Obamacare premiums going way up for many (22% on average)

[cliftonite]

It's always amusing when people on a computer forum pretend they can't figure out the benefits of using computers.

Agreed. My wife is a physician and the emr system is mostly positive.

 

[Victorian Gray]

It's always amusing when people on a computer forum pretend they can't figure out the benefits of using computers.

A few months ago I was seeing my oncologist on a Monday morning. He confirmed something that I had suspected, that I was starting a bout of Shingles. I also had an appointment with my GP that same afternoon because the day before I'd figured out what was happening and made an appointment to see what treatment might be beneficial. When I got to his office I wasn't even through the door when he said "I hear you have Shingles so here's what needs to be done." My GP had the information from the oncologist (electronically) within a couple of hours of my seeing him. Seems beneficial to me.

EDIT: Note, this isn't the US as I live in Canada (for those who might not be aware) and I don't know anything about the differences between the system used in my province compared to what's in place in the US.

 

[OverVolt]

Yep. And that's why you see so many mergers/acquisitions happening in the healthcare industry. Little individual shops can't continue to function so they sell and take on the name/operations of a larger company. Reality is that it's not a terrible arrangement. Most of the time those regional sites are just feeder systems to the bigger ones any way. They never did have the acute care needs for high risk procedures/patients and sent them down the road to the big sites. Now they have an integrated EMR with the other hospitals in the area as well as the clinics around them. They have the same employees. Typically are getting better benefits due to larger employee pool, and the hospital is getting better purchasing prices due to corporate purchasing power of the larger system. Patients still get to go to the same small hospital they were used to and see the same providers. It's just got a different logo on the front and a different computer system behind it.

You forgot the part where they run on skeleton crews that eventually rack up overtime on burned out employees.

 

[OverVolt]

Agreed. My wife is a physician and the emr system is mostly positive.

Its been bad for most of Maryland. I can't speak for everywhere, for example Cali already had some of the most price-gougey hospitals/healthcare and that has likely been reined in some from Obamacare.

What you don't understand is that not ALL hospitals were bloated privately-owned price gouging operations and Obamacare effectively put out of business the hospitals that pre-obamacare were providing good care with good efficiency. They were basically told to cut costs 20% and buy millions of dollars of software to comply with the law.

In Cali where it was $375 for an EKG no problem, in Maryland where it was $74 how the hell are you going to cut costs on that? Maryland had great healthcare before the ACA screwed it up.

 

[OverVolt]

It's always amusing when people on a computer forum pretend they can't figure out the benefits of using computers.

Its this kind of simple mindedness that caused these problems in the first place. Some bureaucrat had the same dingdong idea.

25% of all medical mistakes are now the result of a problem with an EHR.

 

[agent00f]

Its this kind of simple mindedness that caused these problems in the first place. Some bureaucrat had the same dingdong idea.

25% of all medical mistakes are now the result of a problem with an EHR.

You should stop using this gubmint created internet and the euro socialist gubmint created web in particular.

 

[werepossum]

Its been bad for most of Maryland. I can't speak for everywhere, for example Cali already had some of the most price-gougey hospitals/healthcare and that has likely been reined in some from Obamacare.

What you don't understand is that not ALL hospitals were bloated privately-owned price gouging operations and Obamacare effectively put out of business the hospitals that pre-obamacare were providing good care with good efficiency. They were basically told to cut costs 20% and buy millions of dollars of software to comply with the law.

In Cali where it was $375 for an EKG no problem, in Maryland where it was $74 how the hell are you going to cut costs on that? Maryland had great healthcare before the ACA screwed it up.

Wait, one size fits all poorly? Well, since that is unique in human history, obviously no one could have predicted that. Oh, and Maryland is exclusively populated by 1% richers who all won life's lottery and who now need to spread the wealth with a smile, apparently . . . I mean, that's the only possible explanation why you guys don't like glorious new health care plan, right?

On the positive side, I have health insurance again! UHC and MHI kissed and made up - through December 31st, 2016. Now all I have to do is rack up $6,000 in health care costs over the next six weeks and my health insurance will began to actually pay back some of my ~$6k in premiums!

 

[sxr7171]

Wait, one size fits all poorly? Well, since that is unique in human history, obviously no one could have predicted that. Oh, and Maryland is exclusively populated by 1% richers who all won life's lottery and who now need to spread the wealth with a smile, apparently . . . I mean, that's the only possible explanation why you guys don't like glorious new health care plan, right?

On the positive side, I have health insurance again! UHC and MHI kissed and made up - through December 31st, 2016. Now all I have to do is rack up $6,000 in health care costs over the next six weeks and my health insurance will began to actually pay back some of my ~$6k in premiums!

So basically you need $12k of needed healthcare to come out ahead this year. Even if this rate were frozen at today's rate over the next 30 years you'd need $360k in needed healthcare over that period of time.

I guess you'll have to let yourself go badly. Get diabetes, raise your cholesterol, raise your BMI to 45 and start smoking. You might come out ahead.

 

[highland145]

Golden Rule (United) finally sent the new premium notice. Up 17.4% and... I'm happy....wtf kind of bizzaro world is this? I'll be out $19.8K before insurance pays a dime. Guess that's only a little ass raping vs the ACA at nearly $30K.

 

[fskimospy]

So basically you need $12k of needed healthcare to come out ahead this year. Even if this rate were frozen at today's rate over the next 30 years you'd need $360k in needed healthcare over that period of time.

I guess you'll have to let yourself go badly. Get diabetes, raise your cholesterol, raise your BMI to 45 and start smoking. You might come out ahead.

I racked up more than $200k in medical bills in ten days once. Basically what you're saying is that he is betting he or his family will have one serious illness in the next 30 years, which is actually a pretty reasonable wager to make.

 

[highland145]

What are your out of pocket premiums and deductible? Might as well compare apples...

 

[sxr7171]

I racked up more than $200k in medical bills in ten days once. Basically what you're saying is that he is betting he or his family will have one serious illness in the next 30 years, which is actually a pretty reasonable wager to make.

For a family it's not bad. For a single person it's pretty bad. I had catastrophic coverage at around $100/month. Now it amounts to the same but at 5 times as much.

 

[Svnla]

For a family it's not bad. For a single person it's pretty bad. I had catastrophic coverage at around $100/month. Now it amounts to the same but at 5 times as much.

I am single, no spouse and no kid and with a high deductible policy like you. I just received the latest bill from BlueCross BlueShield last night and the new premium will "only" go up 2.5 times for the same policy that I have for the last few years. Zero claim, nothing, nada, not a thing since I have the policy except one year older.

"Affordable" my butt.

 

[HumblePie]

I am single, no spouse and no kid and with a high deductible policy like you. I just received the latest bill from BlueCross BlueShield last night and the new premium will "only" go up 2.5 times for the same policy that I have for the last few years. Zero claim, nothing, nada, not a thing since I have the policy except one year older.

"Affordable" my butt.

You thought Affordable was meant to make healthcare affordable for you? No it was to make insurance companies and hospital admins more able to afford second mansions and expensive sports cars.

 

[sxr7171]

I am single, no spouse and no kid and with a high deductible policy like you. I just received the latest bill from BlueCross BlueShield last night and the new premium will "only" go up 2.5 times for the same policy that I have for the last few years. Zero claim, nothing, nada, not a thing since I have the policy except one year older.

"Affordable" my butt.

Seriously man. I haven't seen a doctor in over a decade. And even then it was for mandatory school vaccinations. That's it.

 

[highland145]

I racked up more than $200k in medical bills in ten days once. Basically what you're saying is that he is betting he or his family will have one serious illness in the next 30 years, which is actually a pretty reasonable wager to make.

What are your out of pocket premiums and deductible? Might as well compare apples...

Guess I should have quoted your post.

 

[fskimospy]

Guess I should have quoted your post.

I'm fortunate enough now to have employer sponsored health care that doesn't have premiums that I pay (directly at least) or a deductible. I'm not sure why that matters though as I was talking purely about his circumstances and how easy it can be to rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills in a very short period of time.

 

[werepossum]

So basically you need $12k of needed healthcare to come out ahead this year. Even if this rate were frozen at today's rate over the next 30 years you'd need $360k in needed healthcare over that period of time.

I guess you'll have to let yourself go badly. Get diabetes, raise your cholesterol, raise your BMI to 45 and start smoking. You might come out ahead.

Yup. I don't actually expect to come out ahead on health insurance, or any insurance - I accept that most of us have to lose money so that those with the misfortune to "come out ahead" can be covered. But dang, in more than half a century I've never seen the benefits/payments ratio slide so much, so quickly. Either the ACA gets completely overhauled or in a decade people who don't work for government or large corporations just won't have health insurance, period.

 

[Kaido]

Reviewed my paperwork. 20% hike. Ouch. Better get all my toys this Black Friday since next year is gonna stink mad-money wise

 

[Kaido]

I wish that we sold healthcare like any other product...I'd love to shop for it on Amazon along with all of the other crap I buy.

 

[buckshot24]

A few months ago I was seeing my oncologist on a Monday morning. He confirmed something that I had suspected, that I was starting a bout of Shingles. I also had an appointment with my GP that same afternoon because the day before I'd figured out what was happening and made an appointment to see what treatment might be beneficial. When I got to his office I wasn't even through the door when he said "I hear you have Shingles so here's what needs to be done." My GP had the information from the oncologist (electronically) within a couple of hours of my seeing him. Seems beneficial to me.

EDIT: Note, this isn't the US as I live in Canada (for those who might not be aware) and I don't know anything about the differences between the system used in my province compared to what's in place in the US.

You post as if you're much younger than a person who normally gets shingles.

 

[Victorian Gray]

You post as if you're much younger than a person who normally gets shingles.

I'm 65.

 

[buckshot24]

I'm 65.

You post like you're not a day older than 18. So you're doing great.

 

[Victorian Gray]

You post like you're not a day older than 18. So you're doing great.

4 1/2 years cancer free and you don't want to know what I think you post like. <no smiley>

 

[buckshot24]

4 1/2 years cancer free and you don't want to know what I think you post like. <no smiley>

That's awesome and I have an idea.