Sunday, November 24, 2013

Bloomberg: Deductibles 26% higher. Enjoy the low premium.

 And the hits to Obamacare just keep coming.  Self-inflicted wounds, of course. Bloomberg reported:

Americans seeking cheap insurance on the Obamacare health exchanges may be in for sticker shock if they get sick next year, as consumers trade lower premiums for out-of-pocket costs that can top $6,000 a person.

Expenses for some policies can reach $6,350 for a single person and $12,700 per family, the most allowed by the health-care law, according to a survey by HealthPocket Inc. of seven states, including California and Ohio. That’s 26 percent higher than the average deductible in the seven states, and a scenario likely repeated across the country, said Kev Coleman, head of research and data at Sunnyvale, California-based HealthPocket.

Private employers have been raising deductibles and co-pays for years to help control costs on health coverage for their workers. Now insurers are using the tactic to lower premiums on the government-run exchanges. While that has allowed President Barack Obama to tout the affordability of plans, it poses a choice: Do consumers gamble they won’t face a major medical bill, or boost monthly premiums just in case? ....

On California’s state-run exchange site, the standard low-premium “bronze” plan carries a $5,000 deductible per person, a $60 co-pay to see a doctor and a 30 percent fee, known as coinsurance, on hospital care. In Rhode Island, Blue Cross Blue Shield’s bronze plan has a $5,800 deductible while Missouri’s U.S.-run exchange offers plans by Anthem Blue Cross with the maximum-allowable $6,350 in out-of-pocket costs.

The higher deductibles are one way insurers are trying to compensate for added costs under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.

The health law, known as Obamacare, forbids insurers from dropping coverage or raising rates based on a customer’s illness, adding security that doesn’t exist today for individual policyholders. It also requires insurers to cover “essential benefits” sometimes not provided now, including prescription drugs, wellness visits and hospitalization.... Rest of article

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

No surprise.
Once upon a time there were non-profit health insurance companies and non-profit hospitals ( both being willing to proudly show they were indeed non-profit).

When it becomes all about money and there are few restraints and no accountability, what do you expect?

It's actually amusing that those who are so mad now were also rabidly opposed to single payer.

Those rabidly opposed to sending money overseas to support other countries are not opposed at all to us financing the pharmaceutical industry so they can sell in bulk to other countries and we pay the difference.

This is what happens in a society where the citizens are convinced that everything should be a business and all businessmen are honest and therefore need free rein. Hell, we even decided a corporation is equivalent to a human citizen.

And, if that weren't bad enough, we destroy the educational system that made us great.

Our enemies are delighted with our self-destruction.



Anonymous said...

If true, it's what the GOP said it wants: higher deductibles, more skin in the game for patients, more "responsible" healthcare choices.

Only way to cut costs may be for choices to be made by doctors who earn flat income and don't profit from unnecessary care.

Anonymous said...

Obamacare is an unmitigated disaster. It will inflict higher costs and worse health coverage on everyone. The ones who will get hit hard are the people who are barely making it in this obama economy.

Will our lawmakers have the courage to correct things that they have messed up.

Richard Wise said...

"Hell, we even decided a corporation is equivalent to a human citizen."

I believe the decision (Citizens United) was that corporations are made up of citizens.

Anonymous said...

The group of people that will be punished the most by Obamacare are the tobacco smokers. Premiums are as much as 15 times more expensive than nonsmokers. This might be the only part of the act I agree with.

Anonymous said...

Duh , Richard.

I read the majority and minority opinions.

That little rationale used sounds just peachy until you understand that all of the citizens in a corporation don't make policy or decide where political money is spent.

The clerks aren't getting to vote on political contributions or ads.

Great, until you figure out that those citizens making up a corporation have always had the opportunity to participate in the political system INDEPENDENT of the corporation .

Sounds good until you realize the corporation has authority over those citizens in their employ and they have no meaningful way to object to corporate decisions without risking their jobs.

Do you REALLY believe that everyone in a corporation holds the same political views?

Anonymous said...

6:17 am I hope you aren't overweight as you're next.

Anonymous said...

The group of people that will be punished the most by Obamacare are the tobacco smokers. Premiums are as much as 15 times more expensive than nonsmokers. This might be the only part of the act I agree with.

November 25, 2013 at 6:17 PM


That is somewhat hilarious. I am a nonsmoker but do I really believe that a smoker is going to tell the truth ???
Will Obamamen spy on us?

Richard Wise said...

"Do you REALLY believe that everyone in a corporation holds the same political views?"

Dear Anonymous,
I believe that a corporation is a group of individual owners who have exercised their political and economic freedoms to organize themselves for the purpose of collective action and that they have a constitutional right to do so.
Since you have read the Citizens United decision you will know that: Citizens United was a non-profit good government group who made a movie critical of a powerful national politician. The Feds attempted to ban its showing and the Court rightly found this to be a suppression of free speech. I am amazed that people find this disturbing.



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If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

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