<p>I am in Marin County…so…my rates are going to be higher…</p>
<p>The rates on the web site as I go through them are way lower than I have seen them for awhile …they look like rates of 2 years ago…</p>
<p>Edit: maybe the rates are current…I have to think about it. </p>
<p>Can’t talk to Anthem for 15 more minutes.</p>
<p>Ok…I think I have the Share Plan…And </p>
<p>Anthem is pricing that Plan At 1479 a month starting next month…</p>
<p>dstark-do you work with a financial planner? If so, it might be worth a call to see if they work with an insurance broker. They can do all this work for you. In our state, the brokerage fee is built into the premiums for individual plans so you pay the same if you use a broker or not so it’s worth looking into so they do the work for you. They will have quoting engines for all of the major carriers in your area and will be able to give you quotes for several plans quickly. A good broker will also be able to put together the quotes side by side so they are easy to compare.</p>
<p>I am kind of in the finance business myself. :)</p>
<p>I am comparing plans right now. ;)</p>
<p>Interesting health care series.</p>
<p>[Single-Payer</a> Health Care Is Coming To America-Are We Ready? - Forbes](<a href=“http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2012/02/23/single-payer-health-care-is-coming-to-america-are-we-ready/]Single-Payer”>Single-Payer Health Care Is Coming To America-Are We Ready?)</p>
<p>[The</a> Bomb Buried In Obamacare Explodes Today-Hallelujah! - Forbes](<a href=“http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2011/12/02/the-bomb-buried-in-obamacare-explodes-today-halleluja/2/]The”>http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2011/12/02/the-bomb-buried-in-obamacare-explodes-today-halleluja/2/)</p>
<p>[Proof</a> Of The Failure Of Free Markets In Medicine - Forbes](<a href=“http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2012/02/12/proof-of-the-failure-of-free-markets-in-medicine/]Proof”>Proof Of The Failure Of Free Markets In Medicine)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The government of Canada spends about 6-7% of GDP on medical care for all of its population.</p>
<p>The government of the US spends about 6-7% of GDP on medical care for a quarter of its population.</p>
<p>So the tax costs are effectively similar in both countries (though the taxation structure differs). But Americans have much greater private costs for medical care than Canadians. (One can argue that US government spending is even more if one adds the tax deduction for employer provided medical insurance to it.)</p>
<p>Leaving aside for the moment whether an individual could or couldn’t get a better rate on health insurance than he or she is currently paying, should it be that difficult to find coverage? If it’s this challenging for people who have some knowledge of the financial and insurance systems what about the people who need health insurance but have less knowledge, less education, less money, less experience? Never mind having a computer with an internet connection and the time to research all the ins and outs of plans.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Unfortunately, our political system is in the hands of the corporations, those very insurance companies that have to go. It will never happen-even if the majority of the American people come to their senses and support it.</p>
<p>As a breast cancer patient, it has become so clear to me that our health care system serves the insurance companies- not the doctors and certainly not the patients. I am one of the lucky ones. I have insurance through my husband’s employer. (Of course that could change, but for now, lucky.) I meet many, many women whose biggest concern is not getting well- it’s how to pay for care.
I’m not talking about elderly women- but people in their 30’s-50s, with kids and husbands. You’d be surprised how many young women under 40 are being diagnosed, but I digress.
Chemotherapy costs thousands of dollars. Even the hormonal therapy that I’m on at this point runs 3800.00 a month. With Dh’s insurance, it’s just under 700.00 a month out of pocket, after the deductible, just for two injections. We can afford it, but many can’t. </p>
<p>But the real difficulty for women with this disease who are lucky enough to have insurance is getting the insurance companies to approve the treatments that are recommended. Every scan, every drug, every injection, needs approval- often doctor to doctor consultation with the carriers in order to proceed. It’s so hard. The last time my doc’s assistant was able to get my scan approved- it was really like pulling teeth. I tried on my end, and she tried on her end, and we were finally successful. I thanked her afterwards, and she thanked me for thanking her, and said, " Now you know what it’s like for us. This is what we have to do, all day, every day."</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>However, the high and rapidly rising costs are arguably the most important piece of the puzzle. PPACA will have little effect on that, as it only attempts to solve the “access” part of it with respect to pre-existing conditions, those not in regular employment, etc…</p>
<p>The US government already spends more (per person or percentage of GDP) on medical care than other rich country governments with socialized systems do. Of course, private spending in the US has to be much higher because the US government spending falls far short of universal coverage.</p>
<p>moonchild, thank you for telling that story.</p>
<p>I hope your scan was good.</p>
<p>Your post summed up exactly my problem with the “healthcare” system we have in place right now. Insurance companies hire batteries of people whose job is simply to say “No.” Just no. We ought to call it an “insurance company” system, since it is now currently operated in order to maximize the profits of the insurance companies.</p>
<p>It has nothing to do with “health” and not one thing to do with “care.” Business has no business in healthcare. </p>
<p>Look at it this way, you can buy a bottle of water (I admittedly do this at times) from a company which is privately owned and pay way too much for it, or you can drink tap water. The EPA regulates tap water safety. Clean water. Every time you want a glass of water, you don’t have to call someone and “make sure” it is all right if you get one. It’s just wrong.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Medicare as it is now for all would still be much more expensive than what Canada spends (Medicare + Medicaid now costs as much as a percentage of GDP as what Canada’s universal insurance scheme does).</p>
<p>Of course, any reform to Medicare (whether for all or not) to control costs will run into extreme resistance from the various parties who feel that they have something to lose from reform (the extra costs are paychecks or profits for someone).</p>
<p>“As a breast cancer patient, it has become so clear to me that our health care system serves the insurance companies- not the doctors and certainly not the patients.”</p>
<p>My wife had a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer. The very first question out of the oncologist’s mouth was, “which insurance do you have?” The reason was that for this particular kind of breast cancer, the standard of care in Europe, used for some 25 years, had a 10% lower mortality rate and 11% lower reoccurrence rate, but some U.S. insurance companies decided to call it “experimental”. We were lucky that I had GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED and paid-for health care (costing less than all the other varieties by some distance) that provided the care. Otherwise, my wife would have had to accept sub-standard care, or pay out-of-pocket.</p>
<p>Anyone who really thinks the quality of care in the U.S. is higher than elsewhere needs to think again.</p>
<p>“Medicare as it is now for all would still be much more expensive than what Canada spends (Medicare + Medicaid now costs as much as a percentage of GDP as what Canada’s universal insurance scheme does)”</p>
<p>No, it would be MUCH cheaper. Add in what employers and employees currently pay for private insurance. In fact, it isn’t even close.</p>
<p>Wellspring–it is not difficult to find individual insurance. It’s a couple clicks away on your computer. What gets in the way is the ASSUMPTION that individual plans are more expensive so people don’t look.</p>
<p>Then what’s keeping all the people on this thread from finding better coverage?</p>
<p>dstark–find a couple insurance brokers, take them out to lunch, they could be a good source of referrals for you :), especially if you are a client.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>However, until all of the PPACA provisions kick in (if PPACA is not repealed), a lot of people cannot buy it, due to pre-existing conditions, some of which are common (e.g. asthma).</p>
<p>Wellspring–well, nothing, except that they just aren’t doing it. dstark is getting quotes right now. Again, it takes about 5 minutes on your computer to get quotes and start the process. It is NOT hard. I would suggest going through a broker—no I am NOT a broker–because they can do the work for you and it doesn’t cost you any more. They then become your “HR” department and can help you with claims, shopping your policies, etc.</p>
<p>ucbalumnus–not true–that was addressed with HIPAA long ago. The only time that comes into play is if you don’t currently have insurance. If you have coverage and don’t let that coverage lapse (63 days) they can’t dock you for preexisting conditions. What the health reform addresses is those that don’t have coverage and are trying to get coverage.</p>
<p>It is not EASY to find individual health coverage, either, but who cares.</p>
<p>It’s a barbaric system to put a business between a woman and the care she needs to recover from cancer, to put shareholder value in front of a man’s heart transplant. Isn’t anyone else kind of grossed out by the idea that insurance companies make money by LETTING PEOPLE DIE, against their doctor’s orders.</p>
<p>A doctor who did this would be sued for malpractice, but an insurance company is “just doing business?”</p>
<p>I really wish an attorney would take up some cases and sue AS MEDICAL MALPRACTICE, these companies. Just so it would become clear. Insurance companies are practicing medicine without a lisence.</p>
<p>Even for those of us who aren’t sick and have “good” coverage, the private insurance system is infuriating. I went for my annual mammogram last month. Checked the Anthem website recently and discovered they’d processed the claim and concluded that I owed the hospital $268. Now, annual screening mammograms are supposed to be free. It’s a big “feature” of my employer’s plan. So I phoned Anthem, made it through all the button pushing etc. and eventually got to a live person who said “Oh. It should have been assessed as preventative. I’ll resubmit it to the system.”</p>
<p>The thing is, at the very best, it’s like I have a second job just monitoring our stupid health insurance. Don’t get me started on all the hassles with our Flexplan payments. Back home in Canada, you just went to the doctor when you needed to, and all you thought about was getting well, if you were sick. The amount of time and energy middle class Americans have to put into coping with paying for their healthcare is nuts. And we are the lucky ones, who actually have decent incomes and insurance.</p>