<p>We are self employed. We just got the news. Our family of four will now need to pay 18k per year for our family of four! It went up 200 per month. This already wipes out any help that McCain was willing to offer to help with the premium payments (2k I believe) and we haven’t even had the election yet! I really feel like crying. When are these increases going to end? With what I believe is McCain’s plan for a bit of help, we are already $400 behind where it was last month, if this help were to even go through.</p>
<p>My sympathies. I know several people who have taken part time jobs just for coverage. It’s scary.</p>
<p>Whoa! Any reason why? Did you age up to a new category? I thought they usually raised rates in January.</p>
<p>Are you paying for a high deductible plan?</p>
<p>I second treetop - any chance of one of you getting just enough part time employment to get coverage? Do you belong to any prof. groups that offer plans? Fraternal or other organizations?</p>
<p>somemom, no it is not a high deductible plan (not for 18k!, but that is probably around the corner too). We have a PPO. Our plan was taken out Nov. 1, so the anniversary is 11/1 and that is when we are alway raised. I don’t think it has anything to do with age because we have small group insurance.</p>
<p>Treetopleaf, your right is scary, very very scary! Anyone who thinks a tax break of 2k is doing much, is delusional. It was because of these premiums that I was a Hillary supporter. Now I will vote for Obama. The Republicans have no answers to this problem. 2k is not going to cut it!</p>
<p>dragonmom, yes my DH belongs to professional organizations and I just suggested that he check them out. Frankly, I doubt that it will make a difference. We are getting a small group rate for our premiums as it stands now.</p>
<p>I am sorry to hear this. H works for a large company. Because we had a lot left in our health account, we took the high deductible/lower copaid plan for this year along with putting amounts in our HSA. It was taking a chance, but we have so far been ok. (Knock hard on wood). But starting in November, we are going to have to go on the top plan because of what is on our plate. And the cost is going to be waaaay up there for us. It really bothers me, how much we are paying from our check for the so many benefits that we are lucky to have. We don’t see 40% of our gross pay,and will be seeing less when we upgrade the health plan. </p>
<p>You might want to take a look around to see if there aren’t any high deductible plans and if you can start a HSA/cafeteria plan. But otherwise, there is little to say. This is really a crime what we have to pay for health care insurance. I call it blackmail. I can see why some families take the chance and go without, and as for young people, it is very hard for them to ante up that cost.</p>
<p>I just hope that the government does step up to do something about this. It is so out of hand. We really cannot keep this up. As it stands now, our Rx plan stinks. Everytime we get a Rx it ends up costing $50. I try to get generic, but often this is not possible. I hate to mess with what we have, but the premiums are so out of hand.</p>
<p>We did start an online side business to help with some of these increases. It is making a small amount of money (and it took nearly 4 years to make a profit), but it is not keeping up with these type of increases.</p>
<p>Northeastmom, what about someone taking an outside job that provides good business such as at Starbucks or Circuit City? Check out the hours required, type of insurance provided and cost. May be worth it. Also check out Target and Walmart’s generic $5 deals. Look for prescription coupons and ask your doctor for his samples. I found out that a number of doctors got Lexapro samples, generous amounts and anyone who was on that sort of med could get a windfall by switching. The same can be done with other meds. Also any inoculations at Public Health if at all possible or at special events like CVS. Just make sure you send a note to your family doctor. </p>
<p>It sickens me that this is happening to so many people.</p>
<p>cpt, thanks. We are busy earning money in the jobs we have now. It would not pay for one of us to start working at some other job (less income). I don’t need to shop for the $5 deals at Walmart or Target bc LOL, it would cost more in gas and car wear and tear than it would be worth since our copays on generics are $10. It is any non-generic that is $50 a pop. We can live with our pharmacy bills, but our premiums are way out of hand.</p>
<p>"The U.S. spends twice as much as other industrialized nations on health care, $7,129 per capita. Yet our system performs poorly in comparison and still leaves 47 million without health coverage and millions more inadequately covered.</p>
<p>This is because private insurance bureaucracy and paperwork consume one-third (31 percent) of every health care dollar. Streamlining payment through a single nonprofit payer would save more than $350 billion per year, enough to provide comprehensive, high-quality coverage for all Americans.</p>
<p>Click here to learn more about single-payer national health insurance"</p>
<p>[Physicians</a> for a National Health Program - Health Care is a Human Right](<a href=“http://www.pnhp.org/]Physicians”>http://www.pnhp.org/)</p>
<p>mmom, thanks. Frankly, I need little convincing because at this rate it won’t be long before we could join the 47 million figure. Anything has to be better than not being able to afford any healthcare!</p>
<p>northeastmom, Have you considered enrolling in an HMO instead of a PPO? HMO premiums are usually much less expensive than PPO premiums.</p>
<p>I’m so sorry you’re having to deal with this. Health insurance should be affordable for all.</p>
<p>mapesy, yes, we have thought about it in the past. We decided against it so that we have some freedom in healthcare providers. The time might be closer to choosing the HMO option. H and I hate making that choice, but it might be end up happening. I have not raised this option yet. H will check with his professional organizations and will contact the insurance agent to shop around.</p>
<p>Much of healthcare goes to the chronically ill and people about to die. If we could take a tougher stance on either or both we could reduce costs at least 25%. But nobody has the guts to do it because you would offend some groups.</p>
<p>Can you find a state job or government job? Although you might get paid less, the benefits might make it worth it… or how about a very high deductible umbrella plan?</p>
<p>Yes, Barron, the critically and chronically ill and their loved ones just might be offended if we do that.</p>
<p>I work as an administrator at a medical office. For our own family’s needs we choose a fairly high deductible because as it works out, the extra premium for the lower deductible basically covers the entire deductible for one person. Of course this is a risk, since it is possible that we all would need the whole deductible in a given year, but then the stop loss comes into play, and it still would not be a full deductible for everyone.</p>
<p>In my experience for the small group, the hmo premium is MORE than the ppo because it is first dollar coverage (unless you get a high copay, 50 or more dollars). I think that unless you have some chronic health or prescription needs, a high deductible is not bad. If you have a hospitalization, it will kick in to protect you.</p>
<p>Northeastmom: I’m self employed too, so I feel your pain! I called my local chamber of commerce who gave me the name of a local insurance agent. She sat down with me and compared all the plans with different insurers. We compared rates that she quoted with online rates, and they were the same. The agents are paid by the insurance companies (no cost to us). You might want to call the chamber of commerce and see if they can refer you to someone who can help you explore options. Also, we put our son on his college health plan. It covers his local doctors at home too. </p>
<p>We need a complete overhaul in our healthcare in this country. The insurance companies are in it for huge profits. I’m on an individual plan, because the group plans for a company of one person were outrageous. However, individual plans are “medically underwrittern,” which means that they can deny you coverage if they think you’re a risk. </p>
<p>Small businesses and self-employed individuals really get hurt with health care costs. I absolutely love being in business for myself, but will probably end up looking for a position with benefits in the not too distant future. I spoke with a colleague who took a part time job at Starbucks just for the benefits.</p>
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<p>I completely agree. I had this conversation last night with my son. Thinking aloud, I said told him that we if had a small bakery on Main Street USA, we would need to sell an awful lot of cakes and cookies to pay these premiums! </p>
<p>We do need a complete overhaul, and I will need to vote democratic this time around, because I really do not see anything that the Republicans have in mind to give meaningful help for people in our situation.</p>
<p>anothermom2, HMOs have lower cost premiums, but one is getting much less. We did go out of network once for an evaluation (everything turned out fine), and were very happy not being locked into in network doctors. We would hate to lose that option should a very serious health crisis arise.</p>
<p>barrons, it easy to say that if it until you, or your loved one is in that position, and I hope that never happens. Sometimes expensive treatment saves a life, and sometimes no amount of money is going to extend life.</p>
<p>Northeastmom, if you only once went out of network, that rare occurence may not be worth the cost of the PPO. Consider if you had been in the HMO and went out of network for that second opinion but paid for that visit out of pocket. How would that have worked out economically? It might be the case that you would have saved money.</p>
<p>If you always go in-network, the option to go out of network really isn’t worth very much.</p>