Health Insurance up 200%!!!!!!! - Health Insurance Issues Message Board

MyOMy · 11-06-2002, 04:21 AM

I know health insurance has been going up, but this is crazy. My husband's comnpany pays $550 per month for complete Blue Cross coverage for the family. The union steward just informed him that it is goimg up to around $1500 per month! Who can afford to pay this? Do'nt these big insurance companies realize that they are going to be pricing themselves right out of business? The way I see it, their main profit comes from companies paying for their employees. When companies can no longer afford to pay, where do they think it is coming from? Maybe out of the newly laid offs pocket? What a joke. Sorry, just wanted to vent.

JanaBree · 01-03-2003, 09:13 AM

My husband is also in the Union and we have Blue Cross. I must say, I was better off on Medicaid and medicare when I was disabled and single. our insurance has done NOTHING for us, but cause debt and serious problems. Not to mention the stress it has put on me, has cause me to become ill again. Which in turn causes more bills!!!!! Ahhhhhh! It is a never ending cycle!
Jana

puggers · 01-07-2003, 06:42 PM

Generally speaking-health insurance cost to employers is determined by usage, if an employers premiums rise dramatically its normally because of high-dollar use.
I was privy to a conversation in the doctors office the other day-where a lady was ranting about what insurance didn't pay. I couldn't help myself, I had to remind her if she had no insurance at all she would be paying the entire cost out of pocket, since we were sitting in a specialists office it probably would have been easily a $200.00 office visit just to walk in the place rather then a $15-20 copay..I was without health insurance for about 60 days and the cost of my husbands prescriptions alone ($340.00 for 2 perscriptions) versus $40.00 with insurance, made me thank my lucky stars I have it whatever the premium.

paisley1 · 03-03-2003, 12:56 PM

But... what good is the insurance when you can't afford the premiums? You pay health insurance so you can go to a doctor and stay healthy.

Puggers: I don't mean to sound like I am flaming here but if you don't use the insurance because of fear of the cost rising, what is the use of paying for it to start with? Not everyone is born healthy. Not everyone ages healthy. Some people have no choice but to see doctors, specialists, and take expensive medications.

What annoys the $@#$%@#$ out of me is when someone has paid their premiums for years then one day years down the road they develop cancer or some other terrible fatal disease and the insurance company decides they have made their fortune off this person so they cancel their policy leaving the sick person to pray for the kindness of others or to die a miserable death. This is not right but it happens all the time.

If you think about it rationally, if healthcare was available to everyone, it would not be as expensive as it is now. If people, especially the elderly and the terminally ill, were allowed to get maintenence drugs filled each month without having to choose between medicine and a roof over their heads, the medical costs would go down.

I worked at a large teaching hospital's emergency room as a medical transcriptionist. If I had to put a number to the visits that were solely because of lack of ability to get maintenence medications, I would say it would be about 95%. People don't realize it but there are a lot of unnecessary visits to the ER solely for this reason. You can't fault the person for going. They have no choice.

This is why I think there should be a national health insurance plan. It has worked in other countries. It can work here. And don't give me that "we have the best medical facilities in the world" routine. What good are our great facilties when only a small percentage can get access to them. I would rather take my chances on a less-than-perfect system if more people could get medical access.

Paisley - stepping off my soapbox

Curious2 · 03-29-2003, 04:29 PM

The problem w/ having a national ins plan is that it sucks and people from those countries that have it will tell you so. That is why canadians come down to the states, they have to wait 6 mos just to see a specialist. Puggers was right it is based on use but for the most part it's also the high cost being charged for services. If the clinics and dr's offices were better at running there business they wouldn't have to charge hundreds for a 10 office visit. That and their insurance is so flippin' high. I believe 12 states including PA have high malpractice ins rates. If people weren't looking to take a doctor to court for any tiny mistake then their cost's would go down that might reflect what they are billing ins, thus affecting your premiums. I think if the doctors were protected (to a reasonable extent, i'm not saying that they shouldn't be responsible for negligence) and educated in business mgmt or something, then everyone would benefit.