Thanks Obama. My health insurance just shot up 75%.

Thanks Obama. My health insurance just shot up 75%.

by BecauseHeLives | Published on October 26th, 2010, 9:02 am | News

Just got done re-signing up for my company's health coverage for the coming year. This is what I've found.

* More limitations on where I can get care.
* My co-pays have doubled
* My monthly premiums have increased 75%
* My employer contribution will now be reported on my W2 and will likely be considered taxable income at some point in the near future.

Nice. Real nice.

Seems I recall that Obama said health coverage for most people won't increase with his new plan. He either lied or was misinformed greatly. Everyone I'm talking to is experiencing the exact same thing.

So, after the new year when most people don't have a lot of discretionary income, what will happen to the economy when all of this discretionary income is taken away? What happens when the employer contribution on healthcare is no longer pre-tax? We are headed back deeper and deeper into this recession and it is going to last for years.

Oh, did I mention that Obama is kicking around the idea of doing away with the mortgage interest deduction?

Yes, blame the government for increases in your PRIVATE insurance. ಠ_ಠ

It's a free market, surely. Just go out and negotiate a better deal.

My health insurance hasn't gone up. BHL must have some greedy bastards controlling his deal.

Me neither October 26th, 2010, 9:16 am Reply with quote

Me neither :lol:

Sanjuro wrote:Yes, blame the government for increases in your PRIVATE insurance. ಠ_ಠ

The government is DIRECTLY responsible for this increase in costs. Wake up Sanjuro.

October 26th, 2010, 9:41 am Reply with quote

October 26th, 2010, 9:54 am Reply with quote

October 26th, 2010, 10:02 am Reply with quote

BecauseHeLives wrote:
Sanjuro wrote:Yes, blame the government for increases in your PRIVATE insurance. ಠ_ಠ

The government is DIRECTLY responsible for this increase in costs. Wake up Sanjuro.

No, corporate greed is. I'm sure your insurance company didn't make any ridiculous profits hand over fist last year. They are pushing increases on the customers so the plebes so they will scream and argue against the very thing that will ultimately lower costs across the board: Regulation.

You'd be wrong to think that Sanjuro.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, the state's largest insurer, earned $186 million last year while raising premiums on customers as the economy slid into recession.

Such large profits by a nonprofit company elicited sharp criticism from health care reform and state employee advocates.

"I think it's outrageous. We have North Carolinians losing their jobs, losing their health insurance, really hurting, and then you look at Blue Cross," said Adam Searing, director of the NC Justice Center's Health Access Coalition and a longtime critic of Blue Cross.

The percentage that my employer is paying for my healthcare has changed either so they aren't pushing more of the chanrges to the employees. Also, if you don't think employers don't earnestly shop around for insurance then you'd be wrong there as well.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/wral_inv ... y/4668082/

Seems to me the Insurance company is all about making money.

Have its costs gone up 75%? Has legislation put its costs up 75%? How are its profits?

WellPoint Inc., UnitedHealth Group, Cigna Corp., Aetna Inc. and Humana Inc. posted combined profits of $12.2 billion in 2009, a 56% increase over calendar year 2008. Via

Perhaps it just decided to make more money while having a convenient scape goat.

Making money is good. You should be happy to contribute.

A Person wrote:Seems to me the Insurance company is all about making money.

Have its costs gone up 75%? Has legislation put its costs up 75%? How are its profits?

WellPoint Inc., UnitedHealth Group, Cigna Corp., Aetna Inc. and Humana Inc. posted combined profits of $12.2 billion in 2009, a 56% increase over calendar year 2008. Via

Perhaps it just decided to make more money while having a convenient scape goat.

Making money is good. You should be happy to contribute.

I think its obvious rates are being raised by these companies because they don't want to go out of business by the new rules placed on them that take effect soon. There are many insurance companies that are going to fail. Just try and find an insurance company out there now that will offer child-only insurance. You won't find it anymore. Keep drinking the kool-aid thinking things are getting better.

BHL, they did the same crap to me back when Bush was in office.... but I do think (and hear) a lot of insurance companies, and corporations are positioning themselves. Ultimately it's not a direct result of Obama, it's a direct result of capitalism and your employer.... but not matter how you look at this, if they would have passed Medicare for all then you wouldn't have had to worry about it... some blame your Republicans on that one.

Liv wrote:BHL, they did the same crap to me back when Bush was in office.... but I do think (and hear) a lot of insurance companies, and corporations are positioning themselves. Ultimately it's not a direct result of Obama, it's a direct result of capitalism and your employer.... but not matter how you look at this, if they would have passed Medicare for all then you wouldn't have had to worry about it... some blame your Republicans on that one.

To echo this, my insurance has been steadily increasing every year. I remember it shot up big time in 05 and got restructured in 06 to have more coming out of my pocket with other programs like fund matching etc.

there was a three year stretch from 2005 to 2008 where my health insurance costs went up between 25% and 37% each year. Obamacare? But now the reason for the dastardly increases are to "prepare" for a health care law that doesn't even mostly take effect until 2014. Right. Corporations count on such ignorance to keep ripping people off -- and it works!

I think Obama can indeed carry some of the blame - for not getting (or even trying very hard for) a robust public option.

Trying to reform a system when its implementation is dependant on companies implacably opposed to reform is unlikely to be too successful.

A Person wrote:Seems to me the Insurance company is all about making money.

Have its costs gone up 75%? Has legislation put its costs up 75%? How are its profits?

WellPoint Inc., UnitedHealth Group, Cigna Corp., Aetna Inc. and Humana Inc. posted combined profits of $12.2 billion in 2009, a 56% increase over calendar year 2008. Via

Perhaps it just decided to make more money while having a convenient scape goat.

Making money is good. You should be happy to contribute.

See, when the greed of the corporations isn't vacuuming money directly from a conservative's pocket, he will support that greed as "the American Way." Once it costs him personally, it becomes a completely different ball of wax.

But like Sanjuro says... the MEDICAL economy, what is called the "health care industry" is what is really driving up the cost of health care. Insurers, of course, have no interest in absorbing any of that extra cost, and indeed have managed to force all their customers (private and corporate) to pay not only the extra costs, but enough to increase THEIR profits rather obscenely. Sanjuro and most everyone else in the corporate insurance umbrella are not only paying higher premiums, but they are also getting thinner and thinner benefits. That, as they say, is Capitalism, pure and simple.

You asked for it, whined for it, shouted and screamed for it. Now, get yourself some K-Y Jelly and ENJOY it.

I just got my BCBS renewal letter for next year. Currently I'm paying $171.51 a month for a policy with a $2000 deductible - next year it'll be $177.08: a 3% increase. The sky isn't falling because of the changes to health care...

Honestly I wouldn't complain BHL....

I pay nothing for my insurance, but I get no benefits. If I lose a limb, come down with cancer, or plop over from unforeseen reasons... I'm just screwed.

So I'd be thankful...

You could be me.

Sanjuro wrote:
BecauseHeLives wrote:
Sanjuro wrote:Yes, blame the government for increases in your PRIVATE insurance. ಠ_ಠ

The government is DIRECTLY responsible for this increase in costs. Wake up Sanjuro.

No, corporate greed is. I'm sure your insurance company didn't make any ridiculous profits hand over fist last year. They are pushing increases on the customers so the plebes so they will scream and argue against the very thing that will ultimately lower costs across the board: Regulation.

Corporate greed? How so? How do you quantify greed? I.e., can you give me a $$$ amount? (pssssst..you can't!) While it is a human problem, human greed cannot be measured and it is NOT an economic indicator. Insurance companies compete with each other to offer comparable services/rate plans that are competitive, therefore there is no evidence of greed. Market forces, if ALLOWED to work, will gravitate to a natural level. Given the current economic conditions, health insurance companies REACT to gooberment regulations. Gooberment regulations affect economic behavior, like taxes do. Same thing applies for your wonderful obummercare. Gooberment and nothing but gooberment affects the price of health insurance and cost of health care because they have such a heavy hand in it already. Your great and wonderful gooberment needs to back down with its heavy hand of regulation in health care. Too much regulation WILL affect cost and cost of insurance rates. Guess who rejects claims more often? MEDICARE. Do you know what the profit margins are for the health insurance industry? Not very high. Why this is hard for you and your ilk to understand, I don't know. Then again, I don't expect you and your ilk to comprehend.

Health insurance industry profit margins
http://biz.yahoo.com/p/522qpmd.html

Guess who rejects the most claims? Your, pure, clean, wholesome, can-do-no-wrong, wonderful government, called Medicare. Now, who do you think is "greedy"? Scroll to Metric 12
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload ... rtcard.pdf

Maybe the late, great, Dr. Friedman can help answer your question...

About Dr. Friedman...
http://www.hoover.org/fellows/10630

Forgot to add:

My prescription cost has also doubled. :evil:

Don't worry, I found a little island that will mail you your prescription cheaper than it is with a co-pay here in the states...

so if his actual bill got thru since your republicans cut it to shreds they wouldnt have been allowed to raise the price. BUT!!!!! since they forced them to remove all the parts that would keep those companies from doing that we all!!!!!! pay for it. so if you want to blame someone look in the mirror because people like you are why kids get dropped from insurance when they get cancer and your rates go up every single year. those companies arent being taxed at all right now all they are trying to do is make you believe that obama's health care rules caused it. they are getting rich because people like you listen to fox news and believe its not them its the evil obamacare causing this.
wake up the "great health care" we have in the usa is ranked 37th in the world! come on columbia and costa rica rank higher than we do! how is that great? why are we 37th if what we have is so good? look at this site and see how bad it is.. http://californiawatch.org/watchblog/wo ... hs-rise-us slovenia has a better rate than we do lol.