Is Everybody Really Worse Off? Certainly not...

[30ashopper]

But what happened when your company's premiums increased last year? And the year before? And so on and so forth?

I am not trying to be a smartass, but I really want to know why this year's increase is a company killer and previous years humongous increases have not had the same effect.

As far as I know they didn't, but I can look into it. I'm sure there were annual cost increases, but I seriously doubt they were as signigiant as some of the changes that had to be made this time around. I think one of the biggest hits came from the loss of lifetime caps, which increased the liability for the insurance company.

 

[Lake View Too]

This seems to be an honest, intelligent thread, devoid of political BS. I feel things are a bit tougher these days, but the real estate market (and building) started dropping in the late part of '05 and, as the saying goes, I'm still standing. The single biggest hurdle for us has been the steady rise in health insurance, so I'm welcoming some kind of change in that. I do not think there would have been the knock-down-drag-out battle in Congress over health insurance, unless a serious amount of rich people will be making a little bit less, and a serious amount of middle class people might be paying a little bit less.I think the whole wide world may have been due for a "correction". Ya know?

 

[Lynnie]

In Jenny's defense, the cost to underwrite unlimited lifetime coverage is negligible. There is a cost, but think about it as the cost of medical care even with the.most advanced technology we so enjoy here. If you have reached $5MM in claims, my guess is you either no longer want to be alive or, hopefully (from purely a humanitarian perspective), you won't be much longer. When I underwrote policies the lifetime max was $1MM, which was more than sufficient coverage. Christopher Reeves breached this and carriers adjusted. Carriers are not inherently evil, Y'all.

I think the rub is that this law is one of the largest pieces of legislation passed in the history of this Nation and we still are unclear as to what we are up against.

I have absolutely no issue with everyone having access to affordable coverage. But, comparing what we are.experiencing now with cost of healthcare to previous years is now apples and oranges because we sailed past an employer entitled program and it is now a government mandate that needs control.

 

[YellowDog]

But what happened when your company's premiums increased last year? And the year before? And so on and so forth?

I am not trying to be a smartass, but I really want to know why this year's increase is a company killer and previous years humongous increases have not had the same effect.

Wanting to reply to all your previous posts, but just sticking it on this one.

The increases in my self-employed health insurance premiums over the last 10 years are nothing less than outrageously stunning. I pay 50% more for health insurance alone than the total income I made the year I got out of school. It's three times what I spend on groceries. It's 20 percent of my bottom line. It has nothing to do with the new health care bill. The increases have happened every year. Is it any surprise that insurance men and bankers have been hated for generations?

 

[Matt J]

In Jenny's defense, the cost to underwrite unlimited lifetime coverage is negligible. There is a cost, but think about it as the cost of medical care even with the.most advanced technology we so enjoy here. If you have reached $5MM in claims, my guess is you either no longer want to be alive or, hopefully (from purely a humanitarian perspective), you won't be much longer. When I underwrote policies the lifetime max was $1MM, which was more than sufficient coverage. Christopher Reeves breached this and carriers adjusted. Carriers are not inherently evil, Y'all.

I think the rub is that this law is one of the largest pieces of legislation passed in the history of this Nation and we still are unclear as to what we are up against.

I have absolutely no issue with everyone having access to affordable coverage. But, comparing what we are.experiencing now with cost of healthcare to previous years is now apples and oranges because we sailed past an employer entitled program and it is now a government mandate that needs control.

To paraphrase:

Nothing changed we just have a black man to blame for it now.

 

[Lynnie]

If that's how you feel.

 

[scooterbug44]

I think I am more aware of what health insurance costs/how much it keeps increasing because I either work for myself or small businesses who reimburse me for it - so I write a check for it every 2 months.

In the last ten years the number on the check has quadrupled. And that's for a HEALTHY person - no chronic health problems, no expensive prescriptions, no surgeries, no pre-existing conditions. Can't begin to think what it is for someone w/ problems.

Health care costs are insane - I broke a bone, went to the Urgent Care Center, just got X-rays, and it was almost $2K by the time they finished with the bills and fine print. No cast, no painkillers, no surgery.

Lynnie - I find it very interesting that you say there is a negligible cost for removing the lifetime cap, yet insurance companies are using that as an excuse to raise prices. (Not that I am surprised.)

 

[LuciferSam]

To paraphrase:

Nothing changed we just have a black man to blame for it now.

Makes no sense considering he espouses the principles of our founding fathers better than any president in history, including the founders.

 

[Lynnie]

I think I am more aware of what health insurance costs/how much it keeps increasing because I either work for myself or small businesses who reimburse me for it - so I write a check for it every 2 months.

In the last ten years the number on the check has quadrupled. And that's for a HEALTHY person - no chronic health problems, no expensive prescriptions, no surgeries, no pre-existing conditions. Can't begin to think what it is for someone w/ problems.

Health care costs are insane - I broke a bone, went to the Urgent Care Center, just got X-rays, and it was almost $2K by the time they finished with the bills and fine print. No cast, no painkillers, no surgery.

Lynnie - I find it very interesting that you say there is a negligible cost for removing the lifetime cap, yet insurance companies are using that as an excuse to raise prices. (Not that I am surprised.)

I started to state that could be a 'ruse,' but that's for someone else to determine. In the big picture, the cost to remove those caps is negligible......how many people have approached $5MM in claims? This was the lifetime max in most policies until this legislation passed. A few plans offered a $10MM lifetime max and the difference in premium was not worth mentioning. So, if someone has a $50MM claim, can you even grasp that? When Christopher Reeves lifetime max was breached, we were all stunned and shocked. And, he was covered under a group plan through SAG.

The major expenses have to do with hospitalization, advances in medical technology and unfortunately, as we have dicussed here a few times, pharmacology as well as those pesky little legal issues.

 

[Alicia Leonard]

Seems the bigger corporations are having a great time these last two years:

Profits have surged 62 percent from the start of 2009 to mid-2010, according to the Commerce Department. That is faster than any other year and a half in the Fabulous ?50s, the Go-Go ?60s or the booms under Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.

Read more: Corporate profits' big climb - John Maggs - POLITICO.com​