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[Poll]

Thoughts??? (Insurance rate increase)

Justifiable -- Insurance companies have to make a profit

5% (1)

Justifiable -- Why mess with the free market?

10% (2)

Neutral -- It doesn't affect me anyway

0% (0)

Neutral -- I can't do anything about it, so why stress?

0% (0)

Neutral -- Health "insurance" doesn't insure anyway

5% (1)

Questionable -- What about those who can't afford these increases?

10% (2)

Questionable -- Profits shouldn't come before human health

70% (14)

Total Votes : 20

(last vote on : 2/12/2010 8:49:59 PM)
(Poll will run till: -- )

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RE: Thoughts??? (Insurance rate increase) - 2/10/2010 1:26:15 PM

Louve00

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Tazzy, boycotting has always been an effective way to work things out. But, if it were your son, or your Master....or you....who developed cancer and you needed chemo, petscans, mri's, not to mention all the rest, and you weren't covered, how would you pay for it? Me, I'm not afraid to die. But its the pain of watching a loved one die, or of them dying (seeing the fear in their eyes and the pain wracking their body) that eats me up.

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RE: Thoughts??? (Insurance rate increase) - 2/10/2010 1:30:35 PM

windchymes

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quote:

ORIGINAL: CallaFirestormBW

I'm ditching mine in May. I've had better luck with my holistic neurologist (who doesn't take insurance anyway, as he's gone to being a 'cash only' practitioner) than with the regular med profession anyway, and he's already getting referrals for me to a new cash-only HN and a cash-only general practice/gen surg practice for emergencies in NC for when I move. I'm only holding out while I finish weaning off of the last of my BigPharma medications, then I'm out. Of course, that will mean that the risk pool will diminish by one chronically ill individual, so everyone else's premiums in the pool should go down, right???

It's interesting that you should bring this up. My chiropractor tells me that practitioners all all types of medicine are starting to turn to this type of "alternative" medicine....charging reasonable fees on a cash-only basis so as to bypass all the insurance company bullshit. I think it would be a wonderful thing if it would catch on.

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RE: Thoughts??? (Insurance rate increase) - 2/10/2010 1:32:10 PM

SirAldwyn

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Joined: 10/15/2009
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Well, things are a changing.

The plan calls for a health savings account, which BCBS is allowed to directing withdraw funds to ensure the deductible is paid before they pay out. As more and more are

Look online, BCBS in Illinois, as I do not know if this same thing is happening in other states. When you talk to them, as I did. They make it very clear that nothing is covered until the deductible portion is paid out.

According to a Doctor who is a friend on mine, he said this is their way of making sure Dr's do not just charge the insurance company (ie: settle the bill for whatever the insurance pays and not worry about collecting the deductible from the patient) so this is how they have figured a way around it

The employer went with the HSA to lower their costs, and supposedly the cost to the employee. Though it is hard to believe that when they raised rates 19.5%

However the money in that account cannot be used for anything other than medical expenses. It is also set up with whatever bank BCBS chooses, I do not set up the account, BCBS does. and only they can close it or withdraw from it. When I asked what happens if and when I cancel the policy how do I get my money back, they have yet to answer that question.

I am not signing up for this coverage, nor is anyone else whose is employed there, so it works out for the employer, they have no health insurance cost, and now the employees will have no health insurance. So no matter what, we are screwed

In the long run, the employers is going to lose just about everyone who works there now. Though with a shitty job market, I'm sure there will be plenty of people willing to work for less and without health insurance

< Message edited by SirAldwyn -- 2/10/2010 1:41:57 PM >

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RE: Thoughts??? (Insurance rate increase) - 2/10/2010 1:43:02 PM

Thadius

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An HSA is a completely different animal. For one all contributions are tax free, second the ammount you put in rolls over from year to year, finally those funds can be used to cover co-pays, prescriptions, etc... As part of the HSA rules, at least the way I understood them it has to be accompanied by a policy that has a deductible. Finally, the funds put into an HSA also earn interest or other dividends which are tax free. Money can be taken out of these accounts for whatever purpose, but if the purpose is not for a qualified medical reason (like cosmetic surgery) there is a penalty and tax on it.

The thought being that the money you put in the HSA is there to cover the deductible and not put the covered in financial difficulties.

This is completely different than setting up a checking account and giving somebody access to it.

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Post #: 44

RE: Thoughts??? (Insurance rate increase) - 2/10/2010 1:59:34 PM

CallaFirestormBW

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Thadius

An HSA is a completely different animal. [clipped]
This is completely different than setting up a checking account and giving somebody access to it.

Ok, so I'm diving into the fray -- yeah, I know, it isn't water -- it's a pot of boiling oil... but I've already taken the leap, so I guess it's too late now...

I don't think the issue is the value of an HSA. I think that the issue is that the underwriter of SirAldwyn's company's insurance (BCBS) is requiring enrollees to have an HSA that -they- manage, and which has sufficient funds so that BCBS can be assured that patients are not negotiating payment of their deductibles and co-pays to get lower payment amounts.

What is hilarious beyond belief about all of this is that the insurance companies get MASSIVE discounts on what they have to pay. If you look at a hospital bill, there is the 'cash price' of the services rendered, which totals up to X amount (like, for example, ~$92,000 here in TX for 5 days of management for a heart attack, with stent placement), and which Joe Blow has to pay if he is paying cash for his services, without the benefit of an insurance company. However, when you look at the bills over time, as you're whittling away at your deductible plus 20% plus amounts over the allowable charges, these interesting little things pop up, called "Insurance Adjustment". I asked the billing office about those on one of my daughter's hospital bills after her stabbing, and was told that this is the "negotiated discount" that the insurance companies get for doing business with their hospital... so the INSURANCE COMPANY gets a 60% discount (at this particular hospital) on what THEY pay, but they charge MY 20% on the full amount, and I'm expected to PAY the 20% on the full amount, plus the full deductible, plus any charges the hospital charges that are above and beyond the insurance 'allowable charges'.... and now, BCBS wants access to an account that makes SURE that Joe Blow has to pay his whole share, while they get a discount on their "percentage" so that their 80% is actually closer to 40%... so you tell me who's screwing who with a lead ramrod here...

< Message edited by CallaFirestormBW -- 2/10/2010 2:02:46 PM >

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RE: Thoughts??? (Insurance rate increase) - 2/10/2010 2:06:10 PM

housesub4you

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I got screwed with one of those accounts.

No you cannot remove the money for any reason and pay a penalty. I canceled my insurance with BCBS 2 years ago when they switched to the same type of thing. I'm earning a whopping 0.0015% and even though I have jumped through all their hoops and rings, I still have yet to have my money refunded to me. Nor have the applied it to new medical bills being covered by new insurance, since it is not BCBS they claim the law forbids them for paying out on another policy.

So it is not as if the insurance industry is joyously handing you back your money when you cancel. I have filed suit with the Illinois Insurance Commission, though since they do take donations from the insurance industry, I do not expect to see that money ever again

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Post #: 46

RE: Thoughts??? (Insurance rate increase) - 2/10/2010 8:16:29 PM

Musicmystery

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Anthem Asked To Justify Insurance Rate Hike
by SARAH VARNEY
February 10, 2010 from KQED

An investigation in California over dramatic health insurance increases is spurring a federal inquiry. Two congressional committees have asked executives from WellPoint, the parent company of Anthem Blue Cross of California, to explain why the company is raising premiums by as much as 39 percent for some customers.

STEVE INSKEEP, host:

Let's come back to this country, now, where a California insurance company is raising premiums by as much as 39 percent for some customers. Now Congress wants to know why. Two congressional committees have asked executives from WellPoint, the parent company of Anthem Blue Cross of California, to explain the sharp increase.

From member station KQED in San Francisco, Sarah Varney reports.

SARAH VARNEY: As spokeswoman for Anthem Blue Cross would not say how many of its 800,000 individual policy holders in California would see their rates increase. But in a recent statement, the company says the rate hikes are justified. The company says the recession has forced many healthy people to drop insurance, leaving sicker people with more expensive medical needs in the insured pool.

Steven Lindsay, a lobbyist for the California Association of Health Underwriters, says Anthem's explanation makes sense. If healthy people lose their jobs, they're more likely to drop health coverage, but...

Mr. STEVEN LINDSAY (Lobbyist, California Association of Health Underwriters): Folks who are sick are almost always willing to go into their savings or sometimes even their pension plans to make withdrawals to keep their health insurance.

Mr. WILL DOW (Health economist, UC Berkeley): It would need to be a massive change in their risk pool in order to cause a 30 or 40 percent increase in premiums.

VARNEY: That's Will Dow, a UC Berkeley health economist and former Bush administration advisor. He says, while other insurers are raising rates, he suspects the rate hikes are part of Anthem's business strategy to shakeout money losing customers.

Mr. DOW: The common scenario when they have a risk pool, which is (unintelligible) if ultimately become disproportionately sick, they will raise the rates substantially, healthier people will drop out of that pool, and they can get re-enrolled in another insurance product and stay with the company, but the very sickest people will end up disappearing from the insurance pool as the rates get raised completely out of reach. So this is a typical cherry-picking and lemon-dropping scenario that Anthem, in particular, has been very aggressive about using.

VARNEY: Anthem Blue Cross has been sharply criticized over the years by state regulators for its aggressive practices. For its part, the company says rising cost from hospitals, drugs and doctors are also to blame for the premium increases.

For NPR News, I'm Sarah Varney.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123556158

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Post #: 47

RE: Thoughts??? (Insurance rate increase) - 2/12/2010 5:03:46 PM

playfulotter

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I picked that health care doesn't insure anyway but no other choice sounded better...I just received a big jump in rates from Anthem-Blue Cross starting 3/1/10...I could stay with what i had and pay much more or go to a higher deductible and it was very murky what I would be paying and trying to call them and get answers was a joke...Oh and I hate to go to the doctor and probably go less than five times a year if I can help it...Probably why I hate Medical play too..Wow and I am talking about a PPO plan here..I talked to a woman who works as a domestic for someone I know and she pays more than me each month for an HMO plan because she has no saving for anything for a catastrophic health care problem....this is just wrong!!!!

< Message edited by playfulotter -- 2/12/2010 5:14:49 PM >

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RE: Thoughts??? (Insurance rate increase) - 2/12/2010 5:13:17 PM

AnimusRex

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Here is a link to a protest petition from MoveOn.org

http://pol.moveon.org/bluecross/o.pl?id=18913-12966635-hInOcrx&t=3

The petition says: "Anthem Blue Cross must provide a detailed explanation for their exorbitant rate increases, or else roll them back immediately."

These latest rate increases in California—reportedly the largest ever by Blue Cross for individual policyholders in the state—are yet another powerful example of how badly broken our health care system is and how desperately we need to hold Big Insurance accountable for exploiting their customers.

Anthem Blue Cross's parent company made record profits last year despite losing 1.4 million customers—increasing their profit margins by cherrypicking the healthiest people to insure.3

Then they can turn around and dramatically increase the rates they charge to the customers they've kept, because there's almost no rules governing rate increases. In fact, the company doesn't even have to publicly reveal how many customers' rates they've increased, or by how much.

The good news is that Kathleen Sebelius, President Obama's Secretary of Health and Human Services, is already publicly demanding answers from the company. And the House Energy and Commerce Committee has announced plans to hold hearings to investigate.

But to get Anthem to clean up their act—and show politicians and the media that we can't afford any more abuses by Big Insurance—we all need to lend our voices. Clicking here will add your name to the petition:

http://pol.moveon.org/bluecross/o.pl?id=18913-12966635-hInOcrx&t=4

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Post #: 49

RE: Thoughts??? (Insurance rate increase) - 2/12/2010 5:17:34 PM

playfulotter

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Thanks for the link AnimusRex; I just signed it...they raised my rates a lot last year too (mid year I believe)....well, I was almost 50 then, so I thought that was why....I will go look now....oh as an add on to what you typed...yes I read they made record profits too...WTF??? I don't swear but they acted like they were losing money in statements I read.

< Message edited by playfulotter -- 2/12/2010 5:33:56 PM >

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RE: Thoughts??? (Insurance rate increase) - 2/13/2010 10:12:55 AM

housesub4you

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Yea well you should pat yourself on the back, Independent BC in Phillie just send out letters saying it was raising rates by 100%, Sounds fair I mean income has averaged 1.1% increase in the last 8 years

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