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OT: Health Insurance

toonces11 said:
What are the advantages to that...Is it a tax advantage? Do I drop my own BCBS?
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The professional or trade groups allow you and others in the same line of work, to function as a group plan. So instead of being underwritten as an individual risk, you are lumped into a group. Which should help drive down the cost.

Not all states are doing it though.
 
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hawkit3113 said:
I started cussing because the OP needs help and now it's a health care debate.

Also, I voted for the guy, twice. So there is that.
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First, you are aware that three different people started in on Obama and the government about private health care costs before I posted anything, correct? Were you bashing them and I missed it?

Second, you are aware I posted a piece from Forbes, whose editor in chief has actually been a Republican candidate for President? Twice? And the underlying information was provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services?

If you know about health care, great! Help T as you are, and if you have something to add that will expand other peoples knowledge (I, for example, know very little about the issue beyond the basics) then do so.

But when your second post is is calling someone a moron, and your third is denying a concept that many analyses support with nothing but a "Wrong fvck stick." and then a follow up of "One basised (sic) source. ... Don't speak to me about what you don't know... You are a political Jack bag hack."... well, skip that part and go right to the part where you started actually sharing knowledge.

Conversations are better with more regular back and forth and less antagonizing.

Anyway. Enough of that, go back to giving advice... most people would like to save money on health insurance, for sure!
 
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I get a little wound up about the political aspect of it.

It's a great concept, just needs to be fixed. And was better than the status quo
 
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TheDude1 said:
Any analysis you look at shows that the increase would’ve been much larger without the affordable care act. I know some people who are obsessed with the politics will have a hard time accepting that, but…

And there is no breaking point. There will never be a breaking point. The insurance companies will continue to **** us out of every penny they can, and everything that is designed to enable that, like our healthcare provider system, will keep it going. As long as every element of your well-being is governed by people trying to make money, you will pay more and more and more and more. For profit systems don’t change unless they must in order to stay profitable , and human beings will pay almost anything to stay alive.
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Total costs for middle class people who aren’t eligible for subsidies skyrocketed. And their deductibles skyrocketed. Deductibles more than doubled on average over the last several years. People have avoided getting proper care due to the ridiculous expense. It’s been nothing but a disaster for anyone who isn’t at poverty level or just above.

And the insurance companies are far from the biggest problem. How could deductibles and premiums not be high when they’re forced to insure sick people and a week in ICU costs a quarter mil? You may have noticed that most counties are left with one or two carriers offering plans, because they were paying out far more than they were bringing in. United alone lost a billlion in two years. But yeah, the one or two companies that remain in a given area might be doing ok now after getting raped for a few years.
 
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toonces11 said:
Anybody else straight up getting bent over on their premiums? I have a family of 3. I pay $1300/month with a 6000/12000 deductible. I haven't filed a claim for myself in 15 years. My wife uses it for prenatal and well woman visits. My 2 yr old got stitches and it cost $348 for 4 stitches---so I get to pay that on top of my premium. Literally highway robbery. I pay nearly 16k in premiums per year on top of paying for the first 6k per individual.
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I paid that before going to work for the state. $350 a month in premiums. State gives me $1000 on an FSA card. $2500 deductible.
 
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toonces11 said:
Anybody else straight up getting bent over on their premiums? I have a family of 3. I pay $1300/month with a 6000/12000 deductible. I haven't filed a claim for myself in 15 years. My wife uses it for prenatal and well woman visits. My 2 yr old got stitches and it cost $348 for 4 stitches---so I get to pay that on top of my premium. Literally highway robbery. I pay nearly 16k in premiums per year on top of paying for the first 6k per individual.
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My wife and I have a policy with Liberty Healthshare. We are 59 years old. Together our premium is 329.00 a month. Our deductible is less than yours, but not by much. I take blood pressure, and cholesterol medicine ( probably be off the blood pressure medicine this month ) and she takes no medicine. I would think with a child your premium wouldn’t be more than a 100-150 more than ours. If you are planning on having more children that might impact your rates. We were paying 2300.00 a month before. Now we put the difference in an account we will use for our deductible if we need it.
 
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kelley2403 said:
My wife and I have a policy with Liberty Healthshare. We are 59 years old. Together our premium is 329.00 a month. Our deductible is less than yours, but not by much. I take blood pressure, and cholesterol medicine ( probably be off the blood pressure medicine this month ) and she takes no medicine. I would think with a child your premium wouldn’t be more than a 100-150 more than ours. If you are planning on having more children that might impact your rates. We were paying 2300.00 a month before. Now we put the difference in an account we will use for our deductible if we need it.
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Sounds like you were on a grandfathered pre-ACA plan and now have a subsidized ACA plan.

Toonces’ income is apparently too high to qualify for a subsidy.
 
kelley2403 said:
My wife and I have a policy with Liberty Healthshare. We are 59 years old. Together our premium is 329.00 a month. Our deductible is less than yours, but not by much. I take blood pressure, and cholesterol medicine ( probably be off the blood pressure medicine this month ) and she takes no medicine. I would think with a child your premium wouldn’t be more than a 100-150 more than ours. If you are planning on having more children that might impact your rates. We were paying 2300.00 a month before. Now we put the difference in an account we will use for our deductible if we need it.
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Wow. I will look into that. Just makes me sick what has circled the drain in premiums for my family. Just for catastrophic peace of mind. Hell, I’d be down for a plan like that and still put the same payment in a college investment slash healthcare fund. I can’t believe I haven’t changed yet but the worrying dad part of me didn’t want to ditch blue cross until my June 8th baby is here. I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t have proper coverage for my kid/s
 
toonces11 said:
Wow. I will look into that. Just makes me sick what has circled the drain in premiums for my family. Just for catastrophic peace of mind. Hell, I’d be down for a plan like that and still put the same payment in a college investment slash healthcare fund. I can’t believe I haven’t changed yet but the worrying dad part of me didn’t want to ditch blue cross until my June 8th baby is here. I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t have proper coverage for my kid/s
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Your accountant never mentioned any of this?
 
And how in the world isn’t there bonus’ for no claims and passing certain physical fitness tests. Why should an individual that actively maintains proper health be stuck with the same payment as somebody that lives an unhealthy lifestyle. Smokes, obese, no exercise....literally a health time bomb and insurance drain.

Also for another topic: is obesity in America the number one reason we don’t have affordable healthcare at any level. It’s gotta be.
 
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The 'cadillac' plan offered by my employer would cost $1,100 a month. The deductible is very low. My employer hardly subsidizes the cost, based on similar plans on the health exchange costing similar amounts. I couldn't imagine how a high deductible plan would cost more...

I pay $600 a month for a high deductible plan. Family of 3.
 
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brooky03 said:
?

Why is that bullshit?
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Because they put out requirements that forced some policy holders into the State-run insurance. Then the folks who made a little money were forced to subsidize the poor and cover the high-cost patients that insurance companies could not afford to take as policyholders without government interference.

Eventually the cost would have gone up without ACA, but when the government forces immediate changes in a private insurance policy and force them to take expensive policies, they either pass along the cost or get out of the business. The ACA was a piece of crap designed by politicians instead of doctors, hospitals or insurance companies.

Two of my doctor friends stopped their practice, one is now working for the UK Medical school, because the ACA was a total farce from the application side. In Kentucky most of the ACA folks were put into medicade and many Doctors can't make a living at that level of pay.
 
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toonces11 said:
Anybody else straight up getting bent over on their premiums? I have a family of 3. I pay $1300/month with a 6000/12000 deductible. I haven't filed a claim for myself in 15 years. My wife uses it for prenatal and well woman visits. My 2 yr old got stitches and it cost $348 for 4 stitches---so I get to pay that on top of my premium. Literally highway robbery. I pay nearly 16k in premiums per year on top of paying for the first 6k per individual.
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hawkit3113 said:
The professional or trade groups allow you and others in the same line of work, to function as a group plan. So instead of being underwritten as an individual risk, you are lumped into a group. Which should help drive down the cost.

Not all states are doing it though.
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Who knew insurance could be so difficult?


But seriously, my wife and I own a small business. We provide HC for all of our employees and it’s a great plan. We have Anthem BCBS’s best PPO plan. We buy through ADP to keep the rate down. For my wife, myself, and child our monthly is around $1k with no deductible. Doctor visits are $15, meds are cheap, and ER is like $150. As hawk said, ADP lumps you in with a giant group to negotiate a great rate.

I would not even look at one of these Christian plans with a family.
 
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brooky03 said:
?

Why is that bullshit?
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Because facts and reality don't align with his per-conceived notions of how the world SHOULD work. His response being about doctors not making enough money (I have several MD's in my family and this statement is a total gut buster), not how much premiums were increasing prior to the ACA should tell you all you need to know. He tried to counter a fact with baseless claims and an anecdotal story that was completely unrelated to the subject being discussed.

The rate at which health care costs were increasing slowed down when Obamacare passed. People can call that bullshit all they like, but it just makes them look stupid as hell because it is a fact that is not up for debate. No one is claiming the ACA is perfect, but it is by far better than what we had before.

PS: If your doctor friend's aren't making enough money, they are probably crappy doctors. None of the MD's that I know are hurting, they are doing much better than I am from an income standpoint.
 
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Global Havok said:
Because facts and reality don't align with his per-conceived notions of how the world SHOULD work. His response being about doctors not making enough money (I have several MD's in my family and this statement is a total gut buster), not how much premiums were increasing prior to the ACA should tell you all you need to know. He tried to counter a fact with baseless claims and an anecdotal story that was completely unrelated to the subject being discussed.

The rate at which health care costs were increasing slowed down when Obamacare passed. People can call that bullshit all they like, but it just makes them look stupid as hell because it is a fact that is not up for debate.

PS: If your doctor friend's aren't making enough money, they are probably crappy doctors. None of the MD's that I know are hurting, they are doing much better than I am from an income standpoint.
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I disagree with some of this. Doctors SHOULD make good money for the service provided---not the hospital. The doctor isn't taking home that money----or we would all retire at 30. The incredible markups are insane. His point is its not close to reasonable... to sky rocket hard working earners premiums... to cover that that can't or wont put in the work to pay their own way.
 
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toonces11 said:
I disagree with some of this. Doctors SHOULD make good money for the service provided---not the hospital. The doctor isn't taking home that money----or we would all retire at 30. The incredible markups are insane. His point is its not close to reasonable... to sky rocket hard working earners premiums... to cover that that can't or wont put in the work to pay their own way.
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Doctors DO make good money. That is my point. I don't know a single Doctor even remotely close to struggling, and I personally know 5 (3 of which are blood to me). Maybe they all have secret money problems, but I find that unlikely.
 
Global Havok said:
Doctors DO make good money. That is my point. I don't know a single Doctor even remotely close to struggling, and I personally know 5 (3 of which are blood to me).
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What are all of their opinions on Obamacare? I only know 2 doctors well enough to know their thoughts and they both despise it.
 
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schoonerwest said:
What are all of their opinions on Obamacare? I only know 2 doctors well enough to know their thoughts and they both despise it.
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I haven't asked any of them about it. I don't typically talk politics with my friends or family. The only health care provider that talks politics with me is my step-mother who is a RN (The doctors in my family are 2 cousins and an aunt). My stepmother is like me, she sees room for improvement, but also sees the improvement from the situation we were in prior to the the ACA.

I just know that none of them have any appearance of struggling for money. One of my MD cousins just finished building a 7000+ sqft house last year (she has a large catholic family, but it is still absurd.)
 
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Global Havok said:
I haven't asked any of them about it. I don't typically talk politics with my friends or family. The only health care provider that talks politics with me is my step-mother who is a RN (The doctors in my family are 2 cousins and an aunt). My stepmother is like me, she sees room for improvement, but also sees the improvement from the situation we were in prior to the the ACA.
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There are some improvements---but certainly not many from a providers point of view. Unless you are in private practice---doctors and nurses have no idea what insurance coverage does and doesn't do. They literally have no interaction with it. They just provide the service and right codes. Its not like they are writing their soap note and saying 2 units of prednisone administered @ $185, code S14.75. They have no idea what the patients deductible is, what the co-insurance percentage is, what benefits are actually covered, what the co-pay is. They are salaried and covered by the billing staff. What it did do was let them code without restraint b/c they didn't have admins breathing down their neck performing services the hospital would never be reimbursed for.

Regardless of politics, I see this stuff daily in my clinic and it touches all patients, regardless of class. I have seen some BCBS with very low co -pays and rock bottom premiums b/c they are subsidized---but the deductible is higher than an amount they would ever be able to afford to pay. So they basically don't have insurance unless its a catastrophe .
 
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@toonces11 we're hiring
 
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Global Havok said:
I haven't asked any of them about it. I don't typically talk politics with my friends or family. The only health care provider that talks politics with me is my step-mother who is a RN (The doctors in my family are 2 cousins and an aunt). My stepmother is like me, she sees room for improvement, but also sees the improvement from the situation we were in prior to the the ACA.

I just know that none of them have any appearance of struggling for money. One of my MD cousins just finished building a 7000+ sqft house last year (she has a large catholic family, but it is still absurd.)
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I liked the idea of the ACA because in theory it should have had a huge impact on the Emergency Room abuse that is part of ridiculously inflated health care costs. It didn't have it's intended impact in that regard.
 
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toonces11 said:
There are some improvements---but certainly not many from a providers point of view. Unless you are in private practice---doctors and nurses have no idea what insurance coverage does and doesn't do. They literally have no interaction with it. They just provide the service and right codes. Its not like they are writing their soap note and saying 2 units of prednisone administered @ $185, code S14.75. They have no idea what the patients deductible is, what the co-insurance percentage is, what benefits are actually covered, what the co-pay is. They are salaried and covered by the billing staff. What it did do was let them code without restraint b/c they didn't have admins breathing down their neck performing services the hospital would never be reimbursed for.
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Apparently didn't hit send before I went to lunch...

I wasn't talking about from a providers point of view. I was talking about the general welfare of the population, and the cost of healthcare. More people got access to healthcare with the ACA, and the rate at which costs were increasing slowed.

Doctors might make less money than they used to, I am unqualified to answer that question (I also don't discuss salaries with friends/family) and it seems that you are absolutely more qualified to answer that question than I. All I said is that from my experience decent Doctors are not struggling to make ends meet,.
 
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