Boston Red Veloster

So this year my medical has gone up to $620ish a month from $500 last year. Premiums have gone up and even doctor visits and medicine have gone up in price.



When I went to my HR guy here at work he said it's a global thing....that most all places are going up in price and that the only way for it to go down in price is if the companies make up the difference.



Anyone else seeing their medical go up in price as well?

i8acobra

Yep... and it's all Obama's fault. It has nothing to do with the gross amount of profits in the medical industry.

SR Tech

I paid $52/week for myself last year, this year if I wanted to keep the same plan I had it would have gone up to $70/week. I took a slightly lower grade plan for $58/week.



Family plan premiums are getting hit the worst. That's why my wife and I just have our own. Her work contributes more than mine though

Stocker

No of course it's not all Obama's fault. It's also Congress' fault, but not the 2008 Congress. The one that said insurance had something to do with your job, it's their fault.



When there were charity hospitals and a gold-backed currency, people either couldn't pay for health care, got it at a charity hospital, or saw what they were being billed and paid a reasonable rate. After most people got insurance and the charity hospitals closed, and we went to a fiat currency where the idea is to steal from the middle class and inflate bond debt away, what do you expect? EVERYTHING is more expensive when your money is based on nothing and monetary policy is set by people who actually WANT money to be worth less year-over-year. Taking away competition and prohibiting selling plans across state lines is also dumb, but here we are.



However, demanding that men have maternity coverage, women have baldness coverage, monks have drug rehab coverage, etc. is bound to drive up prices, and so is the "spread the wealth" action where some people get nearly-free care. The money comes from somewhere, and it will always come from the consumer or taxpayer. It also hurts the price of a compliant plan when the only people who sign up for the new, more-expensive insurance are the ones who are already sick or know they will be soon . . . next year's increases might be pretty interesting.

JonGTR

Yup, it's all about the "haves" supporting the have-nots.........and the illegals. Blame whoever you want.

ScoupeLS

my insurance cost the same for the past 3 years. If I remember correctly it's about $80 a month for $1250 deductible and non smoker. in my case, the insurance company is basically the billing company since my employer pays the medical bills. it's not the greatest insurance but i have better coverage than other people i know.

Stocker

Throw in a wife and kids, and go to a company that pays half the premium (which is typical), and you're looking at $500+/month with an agent looking for better prices. Ask me how I know.

wheel_of_steel

I honestly feel bad for americans for having to go through this shite. Most first world countries have some form of universal healthcare, instead of some semi-regulated/semi-profiteering private sector corporate cronyism arrangement that exists in america. I don't think it's fair that everyday people should have to frequently worry about the details of their health insurance, the alternative being that they get refused care and die an early death.





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Australia

Stocker

Universal means single-payer/government-run. We shouldn't have single-payer healthcare. That's a bad fit here, and comparing the US to most of the rest of the world with their heavy socialist tendencies and all is really missing quite a lot of the picture. Single-payer in America means government-run, which means long waits for rationed services with shitty customer service by people who have too much to do and don't care how well it gets done. We should have individual markets, or voluntary group markets, for health insurance . . . or, better still, NO insurance for the little stuff, with only relatively inexpensive plans for the big stuff that can go really bad.



American liberty is a breeding ground for innovation in every market . . . until the government steps in the way, which has just now happened in the worst possible way. I hope we can un-screw this mess and get some logical reforms through . . . but with the current crop of elected heroes in DC there's not much chance.

i8acobra

Here's the problem... the current market system has no controls from profiteering. When you have a service or product people NEED in order to live, the free market allows for easy collusion to elevate prices. On the opposite end, there's socialized medicine, run by bureaucrats with little medical knowledge and a big lack of give-a-sh*t. If we could just find that happy middle ground somewhere, we'd all be sh*tting rainbows (and taking pills for it).