[quote=bearishgurl]
flu, I have an HDHP individual policy (which I had to actually rigorously “qualify for”). My mo premium has gone up 3x since Obama signed the bill in March of 2010. I have only used the plan minimally since then so my ins co has made generous profits off me. It is clear to me that the reason for my 2x per year rate increases is due to my carrier having to accept a lot of people they didn’t want … for ANY price due to “Obamacare.” Even if many of these new “patients” are paying $1100 – $1500 mo for coverage for themselves only, I have no doubt that many of these newly-covered individuals are a “loss leader” for my carrier. Unfortunately, most of these “new insureds” are in my age group and a lot of the health problems they are suffering from now were self-inflicted due to past behavior.
My mo premium has risen 270% since 2006. Not only do they raise it on my birthday, they are allowed to raise it again six mos after my birthday.
Having insureds pick up the tab for the uninsured (who will not now have any incentive to cover themselves) will only raise the premiums of the insured more (who are trying to cover their a$$es and be responsible). That’s the way it’s always been. In my neck of the woods, these uninsureds are mostly illegal aliens availing themselves of emergency services at area hospitals.
If I wasn’t a current homeowner with actual “equity” (who fears a potential Medi-Cal, CMS or judgment lien for unexpected medical treatment/svcs), I too might be tempted to drop my coverage. It would certainly help me to be able to deploy this money elsewhere and pay all cash for my minimal dr visits. My “co-pays” are $40 – $50 visit, anyway, under my plan.
flu, just be grateful you have coverage and that there is now no lifetime cap on health coverage. I have put two relatives in the ground in my lifetime who HAD medical coverage that “maxed out” while they were still alive. On the one who had TWO policies which maxed out (a primary and secondary), it took us over four years to work out a deal with some of their providers to accept less than what was owed. Both were under the age of 65 at the time of their deaths.
Even if Obamacare ends up decimated due to piecemeal gutting by the courts, There are some good things about Obamacare and elimination of the annual and lifetime caps is one of them.[/quote]
The only new insureds that your company would have had to accept as a result of the ACA is children under the age of 27. I guarantee that hasn’t resulted in higher premiums for you, only higher profits for the insurance companies.
