 100% covered and do not have to pay for anything. Then a few months later, I will receive a bill from my IPA stating that my claim was denied and that I owe money. These “denied claims” have totalled over $3000 and counting. I have filed appeals with both my HMO, IPA and have been in contact with our company insurance agent. Apparently, all of the claims are “under review.” But honestly, should it take over a month to resolve visits I made to my primary care doctor and specialists I had referrals to see-services that are clearly covered by my insurance plan? I dont think so. Tighter regulations need to be placed on health insurance companies. Is universal healthcare the way to go? I dont know. It seems like that would be a prime opportunity for insurance companies to raise there fees, deny more services that are supposedly covered under your insurance plan and deny benefits to people who already have an established illness.
I am 59 years old and self employed. I pay $300./month
and have a $10,000. deductible. I only keep the policy in case I have a serious health problem or catastrophe. I worry though because I know if either of those things happened the insurance company would either cancel my insurance or raise my rates so high that I could not afford them. I don’t go to the doctor for yearly checkups for that reason. I have a friend who had surgery on her spine to remove a tumor and her health insurance is over $1000./month now. It’s not fair that only those who work for large corporations get decent coverage.
I am a 62 year old female living in Michigan. I retired last year and my COBRA insurance (Blue Cross, for which I paid $390/month)will expire next month. I am now trying to find a plan that I can afford and will give me reasonable coverage. I will get a high deductible, Heath Spending Account eligible plan, probably offered by Blue Cross. My question concerns out of pocket costs before I reach (if ever)my deductible limit. Will I pay the same negotiated rates to my doctors as Blue Cross would pay them or will I have to pay the rate the provider charges? Thanks for any help you can give me.
My mom who is 58 years old was recently approved for Social Security Disability. The catch is that you have to wait 2 YEARS to get Medicare coverage. That’s the craziest thing I’ve heard yet. In the meantime, I was laid off and thanks to Obama can afford my Cobra coverage for a bit. But lots of my unemployment benefits go towards my mother’s uncovered medical care. Who’s idea was the 2 year wait? That’s at the top of my list of things that have to changed.
I am self employed and pay about $1,500 a month for hmo coverage through Blue Shield of California for myself my wife and son.My premium has doubled in a couple of years its seems very expensive! I became a citizen in 2006 as I love America.I was born in the UK and I have to say that the government run NHS is really avery good idea! It works and nobody in the UK worries about going to the doctor or what their insurance will or wont pay.It really what we need in America
Insurance coverage for $150 per month is a pipe dream. Who will pay the difference between the $150 and the real cost? Taxpayers in one way or another. And how many of the uninsured can afford even the $150. More practical measures should be tried first.
Companies should not be allowed to provide any coverage whatsoever. At a minimum, any coverage provided should be taxed. Exclusion due to preexisting conditions should be eliminated. Individuals should be allowed to join whatever group they choose (and can afford), such as the premium coverage Congress provides itself.
I believe we should try to identify and correct some of the concerns that got us into this problem in the first place, rather than another monstrous government program, which will be more cumbersome and costly than predicted (like all others).
Anthem Blue Cross of California: The name makes me sick and yet I write it on a check once a month. I am 54, self employed (which means semi-retired these days), and pay through the nose (I’ll be nice) for this coverage. I have a $500 deductible. Now that doesn’t mean after I pay out $500 I’m in the clear. They decide what portion of my payment will be applied to the deductible. I could actually spend $1000 to $1500 before the deductible is met. Then there is the $175 prescription drug deductible at the beginning of each year before the $15 to $25 copay kicks in. Oh, then there is the $4500 out-of-pocket cost per year for procedures such as colonoscopies. Anthem doesn’t pay for the anesthesiologist needed for the procedure. They say it’s unnecessary. That was an extra $500. Does anyone know a doctor who will chat about the L.A. Lakers while you’re awake during this procedure? Once all that has been paid out I just keep writing those checks for $671 per month. In April, I turn 55 and enter a new price bracket. I expect a jump to about $850 per month. At that point I become one of the nation’s uninsured and Anthem gets rid of some dead weight that just costs them money. But I shouldn’t be bitter. After all, they’re not in the health care business. They’re in the money making business. I just had a friend die who did not have health insurance and depended on the “free care” from County USC Medical Center. She would be alive today if she had had quality, affordable health insurance. Is this my fate? Is this really how America takes care of its tax paying citizens? I know, quit wining and take advantage of this great land of opportunity.
Up until 2008 I was working in Germany and paying 250 Euro/month privately insured as a self employed person. quite obviously, the insurance companies are still making a profit there, which can only indicate that there are simply too many parasites & too much greed in the US Health system. When I first moved here I went to see a nasal specialist as I had lost my sense of smell. He spent 10 minutes with me and his assistent spent maybe 15 minutes in total handing me some scratch-and-sniff cards, and then evaluating them afterwards. For that I got a $1000 bill… is that justified???
I would like to see all health care paid for by a value added tax. That would not only put our businesses on equal footing with foreign competitors but provide health insurance for everyone irregardless of income.
I am a self employed engineering consultant in the steel industry. There is no work now so I can only rely on Medicare since I am 72. To fix the Health care system only requires to reduce the cost not creates a whole new system. Start with tort reform and then allow insurance companies to sell across state lines like the auto insurance. This cost nothing and would bring down the cost dramatically.
HTose who choose not to have health insurance would probaably also like to not have to buy auto insurance. Htey may choose to take th echance but in the event they loose and have an accident or a critical ageless illness like leukemia then who pays. All the rest of us for the redkless ones who fail to provide for themselves. Personally I am self employed and recently went over the 60 mark, my helath insurere decided to raise my premium from $650 per month for me and my wife to $1,965 per month. All the while reducing my benefits and increasing my deductible to $3,000 per person. Something really wrong with this. I’m all in for the public option.
My husband and I have had so many different employer-subbed policies I can’t begin to count them, and with every change of insurer, we have had problems. Which doctors and hospitals are “in-network”? What is covered? How to file claims? We have had to go through the maze when our kids changed colleges or dropped out for a semester to work, or “aged” off the plan. Our son with Type 1 diabetes has gone through even MORE h**l trying to stay covered through college(s), moves from state-to-state, periods of unemployment, etc. due to his pre-existing condition. The whole thing is a BIG MESS that takes up thousands of hours of my life just trying to figure it out and get my claims paid. I want a SIMPLE healthcare system, and the only way to get that is single-payer. Modern life is complicated enough. I want to actually LIVE while I’m well, not pore over insurance policy fine print, stay on hold with insurance company customer service, or “shopping” for a provider that’s “in-network.” For crying out loud, Americans, single-payer NOW!
STOP SUING DOCTORS!
Insurance companies and lawyers will stop taking your money. Win Win for everyone!
Problem Solved.
I recently decided to leave my job of 2 years and go on to another company as a temporary contractor knowing that I would be offered limited benefits. I was coming from a company that offered a great benefits package from Blue Cross Blue Shield. I paid a total of $10/month with $25 dr’s visit copays. They also offered a convenient mail order service so that I could get my prescription medication for less.
I went to a better job with better pay so I figured paying more for health insurance would be worth it. I’m considering using COBRA from my old employer where I would get the benefits I’m used to for about $250/month which I have found is around what I’m finding with other health insurances if I get my own individual coverage.
I think you are very lucky in the US to have plans to provide most people with insurance cover. You are also brave enough to take on the big organisations to ensure fair insurance coverage for those who need it.
United charges nme $850 for single coverage under a COBRA plan.
It’s gone up by 40% over the past 2 years.
Why do we let them get away with this?
what everybody forgets is the people with a true problem…I was diagnosed 4 years ago with type 1 diabetes(age 26)…an unusual condition. At the time I had coverage, but the insurance company thought it was pre-existing, so i went through problem after problem trying to get my thousands of medical bills paid….to this day, so still wont budge. I lost my job 2 years ago and haven’t been able to pay for it since….luckily programs like Lilly cares exist or I couldn’t…..still don’t know what my next step is….but trying to survive
I have the answer; Pay for your Insurance first, then your mortgage, if there is anything left pay the utility bills and if your really lucky and have a little left after that buy a few groceries. After all of that and you are broke the credit card bills start rolling in ( well forget them )and then Taxes are due *(well forget them too). I guess what I am trying to say is pay the most important things first and to hell with the rest of them. This is the way I manage to pay my $ 1500 a month premiums
I am a 50 year old male who is self employed.
I am uninsured.
The last time I shopped for health insurance, about four years ago, the only company that would insure me was Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
The quoted me $3500/month for a plan with a $5000 deductable and no prescription benefits.
I am considered “uninsurable” – not because of any pre-existing condition that I have but because my older brother and father both had prostate cancer.
I think the post from Julie on Oct 10th from Valparaiso, Indiana makes the most sense out of all the posts I read. The majority of the posts are very naive and unrealistic, like the “I take good care of myself” one. Genetics, is also a key player here . Wake up America. We need, everyone of us, now, to WORK TOGETHER to have a better future for ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren.
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I pay 15K a year for an HMO high risk policy through United Health Care that sucks. My health has cost us my business and happiness and I am truly worth more dead. I will look out for my wife at any cost. The rich politicians in Washington have no intention of reform. They are just dangling a carrot in front of us to get our hopes up. When it comes down to it if they do not get their pockets lined they will shoot it down. The problem is with the elected officials not the system. I am an x Marine that served during the Beirut conflict in the early 80s and I can honestly say I am sickened by where this country is headed. I have plenty more to say if someone would like to contact me.
Before immigrating to US I have seen various type of health systems. No system is perferct since life itself is not perfect but the government run system is a worst one. I consider American system as one of the best. The cost could be reduced by allowing more competition and by putting more restrictions on malpractice lawsuits.
Unfortunately, even after this reform we won’t achieve the perfect system since the perfect system is just utopia.
Why is it that the article is all about insurance? The article suggested that it was about health care. Its not! Why not talk about health care. Give us with our Senators and Congress people get. If they get it… we get it. Let them figure out to pay for it. If its not affordable… then they don’t get it either. Nuf said!
I am a college student who goes without insurance, but this does not bother me at all. If I truly wanted coverage, I would pay for it. I DON’T want it, however, because I keep myself in good shape. I know that I could suddenly trip and fall and break my leg, but I’m willing to take that risk if I don’t have to pay a dime for coverage. I hope this legislation doesn’t force me to pay for something I don’t want. I’ve heard a lot of murmurs about everyone having to chip in a little money, and I simply cannot afford it. I hope I don’t end up paying a penalty for refusing to accept insurance. I thought the U.S. was a place where people had freedom, so hopefully the government will allow me to continue to CHOOSE not to pay for health insurance.
So I think we should all have the same benefit of lifetime free medical insurance as the US Congressman stated. Oh wait, I get it, the penalties imposed for not having adequate insurance will help pay down the trillions of dollars of debt….. and so will the cap and tax.. lets add up a huge light bill and a high medical insurance premium.. I am already living payday to payday.. my health insurance is as bad as it gets and I work for an insurance company!
Having health care in the US is mus,t it will not people lazy. I worry about my son on a daily basis that does not have children and has gone to school. Only now to have come down with an illness that his insurance hardly covered. Making it impossible financially keep.
Those that have health care at no or little cost do not seem to always understand the fear of getting sick and not getting the proper care because of lack of insurance. The folks that are truly lazy are on all the programs already. From what I can see someone needs to look at other countries where healthcare and higher education is provided, giving them a piece of mind and no big insurance buildings.
I had a DNC and novosure procedure done last week. I was an outpatient and was at the hospital a total of 3.5 hours. My doc bill was almost 4000 and my hospital bill was 12,000. The anas. bill was 800. Something is wrong. I have insurance which will cover most of the bill, but I truly realized when I saw my bill that something must be done to reform the system. Costs are completely out of control. We need to have real competition in healthcare. Get rid of wasteful spending. My husband has an excellent salary, but a big chunk goes to our premiums. I have polycystic kidney disease and would be in bankruptcy if we did not have the opportunity to purchase our insurance through my husbands employer. I do not believe a socialized medicine program is right for our country, and I also don’t believe we can afford to pay for free healthcare. People should have every opportunity to buy into a public option. This would lower costs. Every american should have the chance to have the same coverage our elected officials have. How about a graded price scale for purchasing insurance from the government. Free healthcare will make people lazy, but we should be entitled to purchase it regardless of our genetics or any previous diagnosis. This system is just out of control. People who don’t want reform need to realize they could lose their coverage at ANY time and we should all work together to find a solution to the biggest crisis facing our country today. We can’t afford to do nothing.
In response to Wenchypoo, Norfolk, VA: September 29, 2009 10:39 pm. You stated “ASPIRIN and MULTIVITAMINS aren’t FDA approved.” and “Both doctor and nutritionist know what I’m taking.”
You don’t. Aspirin is a drug and is FDA approved since the 1960’s. Follow the link, http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/drugsatfda/index.cfm?fuseaction=Search.DrugDetails
Vitamins are actually food stuff an you don’t need to take vitamin pills if you follow proper nutrition. You get the vitamins from your food.
Perhaps the reason health care is in such a sorry state are all the doctors who think they know something, when they don’t. Or maybe it’s just ego that they beleive everyone else owes them obscene anounts of money.
My husband tripped and dislocated his shoulder and was brought to the emergency room of North Shore LIJ. Our health insurance provider is Blue Cross Blue Shield. Northshore LIJ’s bill is over $3,400.00 According to Blue Cross, we will end up paying out of our own pockets about $500. For now, we’re just relying on my husband’s salary as I don’t have any income and to us at this time, $500 is a lot of money. Apparently, even having health insurance is no longer enough.
We have a $2500.00 deductible. The premimums for my husband and I are $355.00 per month. This is basically only catastrophic insurance.
I fell a couple of years ago and broke my nose, an emergency room visit (which has a $100.00 deductible plus we pay 20%) a legitimate claim and I argued with the insurance company for almost 6 months. They paid for the MRI but didn’t want to pay for the radiologist. I didn’t go to school to read x-rays so I couldn’t very well read it myself. It was coded as if I had a headache and that was why I had an MRI. My nose was broke in two places and I had a knot on my head, a bit more than a mere headache. The emergency room doctor – had a problem with that – insurance company said he performed surgery on my nose. They said it showed he manipulated my nose, this is surgery? The thing is he did not touch my nose, he was afraid to touch it since it was still sitting squarely on face where it should be and he thought it best to leave it alone.
My husband has cataracts, they will pay for the surgery (after $2500.00 deductible of course) but the replacement lenses are not covered. Who gets cataract surgery without putting in lenses, isn’t this part of the surgery? Pre-op tests are not covered unless surgery is already schelduled and you get the pre-op tests the day of the surgery. How many doctors scheldule surgery without testing to find out if something is even wrong. Oh, and if they did try this – guess what, if the surgery is cancelled – the tests are your problem.
So this so called insurance I have is useless, I would be better off putting the premimum money into my savings account so I could pay cash for what I need. The sad part is we can’t afford anything better, and now we have pre-existing conditions. Five years ago it cost around $260.00 a month for us and our daughter, now it is just the two of us and it is $355.00 a month. If it goes up much more we will simply do without insurance, because we will have no choice.
I am 19 years old and had to find an individual plan, as I am no longer dependent under my Dad’s. I am under what is considered full time on my job and making minimum wage… I pay 100.00 a month for a plan that covers NOTHING, but 5 Dr visits a year, for a copay of 30.00! ANYTHING performed in those 5 visits are uncovered benefits! I have a 2500.00 annual deductible and even then my benefits are so limited it’s a joke! I figure I am working every hour to now pay for insurance and medical expenses! I can forget having a future unless I win the lottery!
when CNN prepares it’s gallery, I would like to know – out of all those employed folks who have high cost insurance plans (retirees & self-employed excluded), how many considered health care in their compensation package before accepting their job? How many realize that “salary” and “compensation” are not one in the same?
You see – I took the job with the lower base salary (although not that much lower), but in exchange for that lower salary, I got health and dental care for my entire family (of 5) at no cost to me. I may not have gotten any raise in my salary this past year, but my employer completely paying for my insurance is like a built in raise for me, b/c I know, had I remained at my last job, my share of the health care premiums would have raised every year, and may have even outpaced my salary increases there.
I had my priorities straight when looking for a job. How many others did? And how many just saw dollar signs without even looking at benefits?
For “Scientist” in King of Prussia–ASPIRIN and MULTIVITAMINS aren’t FDA approved. Would you suggest we all stop taking those?
If aspirin had to go through the FDA approval process, it would fail because it is a Cox-2 inhibitor just like Celebrex and Vioxx, and we all know what happened to those!
I take pharmaceutical-grade supplements that have standardized dosages (meaning they’re regulated) as advised by a doctor or nutritionist. My blood/urine test results say that before those supplements get “flushed down the toilet”, they’re actually working for me first! Besides, they’re cheaper than prescriptions.
Both doctor and nutritionist know what I’m taking.
Single. Self-employed for almost 20 years. I pay $304 a month with $1000 deductible. Am dreading turning 50, because I know the premiums will go up substantially. But I have no other choice but to keep it. I’m afraid it will eventually be a choice of keeping my house or paying for health care.
MY WIFE AND I PAY $14,000 A YEAR FOR INSURANCE AND DEDUCTABLES THRU HER FORMER EMPLOYER. WE CAN NOT GET INS FROM ANY OTHER SOURCE BECAUSE OF PRE-EXISITING CONDITIONS. I USED TO OWN MY OWN BUSINESS UNTIL FEB. ‘09 AND PROVIDED HEALTH INS TO MY EMPLOYEE’S EACH YEAR THE PREMIUMS WENT UP 17 TO 33%. MY LAST YEAR I PAID $50,000 A YEAR FOR 5 EMPLOYES AND COULD NOT BE ON MY OWN BUSINESS PLAN BECAUSE IT WOULD RAISE THE PRICE ON EVERYONE ELSE. MY ONLY OPTION IS MY WIFE’S FORMER EMPLOYER AND THAT COVERAGE AND PRICE CHANGES EACH JANUARY. MY WIFE AND I ARE TOO YOUNG FOR MEDICARE AND TOO OLD FOR PRIVATE INS. MAKES YOU THINK A PUBLIC OPTION WOULD BE A PRETTY GOOD THING.
To John, Indianapolis, IN
If you don’t like the isurance options, why don’t you go directly to a private practice doctor and pay cash? Oh, wait. He’ll charge you the price of a small house for a procedure. So, how exactly are the insurance responsible for the cost your doctor charges? Can somebody answer this?
Btw, my employer offers good medical insurance(family coverage costs me $90/month pretax). They are self insured(they put money aside for medical costs) and also have an umbrella policy to protect them from running out of money.
We are lucky because we can choose between two plans (one through my employer and one through my husband’s). I never considered going with my company’s plan because of all the complaints I heard from my co-workers. My husband is a Professor at a University with a big medical school and hospital so it makes sense that they offer very good insurance options.
We have an HMO and pay ~$350 per month for the family (includes dental, and 1 eye exam per year). We have no deductible and have a $15 co-pay which is not applied to well child exams or pregnancy visits. Our lifetime max renews each year. Our prescription plan is good but the coverage goes down every year. I don’t blame the insurance company in this matter but the pharmaceutical companies for their ridiculous pricing schemes.
Despite our great insurance I fully support a public option. Public insurance was mandated in Germany where we lived for 5 years. I have no fears about having that option in this country. As the administration states, having a public option in no way means that private insurance goes away it just makes private insurance better. In Germany we opted to purchase private insurance because we knew what coverage we wanted and bought exactly what we needed, changing options annually to meet our needs. The idea is to protect the public with general insurance that covers preventative and major medical care because they knew if you have the means and the need you would buy what you need. With the public plan there was only one option which covered everything a family needs but we wanted for example, a gold plan with dental that covered any and everything, private hospital rooms, etc. This as you can image is not standard with public insurance. Employers in Germany (if they are of certain size) have to offer a subsidy for both public and private insurance. If you choose the private options you shop around and find the private plan that meets your needs. Every year you have the option to change plans or move from public to private. So for example if you develop cancer (and see the need for a private hospital room) or you are expecting a child you can change to a plan that meets your needs when open enrollment rolls around. A big bonus to our private insurance option in Germany was if we did not go over a certain dollar amount in medical bills over the period of a year then we would get a partial refund of our annual premium.
My wife and I are fortunate to live in an area where there is competition in health care insurance. My wife pays $360 annually with no deductable and minimal co-pays for a visit to her primary care provider and for pescriptions. I am in the Army and live the Government run health care (TRI-CARE). The difference between the two is striking. My wife could be covered through Tri-Care also, but purchased the private plan through her employer due to the low quality of Tri-Care. She had many plans with excellent coverage and affordable costs to choose from. Many providers here in the area do not like tri-care due to the low reimbursement rates but are forced to accept Tri-Care if they accept Medicare. Competition leads to higher quality and lower costs. Government run health care would lead to lower costs, but also lower quality, bureaucratic indifference and apathy, fraud, waste and abuse. If you think dealing with private insurance companies is difficult, try dealing with a gov’t bureaucrat sometime.
I have a $5000 deductible, no prescription, no preventive, no nothing. It is with Aetna and it is what I chose to take through my company’s group plan after I took an early retirement. I don’t mind the coverage as I never spend over $300 a year on medical anyway, but the premium is $450/month, and after getting slammed by Wall Street, I just cannot afford the $450 per month. I am shopping around but my agent is afraid to because I did go to doctor last year with a weird thumping heart feeling, that turns out to be normal and many people have this, and is most likely stress, and he gave me a low dose beta blocker that does help, so my agent thinks that BCBS will deny me coverage and we don’t want that on my record either. What to do??? I don’t know.
After reading these comments, I’m ashamed. I have zero cost and pay nothing out of pocket. I only have to work one term and have a lifetime pension and healthcare until I die. What’s great is the american tax payers are funding my benefits – US Congress Member
My husband and I both have United healthcare. His is thru his employer and he covers the family of 3. he pays 286 per month and our deductibles are 500 per family member. I have united healthcare thru my employer where i pay no monthly fee and have a $1200 deductible. copays are the same for both $30. here is where it really gets sucky….since we both have United, even though he covers me on his policy and it has a lower deductible, I must automatically use mine and pay the 1200 deductible and then pay the 500 on his before i receive any coinsurance benefits. What a waste and a raquet. TIME FOR A PUBLIC OPTION, SINGLE TAXPAYER OR WHATEVER U WANT TO CALL IT. lets get rid of insurance companies all together.
Blue Shield CA. – We are a family of five,with3 college students….heading for the 60’s… my husband’s employer provides insurance…at a cost to us of about $650 / mo. We have $25 co pay for doctors/ a $2K out of pocket per individual and $4K for the family…we have meet those requirements already … and without any major items…we have had breast cancer –5 yrs ago in Nov, our 18 yr had real back surgery last year…and my husband has to pass a medicala in order to work and support us…and he is tested every 6 mo…and that is stressful..he has blood pressure/chol issues..and takes pills which cost us about 100-150 a month…we are a broke family with a home…worth less than the mortgage…and have lived in the home for about 20 yrs but used it to support the college expenses, vacations, a room built to house Grandma, etc…so that is our story…my husband is very good at his job, flying an airtanker for the forest service, Tanker 21….
One of the best fire photos ever
DateSunday, August 30, 2009 at 11:03PM
A P3 Orion drops on the Station fire Aug. 30 near Acton, California. Photo: Dan SteinbergThis photo is one of the best fire photos I have ever seen. When I first saw it, I thought it was a great photo with plenty going on–the two fire vehicles, massive nearby flames, the house, and the firefighters–and then noticed the air tanker making a drop between the house and the intense flames. Holy Crap! What a photo
and this one also
try this link: http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/2882341/Pot-goes-up-in-smoke-in-LA-wildfire
Wildfire
Reuters
DOUSING THE FLAMES: An air tanker drops fire retardants to fight wildfire burning in California. The fire destroyed an untold number of marijuana plantations in the Angeles National Forest, a growing hub for pot-growing operations in California.
Making matters worse – REAL “death panels” (insurance companies)
Although a family member paid a small fortune for 30 years to have insurance, and
was undergoing moderately expensive treatments, the insurance (Celtic) was already
trying to squirm out of its
obligations and attempting to find loopholes. Even worse, they told the hospital
(insurance requires you to notify them of hospitalization immediately) that my
family member would not be covered. So during critical times when treatments
and care plans were being devised, the hospital was already trying to find
the most expeditious way to discharge or send the patient elsewhere (a hospital
must stabilize a patient first). And the worst part is that neither the insurance
nor the hospital shared that information with the family. That kept us from being
able to address concerns, challenge such innuendos, etc which might have resulted
in less than best care options being recommended.
To paraphrase the insurance sponsored argument – “do you want insurance company
bureaucrats in charge of your health care decisions?”
I have Anthem and its horrible! I have to pay $1500 deductible plus office fees of $30, ER $50 etc, then I need to pay $3000 out of pocket before Anthem can start reimbursiing. And the customer service sucks! So yes, we need to reform our health policy economically AND how the way we live. If we can’t do both then we’re back to square one!
AS A REPLY TO ZOE, AS LONG AS THAT STANDS YOU PROBABLY WOULD NOT WANT TO HAVE ANY CHANGES. BUT I HAD A SIMILAR SITUATION AND AS THE HUSBAND HAD ALL ON MY COMPANY SPONSORED INSURANCE PLAN UNTIL THE PLAN REQUIRED THAT SPOUSES WHO WORK AT A COMPANY THAT OFFERS HEALTH INSURANCE HAD TO TAKE THE COVERAGE. THE COMPANY AUDITED ALL ASSOCIATES AND IT WAS LEGAL TO ENFORCE THE REQUIREMENT. THEREFORE, I WAS UNABLE TO HAVE TRUE FAMILY COVERAGE BECAUSE MY WIFE WORKED FOR A COMPANY THAT PROVIDED HEALTH CARE COVERAGE. COUNT IT AS A BLESSING WHILE YOU HAVE IT. (Also I was not yelling just separating the replies)
Since I have declined the coverage available through my employer, they instead give me a cash allowance, added to my paycheck, of about $500/month.Not only do we get fantastic and inexpensive insurance through my husband’s employer, but my employer pays me not to use their insurance! When I deduct the $500 I get from the amount we pay for his insurance, we’re paying just over $100/month for our entire family.
Posted By Zoe, Santa Rosa, CA: September 29, 2009 8:53 am
ZOE AS LONG AS THAT STANDS YOU PROBABLY WOULD NOT WANT TO HAVE ANY CHANGES. BUT I HAD A SIMILAR SITUATION AND AS THE HUSBAND HAD ALL ON MY COMPANY SPONSORED INSURANCE PLAN UNTIL THE PLAN REQUIRED THAT SPOUSES WHO WORK AT A COMPANY THAT OFFERS HEALTH INSURANCE HAD TO TAKE THE COVERAGE. THE COMPANY AUDITED ALL ASSOCIATES AND IT WAS LEGAL TO ENFORCE THE REQUIREMENT. COUNT IT AS A BLESSING WHILE YOU HAVE IT.
I had individual insurance up until a month ago. I paid just over $150 per month for a policy that had a $10,000 deductible. I never went to the doctor, though, so as not to incur any additional expenses. My employer of the last 13+ years just sold the company and we all lost our jobs. The employer was small and not required to offer group health coverage, but did provide a $100/month medical reimbursement benefit, so I tried to keep insurance coverage as long as it was feasible to do so. Every employer I had worked for previously, though, had provided group health coverage with only a small contribution by the employee and low deductibles, so, the last years have been difficult. Thankfully, I’ve been relatively healthy, but am in my mid-forties now and worried about what might be in my future.
Sorry Wenchypoo, Norfolk, VA…Your #8 bullet of taking supplements is just pouring money down the drain. Only FDA approved prescription supplements are worth taking. If it’s not FDA approved it’s nothing!
I have a very decent Cigna PPO plan for my family of five that I pay $3k in premiums annually, I put $5k in my MSA and usually that run out by September, my employer pays another $12k a year; That’s $20k. My son plays travel soccer and breaks a bone or tears a ligment every other season, my daughter was a gymnast and will suffer for life, my wife is a cancer survivor and needs constant maintenance and we all wear glasses. Are we getting what we pay for? Sure, I guess, but I am paying more because there are fewer doctors that there could be and there is less competition among insurance carriers.
How much of what I pay is going toward insurance company lobbying costs, mismanaged facilites and unisureds?
Insurance is expensive. I employ 6 employees and it cost about $900 for a family with a 1000 deductible per month.
The reason it cost so much is government programs pay providers 30% to 50% less than in the private market.The medicare and medicaid programs used to be 25% of the population and are approaching 50% and these systems are going broke. I have no issues with the medicare and medicaid systems, but they need to pay providers more and then private insurance would go down.
If government paid providers what we did than our insurance cost would be a minimum 30% cheaper because providers and insurance would not have to cost shift to the non public systems.
before we change, lets understand why health cost are out of control.
I am highly trained subspecialist surgeon at a prominent University Hospital. I was in group private practice as well previously that didn’t took only a few insurance plans (cheery picking), and I had no choice but to deny operations on patients who requested me as their surgeon or if they wished for me to operate, they would pay the group entire fee and then later negotiate with their insurance plans. Overall, that system pained me. I was the best in the city and no one could compete with my results, and unfortunately I couldn’t offer the same for all patients. Essentially, I was operating only on the privileged. That is a distorted sense of reality, and while I traveled all over the world to offer free surgeries to the poorest of the people, I couldn’t do it right here in my backyard. My groups mission was to increase revenue, and my mission was to increase patient satisfaction and the revenue would come by goodwill.
Eventually, after several years, I was terminated from my group. As a double-board-certified surgeon, all of a sudden, after decades of grueling training at nation’s IVY league schools, I was out of a position! And, I tried to fight a legal batter, but I lost. My malpractice insurance charged an incredible amount for “tail-coverage”. I nearly became bankrupt! Moreover, I lost my group-sponsored health insurance! And, as one of the top surgeons in the region, I couldn’t get health insurance due to pre-existing conditions! That was a travesty, and quite shocking.
Nevertheless, I left the country for a while and did many, many free surgeries across the world to get my life back. I joined a prominent Academic University Hospital and now I am a professor at one of nation’s finest places. No one could have taken my education or training. I am getting back on track now.
Hence, I do indeed think our Nation’s health is in dire need to be fixed, not necessarily entirely overhauled. I myself couldn’t get health insurance and that was quite shocking, but that is the true nature of all the privately insured people all across the country.
Contrary again to my colleagues, I favor the health care change. There is a vast disparity regionally on insurance reimbursements for the same procedure: A surgical procedure I was doing in another state was reimbursing me $5500/procedure, and currently in this state it reimburses $750/procedure! I am still the same surgeon, matter of fact even better, so why such a difference? I know that the mid-west and NorthEast physicians get much more reimbursed that south and southwest surgeons.
The entire pre-existing clause needs to be removed. Also, Medical malpractice insurance needs to be refined and decreased. In Texas, tort reform has decreased significant frivolous lawsuits. However, I do believe that there are dangerous doctors out there, and I know some of them, and I have taken their complications! Yet, I cannot do anything as a surgeon, except complain to the Board, that’s it. Some of these physicians need to loose their license, and unfortunately they are protected by the law. Nevertheless, malpractice certainly needs to be addressed in this health care debate, and it has been ignored due to Democrats not supporting it.
As far as public option plan, I think its a good idea, but needs to be careful. Insurance companies do earn some profit but its not as much as people think, however, they need to balance physician reimbursement with patient satisfaction. The pharmacy industry spends too much on marketing. I don’t prescribe anything but generic. I know marketing salesman(woman) that make three times as much as I do! With 1/4 the education and liability. That’s needs to stop. No marketing, or penalty. Physicians make the decisions for their patients, not pharmacy industries.
As far as Medicare and VA health plans, I have worked with both, and that’s quite an incredible challenge, with incredible waste. I waste an incredible amount, and the system permits just that. It’s highly inefficient as well, but it is needed for the elderly and our veterans. They don’t necessarily get the best care in the world. Hence, a public option plan, although competitive will limit acess to the best physicians, unless one goes to a University based program.
Since I trained at the Mayo Clinic as a surgeon, I really do prefer their system: highly patient oriented, cost-effective, with exellent care. Physicians are all salaried at Mayo Clinic, and I really do prefer that. No incentive, but very good and resonable pay. I know my own colleagues earning 10 times as much as myself, with mediocre skills and training. The skill of a surgeon, results and complications, which varies, is not taken into account should somehow also be looked at, but that’s a very confusing, personal, and probably an impossible task.
Also, I believe that every physician/surgeon in the US should have a MANDATORY 2 week “trip-time” (tax-deductible) where they donate free services to their local, regional, or national area of expertise and care for the underserved. My most memorable and gratifying moments as a surgeon have been helping those that have no means in life. I think that the spirit of volunteerism is crucial to a physician and I don’t see that among my colleagues, which is a shame to our profession. Obama must make a 2 week mandatory requirement for all of us to spend doing free health care!
Thanks for reading
I pay 180.17 a month for a family of 3 with Tricare. The price does not increase with your family. You either pay for single or family.
Lost job in electronics the year of 2003.(job went overseas)
premiums thru COBRA for three people was $1600. / month. We carried this monkey on our back for 6 years. Both the wife and I have pre-existing conditions.
We were what you call untouchables. No insurance carriers would want us. With the economy tanking and other changes in our lives,we finally had to drop it, as this was unsustainable. Now I have nothing.
WAY TO GO AMERICA ! (ps.. i do not want to be interviewed.)
I work for a small company in Southern California. They offer several plans from Blue Cross/Anthem, I chose HMO 100%. Almost every year, I have seen costs rise about 10-15% per year and now it costs $1000.00 per month for a family of 3. Dental, Vision is an extra $30.00 per month. I get what I need, it covers everything without an out-of-pocket costs. No or very low risk. The amount I pay annually is horrible. I’m fortunate that I can pay that amount, but what about people just trying to get by.
Reform means to me, that unfortunately, the government has to get into the game. We as a country can not function well without some government sponsored health care. I think it should be some sort of percentage of your household income. I think we should pay between 5-7% of our income. 5% of 100k would be $5,000. and 5% of $35K would be $1,750. Instead of today, paying $10,000 of 100K which is 10%, but $10,000 of 35K is 29% . That way everyone can have it and it isn’t disproportioned because of how much they make.
The thing all of these people are missing is what their total premium is, not what they pay. At our small independent insurance agency where we employ 12 people our group rates are $541 for an HSA with $1200 deductible. This is for one person. The employees cost is $140. That is all they see, we the employer pick up the balance of $401. We pay nothing for any of their children or spouse. The total premium for a family of 3 in their 20s is $1,700 per month. We still only pay $400. Our rates were increased 42% this year and 30% last year. We have many older workers and one large claim allows the insurance company to raise rates on our group alone. Since we are so small they bully us around. If we were part of a larger group, they wouldn’t do that for fear of losing the group. The current system is death for small business, jobs, and supresses wages. Take it from a small business owner in the insurance business. It is broken. Private insurance does not work when esentially everyone gets the same care and an ever dwindling number of people pay. Government option is the minimum needed to fix it. The people who are opposed to this are on medicare or big corporate plans, and have no passport. 17% of GDP people. 17% of the largest economy in the world. How is this not the largest tax we pay.
I work for a global pharma company. They have a few options that you can choose from – one option being completely free, the most expensive being just over 120 a month for full family converage, 20 dollar co-pay and 100% kick in after the co-pay. Dental is fully covered for an extremely small monthly payment and ALL prescription medication is free. My son was born with a medical condition that required surgery when he was an infant…we paid nothing out of pocket. Yeah…its awesome.
I would rather pay more taxes and see those without insurance get some than pay my ridiculous 25% rate hike for the upcoming open enrollment for 2010.
My wife is from France, so she is obviously familiar with their system. She is there now, getting excellent health care, because we do not trust our American health care system, nor do we agree with our outrageous corporate practices and prices.
I am an American and also fly to France whenever I need care. –For example, I just met with an experienced cardiologist who gave me a full stress test and analysis. It only cost me about $80, with NO insurance. (the French think that is high) The cardiologist spent over an hour with me. I didn’t deal with any assistants or interns — only a highly-experienced cardiologist specialist for the entire time… That would have been impossible here. –And the fees here would have cost 10 times what I paid.
I also had oral surgery there. I paid about $60 for that. I checked here, and it would have cost over $600.
My wife got full braces there a few years ago. (upper and lower) and it only cost about $800. (TOTAL, not $5000 as here)
ANYBODY who claims the European system — or Canadian system (we have friends there) doesn’t work, is SIMPLY a LIAR.
NOBODY in France (and VERY FEW in Canada) would trade what they have, for our corrupt American system. Period.
Do not believe insurance company marketing lies!
Just reading these responses, anyone can see a huge disparity between what people pay for insurance and their own out of pocket health care costs. This in itself is reason enough for some sort of major health care reform. I’m not sure exactly what would work the best but the insurance companies as they operate currently are acting without ethics, and in my opionion are lawless and reckless. Anyone who believes the system is fine the way it is is living in a fantasy world.
My husband has a high deductable plan that covers him and the kids. The deductable is $2700, and half of that is given to us by his company. It is attached to a Health Savings Account. So we essentially pay out of pocket for dr’s visits except for wellness exams and vaccinations. It is a great plan. We do not have a payment, the company pays 100% for this benefit.
I am covered under an HMO that is also 100% paid for by my company. I have a $10 copay for dr visits and $50 for ER. Under both plans, any reasonable medical expense is covered, other than elective procedures. They also have cheaper copays for generic drugs vs brand name.
We are generally healthy, although I have a chronic condition where I take regular medications. We seem to be in the minority by having great affordable insurance.
Reform to ME means that people who are less fortunate can have greater access to OPTIONS in health care. Where I live, if you are below a certain $ amount, you get state insurance. I think that system is a good safety net. I do not feel people should be compelled to purchase insurance if they chose not to. I also feel that medical debt for those people should not be discharged in bankruptcy. It’s a gamble, but everyone should be free to take the risk.
I believe the best answer is deregulation and more competition. I am against more government involvement. The government has never solved a problem as efficiently as the free market.
My HMO health plan from Kaiser and the annual cost for this year was about $13,500. The company I work for pays about 90 percent of it, but I have notice the cost of the plan going up year after year after year. I expect the plan cost to increase to over 14 grand come January 2010. This means the raise I expect to get from the company I work for will be sucked up by my health care cost. This has happen to me for the last 3 years. If the cost keeps going up at this rate eventually I will not be able to afford to have insurance because I can’t see the company I work for paying over 20 grand per person for health care. they will be force to past a lot of the cost to me and I will not be able to afford it. So I will drop my coverage and do like everyone else who does not have health insurance, go to the emergency if I have to and let the chips fall where they may. If I can’t pay, I can’t pay and since our congress is now owned by big corporations and large finanical institutions through PAC money I don’t expect any real help from the government.
28yr old male non-smoker, currently work for at&t, my health care is deducted automatically at $225 per month – full coverage for one person. $100 ER/15 non-ER deductibles.
I think what i pay is a fair price.
We have had our own business for 22 years. Im 55, my wife is 52 & has MS, 3 kids. We have a excellent plan with $10 copay for office visits & a copay for drugs, NO vision or dental, our policy just went from $2300/month to $3200/month, dont tell me to look for a cheaper plan because the cheapest plan we can buy is $2600/month with $2500 deductibles, with pre-existing conditions, no insurance company will insure us. Im VERY upset hearing i could be taxed on that amount, only because the insurance company has us over a barrel, we cant leave. Lets start by clearing the waste & fraud within the system FIRST, there is plenty, i have many instances involving my ins. co., like my chiropractor would charge me for a office visit & do stimulation on me within that charge, now he charges me for a visit & the stimulation which is equal to 2 office visits. My wifes MS drugs cost $2300/month, that went up from $1800/month, we use our insurance only when needed, not running to the doctor for every little sickness. Second, let us go to other states to get insurance, now we can not. Third, What is so wrong by putting more companies within 1 group, like the big companies that get cheaper rates for having thousands of employees. Im sorry this letter seems jumbled but i get VERY IRATE with health insurance, we DO NOT HAVE MANY CHOICES because of regulations from the government & the greed of the the insurance industry.
Wow! No wonder the government is trying to create public health insurance. From what I’ve read below, you guys are getting ripped off big time. Chris Minnich posted “Kaiser HMO charges $182 mo in DC”, Rag Vero posted: “$10,000 deductible, $700 a month”. I find these exorbitant in comparison to my measly $60/month and $500 deductible. However, I do like what Tim McCarthy posted– “I currently live in Spain (#7 on the WHO healthcare ratings for countries). We pay 79 Euro each a month for the top of the line care with NO deductable. Our premium’s are based on the age we joined the plan not our current age”
WE GOT A LITTLE 3% RAISE IN JULY, AND ON 1/1/10, OUR HEALTH CARE COSTS GO UP 16.6%. IN THE HOLE AGAIN. LIVE IN KANSAS, ONE OF THE HIGHEST COSTS OF LIVING IN THE COUNTRY, ESP. FOR A CAPITAL CITY OF ONLY ABOUT 135,000. JUST KEEP GOING IN THE HOLE DEEPER EVERY YEAR. AS UNION DUES KEEP GOING UP ALSO
I completely agree with Carol from Florida. Most people I know that do not have coverage choose not to have coverage. But they do choose fancy cars, electronics, and nights out. I think that is their right to not choose coverage but they should not complain when they end up in the emergency room and an expensive bill.
I pay $180 a month for family coverage for my husband and I. We have copays of $25 for our PCP and $40 for specialists and no deductibles. We are both young and very healthy but realize anything could happen so it is important to keep our coverage.
I do not support being forced to pay for people who are here illegally or who are complacent about prioritizing and spending their own money. Everyone has access to care and people are not turned away because they do not have insurance. People need to take responsibility and pay for their own coverage or be responsible for the consequences.
We’re a husband and wife, mid-40s, no kids. Wife is self-employed, I work for a Fortune-500 tech company and we’re both on my company’s group plan. We switched to a new High Deductible+FSA after some horrific experiences with a lower deductible plan (stiffing physical therapist $3K, roadblocks with hospital diagnostic tests, etc. – I could write a book on this.) Our experience now has been a lot better, but not perfect.
Our monthly costs: Medicare Premiums – $180.00, FSA Contribution – $230.00, High Deductible Premium (our net after company contribution) – $260.00
Total=$670.00 per month
If I lose my job, this will go to $1400.00+ per month to cover COBRA. Reading the comments of self-employed people on this thread made me cringe. You are playing with fire by going without insurance. One trip to the ICU could put you in bankruptcy. There has to be some way to spread the risk and have all small-business and self-employed owners get insurance at a decent rate or get government help. They’re the backbone of our economy and deserve the best. Nobody should have to worry about insurance coverage!
My costs are currently zero, because I do not currently have insurance. Having lost my full time job 2 years ago due to company downsizing, I have been unable to find another full-time position and have been getting-by working 2 part-time jobs. Obviously no insurance is offered at these part-time positions. My wife has insurance through her employer and pays a very reasonable $40 partial-pay each month. Over a year ago I priced what insurance would cost me. Numbers I got on my own were in the neighborhood of $400-$600 per month. To join my wifes plan, for which spouses have to pay their own portion, would have been a little less – somewhere around $350 if I recall correctly. But for someone just “getting-by” with paying the mortgage, utilities, etc, an extra $4000+ in insurance costs is just not a viable option.
What would I like to see with health care is a more affordable public option, and tax breaks / subsidies for others in a similar situation to mine – those who can’t find a decent job in a bad economy, and who can’t afford the current sky high insurance costs.
I’ve read them all. Summary. Those healthy, young voices oppose changing the system. Why, they haven’t had to use it. Those working for school systems like their coverage. Why, it’s a PUBLIC PLAN. Those that have used their insurance or lost their jobs want reform. Why, because we need it. PUBLIC OPTION is not going to change your coverage if you like it. It’s a no-brainer!
I get our health insurance for a family of 3 thru my employer. Its a small group of about 10-20 employees.
Each week I pay around $250. The coverage is pretty good, but we rarely use it. When I see my check stub at the end of the year and it shows I pay around $12,000+ a year it makes me wonder why I have to pay $12,000 a year when we are healthy, take care of ourselves and don’t abuse our benefits? Why can’t it be like auto insurance where you are rewarded for good driving, but you’d be rewarded for good health? And why am I being punished every year with 20%+ rate increases when other people in the group have expensive surgeries or treatments?
I also work in healthcare billing and I have dealt with these insurance companies 1st hand and in my opinion they are out to keep their money. The denials, mistakes, problems, communication is absolutely horrible!
Healthcare reform could be as simple as:
monitoring the insurance companies better, like no longer sending customer service calls overseas & better documentation of denials!
not allowing pre-existing conditions anymore.
rate reductions or incentives for healthy policy holders.
Rate increases to not exceed a certain percent over a period
stuff like that.
Its just so frustrating & sometimes i almost wonder if its better to just bank my $12,000 a year & use it as my own HSA fund cause if you add it up, Ive spent almost $100,000 in my 8 years with this company and thats alot of money!
Health care reform will help many except those younger and currently healthy.
I’m 58, disabled with HIV.
Private Insurance pay: 480/mo 5760/year
Co payments for meds: 250/mo 3000/year
I need home helpers: 560/mo 6720/year
The Medicare donut hole: 3200/year
Medicare: 100/mo 1000/year
TOTAL YEAR HEALTH CARE: 19,680
Not everyone is well and able
We pay $1,100 a month in premiums for 3 of us. When my husband took his retirement package, it was with the understanding that the company would continue subsidizing our plan. At the time it cost us less than $300 a month. Then they changed the rules and said if you made a certain amount when you retired they would no longer pay for the retiree’s dependents. I’m self-employed so there’s no secondary ins. Roughly half my husband’s pension goes to medical premiums. He has a heart condition, so we don’t want to go with a cheaper plan. We have a son in college and are still paying off parent plus loans for the older one. We drive old cars (newest is 11 years old)and there’s been no vacation in 8 years. We are barely keeping our heads above water. We’re counting the days till he gets SS. If I had the money, I’d sue the major communication/company he worked for because I believe they lied to the employees to get them to take the package!
I’ve been an independant contractor for many years and never had health insurance. I’ve always been lucky to be fairly healthy though. A couple years ago, I started checking into health insurance and picked up a high deductible policy because it was really affordable (<$75 month). It provided some peace of mind in case anything big happens. A couple months ago, something big did happen and it would have financially ruined me to not have been covered. It is difficult enough just meeting the high deductible and uncovered items but its manageable. I fear what my payments will be next year when it comes time to renew. Because of that, I am trying to adjust my finances and might have to downsize to be able to continue to afford the coverage. Two days in the hospital came to $43000. With health care being so incredibly expensive, being uninsured is just reckless.
Being much more aware of what health services cost now, I find it unacceptable that the US government cannot help its most needy citizens with this.
We are a family of 4. We just switched to a high deductible plan at the start of this year. Our premiums were cut in half and now we pay less then $400 a month. We pay everything up to $2500 after that it’s 100% covered. It’s a lot better plan then what we had before. We have a HSA that we keep our money in for the deductible and it’s all tax free. Up front start up was kind of hard but now since we have our next egg ear marked only for our medical we don’t have to worry about paying anything after that $2500 each year.
It’s not perfect but it’s a win win situation. The insurance company is gambling that I’m not going to spend over $2500 because anything before that they aren’t paying anything. And for me my $2500 deductible and my monthly premium is less the a traditional plan plus EVERYTHING including doc visits and prescriptions are covered after the $2500. So now worries about having to pay more.
I am employed full time and pay $724 per month, pre-tax to cover me, my wife and two children. There is a $2500 yearly deductible, which means if any of us see a specialist during the year, we pay out of pocket. So the real cost is about $932 per month ($724+$2500/12).
Prescription costs have gone up every year under the plan, there is no vision option (our glasses, exams and contacts have to be paid out of pocket), and the mental health part of the plan is considered against the deductible, which means if you’re having a crisis and need to speak with a professional, and money is tight, you’re out of luck.
Every year the plan cost rises and the service gets worse (and don’t get me started on the inept customer service representatives). We are at the point where we think twice before going to an M.D. now, which is defeating the whole purpose of wellness medicine.
Because of this, I favor the public health plan option. The public option scares the heck out of the insurance companies, because dollar for dollar they can’t compete against it. Medicare and V.A. health are public health plans, so it’s not like this is a new idea in the U.S. I don’t see any other way to control the cost of medical insurance.
I am a 45 year old male and I pay $348 per month for a PPO policy with Humana, 2,500 ded. It went up $50.00 per month in June. I also had a 20% surcharge for a pre-existing condition. The kicker: Even though I had the surcharge, they wouldn’t provide any coverage for it for one year. Go figure!!!!
At 59 years old, I hold a first class medical from the FAA. That means medically speaking I can fly a 777 for any airline. I was denied health insurance from the top three carriers for ridiculous reasons. Since I was self-employed I opened a group plan. My wife and me $10,000 deductable, $700 a month. I hope the insurance bandits go broke.
My family (married couple with one child and another on the way) has employer-sponsored health insurance which includes medical, mental health, prescriptions, dental, and vision. We have a PPO plan that includes in-network and out-of-network benefits. My office visit co-pays for non-specialist visits are $30. Specialist visits don’t require a co-pay. My coverage for non-network is anywhere from 50%-80% of the allowed rate. My rx co-pays vary depending on the drug… anywhere from $5 for generics to $90 for a 3-month supply of a brand name. There is no deductible for in-network coverage and no lifetime max. We pay just over $300/month for this coverage through my husband’s employer.
Since I have declined the coverage available through my employer, they instead give me a cash allowance, added to my paycheck, of about $500/month. Not only do we get fantastic and inexpensive insurance through my husband’s employer, but my employer pays me not to use their insurance! When I deduct the $500 I get from the amount we pay for his insurance, we’re paying just over $100/month for our entire family.
So far this year, we’ve spent about $800 in co-pays. Those costs will be reimbursed to me through my HSA for tax savings.
Reform my plan? NO THANKS. You can’t beat my coverage for the price.
For those who don’t have the luxury we do, I fully support your efforts to create a public option for low-income Americans who can’t afford private insurance. However, we already have this option.
Medicare covers people ages 65+ and those under age 65 who have received Social Security Disability for two years continuously. Medicaid covers children under 21, pregnant women, seniors over 65, permanently disabled people of any age, and low-income families with minor children. In California and many other states, there is a government option for children under 21 and pregnant women who don’t qualify for Medicaid due to excessive assets. There are special programs for those with breast cancer, cervical cancer, TB, those in need of dialysis and people with developmental delays.
We need to repair the programs we already have to make them more accessible. Medicare & Medicaid need to pay the doctors reasonable fees so that more of them will accept those plans. We need to raise the asset and income limits for Medicaid to make it available to the middle classes. We should require co-pays for all visits and prescriptions of no more than $5 or $10. Dental, vision, and mental health should be included in Medicaid and Medicare. We have programs and standards in place to extend coverage to millions without the need for a entirely new program.
Since my wife and are teachers, we have insurance through our respective schools; however, we, like many teachers would face extremely high premiums if we were to retire. How sad to work for thirty-something years, only to be held hostage by the the medical/insurance mavens in our economy. I favor a single-payer system as we witness in the rest of the industrialized world. Its simplicity makes it harder for corporate medical and insurance interests to hide what they are doing to the rest of us.
Health care reform – as the Democrats are trying to push it through – is a JOKE. I am 30 and have great health insurance. But a lot of the people in my age group – friends, former high school classmates, even my own brother – do not have health insurance because they CHOOSE not to have health insurance. They won’t tell you this, though. They will tell you they don’t have it because they can’t afford it. But the truth is, they can’t afford their flat screen TVs, their brand new SUVs, or all their nights out on the town. Most of these folks are stuck in dead end jobs because they neglected their education. They make excuses for why they can’t finish their education – not enouh money, not enough time, yadda yadda yadda. But these same people waste their lives away partying it up every other night. When they aren’t partying it up, they are playing mafiawars or farmtown on facebook. And they have the nerve to say “I don’t have the time to go back to school?” I don’t want to subsidize these people (no, not even my own brother) for the choices THEY have made. If they want health insurance, they can get off their butts and work for it, like the rest of us did.
And don’t even get me started about the illegal aliens! You hear statistics about Florida and Texas having such HIGH numbers of uninsured. Well there’s a reason FL & TX have high numbers! Texas has the illegals from Mexico inflating their numbers and Florida has some of those Mexicans and the cubans. I don’t want to subsidize them either!
It sounds to me that what REALLY needs to be looked at is health insurance for the retired – as those are the comments I’m seeing from hard working people who truly need help. But the Socialists up in Washington are headed down the wrong path.
My husband and I have a PPO policy, and spend about $3000/yr. for it. For us, it covers way too much–we don’t need reproductive services, and would opt out if it were possible.
So far, the insurance company seems to be paying US for our good lifestyle: we’ve received rebate checks with the last three insurance statements, and our premiums have gone down while freebies have gone up (preventative dental, eye care, and other small stuff).
Hubby’s a federal civil service worker, but here’s what we do ON TOP OF having insurance:
1. We consume no more than 100 mg. sodium per serving (we read LOTS of labels).
2. We consume no more than 6 grams of sugar per serving (those pesky labels again–look to health food stores for lower sugar/sodium foods).
3. We eat salads made up of 8 different fruits and veggies twice daily (breakfast and dinner) along with meat.
4. We consume no more than 6 oz. meat per day.
5. We’re both frequent hand-washers.
6. Neither one of us smoke.
7. We take fish oil supplements, fiber supplements, potassium supplements, calcium/vitamin D, vitamin B complex, and a few others to ward off family-inherited crap that’s coming our way.
8. Exercise is kept to a minimum–it only makes you hungry, therefore, you eat (and gain weight-defeating the purpose of it).
9. We get blood and urine work done twice yearly to check for cholesterol/kidney/glucose issues, so we can adjust our food and supplements accordingly.
10. We visit a nutritionist with these findings in #9 to learn how to adjust our eating if necessary to improve test scores.
Most of what we see the doctor for is annual testing and preventative stuff–not much else. We have taken control of our own health (always cheapest–nutritious food is the cheapest medicine)and the doctor is more like a mechanic with the diagnostics machine. WE’RE the ones who do the fixing!
This is why I don’t understand the hue and cry for the public option–if EVERYONE just performed the simple steps (or most of them) I’ve outlined above, the need for a doctor (or dentist, or eye doctor) would VASTLY decrease, causing medical expenses to decrease.
I know this regimen wouldn’t fix things like broken bones or a ruptured appendix, but it would cut a wide swath through cancers, diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. These things are infinitely more expensive to treat than a broken bone or a ruptured appendix, and can be done starting at home.
This regimen got me through a year without coverage, and still gets me through even WITH coverage, which I’m looking into reducing to an FSA or HSA (depending on what Congress decides to do with them in light of HR3200).
Consider this “front-door rationing”–reducing medical costs by reducing the NEED for doctors!
Just like Sharon in FL below, I have excellent health insurance through my employer. But contrary to her I think we need major health care reform. If I ever loose my job (I am 55 and working in a high tech company), I doubt that I will find a new job with this level (or any level) of health insurance. COBRA will run out after a year or so. Any possible health issues could destroy everything I worked for over the last 30 years. I will gladly subsidize the health care of other people if in exchange I will be guaranteed health care if it ever came to the point that I couldn’t take care of myself and my family.
I don’t have health insurance by choice. My employer provides it, but I am not willing to pay the high premium. My spouse has very good insurance fully paid by his insurance. We are both in perfect health.
My husband and I are in our early thirties, and you wouldn’t think we’d care much about healthcare. We’re both healthy, exercise, never smoke…but three years ago my husband was diagnosed with MS. Now I spend at least an hour a month (minimum) arguing with hospitals and clincs on the phone over billing errors.
I’m an accountant, and constantly catch incorrectly applied payments, etc. After one particularly frustrating phone call the customer service representative admitted to me that they *purposely* make their bills confusing and just hope the patient will pay it. Thus far this year we’ve paid $7,000 out of pocket over our premiums (which are roughly $300 a month), and we have employer-sponsored health insurance. Next year they’re raising our premiums, deductible and maximum out-of-pocket again.
But our biggest fear is losing our job. With my husband’s preexisting condition it would be extremely difficult to obtain private health insurance, and prohibtively expensive. Last year he was laid off, and we luckily were able to get on my employer’s health insurance…but it was double the premium, double the deductible and triple the maximum out of pocket as our old plan. Which meant that on top of the loss of my husband’s income we were hit with substantially higher insurance costs. He is still out of work, what if I lose my job? What then? Both of us have been laid off in the past, and we both know that it’s a constant threat during a recession/downturn.
We need a single-payer system, with a public option. Desperately. To those who argue against having to pay more, or pay for ‘freeloaders’ on a public system when they’ll never use it – you never know what the future brings. No job is secure, and an unexpected diagnosis (MS) can come when you least expect it.
I currently live in Spain (#7 on the WHO healthcare ratings for countries). We pay 79 Euro each a month for the top of the line care with NO deductable. Our premium’s are based on the age we joined the plan not our current age.
I’m definitely in favor of a single-payer system.
I’m self employed, I pay $95 per month with a $5000 deductible and only catastrophic coverage.
I pay $15/week for family medical (PPO), prescription, and dental coverage. Deductables are $200 individual and $600 family. PPO in network coverage is 85%, out of network is 65%. Maximum out of pockedt is $1000. Preventative and well care coverage is limited. I feel very lucky to have such resonably priced coverage!
Doctors need to co-operate with the people and government to bring medical costs under control. If you use insurance and visit a family practice doctor, he/she gets paid $30 from the insurance company. If you visit the doctor without insurance, he will bill you $80. If the doctor charged all patients $30 pay in cash, it would save everyone soo much money.
I am 59 years old and work for a utility company. I pay only $338 per year (not month) for my high deductible health plan with a deductible of $5,000. I also have a health savings account to pay for my out of pocket medical expenses.
I work for the State of SC. We have essentially four options for our health insurance. Two offered by the State. One by Blue Choice. One by Cigna. Essentially one of the State plans is catastrophic coverage for less than $12.00 a month. The other State plan is essentially a typical 80/20 plan after you have spent $350 of your own money, but this plan has not had premiums increase in over 3 years. I use Blue Choice, premiums will be increasing once again 17 – 25%. I’m relatively healthy and rarely use my health insurance, so I will be ditching my plan and switching to the State Plan. The plan by Cigna is the most expensive by far and I’m surprised anyone still uses it.
Health Care costs too much. The rest of the discussion is pointless. It simply costs too much. Should I say it again ? It cost too much. Why not take away malpractice lawsuits and drug companies advertising 24/7 on TV and in Magazines to begin with. The costs will drop quickly. Did I say it costs too much ?
32 years old with wife and 2 kids – Employed
- Here is my only choice as a remote (non home state) employee – Approximately $380 per month with a $4,800 deductible that grows to $5,500 as you pay 20% of everything over $4,800 till you hit $5,500 (note: employer contrbutes $600 to an HSA per year).
- With 2 small kids, one incident per year (like a birth or having a kids tonsils removed) crushes us.
- As an example we were instructed/pressured last year to take a baby to the ER for an abdominal issue by a primary physician, got no care at the ER and ultimately got a $9K bill for 24hrs of terrible care – Had to ultimately sign a waiver to take our kid from the hospital ‘early’ b/c she was getting NO service for her condition just super ridiculous charges for unrelated procedures and ‘care’.
Pass tort reform (highly unlikely in Washington!!!) and prevent defensive (aka costly) medicine.
Stay healthy everyone, it is your best alternative by far!
I am retired with Medicare plus supplemental $1000 per year premium and my wife works but has to buy her own insurance for $6000 per year (it just went up 15%) with a $1000 annual deductible. But her copays are as are drugs and other services twice that of medicare. Our total insurance costs about $7000 per year. Our health is basically good so far so we are blessed and we don’t cost the insurance company or govt much. However I would have to assume that a public option for my wife would cut insurance at least two or more. So, I support a public option not only for our own benefit but also for the rest of Americans who don’t have employee plans. And I cannot understand why anyone in good conscience would oppose it.
Nobody will insure me unless it is a qualified plan from an employer due to several pre-existing conditions. Although I am a competitive cyclist in excellent shape. Since I am unemployed and cannot find work I just have no insurance. I can get insurance through my wife as a school teacher, but it is 20% of her take home pay. So I just risk it.
We just moved to Europe – We pay $500/month for coverage for a family of four. No lifetime maximum, no deductible. Some of the maximums are capped (like Dentists) annually.
We can either use the French system or the Suisse system as the French insurance reimburses based on French system costs.
Small wait times to see specialists for non-urgent care (2.5 weeks for a cardiologist)
I hope the US can get it back on track as it seems pretty simple here.
I’m self employed currently pay $150/month to cover myself, my wife, and our son. It’s a low premium / high ($8000/year for the family) deductible plan. I currently put back $5950 per year into an HSA account. I really can’t complain. Sure, I’d rather have the $500/month that goes to the HSA in my pocket for other expenditures/investments, but I’m all for accountability. We have GREAT health care in this country, and I’m all but happy to save some money each month such that should I need the care I can write a check to pay for it.
People are crazy, you want government health care, OK. Pass a stress test-run a mile under 9 min, pass a nicotine and drug test. You want the government to do their part, do yours. Don’t tell me you have a gland problem or some other health mumbo jumbo, these people are the exception, people are fat because they eat to much, smoke and drink and are inactive. Watch the Biggest Loser if you don’t want to believe me. If everyone wants to save money, get in shape first- it’ easy and free. I pay $400 a month for my family, with a $5500 deductible, and I think it is unbelievably… expensive. I have a $5500 deductible and have never met it in seven years, paid cash for the birth of both of my children and the majority of that money was paid to the insurance companies to fund administration or un-needed tests for others. The easiest way to cut the cost of health care is to cut our waistband, and limit the cost of lawsuits.
I am self-employed and currently pay $803 a month for my family plan (me, my wife, and 2 year old son) with Kaiser. The premium WAS $653 a month until they raised it last month to where it is now. This was the 2nd time this year they raised my premium. I have no deductible and a decent co-pay. We are all 3 very healthy and in shape.
I am fortunate that I make enough money to afford health coverage. However, I know that in the next 3 or 4 years our premium will most undoubtedly be over $1,000 a month which will be unaffordable.
What bothers me is all of the people who’ve posted here whose employer pays most if not all of their insurance premium. Wait until you lose your job and have to go on COBRA for $1,500 a month and then can’t get new coverage because you had a yeast infection sometime in your life (pre-existing condition). Not everyone has a job that pays their health insurance or even that provides it. Not everyone makes enough money to buy private insurance. I’m sick of the attitude that if you’re doing well financially then everyone else should be too or it’s their fault. This country has become way too selfish and uncaring about our fellow American who’s suffering.
A public option for those who cannot qualify or buy into private insurance would have no impact on those who don’t want it. In fact, it would drive down premiums (and maybe even mine) if Kaiser, Anthem, United Healthcare, Signa, and all the rest of these for-profit corporations had some decent competition. And I WOULD be willing to pay a little more in taxes to help those less fortunate. That’s the thinking of a Democrat – for the little people. It’s the American way.
My wife and I retired early with pre-existing conditions. We have guarantee issue insurance with Aetna. Premiums are $2550 per month with 2,500 deductible per person. Guarantee issue means no choice of plans, no choice of carriers, and huge increases every year. We knew this going into retirement but it doesn’t make it any easier to take. The only good thing is that this is real insurance as opposed to plans which cover everything but not really. I’ll be happy when for-profit health insurers go out of business.
I pay $1002/mo. for my wife (59) and myself (52). We have $5000 deductible.
My prescription drug coverage is $500 deductible.
I was paying $90/mo for lavostatin until my deductible was met then it dropped to about $28/mo. I found the same drug at another pharmacy for 10 cents a day! I called my old pharamaey for a price quote and they said $4/mo. I asked why they were charging me $90/mo and they said that was because I was going through my insurance co.
Another incident with my insurance deals with blood tests. A full batch of tests taken at a hospital near where I live in Washington state charged $348 and it was run thru my insurance co. The insurance co. made them reduce the bill just a little bit, the final bill was still over @200. Another clinic in Washington quoted me $348 for the blood tests if I ran it through my insurance company and $116 if I did not and paid cash. A few months later I had the same tests run in Arizona for about $150, then the insurance made then reduce the bill to $20. This one I can’t figure out.
Bottom line is some times my insurance helps out a lot by reducing my costs. Regarding the drug incident; it looks like the insurance company was making money off my drug purchases.
I was laid off in February. I am a single mother with a child, and found out my COBRA payments were $1265 per month. I have a pre-existing condition, and don’t qualify for a better rate plan.
Thankfully, the stimulous package kicked in, and reduced my premium to under $450 per month. A lot more manageable.
I am for a single-payer system (or at least a widely available “public option).
I have always had employer-sponsored health insurance that I belive was probably as good as anyone elses. (though perhaps not the UAW policy). Even so, over the years (two NORMAL pregnancies with healthy kids, an appendectomy, a torn ACL etc) the time and effort spent in getting my health insurer to either pay the health provider or me (when the collection calls and notices get onerous, I just pay it myself) I have decided it’s just not worth having this “middleman” that I think does not really provide any value. After my first child was born (again, it was a very normal birth) it took me 2 years to settle all the bills! This is a total waste of society’s time and effort! (I actually have a Ph.D., so I don’t think the delay in settling the bills was my lack of reading or organizational skills.) Over the years, although I have essentially worked for the same company, they change their policies so my pediatrician was sometimes “in the network” and sometimes not. I haven’t moved in over 20 years, but if I moved out of state, everything would have to be re-done. Does this make any sense? When you change companies, it is all over again. Why is health care an employer responsibility and why is it regulated by States instead of the Federal government? If an individual had a policy with a company and that policy would follow them through life, wouldn’t the insurer be more interested in keeping their policy holder healthy? I recently lost my job and I had to talk to 3 different “experts” to figure out if the “DTA-30″ (a NJ program for kids who “age-out” of a family health insurance policy) for my son would expire or not. No one understands Insurance policies and laws! I believe the whole system needs an overhaul!
(and I agree with most of what Nathan (4:13 pm) said)
Chris
I am 48yrs old, self employed, and have paid for my own health insurance for the last 25 years.
I have Anthem. $2,500 deductible. $586 per month. It is now my 2nd largest expense after my office rent.
I have run the numbers, and Anthem is losing money on me some years, but not because of doctor visits or preventive care. The problem is the cost of brand name prescription drugs. Period. Let the drug companies make a return on their investment, plus some R&D bonus, then mandate the generic version must be made. None of this, ‘modify the patent a little bit’, so they can charge brand prices forever.
Also, the amount of paper work Anthem sends me each month is overkill. Please have an option for viewing these things online only. Go Green, please.
I am also disgusted by the amount the CEO is paid. I certainly hope he donates a lot to charity or I have to ask, how do you sleep at night knowing people, your fellow Americans, are not buying groceries so they can pay their medical bills or premiums? The greed has to stop and the greater good for our civilization has to become the norm.
We are very, very cruel in this country – medical bankruptcy is a crime against humanity!
“I started with nothing, paid my way through school, worked my tail off for the good job. Others can too. But people are just full of excuses. I detest the possibilty of having to pay more out of my pocket so that others who are too lazy to work can have a better health plan that I will have under the new system.”
I hate to break it to you, but hard work is not always rewarded in our society. Many, many people (including myself) do what you have done only to find themselves working for a company that provides next to nothing when it comes to health benefits. I agree with you in the sense that I’d rather not have to sacrifice my income in the name of health reform, but you also have to consider things from the view of self-preservation. If nothing changes, out-of-control health costs will eventually affect you.
I am certainly thankful for the excellent benefits my employer provides, as well. But I am not deluded enough to believe that anyone who lacks adequate health insurance is lazy or self-serving. There are millions of hardworking people out there who do not have adequate health coverage and who are not able to provide adequate coverage for themselves. They provide much to society, but people like you do not wish to consider that. It’s far past time we consider what we can do to help those people–and by helping them, we will be helping ourselves, as well.
I have paid for my own health care insurance for the past 7 years. When I obtained my first individual Unicare policy at age 55, it had a $2,250 deductible and included a prescription drug plan. The cost was $129/month.
During the next seven years, I only reached my deductible once (my doctor suggested a colonoscopy). Since I have never smoked, have a slender build, and frequently exercise, I have always been a “level 1″ customer.
Over the years I have increased my deductible and eliminated my drug coverage while still paying a higher premium. The original policy which cost $129/month today costs $976 (an increase of 750%)! As it is, my $5000 deductible policy will be $470/month starting October 1 which is an increase of 22% over my current monthly premium.
I am certain that some of the increases are to be expected as one ages. However, they seem out of line considering how healthy I am and how little I have cost the insurer.
I work for a heating and air conditioning company and I currently pay $129.75 per week for my family health coverage. It’s also a HSA plan and I contribute another $2960.00 per year to that account to pay for my $4,000.00 deductible and prescriptions. I can only anticipate that I will be paying for more of my premium next year.
I’m fortunate that I had top coverage with my old job, and when they laid me off they continued coverage, but that runs out next month. I consider myself fortunate as I’m old enough that I can then buy into my old companies early retirement insurance plan, but it will cost me about $700 per month, and that I can keep until I qualify for medicare. I lived in Canada and had the government plan which covered everything that I have now but at a much lower cost. I believe that we need health reform where everyone is cover with basic medical care like in Canada. I find the argument strange that people fight against a government plan before they turn 65, but then demand that the government run Medicare is there for them when they are older and will require even more care. If I ever lose my current plan I will have to seriously consider if I can afford to live without healthcare or move to a country that provides healthcare like they do Police and fire departments.
why can’t we deduct as tax based upon income level and then cut out all the variation in who gets what deductile and max out of pocket. People who earn more pay a little more and that is just fair.
I work for a school district in Michigan so I can’t complain about my health care. I pay $35/month for full family coverage (medical, dental, optical, etc.). Our deductibles are extremely low and everything is 100%.
My job provides health (and dental) insurance for me and my entire family at NO cost to me, other than copays for doctor visits. copays are $15/visit. Insurance includes perscription coverage so copays for perscriptions are $10 generic, $20 name brand. also includes eye exams for a $15 copay.
And the dental coverage is excellent.
I LOVE my insurance. I worked hard to get to where I am. Health care reform as it stands now will set me back at least $10K/year, and coverage will not be nearly as good as the plan I have now. I started with nothing, paid my way through school, worked my tail off for the good job. Others can too. But people are just full of excuses. I detest the possibilty of having to pay more out of my pocket so that others who are too lazy to work can have a better health plan that I will have under the new system.
I currently have a high deductible HMO style health plan provided by my employer. My employer also offers a health savings account and automatically deposits $1000 into the health savings account. I can contribute more into the health savings account, tax free, up to the maximum allowed by the IRS. I have coverage for myself, my wife, and three young children. I have been using a plan that offers a health savings account for 3 years now and I have found the freedom of spending my own healthcare dollars well worth the extra hassle. Providers treat me as the customer, instead of the insurance company. I lived two years in Britain before I was married. During the time, I was covered under the British health system and found the service horrendous. Services available were rationed and often dictated by the government. US insurance companies try to do the same thing. I find the freedom available in the US health system well worth the extra costs we pay. To me reform means losing the freedom to be not only the patient, but also the customer. I want to control how my healthcare dollars are spent. Things I would like to see in health reform are
1. Better disclosure of the costs associated with healthcare procedures, consultations, and supplies (including drug costs).
2. Elimination of lifetime maximums – this is the purpose of insurance, to protect against large costs.
3. Elimination of policy cancellation for anything other than failure to make ontime payments. When coverage was initiated, a change in medical status should be factored into the initial premium.
4. Elimiation of any first dollar coverage (items where the deductible is waived). This creates waste, there is no incentive to regulate consumption. Medicaid and Medicare provide a lot of first dollar coverage and create significant waste in the process (not to mention the fact the government is unable to properly fund these programs).
5. Along with high deductible health plans there should also be a requirement for a minimum amount to be contributed to a health savings account. This would give a cushion of spending for preventative and emergency items.
6. Give individuals health insurance tax deductions and/or credits equal to those given to employers. People need to be free of dependence on their employer for their health insurance. So that termination of employment does not equate to termination of their health insurance policy.
7. Make health plans portable between states. This has the potential to create larger pools, but more importantly, does not force people moving across state lines to get a new health insurance policy. This one is a sticky issue due to different laws in different states, but really can only be accomplished at a federal level.
I don’t have insurance coverage. I couldn’t afford it if I wanted it, but my experiences with it haven’t been all that good anyway. I spent years while I was working Corporate dealing with Keiser, and a constantly changing selection of doctors who couldn’t seem to diagnose anything less obvious then a broken bone and wanted to solve every problem that didn’t need a cast or stitches with some prescription that I would take every day for ever. Then I spent time paying Blue Cross a pile of money and then dealing with a doctor who diagnosed based on what Blue Cross paid a lot for, and also wanted to get me on some pharmaceutical that I would have to take every day for the rest of my life.
Now I deal with my own stuff when I can, go to a local low cost clinic when I can’t, where the doctor at least can and will figure out when I need a good dose of anti-biotics. But she still wants to get me on yet some other drug for a daily rest of my life dose.
And all of them want to give me pain pills and “happy” pills any time I have so much as a sliver.
What is health “reform” to me? A joke. A really nasty one. The Right Wing accuses the left of wanting to give everybody everything for free and pay for it out of thin air. (that is, future tax payer $$) Like the folks on the right aren’t also asking for everything for everybody. They just want employers and insurance companies to pay for it all.
I positively gag hearing proposals like:
Insurance companies can’t use pre-existing conditions either to refuse coverage OR to charge more. I may not be a math wiz (Oh, right I am a math wiz), but you don’t need to be to recognize that can’t work. You just have to be willing to realistically look at the numbers. SOMEONE has to pay for the person who knows they have cancer, diabetes, or a heart condition and wants to buy a million $ of future medical costs at 800$/month.
Or how about the proposal to subsidize insurance costs for families earning up to 75k? The median income I believe is around 43k. So who pays for it if people earning nearly twice the median can’t?
Or how about the idea the illegal immigrants can’t be part of what ever we do? If we are working from the idea that we need to cover our poor because it is cheaper then having them go to the emergency room, spread disease or allow fixable conditions to worsen – well that math doesn’t change if that person is illegal. Not to mention the fact that our laws and basic humanity doesn’t allow us to not give people life saving care.
Or the idea that we will all pay for health care as a group but no one gets to tell anyone how to live their life.
Or I can go on.
THE GOVERNMENT CAN NOT FIX WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR HEALTH CARE.
Nothing being proposed will change the fact that we already spend more on health care then anyone (by a lot) and are still not that healthy.
Nothing is encouraging anyone to take responsibility for their life and their health. Nothing is shifting decisions back to doctors and patients. Nothing is changing the growing dependence on expensive “forever” drug use, or liability, or excessive use of medical resources, or end of life care.
I am a self employed tradesman. Everything I own wouldn’t pay for even a few days in the hospital – much less surgery or chemo or an extended stay. My “share” of the average daily health care expenditure in this nation is more then my rent. Insurance premiums (over 50) would be nearly all of my income.
I work hard and I make a fair wage. If the government needs to subsidize my health care to the tune of virtually doubling my income, something is seriously wrong that is NOT being fixed.
I work for an insurance company, and while people here complain about the benefits, I think they are pretty good. I have a high-deductible plan, but the premiums are great. First off, they are based on your salary level, so those that make less pay much less in premiums, and secondly, I believe my wife and I on a medical plan is roughly $150/month, plus $20/month for dental. This plan has a $2500/year deductible, but comes with free preventive care – we each get a yearly physical, my wife gets to go to the OBGYN once a year, and we get yearly eye checkups as well. Furthermore, I am given $600/year in a HSA to use towards our medical costs, as well as bonuses put into that account for working out, or eating healthy.
At my previous employer, I had an HMO, which cost me much less out of pocket for claims, like a $30 copay for a doctors visit (rather than the $60-$80 now), but my premiums were $125/week for my wife and myself – so that totalled $500/month. The amount I am saving in premiums is enough to make up for my deductible.
As for reform – I really am on the fence. I think insurance companies get a bad rap – they are like any other business. I also wish the media would really tell the truth, in that insurance companies margins are far lower than those in other industries. People simply think they are horrible entities because they see huge dollar amounts – they dont realize how large of a scale things are. Look at what a drug company makes in margin, and see where a lot of the money goes.
I also think that fee for service NEEDS to go away or nothing will really change. If a doctor gets paid for every thing he does to you, why would he have incentive not to? If you capitate the doctors (they get paid a fee per patient, regardless of what they do for that patient), they wont do unnecessary tests, and theoretically, costs could be pretty easily projected, because everyone is a “flat rate”.
My other concern of course, people want the best coverage, but dont understand what it means to pay for it. As sad as it is, it really is true – anyone who is 80 and needs a new heart WANTS the heart to live, but is it WORTH it to the rest of society? I obviously cant answer that question, but I think people need to realize what it costs others by allowing those things to occur.
I have Aetna Health Insurance through my employer. I chose the free plan with the high deductible. I get everything I need from my employee health center screening (cholesterol, glucose, BMI, blood pressure, and resting heart rate), so I never go to the doctor. But, if I ever broke my arm, I have a $4,000 out of pocket maximum.
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My costs? Zero! I live in Canada and while y’all might believe drug/HMO lobby funded stories that Canadians are dying in the streets, the facts are quite different. Let’s talk RESULTS for a moment…
USA – Infant mortality rate = 3rd world rate
USA – Preventable illness and health care = unavailable to over 50% of those WITH INSURANCE without co-pay premium.
USA – More than 70% of all bankruptcies have a health care component and more than 50% of these are for people who had insurance.
USA – Excessive Drug Company profits are guaranteed as nobody is allowed to negotiate pricing of pharmaceuticals.
This list is really, really long… Suffice it to say that while no system is perfect, the American health care system is the laughing stock of the modern world.