<p>I’m certain there are. And yes, BCE drugs are a bit business. So while we are at the business of having our Federal Gov micro manage our health care system (insurance, access and delivery)…why not have them regulate the cost of the drugs. </p>
<p>This disparity leads to yet another SES distinction. Those that can…will be seeking out alternatives outside the US (cosmetic dental work for example is a fraction of the cost in South America - enough of a difference to fund a nice vacation while one is at it…).</p>
<p>The Dept of Ag knew when they made the changes. The farm lobbies are very powerful and we have to do something with all of that corn and wheat that we grow. Even there we screw it up and mandate that gasoline has to contain corn products when it isn’t clear that there’s any net benefit to doing so.</p>
<p>We are back to an HMO this year and it costs what our PPO did last year and it seems to cover just about everything with reasonable co-pays. Last year the PPO was comparable but everything went way up. For some reason the HMO option held the line on costs.</p>
<p>Our company self-insures so that takes the profit-motive out. That leaves cost-shifting. If the ACA works, then our insurance rates should go down because the costs are within the company but external costs will go down because more people are paying for the care that previously wasn’t paid for. That’s the theory. We’ll find out in late 2014. If prices don’t go down, then that means that the cost-shifting problem wasn’t solved.</p>
<p>My decision was based on annual costs versus cap, individual and family, under a family plan. After determining that the cheapest plans (strictly individual) left us with too high a co-pay, after deductible and too high overall dollar exposure. I looked at some procedures we could need- if D1 needs surgery, if I get kidney stones again. The ordinary visits are not cheap, but doable. Believe me, I hit a point where I cried. We want to provide for our families.</p>
<p>“This disparity leads to yet another SES distinction. Those that can…will be seeking out alternatives outside the US…”</p>
<p>Many, many more people now seek care for medical conditions outside the U.S. than come to the U.S. for treatment. There are even some insurance companies or self-insured plans that actually pay for it. The quality is better, and, for some conditions, physicians have performed many more procedures than those in the U.S. In India, in the best hospitals, many of the docs were trained in India, went to the U.S, for residencies or additional training, and then returned to India because of the higher quality of life (for the wealthy).</p>
And because of that, there is a loophole that will allow people who claim to smoke to avoid the penalty if they decide not to purchase health insurance.</p>
<p>Yes, and your auto policy allows for discrimination against speeders, DUI’s and teenagers. When we all contribute to pay for each other we get to make discrimination decisions.</p>
<p>I apologize for my comments, I did not intend to go outside the parameters of the discussion. Admittedly I was not aware of them when I posted. I am a small business owner myself and find that the law and our attitude towards how they affect each of us is worthy of discussion in this matter. It is definitely pertinant to the OP. Like others I would recommend to the OP that he search out a Health Savings Account. I insure my family and and 1 other with an individual policy. The cost of the insurance is cheaper and you may also contribute to their health savings account. The cost of contributing to both was cheaper than the cost of an HMO or PPO plan. The savings is tax free and can be used for any health care expense including eye, dental etc. primarily because your paying out of your own fund for each of these. There is no co pay, the bills are sent to your insurance company and you will get their negotiated rate. The doctor or other provider will then send a bill which you pay out your health savings account. After you reach your deductable you are covered for 100% of covered expenses. Good luck.</p>
<p>“I apologize for my comments, I did not intend to go outside the parameters of the discussion. Admittedly I was not aware of them when I posted.”</p>
<p>I am not certain of what the parameters of any discussion are limited to. Is that set by the title of a thread, the first post, the fine print? Or maybe it is to steer away from anything that could become political, as this is an important issue for most of us, and it is helpful to talk about it. Everything affects everything else, we are all connected to this in some way…and I can tell you that I certainly have learned much by learning from the wisdom and experience of many people in this thread.</p>
<p>Even for those of us are who are covered by their company plans, it is important to know what options are available if for some reason we weren’t…ie, layoffs, early retirement, disabled, company sheds the plans. It sounds like the HSA is the way to go for right now, but next year, who knows? It seems that this can change in a heartbeat.</p>
<p>In the states where we do business, the company pays the broker a small commission, a small percentage of your premium. If you go directly to the company, no agent, your premium is the same, the company keeps it. If you go to a broker you are hopeful that they both know the different companies and can advise you which is best in your situation and that they can help you translate ‘real person’ information into ‘insurance speak’ People often say too much about some things and not enough about others, it can be helpful to have some one on your side doing the translating, keeping it honest, but not inflammatory, not raising questions etc.</p>
<p>I suspect HSAs are going to go away, non-grandfathered ones, as the rules seem to point to lower deductibles being required.</p>
<p>Anyone being subsidized will likely accept the subsidy, but if they no longer qualify in a few years (less dependents, better income, etc) they may regret not having that HSA available. Tough choices.</p>
<p>nysmile, I hope the HSA option works for you. We used it a few years ago, then Anthem jacked the premiums so much for it that the tax savings didn’t offset the difference! I found that very annoying. It’s like they discovered that the option was becoming popular and thought, “Maybe people won’t notice that we’re charging an arm and a leg for it!” Ack.</p>
<p>HSA’s are perfect plans for many people, especially those who truly want to provide themselves with health insurance and understand the importance of saving for the costs of health maintenance. You really do shop around for such things as MRI’s, colonoscopies, dentists, eye care etc. because there are differences in cost and they are coming out of your savings account. We paid for out daughter’s braces and eyeglasses out of our HSA even though they are not covered under our major medical plan. They would not work well for those who are low income or perhaps not good at saving but for many I believe they are affective and save money. I think eliminating them will not only cost those who use them much more but will also cost our healthcare system more.</p>
<p>Busdriver- probably too late to buy a grandfathered plan, the magic date was 03-23-10. I am not sure if the plan had to exist or you had to own it then. Maybe if a pre-03-23-10 plan is still available you can buy it now? I am not sure how they will rule on that.</p>
<p>Of course, then your insurance company can raise those rates or even decide to discontinue that plan. Sort of like having the old cell phone plan, you can keep it for awhile, but at some point there becomes a reason to change. Yes, if you can now buy one, you can deposit the max into the HSA account as long as possible.</p>
<p>One item of note, the HSA monies can go for medical care AND once you are a senior, THEN you can use that money towards the medicare supplement premiums and/or as an IRA. Assuming those rules are not changed by then!</p>
<p>Thanks, somemom, I doubt I’d qualify for an HSA anyways. But maybe? We have a small rental property business, but insurance comes from our primary job. Just good to find out about this. I had also heard that you can invest with your HSA money, not just keep it in a non-interest bearing account, which is very interesting.</p>
<p>“nysmile, I hope the HSA option works for you. We used it a few years ago, then Anthem jacked the premiums so much for it that the tax savings didn’t offset the difference! I found that very annoying”</p>
<p>That is what I saw with the BC plans in Calif.
Dietz…you have seen something different?</p>
<p>As far as grandfathered plans…I was stuck in one. Horrible. The premiums were going up 20 percent a year. Healthy people were dropping out and those of us with preconditions, but were really healthy, were fracked.</p>
<p>When I was able to switch…I was able to drop the grandfathered plan with premiums close to 1500 a month…to a plan that cost 800 a month. BC was teling me not to switch because the grandfathered plan was better. :)</p>
<p>Now the plan I have is 1000 a month. Who knows what the grandfathered plan costs? More than 1500…</p>
<p>I do have a positive thing to say about BC/BS. I just got off the phone with them, I was very reticent to call and ask if my son could still be covered on our plan when he starts working (they offer insurance). The lady said yes, and in fact she even encouraged us to keep him on our policy if he had to pay any premium for the other one…ie, it doesn’t cost us anything extra to keep him on the policy, they cover everything he’s ever needed, so why would he waste the money to get his own plan? Really surprised she advised me that.</p>