When Does The "$2,500" Less Per Year Start?
 

Okay...before "The Affordable Health Care Act" was passed I was paying a little over $600 a month for a family of four.

My rates started at a little over $500 a month for a family of four when I first started my policy with Blue Cross/Blue Shield in 2002

My oldest kid is now out on her own. So we are now a family of 3.

My rates have continued going up and up at a faster rate than I have ever seen since "The Affordable Health Care Act" was passed.

Today I got a letter (third one in a year) telling me my rates were going up again.

Starting next month my premium will be $931 a month for a family of 3.

As I said...as recently as 2009 it was just a little over $600 for a family of 4.

We are all healthy as well.

This is fucking unreal.

WHEN does the "This will save the average American Family over $2,500 a year in costs" start?
So far, since 2009 it's cost me $3,600 a year MORE and I have one less person on the policy. :disgust:disgust:disgust

Don't they raise the premium as you get older?

The average house hold income in the USA (for 2012) was $51,371. I think we both know you're not an "average American family". :2 cents:

$931 wtf

Its probably because of the increased Vigra rx dosage

My cost for a platinum package went down from about $550/month to under $410 and I now have much better coverage, same company (Humana) and the same doctors.

Bought on the exchange, and used my Florida homestead as my residence state.

I am very happy.

See Robbie, the way it works is this:

That extra $3,000 this debacle has cost YOU (so far) has been given to that broke-ass loser from (fill in the blank) who wasn't paying shit. So now it all 'averages out' - for HIM (the broke-ass loser). You see Robbie, YOU are NOT the "average American". Why? Because YOU can afford to give that broke-ass loser $3000 via higher health care bills.

Makes perfect sense - after you've had a head trauma (9/11).

This is right out of the Fox News/Republican talking point play book. And totally untrue.

1. As someone pointed out, Robbie is well above the average American income level (I'm assuming here based on his previous boasts).

2. Instead of keeping the same insurance, he could of gone through the exchanges and most likely received a better plan for a lower monthly premium.

For example, back in '06 I purchased health insurance through my company for a family of 5 for about $900/month. Over the next 7 years it went all the way up to $1600/month. Same plan. Early this year i dropped my company insurance and went with personal insurance through the ACA. I could have received pretty close to the same policy for $850 a month. Ended up going with a much better policy for $1250. After taking in tax considerations (can no longer use it as a business expense) the new policy is costing me roughly the same as the old, but a lot better coverage. However I could have saved over $10k a year if I wanted the same through the exchanges.

Since I received my new policy I have had 6 friends and family bitch and moan about the dreaded ObamaCare (all Republicans). The same thing as Robbie. Every time I explained the above, they looked on the exchanges and realized if they just gave the new law a chance it could save them money. Low and behold, they no longer complain about the ACA.

Wouldn't the fact that average person couldn't pay the $3,000 then be of concern of how America was going (if true which it is not)?

It's just outrageous what is happening.

But it looks like I'm not in the majority. It really, really sucks for me.

I have a $3,000 deductible. I suppose I could make it $5,000 and pay a little less a month than this? But fuck...it's almost useless then (unless a catastrophe occurs).

and then you're covered for that catastrophe? Not trying to be funny, just asking a question... so lets say someone in your family gets hurt or very sick... are you fully covered?

In the UK there is a Free national health service you have probably heard about. If America diverted some $ from defence into health maybe something similar could be created.

What is interesting is that some very large American companies are trying to buy out UK companies so they 'legitimately' claim they are no longer under US jurisdiction and thus pay lower UK taxes.

Yep, I'm fully covered in case something happens and we end up in an over-priced hospital paying $50 for a paper cup of water and $10 for a single tylenol.

I wish that The Affordable HealthCare Act had went after the price gouging that causes citizens in the U.S.A. to pay more for everything (including prescription drugs) than anywhere else in the world. :( Then I wouldn't even NEED insurance.

I'll tell ya...if my insurance company had tried this shit before The AHCA, I would have simply dropped the insurance.

But now that they know I CAN'T legally drop the insurance, it seems that all bets are off.

This was supposed to lower costs. Not raise them. But again...it sounds like most people here on GFY have gotten lower insurance. So I must be an exception to the rule. :(

...and mine is $1,000 with a max out of pocket for the year under $2,000.

Looks like you haven't shopped or your state sucks.

(BTW I am a 53 year old male if you wish to compare)

I'm going with hasn't shopped the exchanges as I'm in the same state and I now have better coverage for less.

So, did you go through the exchange to get this price or is it a old policy?

The problem isn't Obamacare, it's your insurance. I am paying $600 a month for a family of three.

Example of leftist politics and their loser mentality mongering when successful people are being punished. It's a disgrace to be leftist. Unless you are loser/unworthy person. Then its great - rip off the rich and redistribute to rabble.

That's a good question really, and I don't mean only with healthcare. You get stuck in these billing plans that keep going up and give you less. Every January we look around at all of our bills, and look to see if we can get something cheaper.

Cell phone service for example. Verizon recently removed their "unlimited data" plan, automatically switched us to something else, then starting dinging us for overage fees. We went into the store, change our plan so we are spending less every month, and we all got new phones on top of it.

Insurance is the only one that never changes - we use Progressive.

You know, or apparently you don't know, that it is this insurance thing that lifts prices up. You go into hospital and say "Hey, I have this insurance that covers everything." Then the hospital starts milking your insurance company for every shit it can. You get tested for every shit on earth, every disease ever lived, even extinct ones. Who cares, your insurance company pays. Aspirin can be 100 bucks, who cares, insurance company pays. And the ones who don't have the insurance has to get insurance to be able to afford that Aspirin.

It's an old policy that I've had since 2002.

When I first checked the exchange it was around the same price as what I had already. But the deductible was $5,000 instead of $3,000. But that was back a year or so ago when I was getting pissed at my rate going up to $760 a month for a family of 3.

I guess I'll have to check again and see what the prices are now. Hopefully I'll find something better. Maybe that's how it works? They set the price to be equal to what you had...and then when your insurance company raises it through the roof, you come back to the exchange and "save" money? lol

I don't know. I could have sworn that this law was supposed to bring ALL insurance rates down. I guess I didn't "read the fine print" after all the speeches. :(

You sure you don't want the leftist rabble healthy so you can work them to death for longer?

I'm asking myself the same question
 

I've been waiting & waiting & now I don't even care. I'm at the point where I'm just going to use an outside source.

The libs deserve every single ounce of the pain that comes with Obamacare.
You wanted a police state, you got one.

Typical uniformed response.

Most right wingers are poorer and hope to be richer in the future. That is not to say that most very rich are not right wingers.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/...d-independents

Yes the pain of better and more affordable health insurance. The agony

No it's actually an example of someone that has bashed Obamacare non stop and stayed with the old system in which the insurance companies then took advantage of, because he didn't update.. Yet he still blames Obamacare, when he's not even using the system..

This is clear example of right winieism in action. Bitch, moan, non stop about everything under the sun with out knowing wtf they are bitching about.

So you think it makes sense for people who are well-off to make decisions for poorer people, whether or not those decisions damage social mobility? By virtue of a bank account, you think one person knows better what is good for someone else, better than that other person can choose for him or her self?

Actually, I watch CNN. Or MSNBC. Well, I used to before all those God damned (literally) gay people on there.....

I was being sarcastic, in both my original post and this one. :D Just for the record.

PS: Obamacare is a patchwork quilt of Insurance companies circle-jerking each other to higher profits. While Obamacare will result in some relief for some people it will also result in ridiculous pain and suffering for others. "They" (whoever "they" are) tested out all this a few years back with California's "rolling blackouts" and Enron.

It's called spread the pain around. It's just like the fucking Internet so y'all should be comfortable with it. As in, "My sales suck today/my sales rock today" threads.

It has already started. You just misunderstood it. He was saying that your wallet will be saving on the burden of having to carry around that $2,500 you would have otherwise had. :)

Interestingly enough, I will end up saving about $500 this year because of it. Since I have a preexisting condition I had never really been able to buy decent insurance and always paid for my expensive medication out of pocket. Now I have much better coverage at a little higher rate than I was paying, but it has better drug coverage. However, I do have a deductible so when you add it all together it will net me about a $500 savings compared to a typical, average year.

Of course if I have a lot of doctors appointments or something were to happen where I ended up in the hospital my savings would likely be much more.

It's not free. We pay for it. With national insurance.

But that means anyone that gets sick, regardless of their financial situation will get fixed. Even American tourists that come here on vacation will get fixed.

Everyone pays, everyone gets mended.

Robbie seems to prefer a situation where he is rich and fine and poor people die.

What does changing insurance companies have to do with it?

Correct me if I'm wrong...but aren't ALL insurance companies required to follow this new law?
And if that is true...then shouldn't my insurance have went DOWN in price instead of up?

I'll just ignore your usual hate-filled insults that haven't got a thing to do with the topic.

I'm just wondering if that is true...in order to get any relief from these rising prices...we HAVE to drop our insurance and buy it on the exchange?

And how on Earth is Blue Cross/Blue Shield able to jack up prices if the law is supposed to bring them down?

As I said, I did check the exchange a year or more ago. It was the same price as what I had, less coverage and a higher ($5,000 instead of $3,000) deductible. So I passed on doing that.

I haven't checked yet to see what the exchange has now. I'm preparing to fly to Fla. for a week and I really don't have time to try and look at new insurance today.
Matter of fact...can you even "enroll" right now? Or do I have to wait for the end of the year?

If you could just ONCE answer some questions with a little civility Crockett, it would be appreciated.
This thread isn't one of our knock down/drag out fights over theoretical policies and politics.

This is me...wondering how and why my insurance rates have shot through the roof over the last couple of years (and it looks like no end in sight).

"ObamaCare" is regulating ALL the insurance industry. So why is mine so high? And how are others getting it lower than they had before and I can't?

Am I the only guy in America getting hosed on this deal? lol

EDIT: Crockett...my insurance plan did "Update" as you said. It was required by the new law to "update". I started getting letters almost immediately explaining my "benefits" under the new law. I just foolishly thought that since so many new people were supposed to sign up for insurance, that prices would go down all the way around.

I just opened my mail and got a REFUND today for about $85 as insurance companies are now limited as to how much profit they can make and must refund the difference!

After dealing with my insurance broker for weeks to get quotes from all different companies, I was fed up with her. As I was telling her that the rates seemed high and she was giving me excuses I logged onto the health exchange and got my quote in under 3 minutes start to finish.

The actual sign up took about 20 minutes on the phone. Only reason what it took so long is I had to call 2 times, one to start the new policy and 1 to cancel the old (even though the same company had my old policy, they would not cancel the old for me when taking a new policy).

You spent more time bitching here than it would have taken to shop and buy the policy.

Where in Gods name did I say or even hint that?

The affordable care act is not hurting anyone's social mobility other than insurance agents that better be training for a new job.

That sounds awesome susheboy. I'm gonna check into it when I get back from Florida. I'm flying out late Sunday night so I won't be home on Monday to look into it.

Do you happen to know if you can even enroll on the exchange now? Or do you have to wait for the end of the year?
I just got this notice of my latest rate increase today (Sat.) so it's not a business day where I can even get anything done about it. But when I return in a week I'm gonna look into this.

Just took a quick look...the Blue Cross Blue Shield plans that are on the exchange are as bad/worse as the one I have now as far as price is concerned (but the actual insurance itself has always been great, never turned down at any doctor).

I found one that is called "My HPN1" (hpn stands for "health plan of nevada).
It's "only" $791.23, but it says it's only a $500 deductible!

I'm wondering if my doctor would even accept that insurance though?

I guess to do this the right way I'll just have to wait until I get back home from Fla.
And then take this into see my doctor and find out if he is in the "network" for some of these plans.

There was some BS about "open enrollment" and I was was under the wire. It also took 2 billing cycles to kick in (this way they can milk you for more money at the higher rates).

As for 2014 you are too late.

According to heathcare.gov: "For coverage starting in 2015, the proposed Open Enrollment Period is November 15, 2014?February 15, 2015. Individuals may also qualify for Special Enrollment Periods outside of Open Enrollment if they experience certain events."

My Obamacare experience ……..

* I tried to sign up around Christmas and was told my information was incomplete and to contact a credit bureau with more info. A credit bureau?

Well the info I provided is the same info I use to pay income tax. Same info the FBI uses to issue the ok to buy firearms. WTF?


* So I try again a couple days before the deadline. Was told systems aren't able to keep up with demand and someone will contact me by phone.

I get a recorded message a week or so later telling me to try again. So I try again, tell the person I want to compare a few plans and I'll call back the next day. I call back and can't get my passwords to work. Spend 4 fucking hours and am told to try again in a few days the computer needs to reset because of the amount of times the Obamacare employee tried to gain access for me.


* Call back in a week, computer still won't take passwords I picked and the passwords they tried for me. Get transferred to a "supervisor" who rudely told me that's what I get for not applying on time. She hangs up on me. WTF?!!!


* I call back next day after I calm down and a very nice woman takes my info, tells me I've done everything I could have done, she doesn't understand what happened and please wait for another supervisor to call me, might take 30 days. I wait.

I receive a form letter 3 weeks later telling me tough shit I don't get insured. The form letter said not to call back. I may appeal only in writing to a place in London, Ky. This is for Florida resident insurance, again, WTF?

So I'm uninsured.

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Very interesting. So private companies have a designated percentage of profit they are allowed to make?
How can you operate in open markets without proper information on profit and loss?

This exactly.

Taken as a whole, these powerful institutions and the bills they churn out dominate the nation?s economy and put demands
on taxpayers to a degree unequaled anywhere else on earth. In the U.S., people spend almost 20% of the gross domestic
product on health care, compared with about half that in most developed countries. Yet in every measurable way, the results
our health care system produces are no better and often worse than the outcomes in those countries

This is one of the best articles on our completely backwards medical system - worth reading:

http://www.uta.edu/faculty/story/231...ndAndGreed.pdf

The idea of government envolvement in anything and price reduction is absurd.

You know any number of people here will tell you this did not happen.

Instead of blaming the institution you should be pointing the finger at government.
Who do you think subsidizes Medicaid?

Also don't you think there should be some reform on the malpractice end? Its just greedy lawyers getting theirs hands on as much cash as possible for doing very little work. This was not even addressed in Obamacare which is absolutely insane.

I know. It must be my fault.


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When the government guarantees you a profit it's easy.

Not only do I not have health insurance since I opened a business in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but I've had more and better PERSONAL service then I've ever had in the US. When was the last time your physician took your blood pressure or drew blood for tests? And walk right in without an appointment and have never waited more than 15 minutes? Remember house calls? My doctor makes them on weekends and the evenings.

I use Lipitor and Nexium - both WITHOUT prescription. Lipitor 20mg runs me $18 for a 30 day supply and Nexium 40mg costs more - about $30 for 14 days. No co-pays, no deductibles. Generics are so cheap it's almost laughable - $1.50 for cough syrup with codeine, indomethacin for gout, a strip of 10 @25mg costs 75 cents.

This has allowed me to offer healthcare to my 22 employees - all paid as a business expense because it's so affordable. Stay with us for 6 months and. I'll cover your families too.

What mess in the US - what a shame.

Before I had health insurance that covers prescriptions I had pay for mine out of pocket. Here is how crazy the price difference are. I use two medications. One cost $45-$55 depending on the brand (even though the medication has been around for more than 40 years there are still no generics) and the other cost $325 for a 30 day supply.

I can buy the exact same stuff overseas through the internet for a fraction of the price. The one that cost $45-$55 I can get for $11. The one that costs $325 I could get for $70. Exactly same medicine made by the exact same manufacturer only a fraction of the price.

I hear ya guys. I first became aware of the differences in price of medications when I vacationed down in Mexico.

I was shocked! And not only that...but most of the drugs here in the U.S. that they force us to go pay a doctor to get a prescription...you can buy right over the counter.

And no...I'm not talking about some shithole town in Mexico. I'm talking about Cancun and Los Cabos (the two places I go to in Mexico). I've also made trips over the border into Tijuana to hit the drug store and load up on shit.

I remember once, I flew into Cancun and walked into the drugstore in the airport and bought 5 ampules of testosterone (the kit came with 5 syringes as well) over the counter!

Here in the U.S.? I would be arrested for having it. Or else have to go to an "anti-aging" doctor and pay a fortune for it.

It's just ridiculous.

And our politicians (including the President) KNOW this shit. Matter of fact, the first thing Pres. Obama did was assure Big Pharma that The Affordable Health Care Act would have NO provisions in it to stop the price gouging. :(

I don't know how this may affect future foreign drug shipments ??.


"Shipping giant Federal Express has been indicted for drug trafficking for illegal online pharmacies and conspiracy to traffic controlled substances by the US Department of Justice.

?FedEx knew that it was delivering drugs to dealers and addicts,? said the press release from the US Attorney?s Office of the Northern District of California released on Thursday.


Among the 15 counts, the company stands charged with ?conspiracies to traffic in controlled substances and misbranded prescription drugs for its role in distributing controlled substances and prescription drugs for illegal internet pharmacies,? according to the statement.

It said that FedEx was aware that its services were being utilized by illegal drug companies and the transportation of such substances, and had been for more than a decade"

http://rt.com/usa/173832-fedex-drug-...king-indicted/


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