Health insurance premium going up 16.3% for 2016, how about yours ?

[steve2470]

I just got my notice today. I can stomach this increase, but next year I have to downgrade my coverage AGAIN, assuming another similar increase.

Yes, I'm very grateful I have decent coverage, and we need single payer/Medicare for all ASAP.

[zazen]

1. HUGE new restriction of "in-network" going on in my "metro" area

We absolutely need single payer, especially since Republican states are deliberately screwing with the intent of the ACA by not expanding Medicaid.

I don't know anyone who's not been affected by problems with health insurance, for which I blame the insurers and a screwed up system rather than Obamacare per se, since he was trying to fix an inherently broken system.

The strategy being used here in NC as of January 1, 2016 surprised me in how aggressive it is. Basically, if you want to have anyone from Duke/Wake Med Hospitals and the providers affiliated with them "in-network," then every other provider becomes out-of-network. You're forced up front to commit to getting all of your providers with Duke/Wake Med. If not, they're out of network.

For people with lots of medical issues, this is a big deal. It means no one in any other part of the state is "in-network." It means, if you go to emergency you better pick the right hospital (in an emergency). So many people are having to move providers. Hours and hours of frustrating bureaucratic interactions, costs of finding new providers . . it's a mess for those of us too young for Medicare.

[steve2470]

2. That really sucks and is so unjust

What's going to end up happening eventually, is only the rich, very high-income and people with excellent corporate coverage will be able to easily access health care. The rest of us will be reduced to either Medicaid or policies with very high deductibles, which is almost like having no coverage at all.

Hopefully before the above scenario occurs, there will be an unstoppable groundswell of support for single payer, enough to override the entrenched interests benefitting from the current unjust situation.

SINGLE PAYER FOR ALL! You conservative and Republican lurkers, the above scenario is going to happen to you too. Forget all your Ayn Rand nonsense and join the cause!

[proverbialwisdom]

12. Related.

1. https://www.google.com/search?q=medicaid+asset+clawback&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
2. http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/04/opinion/atlas-obamacare-poor-middle-class/

For cancer care, the majority of America's best hospitals in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network are not covered in most of their states' exchange plans. The "narrow network" strategy is about to hit even more Americans in 2015, as Obamacare exchanges from California to New Hampshire further restrict access to top doctors and hospitals in an attempt to quell insurance premium increases caused by the law itself, according to an analysis by the Los Angeles Times.

And a study in late 2014 commissioned by the prestigious American Heart Association determined that the specialists essential to diagnose and treat stroke, one of the most disabling and lethal diseases in the United States, are in severe shortage under Obamacare insurance exchange plans.

Indeed, unless one has the financial resources or power to skirt the new system, many of America's top doctors and hospitals are no longer available.

3. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-0928-obamacare-doctors-20140928-story.html

[steve2470]

14. yes, it's a last resort for most of us nt

[Hortensis]

39. I lucked out. Kaiser is finally writing in our rural

market, so I'm getting coverage as good as last year's for about the same price. I'd put off shopping because I really didn't expect that.

BTW, for those having trouble, be sure to thank Marco Rubio for his contribution to higher premiums.

[steve2470]

40. good news indeed nt

[TransitJohn]

3. A little bit more than that, actually, but

my employer thankfully decided to pay the increase. They had too, since we've had a pay freeze in for the last two years.

[steve2470]

4. hopefully they will continue to do that, best wishes! nt

[doc03]

5. My Medicare and Medicare Advantage plan both have the same

premium and coverage for the last three years.

[steve2470]

6. you're very fortunate

I've had two double digit increases in 3 years. Eventually, I will have only catastrophic coverage, which is almost like no coverage at all. I turn 65 in 8 years, can't come soon enough in that respect. One good thing about getting older.

[doc03]

17. That is about the only advantage in getting old n/t

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

7. 14% here

Wife fighting cancer.

[steve2470]

8. best wishes and vibes to your wife! nt

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

16. thanks

best regards to you as well

[BlueCheese]

56. Really sorry to hear that. Good luck to you both.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

58. Thanks

We appreciate that.

[hfojvt]

9. mine went up by 8.26%

So I dropped it.

Because it costs more than a certain percentage of my income (it costs about 22.7% of my income for me to get that health insurance) I was able to drop it and sign up for Obamacare.

Which seems to be better insurance and for $73 or so a month (after subsidy) instead of $368.88. That's with me using $300 of a $333 monthly (!!!) subsidy.

I kinda hate the idea of getting a $3,600 subsidy from the taxpayers, but if I got insurance through my employer, then my employer would be paying $4,426 a year (and so would I). My employer happens to be a local government. So instead of costing the local taxpayers $4,426, my health insurance is costing federal taxpayers $3,600.

Seems like a win-win. Taxpayers save $800, I save about $3,000.. (More or less, I will be paying FICA taxes and also retirement on that $4,426 and maybe some state income taxes too (and probably some sales taxes when I spend a portion of that savings) (because that money used to be pre-tax) (as such my $3,000 savings still means I will pay another $650 in taxes)

Put that in the Obamacare file.

But I still do NOT like the mandate, nor the lack of a public option.

[steve2470]

10. I'm glad Obamacare is helping you! nt

[Yo_Mama]

47. Your employer is supposed to be paying a fine for that - although I think it has been

suspended again.

But we are shifting cost from the employer to the taxpayer, again.

[hfojvt]

49. I doubt if that is true

since I am a part time worker. They don't even have to offer it.

In fact, I asked them not to, since I originally thought that them even offering it was going to prevent me from getting a subsidy.

[Yo_Mama]

57. Oh, yes, you are right. You would have to be working at least 30 hours a week. n/t

[KentuckyWoman]

11. My Medicare supplemental is up 13.4%......

but still more cost effective to me overall than the best Advantage plan I can find.


There's no reason it has to be this complicated. Just tax everyone for a percentage of every single penny they make..... or national sales tax on every purchase including investments products and then put everyone on the same plan.

I do think the military needs their own dedicated system that is adequately funded though because war injuries are so catastrophic and in need of more coordinated specialized care.

[steve2470]

13. hopefully we'll get single payer for all sooner rather than later nt

[HereSince1628]

23. I have no hope for that until it's the only way insurors can make more bucks

I haven't enough imagination to construct a scenario that would produce that. But maybe there is one.

As it is, the mandate seems almost as good as a monopoly.

[Ron Obvious]

15. 20%

Last year's increase was tiny and I really thought the increases might actually have been brought under control, but no, we're on back on track with spiralling, out of control, costs.

And that's for a crappy Bronze plan with a deductible of $13,000 for both of us and fights us tooth & nail for the simplest claims.

This really is not sustainable.

[steve2470]

20. yes, it's not sustainable at all

Best wishes to you!

[pnwmom]

18. How much would yours have gone up without the ACA? There had been increases

like that for years prior to the ACA.

It is OBVIOUSLY too high, but the increase is due to fundamental problems in the system, not to the ACA. And Medicare is experiencing the same problem, but the increases are being passed onto the taxpayers.

[steve2470]

19. As you probably know, I'm a host in the BOG and I've never criticized the ACA

If you don't believe me, search the archives. I think the ACA was the very best we could get with our right wing Congress at the time. I'm not willing to argue this, it's been beat to death already on DU. Let's move forward to single payer.

I have no idea how much it would have gone up. Of course the problem is with the system. The point of my thread is, we need single payer NOW. ACA was a first step.

[pnwmom]

29. Thanks for the clarification. I didn't know what your basic position was

and it looks like we are in full agreement. The ACA was the best we could do at the time, but we need to do much better.

[Hortensis]

42. +1000.

[Cal Carpenter]

26. Tell me again what the first 'A' in 'ACA' stands for?

Maybe it should be called the BWCDATTIMA (Best We Could Do At the Time Insurance Mandate Act) because it isn't affordable for millions of people, including those who are paying their share of the premiums but can't afford to use their insurance because of OOP costs. So the taxpayers continue to subsidize insurance company profits without any consistent improvement in actual affordable access to care.

If the point was to be a smidgen better than what we had before without actually changing anything systemic to reign in the for-profit insurance and health care companies, then it should have been given a different name.

But it will still be a few years until we can really assess the outcomes of the ACA because sign-ups aren't outcomes. Improved public health is an outcome. And it is too soon to tell.

[Omaha Steve]

21. Ours is just a few bucks a month more

I'm retired. But my union contract provides me with health insurance until I get medicare in 6 years. It is a gold level type plan that is employer subsidized, so it costs us around $100 a month.

OS

[steve2470]

24. best wishes to you, Steve nt

[PasadenaTrudy]

22. Mine went up

about $30. Almost $500 a month now. I'll have to downgrade next year too, I'm betting.

[steve2470]

25. downgrade spiral for most of us, I'm sure nt

[hughee99]

27. My old plan through work was $120 a month

(My part, anyway). The insurance company no longer offers that (it's not that my company no longer offers it, I checked) My new plan is $296 a month. My copays are much lower now, which would be better if my family and I had any medical issues, but as 4 health people who basically get 1 checkup a year, it doesn't work out better.

[steve2470]

28. best wishes to you and your family! nt

[hughee99]

30. Thanks. Frankly, I'd rather have my family

Be healthy than get my "money's worth" out of my insurance. Best wishes to you and yours.

[csziggy]

31. I had to change companies and my rates went down

I was paying $168 a month to Assurant for the two of us. They've bailed so we changed to Blue Cross/Blue Shield with a better policy. More doctors in network, better drug coverage lower deductible less out of pocket for $136 a month.

[steve2470]

34. that's great! nt

[csziggy]

36. I was really surprised after seeing all the predictions about increases

This will be our last year on the ACA policy. Next year my husband is eligible for Medicare and I get to be on his policy. I'm not sure how much that and any supplemental policy will cost us. Hopefully after that we don't have to change anything until the country gets a real national health care system rather than a patchwork of health insurance coverage.

[Trailrider1951]

32. My premium for my health insurance went up this year, too, for the same coverage

I signed up at the health insurance marketplace for a bronze plan last year and was very satisfied with my my insurance coverage. $25 co pay for seeing my doctor, $10 total cost for generic prescriptions, $6300 deductible for hospital care (all in network). Last year it cost me $0.00 for each monthly premium. This year it costs me $0.18 (that's 18 cents!) per month. Thanks, Obama!

[steve2470]

35. excellent premium indeed nt

[Humanist_Activist]

33. My work told me that we are changing companies, but are being given an equivalent insurance...

for the same premium amount. So dodged a bullet there, maybe. If they do ever increase my premium, I would qualify for opting out of employer insurance and try to go on the exchanges with subsidies and cost sharing available.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

37. Down about 30%

The Sheet Metal Workers Intl Assc offered us the option to switch to Humana for part B. No co-pays for anything. They will pay for a gym membership and up to 3 grand for hearing aids. Just some of the benifits of Union membership.

[steve2470]

38. that's awesome! nt

[NYC Liberal]

41. $131 to $139 through my employer plan.

[steve2470]

43. 6.1% increase, not real bad, best wishes nt

[NYC Liberal]

45. Nope and I'm thankful for that.

Both me and my partner are on the plan, and it's a very good one.

They're actually adding additional coverage, so to me the increase is at least justified. Many additional benefits for transgender-specific health care needs (transitioning, etc), which although I don't use there are many folks in my company who have been asking for this for a long time, so I'm happy to pay the extra few dollars.

We do need single payer though. Health care should not be dependent on having the right job, or the right employer, or being fortunate enough to afford a decent plan.

[alphafemale]

44. Not really. But the deductible is such that it is nearly worthless.

Except in the case of serious accident or illness.

[tammywammy]

46. I went from $22.06 to $24.71 per week for my employer's insurance.

No change in the deductible. Plus they do those wellness incentives to put in a healthfund, and I've earned enough the last couple years to cover the deductible/coinsurance.

[steve2470]

48. 12.01% increase, best wishes nt

[TheFrenchRazor]

50. almost doubled- $289 to $560ish. no way in heck i could afford it w/o subsidy. bt

[Thinkingabout]

51. So far my rates has not increased but heard there was going to be a rate change.

Medicare rate did not increase for 2016 because there was not an increase in SS. Unless you make over $85,000 in a year the rate is 104.90 monthly and the average SS is $1200 monthly. I purchase a medigap policy on group rate of $172.00 monthly.

[LibDemAlways]

52. Husband just turned 65. Daughter and I

could not continue to be on his company plan unless he took their Medicare package. Even though the insurance premium for my daughter and myself is unchanged, his being on Medicare has increased our family premium by almost $400.00 a month. Sucks.

[BlueStreak]

53. Mine is going DOWN 25%, but I need to explain

If I kept the same coverage, it would have gone up about 10%. For the past 8 years, we have had a policy that includes a Health Savings Account. First this was through an employer who contributed to the HSA account. When I retired, we kept on with an HSA plan for the tax advantages.

But in the Exchange, only about 4 out of the ~ 50 plans have HSA. So even though the second year of the exchange brought a lot more competition in our area, the HSA plans are so unpopular that they went up. If we would have switched to a non-HSA plan, we could have had about the same coverage for 15% less premium (but no HSA tax benefit.

That actually probably would have made sense, but we decided instead to switch from a Silver HSA plan to an Bronze HSA plan. And that significantly lowered the premium. Unless we have a major health problem in 2016, the two plans will be almost exactly the same benefits. If we have major medical expenses, we'll have to pay out about $4000 more under the Bronze plan, but we save most of that with lower premiums.

The other trick is the provider network. I meticulously went through every policy on teh exchange to see which ones included my docs in network. Only about 1/3 did, so we paid more for a policy that includes my PCP, whom I like. And then in December, he notified us that he's moving to a different sob-field within the hospital network as a career step, and he will no longer be our PCP anyway, so that was a waste. The saving grace is that the policy we got has a network that includes almost every provider in the county -- anybody we'd want to see. But we have to go find a new PCP.

[Waldorf]

54. Mine stayed the same as last year.

First time in a couple years it didn't change in cost.

[AgadorSparticus]

55. Healthcare in this country is a hot mess

My health insurance went up too. By 20%. Thing is, when I looked around at all the different plans available, I see a pattern. We are paying more and more for less and less. It's almost worthless to have healthcare insurance. I contemplated just paying the fine just because it disgusted me so much. I am lucky in that I am an independent contractor so I can take it off as a tax deduction. I shake my head in disgust because I know most people can't. And it shouldn't be this way. For a developed country, it is shameful that we don't take better care of our people.

[cheapdate]

59. My premium increase was negligible.

This year my company finally cut the ties to our old, grandfathered group plan and went with plans from the federal exchange. Our particular market is very competitive and there are a lot of plans on offer.

For the past 15 years I've had essentially the same BCBS family plan. Premiums have increased on average about 7.5% per year, every year. Increases the past 3 years have been very modest, relatively speaking.

[PowerToThePeople]

60. Either zero or infiniti percent

Currently I recieve subsidized medicaid through the ACA. If I am unable to get it this year, I will likely go uninsured, as purchasing my employer's plan will result in the electricity and water bills going unpaid.

[mythology]

61. It was pretty small, I don't even remember what the difference is

There are other ways than single payer/Medicare for all that can provide universal coverage. The Netherlands for example has ranked in the top 3 for health outcomes in Europe over the last decade and they have a system that is similar to the ACA, except that all insurers are non-profits and the government covers long term care.

One thing they do is to mandate coverage rates regardless of risk factors and have a system of risk equilibrium which is similar to something in the ACA, but I think it's more stringent in the Netherlands.

I think it's far more likely that we could get something similar to that than to get single payer in the U.S.

[TexasBushwhacker]

62. FWIW, premiums were going up that much

before Obamacare. IMHO, the insurance companies and price gouging hospitals and pharmaceutical companies are just asking for single payer. Of course the high paid executives will do fine. I do feel sorry for any of the workers at the lower levels of insurance companies that lose their jobs though.