Health Insurance Hijacking: 25% rate increase. Goddamn their putrid souls to Hell.

[byronius]

Small business owner, here, twenty years, still sorta standing. United Healthcare just jacked up our rates 25%; this after about 300% increase over ten years with an incredible decrease in benefits. Usually it's a five percent a year increase, every year for the last few years. But I can't afford this one. No way. We're going to lose our health insurance.

My family's health insurance premium is now officially twice our mortgage. The plan we're on is the cheapest, bottom of the barrel PPO with an extremely high deductible and copays, through Costco. But -- that's over.

I know they're gouging before the 85% rule takes effect. Still, I'm panicked by this. I'm thinking of approaching some young doctor personally, and paying them directly -- we'd get better care, at least until some huge crisis hit. Anybody got a suggestion? Whatever happened to not-for-profit HMO's? I guess I know the answer -- United Healthcare ate them.

My broker said their own rates, for an office full of twenty-somethings, just went up 32%. She's going to try to look around for us; I already know the answer.

This is a criminal act by a hugely profitable organization that uses my premiums to cement their stranglehold on the nation. Perhaps it's good in the end; at least I'll feel good about not giving my money to The Evil Fucks.

The Rich are eating the Middle Class. I find myself thinking about Robin Hood a lot today.

For now, I'll scramble to find a solution.

[derby378]

1. Sounds like healthcare reform still hasn't come to America yet

I symapthize with you. Truly.

At the same time, I don't have health insurance of any kind. There's a couple of meds I really should be on, but without health insurance, I gotta watch myself and take my chances. If it turns out that my workplace offers me UnitedHealthcare, that's gonna be a red flag.

[Autumn]

8. There was no health care reform, it was insurance

finance reform. Obama himself called it insurance finance reform. I doubt the chance for health care reform will come this way again. Not for a long time.

[handmade34]

2. my health insurance payments

were 60% of my wages before I cancelled... we must end employer based Health insurance and have single payer - I will gladly pay a large % of my money to know we are all taken care of

[villager]

3. with all respect, doesn't there come a point where it's better to bank at least some of that money

...instead of paying for insurance?

I mean, if a policy is only used after several years, what would those several years of pocketed savings -- not going to the predatory jackals of the insurance cartels (apologies to real jackals) -- look like?

[Lorien]

7. I spent over 80k in premiums and co-pays over 14 years with my former insurer

and they paid out exactly $200.00 in benefits during that time. A health savings account is a better idea.

[joshcryer]

13. +1, so true.

[Curmudgeoness]

4. I really wish that I believed in hell. Then I would know these

bastards would suffer for eternity. I feel for you, and I may be in the same boat in a few months when my boss (who bitches constantly about how much we are paying now) gets the new rates for another year. We are already in a $3,000 deductible/$6,000 annual out of pocket policy, which means I have little coverage except for catastrophic incidents.

I was shocked at the time, and I still am devastated, that there was no provision in the "health care reform" to keep the insurance companies from doing exactly what they are doing. Anyone with the brain of a piss ant knew that this is what the insurance industry would do before any regulations were in effect.

[Lorien]

5. Small business owner also. I dropped United Healthcare last year.

I have a GP that I pay out of pocket. She isn't part of a group; she has her own practice, so her costs are low. Her own nurses and secretaries don't have health insurance because they see it as a huge scam (they battle these companies all day). My doctor treated me for free when I was unemployed. Now that I have some freelance and a part time job I go in for occasional "anti-aging treatments" and check ups to put some money back into her pockets. I know that she helps other poor and unemployed persons, so I wish that I could just give her a giant lump of cash to offset her costs. Anyway; there are good doctors out there who will work with you if you don't have insurance. Mine is from Brazil and mostly treats immigrants, so maybe there's a similar doctor in your area.

[Vinnie From Indy]

6. Look, Angela Braly and the rest of the executives at Wellpoint/Anthem

want you to understand that their second and third homes in Tuscany and Palm Beach don't pay for themselves. Those eighty foot yachts don't run on good intentions and the year round crews don't take coconuts for payment. Angela wants all of you that are getting your rates jacked to know that last year she only took a modest 51% increase in compensation.

These people are merchants of death.

[Chris_Texas]

9. It's 3D chess!

Obama and the democrats passed a solution. You will either continue to buy it, at whatever insane price they demand, or your unamerican anti-progressive ass will be in jail!

[alfredo]

10. We need a health insurance strike. Everyone should stop

paying their premiums.

[Initech]

11. Just further goes to show you who the real criminals are.

[Kennah]

12. We lost prescription drug coverage last year

They dropped it from the plan, and dropped the rates a bit. However, they offered the chance to upgrade to a comprehensive plan with prescription drug coverage. The cheapest plan with prescription drug coverage was literally almost double the premium. We opted to go without prescription drug coverage and keep buying our maintenance meds from Canada.

[kenny blankenship]

14. But they're our system!

That's our uniquely American system you're railing against there, Bub!