Health insurance premiums

Stephon wrote:

I'm insured through my actors union, SAG-AFTRA. I current pay $108 a month, paid quarterly, I'm covered by Plan II. If I earn enough during my...

I'm insured through my actors union, SAG-AFTRA. I current pay $108 a month, paid quarterly, I'm covered by Plan II.

If I earn enough during my earnings year, which I think I will, I'll be eligible for Plan I next year and it would lower my premiums to $91 a month paid quarterly.

We just got notices for increases for next year which are roughly about $10 a month more.

After reading this thread I feel pretty fortunate. It's not always easy to earn what I need to earn in order qualify, but I've been on the plan for 16+ years without missing a year.

chocolatethunder782 wrote:

The entire thing is a scam. Hospitals want universal healthcare so everyone will flock to them for their toe pain because the care will be "free"...

The entire thing is a scam. Hospitals want universal healthcare so everyone will flock to them for their toe pain because the care will be "free". The federal government wants it so they will have more of our money and more control over our lives.

I work in the ER and I've heard that about 80% of our income is from medicaid/medicare. Almost everyone that comes in just comes in because it is free for them. It must be nice to be able to get something checked out for free without having to worry about paying your Affordable deductible. I decided that if they pass universal healthcare I am going to try to go on disability so I don't have to deal with it. If you can't beat em, join em.

newmann wrote:

Thanks Obama!

GeorgiePorgie wrote:

It will continually go up until we see a single payer system. Then you'll see a dive bomb in quality care. Many democrat policoes is trashing...

It will continually go up until we see a single payer system.

Then you'll see a dive bomb in quality care.

Many democrat policoes is trashing this country.

Titan1 wrote:

That was exactly the plan from the beginning...pass a law that will eventually make premiums so expensive that nobody can afford them, then pass a single...

That was exactly the plan from the beginning...pass a law that will eventually make premiums so expensive that nobody can afford them, then pass a single payer system through.

With Dental, I'm paying almost $900/month...that is INSANE!!!! it's as much as my house payment (and at least my mortgage interest is tax deductible).

Rich Piano wrote:

When Americans realize health insurance has nothing to do with health care maybe they will wake up. Oh, except that Insurance is a for profit business...

When Americans realize health insurance has nothing to do with health care maybe they will wake up.
Oh, except that Insurance is a for profit business. They never lose money.
Obama made it a law you have to buy it whether you want it or not.

Its only affordable for two kinds of people. Rich and welfare.

MR. X wrote:

My wife and i were shopping and she slipped on the wet floor and hit a display of cans of german potato salad ,one landed on...

My wife and i were shopping and she slipped on the wet floor and hit a display of cans of german potato salad ,one landed on her foot , i took her to get x-rays and we had to wait behind all these pieces of trash that took cabs to the hospital because they were sick, they were just taking up beds , laughing and joking with each other while my wifes foot looked like a burrito . (huge lawsuit from that incident, we got 250 dollars from the store,not even enough to cover what we paid out of pocket)

Rich Piano wrote:

When Americans realize health insurance has nothing to do with health care maybe they will wake up. Oh, except that Insurance is a for profit business...

When Americans realize health insurance has nothing to do with health care maybe they will wake up.
Oh, except that Insurance is a for profit business. They never lose money.
Obama made it a law you have to buy it whether you want it or not.

Its only affordable for two kinds of people. Rich and welfare.

Stephon wrote:

I'm insured through my actors union, SAG-AFTRA. I current pay $108 a month, paid quarterly, I'm covered by Plan II. If I earn enough during my...

I'm insured through my actors union, SAG-AFTRA. I current pay $108 a month, paid quarterly, I'm covered by Plan II.

If I earn enough during my earnings year, which I think I will, I'll be eligible for Plan I next year and it would lower my premiums to $91 a month paid quarterly.

We just got notices for increases for next year which are roughly about $10 a month more.

After reading this thread I feel pretty fortunate. It's not always easy to earn what I need to earn in order qualify, but I've been on the plan for 16+ years without missing a year.

hvaughn88 wrote:

Wait, so if you earn more, you're premium actually goes down? That's awesome, haha.

chocolatethunder782 wrote:

That sucks! Did you get a lawyer? Once my girlfriend got her foot cut by a passing-by pallet jack at a grocery store. We spent the...

That sucks! Did you get a lawyer? Once my girlfriend got her foot cut by a passing-by pallet jack at a grocery store. We spent the night in the ER and she got about 3 grand from it.

You basically described every day at my job. They all know each other and they all arrive either smelling like pot, drunk, or high on something else. They eat their free meal, get their prescriptions, and ask for a cab voucher to get back to their house.

I have insurance because I race motocross, but it is almost completely pointless if you take care of yourself. They would rather have you popping pills, fat and dead at 64 so they don't have to pay for your medicare.

motogrady wrote:

I tell you what's major fucked up. I did a job for a lady last week, she's a receptionist for a medical clinic/doctor. I was shocked...

I tell you what's major fucked up.

I did a job for a lady last week, she's a receptionist for a medical clinic/doctor.

I was shocked with what she told me.

First, nobody gets any medical treatment unless you give them your social security number.
Even if you want to pay for that visit with cash.

Second, the insurance company tells the doctor pretty much what he can do, and the treatment he can give.
She told me about this diabetic patient she knows, sweet old lady, that needs like 2 pills a day to control her sugar.
The insurance company said, wait, she only needs 1pill a day, and that's what she gets now.
She can't go down to the pharmacy and just buy more, even if she had the coin, the doctor can't, under obamacare,
Prescribe any more than the insurance company says.

To me, that's a death squad.
Old lady, she ain't worth having around anymore,
Cut her dosage, even if the doctor says she needs it, and get her off the patient list.
Kill her, but gently, in a quiet kind of way.
Told me, that's the reality, that's what's going on.

motogrady wrote:

I tell you what's major fucked up. I did a job for a lady last week, she's a receptionist for a medical clinic/doctor. I was shocked...

I tell you what's major fucked up.

I did a job for a lady last week, she's a receptionist for a medical clinic/doctor.

I was shocked with what she told me.

First, nobody gets any medical treatment unless you give them your social security number.
Even if you want to pay for that visit with cash.

Second, the insurance company tells the doctor pretty much what he can do, and the treatment he can give.
She told me about this diabetic patient she knows, sweet old lady, that needs like 2 pills a day to control her sugar.
The insurance company said, wait, she only needs 1pill a day, and that's what she gets now.
She can't go down to the pharmacy and just buy more, even if she had the coin, the doctor can't, under obamacare,
Prescribe any more than the insurance company says.

To me, that's a death squad.
Old lady, she ain't worth having around anymore,
Cut her dosage, even if the doctor says she needs it, and get her off the patient list.
Kill her, but gently, in a quiet kind of way.
Told me, that's the reality, that's what's going on.

h&m_cycle wrote:

AND that has nothing to do with Obama... It's been that way... they ALL want your SS# if your in an accident... they will go thru...

AND that has nothing to do with Obama... It's been that way... they ALL want your SS#

if your in an accident... they will go thru your wallet to look for your insurance card & SS#...

AZ35 wrote:

As an employer, health insurance is a nightmare to offer to employees. With about 40 employees I am under any Obama mandates for now, but trying...

As an employer, health insurance is a nightmare to offer to employees.

With about 40 employees I am under any Obama mandates for now, but trying to offer group health insurance as an incentive to employees has gotten so bad it is to the point I may just drop the option. I pay 1/2 of the premium for employees who opt for the program so our costs have gone through the roof- for less coverage.

Every year, premiums increase an average of 15%. Deductibles have gone from $1,000 to $2,500, and now to $5,000 as the "norm" for "affordable health care. Network providers have changed so often you can't keep track of who the hell you are seeing and if they will be covered at all. My plan renews every December, I dread the meetings with the insurance brokers to deal with all the bullshit of how hard we are getting screwed every year paying more but getting less.

Health insurance today has basically become a catastrophic policy only because it really doesn't do shit for basic medical costs. It only really "pays off" to have it if you have a major illness or injury causing a long term hospital stay or rehabilitation. Preventive medicine is a joke, co-pays and deductibles will drain you before you prevent shit.

Our health care system is broken, not sure it will ever be a fixable system given the legal and political cluster fuck we have in the US.

Edit- Just met with our insurance brokers today. Same plan as last year, went up 13% and the deductible increased from $2,500 to $3,000. Option "B" they offered was for the rates to only go up $5 per person, but the catch was if I went with the $5,000 deductible.

I read online that United Healthcare was threatening to drop out of the Obama bullshit program because they are losing too much money. Someone sure as hell is making money, but no one will admit they are the ones making a fortune. It is insane how much we pay into a broken system, compared to other countries with lower costs and better care.

I read that the United States has 2 out of every 3 lawyers in the entire world. So with all the multi billions of people in the world, the Country with 300 million has 66% of the lawyers. Now our massive healthcare expenses make more sense....

Xracerdone wrote:

I used to pay 60 bucks a week for a family of 4 and had cadilac benefits. Now I pay 900.00 & that is with my...

I used to pay 60 bucks a week for a family of 4 and had cadilac benefits. Now I pay 900.00 & that is with my employer paying for the employee portion & its high deductible high co pays, it's bullshit. My wifes mom is an RN & she says they're basically bean counters now, there is no time for patient care with how much paperwork they have to do & account for everything with all the regulations they were burdened with

GeorgiePorgie wrote:

There's no paperwork. It's all in computers and scanning patients. And electronic charting. A nurse Might get 10 minutes a shift per patient unless they're an...

There's no paperwork. It's all in computers and scanning patients. And electronic charting. A nurse
Might get 10 minutes a shift per patient unless they're an ICU nurse where the ratio is 2:1.

Every month someone in a suit with a health MBA INSTUTITES policies that require more from the nurse for less. By less I mean, less time, less pay, less benefits.....less patient centered care.

Hospitals don't give a shit about you as a patient. You either pay them for profit(insured and rich), or you allow them to write you off. (uninsured and poor)

Nobody cares about you. You'll find out when you're a critically ill patient one day. And the one person that does care about you (the nurse) her hands are tied up doing bullshit to bring in capital because she's forced to, as opposed to delivering quality care--what she wants to be doing. Thanks affordable healthcare.