My Health Insurance Company bcBS just informed me my rates are going up due

[glinda]

to the implementation of Obamacare. Why again is our state working with this rat infested Company??????? We use our living money to pay for this and I already had to raise the deductible again!!!!!!!!! Soon I will be asked to pay more for less again!!!!! Not a happy camper at the moment. Talk me down!

[Niceguy1]

1. mine went up too,

But they had no choice...the expanded coverage mandated by the aca cost more and the company is a non profit trust....

[glinda]

2. Don't care what their reason is. I cannot afford it now.

I may have to drop my insurance and hope for the best. They are killing us. We have one retiree income. That is it. And I am too young for Medicare and too old and sick to work if I even could find work.
Non-profit my ass.

[Niceguy1]

4. mine is non profit

It is a union plan. I can't afford nor do I want the extra coverage that is required by the new law.......

Wish we could opt out.

[msongs]

3. can u drop company coverage and get your own on an exchange? nt

[glinda]

6. My insurance is not from any company. I private pay...barely. This sucks.

[JayhawkSD]

8. In a word, no

If you have eligibility for employer coverage you are not eligible for the exchanges.

The verification of this has been waived for a year by executive order, so he could do it for one year and probably get away with it, but he would have to lie on the form about his employer not offering coverage, and it would be illegal.

[scooter rider]

5. My brother who lives up in Brainard is on Cobra from a job he got laid off from.

$1500 a month for him and his wife for 6 more months. His wife has early stages of MS and they have to have coverage plus he bought a semi-truck to go back on the road and has to have health insurance or the freight brokers can't give him loads to haul.

He's been checking the exchanges and so far it looks like his premium will go up to about $2500 a month but they do have to provide coverage for pre-existing conditions.

They also tell him that he makes too much for the subsidies so he's just shit out of luck.

Is this how it was supposed to work?

[Hoyt]

26. Something does not sound right about $2500 per month, even if he is looking at Platinum

level.

[the_sly_pig]

7. Think about all the middlemen and paper pushers that need an annual two digit raise...

Cancer patients can't carry the whole load you know. Seniors need to do their part; accountants and actuaries need income too!!!

(syrupy, syrupy sarcasm)

[JayhawkSD]

9. You do realize that insurance companies PAY for health care.

The rising costs are not some idle whim of the insurance companies. They are caused because the insurance companies are having to pay higher costs. They are being billed higher prices by hospitals, cllinics, doctors and drug companies.

When they pay out more money because hospitals, cllinics, doctors and drug companies charge higher prices, they have to raise the amount they charge for the health insurance that pays for that health care.

[glinda]

10. If this is supposed to help people afford Insurance it is not

helping me so far. Just the opposite. I hope I am wrong.

[JayhawkSD]

11. I'm hoping to point out who the culprit is.

The cost of your health insurance is not the fault of any health insurance company. It is caused by the doctors. hospitals, clinics, laboratories and drug companies that charge higher and higher prices for the health care that they render to you and that health insurance pays for.

A more reasonable complaint than "I cannot afford the increased cost of insurance" would be "I cannot afford the increased cost of health care." That would put the fault where it belongs. The insurance companies also do not like the increased cost of health care.

[dflprincess]

12. Right.

The obscene salaries paid to the corporate officers the commissions to the insurance agents the concern for the shareholders (at some companies) and all the other overhead has nothing to do with the cost of insurance.

[hermetic]

13. Like this, you mean?

That one poor guy there, only made 39 thousand a day!

ms. dflp.

[JayhawkSD]

14. Fine, take the insurance companies away

Just pay cash out of poicket for every medical procedure you need to have.

That MRI will only cost you $1800. Fuck the insurance company. Just pay it yourself. And when the radiology lab raises the price to $2100, don't complain, just pay the bill.

I know, if it weren't for insurance companies it would only cost $1.93 and the radiology lab would never raise the price. Dream on.

"I want to hate insurance companies. Don't confuse me with any facts."

[dflprincess]

15. We replace the insurance companies with a single payer system

Per PNHP Medicare's admin costs are between 1.4% and 6% depending on which measure is used. Even with the "Affordable Care" Act the insurance companies get to waste 20% of your premium dollar on expenses other than healthcare.

And don't you kid yourself that the for profit insurance companies won't find a way around the 20%, especially if the fines for not adhering to it are low enough that it will be written off as a business cost - assuming anyone bothers to enforce the MLR.

[glinda]

16. +1

[JayhawkSD]

17. That fails to explain our health care expense

An expense that is twice what other developed countries pay, and three times most countries. Not 20% more, 100% to 200% more.

It doesn't explain why a hospital bills $1800 for a colonoscopy that costs $600 anywhere else. The insurance company doesn't bill that, the hospital bills it. The extra $1200 is, in any case, a lot more than 20%.

If health insurance is so hateful, why did the great Democratic Congress decide to make every single citizen of this nation pay money to buy it? Why did the great Democratic president who is adored with such fervor by Democrats support such legislation? Why is the legislation that required every citizen to buy health insurance hailed as "the greatest liberal legislation since FDR" by Democrats?

You can continue this "let's hate health insurance" rant if you all want to, but it is too devoid of sense for me to do so.

[dflprincess]

18. "If health insurance is so hateful, why did the great Democratic Congress decide to make every

single citizen of this nation pay money to buy it? Why did the great Democratic president who is adored with such fervor by Democrats support such legislation?"

Because they're corporate whores and don't represent us. And I don't know many people who are hailing this as "the greatest liberal legislation since FDR" - and you'll find a lot of people on this board who are less than impressed with having the Heritage Foundation's plan shoved off on us.

The hospital may bill $1800 for a colonoscopy but that's not what the insurance company pays. I know with my broken wrist and surgery last winter the doctors/hospital and therapists billed nearly $26,000 - my insurer paid about $14,000 (of which I paid about $600, mostly in copays for therapy). I imagine, when rates are negotiated, the doctors come in asking for way more than they know they'll get - just like in any negotiation. And, at least the medical personal are providing a service, the insurance company is nothing but a middle man who, in the case of the for profits, looks for ways not to pay anything if they can weasel out of it.


BTW - are you a wheel at UnitedHealth Group (or other for profit insurer) or just a stockholder?

[glinda]

20. I was going to ask that last part but refrained....

[azurnoir]

24. actually blaming Doctors themselves isn't entirely accurate

most of them these days work for HMO's and it's them the corporate HMO's that are raking in the bucks, now don't get me wrong some MD's ain't hurting financially but others are making a more modest income than you might think, add to that the costs of student loans these days they come out of med school nearly $1,000,000 in debt and malpractice insurance and a good deal of them are not exactly rich, it all depends on what specialty they're in

[madrchsod]

31. that`s why i love medicare

i went to a very good rehab center after my heart attack. i was there two weeks and medicare paid 100%. why? because the center adjusted their costs to match medicare`s payments. most of my doctors bills are far less than they were under private insurance.

[dflprincess]

19. I wonder how they know this

I went out to another of the large nonprofit website and they're not quoting anything after December 31 yet because they haven't finished figuring out what the "Affordable Care" Act will do to rates... No mention of whether they expect them to go up or down.

Strange that BCBS (how appropriate the last 2 initials are) knows already.

BCBSMN has always been a stinking company to deal with despite it's nonprofit status.

[glinda]

21. They have raised my Insurance sometimes twice in one year.

If they raise it again like they say they are going to, I will be back scraping to pay that amount and having higher co-pays. Much higher. I always address my checks "bcBS" to them. I cannot afford to go higher!!!!!! That is why I dropped my last Plan!
They said the rates are going up because of three or four new things they have to cover which is stupid really. Mental health which they "cut" prior on my rate I could pay and "prevention" BSBSBSBSBSBS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am livid.
Liars all. Crooks all!

[drm604]

29. The Affordable Care Act is a convenient scapegoat.

It's possible that a lot of companies are just using it as an excuse. I'm not saying that it absolutely is never ever the cause of rate increases or layoffs or whatever, but I need more than the word of some company that's already biased against the ACA.

We need to see the overall effects before reaching any conclusions.

That said, I feel for glinda. I've been in a similar position.

[madrchsod]

32. bcbs was`t paying my hospital bill

the hospital set me notices of non payment so i called the hospital. the woman said because bcbs was`t paying them with-in the usual 30 days. she said they decided to pay maybe after two or three months. she said throw away the notices and they will notify me if bcbs paid.

[dflprincess]

38. Tell Blue Cross you'll be filing a complaint with the Commerce Commissioner and the Attorney General

Bear with me, I never get tired of this story.

Many years ago I worked for a small company that had BCBSMN insurance one of my coworkers developed lung cancer and, as his bills mounted, BCBS wasn't paying and it was really stressing him out.

This was pre-HIPPA and, as he had asked me to help, I started calling BCBS on his behalf. One of my brother's friends worked for them, not in claims, but he gave me a number to try calling rather than the usual "customer service" line listed on the bills.

First, the person at BC wigged out because I had that number and got nasty when I wouldn't tell her how I got it. Then she told me the coworker must have had experimental treatment. So I asked if BC really considered the surgical removal of a cancerous lung "experimental" - because that's what they weren't paying for. It was also at that point I asked to speak to her supervisor.

I pretty much got the same attitude from the supervisor. At the time Mike Hatch was the Commerce Commissioner (yeah, a long time ago) when I told her I would be calling his office she told me to go ahead. So, I go dramatic. I told her that I had known Mike well (an exagerration) when he was chair of the DFL and I was not just calling his office, but I would be speaking directly to him (a real exagerration but I did know people who would make that call for me). I told her she had until noon the next day to let me know when those bills would be paid.

Swear to God, I got a call back within the hour with the amounts, payees and check numbers - though she claimed it was just a coincidence and all those checks had been scheduled to go out anyway. And my coworker had no more trouble with BCBS.

Several years later when Hatch was AG I got the chance to tell him this story. He liked it.

[glinda]

22. Hey Now they lowered it about $40. hahahahaaaaaaaaaaaa

BFD

[dflprincess]

23. Interesting

I wonder if they're getting close to having too much in reserve (or whatever it's called) and risking violating the MLR Minnesota has had for years for the nonprofits. The AG's office does check on that.

[glinda]

25. Confusing and I have no trust with them.

They raise their rates anytime they want. Obviously by lowering them maybe they are hoping I will not be surprised when they raise it even higher sticking to their original letter. lol!

[chillfactor]

27. the school i work for today said.....

we have the option of staying with the health insurance the school offers OR going on the exchange and see if we can find a better deal.....great option......

[dflprincess]

30. My employer sent the same information out this week as well

The law requires that they notify you about the exchange and your option for using it. However, we were also told that people who have access to employer insurance may not be able to get subsidies even if their income is low enough.

Also, you can't deduct the premium from your taxes and many employers do take you share of the premium out of your paycheck as pretax dollars.

The amount I pay for single coverage is way, way lower than what a plan from the exchange would cost me - if I were still doing contract work the exchange might be a better deal, but I'd be nuts not to stick with what my employer offers (and who also said nothing is changing for next year.)

[chillfactor]

28. no insurance rates are going up because of ACA....

but people who buy into that BS believe it.....good god

[RC]

33. Actually, no one knows yet.

The criminals are still figuring out their new cons under the ACA law.

[chillfactor]

34. they can con all they want.....

this is the first step to single-payer whether they like it or not!

[RC]

37. Only because The ACA is not the panacea people here seem to think it is.

Before we can have Single payer, we need to get rid of the 3rd Way, DINO's, and the rest of the Right of Center, that are masquerading as Democrats.

[SheilaT]

35. Blaming the Affordable Care Act is total bullshit.

Without knowing a lot of details (and even if you tell me, I'm not knowledgeable to parse your specific situation) it's hard to know what to say. One thing is that the insurance companies now must spend 80% of the premiums on actual health care claims. They can only use 20% for overhead.

I recently got a letter from my company, one apparently required by the ACA, explaining under what circumstances a person can opt out of their company's plan and go to the exchanges.

My plan does not allow me to do that, and I'm not surprised. It's very good. I'm lucky. It's actually a self-insurance, and United Health Care simply acts as an administrator. I only work part time, but I still get benefits. Personally, I'm annoyingly healthy, rarely need to use my health care. But I do opt to pay a little more for the highest level of coverage. A co-worker who has various health issues is likewise pleased with the plan.

I do keep on reading over and over that most people going into the exchanges will be vastly better off than they had been.

[progree]

39. "insurance companies now must spend 80% of the premiums on actual health care claims...."

insurance companies now must spend 80% of the premiums on actual health care claims. They can only use 20% for overhead.

Thanks to the ACA. Odd that nobody has mentioned this until now. Thank you for bringing it up.

(I suppose though that the insurance companies will get better and better at creative accounting and coming up with some kind of arrangements with providers to game the system as much as possible).

[dflprincess]

40. The nonprofits operating in Minnesota

(BCBS, Medica, Health Partners to name a few) have had that restriction for years though I thought it was 15% .

It's one of the things Medica got in trouble for a number of years ago.