Health Insurance Renewal Notice Came Today
 

Was paying 930ish per month, the insurance carrier is offering to renew the same exact plan for $1200ish a month this year. Raising rates 25% in this economy shows how bad the health care system is in this country for the people who can afford health insurance.

Keep in mind, that's a plan that still requires co-payments for medical care and prescriptions while offering absolutely no dental coverage. Even if you take the uninsured entirely out of the equation, the status quo is seriously failing to provide care. :2 cents:

$1200 every damn month for Health Insurance?? WOW. Sometimes don't realise how lucky I am having free health care.

That's if I just get insurance for (2) individuals. If I choose the family plan it goes as high as $1,800 per month. Living in New York always costs more, but 1-2K per month to be able to see Doctors without fear is absurd.

Mine went from $913 to $998...

Back in 2003 it was $478...

Back in 1998 it was $318...

And yes, back then I thought it was gouging me... Now I feel like I am getting gang raped my apes.

thats insane. I would be screwed if I didnt get health insurance through my job. Having pre existing health conditions and health insurance is a bitch.

We don't need reform. All is well with the insurance in America...I mean who can't afford 1200 a month for 2 people? Which probably doesn't include any out of pocket or anything...

That is nuts. I pay around $400 here. I'd go insurance shopping and see who can beat that. Mine is thru esurance and the car is with them too so maybe I get a discount.

free healthcare here...

Part of the problem with the current system is that private insurance companies regionalize the insurance premiums. What someone pays in New York for health care is largely unrelated to what someone pays in Chicago. Not because the service costs more but because the insurance companies simply know they can get away with charging more... or because the cost is spread over a smaller number of people.

The biggest benefit of a national health coverage plan is that costs become spread over 300 million people rather than the 30,000 or 100,000 that happen to signup for a particular plan offered in a regional market by a private insurance carrier.

My insurance is through Oxford and is a very good policy (as compared to what else exists). It does not cap catastrophic coverage, check your policy and you'll probably see it has a hard cap of a million dollars per year on it in the fine print... a million dollars can go by very quicky in an emergency room...

You cannot say that to most people in the U.S. They fail to see that it works fine for so many other countries.

They like to scream socialism but wanted to vote into the vice president's office the most socialist (former) governor in the U.S. What other state returns the profits from private companies to their citizens in check form? If you guessed Alaska, you get a cookie!

i pay nothing :D i get nothing and its free :D

We pay $1600 mo for two people:helpme

The people who are most fond of screaming "socialism" are typically the ones who are of age to receive Medicare and Medicaid. Think about that one for a second.

how else are they going to make a billion dollars profit in one quarter?

Just changed my plan from very full coverage which was $1,200, to a higher deductible HSA. Premium is $300 a month and I'm putting $200 a month into the HSA.

Way too much money is spent on admin / underwriting / bill collection.

My wife's doc his office is him, his medical assitant and 3 admin staff. So 75% of his staffing costs are taken up with people dealing with insurance company admin. Thats pretty stupid.

???????????????????? $1,200 AMERICAN dollars???? Per month????????

Holy shit!!!! How the fuck can anyone survive over there??? FOr this you are covered for ALL expences?

I pay for travel insurance, 1 year, for me and my wife... about $200. Unlimited health cover if something happends in the US. If we get sick in Norway - free....! Except visits to doctors... I cost $20. Medicines have a max. $250 year, max. The rest is free.

Hell.... I have to sit down one day and think how lucky I am to live where I live.......

That's fucking nuts.

I've WALKED into THREE different Thai, state of the art, hospitals (no appointments), had a CT scan, MRI scan, seen 2 neurologist, 2 ear nose and throat doctors and 4 general doctors, got several different meds, all for a little under $400. One of them even had western doctors working there.

I went to two other places for 2nd and 3rd opinions on something. Had I not, it would have only cost me maybe $150 tops.

You guys are getting ASS FUCKED in the western world. I'm shocked you slaves of the free world are not rioting in the streets. ASS FUCKED WITH NO LUBE!!!!!

Quoted for truth!

I pay $130 for an insurance that covers me worldwide.... excluding the US.

If I am in the US they won't cover, I have to take a travel insurance :1orglaugh

healthcare is never free... your paying for it... whether you like it or not... taxes love u

The healthcare he is paying for...just not paying for the shareholders dividends :2 cents:

Of course I pay for it through my taxes, but US Citizens pay taxes too, as well as absurd premiums for health insurance. Again, thank god I am a UK citizen.

wow, i knew people in states payed for health insurance but didn't know how much, $900-$1200 A MONTH !????????????????????????!!!!!!!! that's like a mortgage payment or a sick car lease payment right there, WOW... you guys definitely need free health care system, EVEN if you have to pay abit more taxes...

wow i pay around $1500-$1600 a YEAR

that's insane

CRAZY info. Centralized govt health care rocks.

Mine is $218/month for my wife and I in az for ppo 2500

They wont cover anything to do with a previous surgery on my wife,if her problem re-occurs i have to pay for everything.

Wish it was cheaper =)

That's the thing. If it were 1,200 per month and covered 100% of all medical expenses it would be a pretty good deal and I would not complain because my taxes are lower now than they would be with 'free' healthcare.

However, in reality, on top of the monthly payment I ALSO pay 30-50 dollars for doctor visits, 50-100 dollars for prescriptions, pay 100% for any dental work.....

And worst of all, if I ever get very sick and the bills are in the millions, the insurance company can deny the charges and make me sue them to get the bills paid... unless I die while fighting them or go bankrupt and can no longer continue to sue them.

Thankfully I am healthy and hopefully this system will get fixed before I am not.

That is insane! Our system is fucked.

Ours has a $2k deductible (per person), I'm not sure what the total monthly cost is, prob around $400. No dental or eye care. $200 emergency co-pays, pill co-pays, $50 per normal doctors visit.

We easily spend $8k-$10k a year, roughly $750-850 a month.

Plans like those generally seem cheaper. The big fuck you at the end comes in the small print where they put a hard cap on coverage (usually 1 million dollars). I'm paying an extra 300-500 a month to not have the possibility that an uninsured drunk driver can both injure AND bankrupt me.... :2 cents:

I have extra health/life/emergency insurance through my vehicle insurance. All that crap that covers people with no insurance, people in my car, time to get better, etc.

Can't you increase your coverage for that via your auto insurance?

I don't care what coverage you have, if you get REALLY sick...you're fucked and in the poor house:mad:

once all you sheep stop thinking "insurance = care" the better off the rest of us would be.


Get rid of health insurance all together and we all would be much better off. :2 cents:

Wait with no insurance?! Our little western minds can not wrap our heads around that! Didnt you know you NEED health insurance?

Haha, I heard that bullshit insurance doesn't equal care on Savage. Yeah, insurance is about emergencies, but "health" insurance, is about 'caring' for your health.



You have a point though we should just change over. The Gov should step in and 100% regulate the industry and force market costs, force doctors costs, force malpractice costs, total forced regulation across the board. That's a really smart thing, poor people that don't have any money now and are provided for already, can simply fork up the $400.

Yup, but auto insurance won't help at all if you come down with MS or if your wife is I'll and needs home care or if you have a sick child with health needs. It's insurance companies setting you up for declines.

Your health insurance company says it's your auto policy, auto says it should be health and people fall through the cracks.

Medical care is not a luxury, it is a necessity.

:Oh crap Yeah because we all know doctors will work for 50k a year.

And that is exactly what any government plan is going to lead to.

Mine is $110 for 2 people (dental is extra) and it is really amazing.

Then i talk to my freind who works in a major hospital here in NJ and she tells me the hospital is barely able to keep it doors open due to all the charity care they are giving out to illegals, she said its destroying the hospitals here in NJ ( and im sure elesewhere) So guess who gets to pay for all that charity care, now i understand why i pay $1100 a month for insurance and i dont like it 1 bit

But that has nothing to do with you paying $300-500 additional on your health insurance simply for getting hit by an uninsured drunk driver. Get full coverage for uninsured motorist with your auto policy and go with a decent health plan and save yourself that extra money it appears you are paying monthly. Have you taken the time to get some new quotes from other carriers at this time? Unless you have some kind of medical condition, I just don't see why your premiums are so high.

And here I am bitching at paying $90pm for one person Private Health Insurance, that covers dental, optical, Ambulance, Chiropractic & private hospital, heh.

-N

Wow that is crazy

They tried to raise mine 35%. I have not gone to the doctor in 5 years. So I said fuck it, going naked. They lost me for life for being greedy.

I'm amazed no one has mentioned the drug companies and insurance companies spending over two million dollars A DAY to lobby congress and to pump out propaganda against universal coverage.

The US spends more on health care than any country on the planet yet we are 30th in life expectancy and republicans see nothing wrong with this picture. One of the huge reasons healthcare is more here is the drug companies charge up to 5x more for drugs here than anywhere else, other countries have put a cap on what drug companies can charge, whereas the US does nothing. Its all about money and profits at the expense of peoples lives and republicans fight tooth and nail to keep the corruption going. Anyone that defends the right wing bullshit is either getting rich from health care or a complete fucking retard that should be banned from voting.

Do you need health insurance if you don't own anything? What do poor people get by with?

The good thing about government run health care is that we don't have to pay for the insane profit gouging you have over there. You want the benefits of private, you can still get insurance that coveres you for most things (I have pretty comprehensive cover at $80/mo).

Its just beyond reasoning that such a wealthy country can't even provide tax funded healthcare for its people or keep the out of control healthcare industry in check. Last time I was over there I needed some pills which cost me $18aud a pack here (full price). $130 later...

Yes, I have priced out the policy with several carriers. I have also spoken to many other people in this area and among them my premiums are very much the norm. I could knock my premium costs down about 300-400 dollars if I was willing to accept a hard cap on coverage (which I believe would defeat the main purpose of having health insurance in the first place).

those are insane rates! i pay like $50/month for the same service here...

Is your premium for a family or just you? I've got great coverage for my wife and 2 kids and its significantly less.