Back in '06, my other half and I decided to start trying to become parents. We shopped around to find a catastrophe coverage that we could afford, and found one for around $160/month for the two of us that had a $3000 deductible, and only covered maternity if there were complications. We budgeted and planned to pay the maternity costs ourselves (and did, for both pregnancies).
The imp was born (eight weeks early), and our insurance bill rose to $210/month in '08 with his addition. A reasonable increase, I thought.
And then, our price jumped in '09 to $350/month. So, we went in and had our deductible raised to $5000, which brought it down to a more reasonable $280/month.
The only difference in the sudden price jump was that certain laws were on the horizon. And the insurance companies were looking to stack up cash to save up for the stupid that was going to be foisted upon us all.
The price started creeping again almost immediately. By the time the pixie was born, it had already crept back up to $360/month.
When the pixie was born and we added her, it jumped to $385/month. For catastrophe-only coverage with a $5000 deductible. And then, the company sent a letter not too long before her first birthday that the price was going to jump to nearly $450/month. Something we couldn't afford, at the time, because Odysseus was between jobs. So, we went in and had our deductible raised to $7500. That lowered the monthly payment to $320. For a little while.
We have had, for the past year, a $10,000 deductible. We raised it that far because it dropped our monthly cost from $415 to $320. And then, six months ago, we got notice that the monthly cost was going up to $340.
Yesterday, I got a letter from the insurance company. As of September 5, our new monthly payment will be $385/month.
If insurance companies were permitted to charge by services used that they were billed, we'd be paying something around $150/month. Because we pay cash for services provided.
Unfortunately, we aren't paying for just our care. We're paying for the care of those whose life choices have put them at double or triple a healthy weight and have contracted chronic (and expensive) health conditions. We're paying for the care of those who didn't carry insurance until they got sick, and then decided that that was a bad idea. We're paying for the care of those who have chronic conditions that could be mitigated by either lifestyle changes or by expensive medications. We're paying for the care for those who have been smoking for years, and have developed COPD and/or cancer.
The political chattering classes whined and moaned about how it "wasn't fair" that these people didn't have access to affordable health care, and that the rest of us needed to pay for our "fair share" of their bills.
I beg to disagree. TANSTAAFL. Make choices, pay for choices. What isn't fair is to make those who made good, sensible choices pay for the idiots.
3 hours ago
Our Insurance, which was HMO, had large deductible and large copayments. Then along came Obama Care. Now we have no HMO. Instead, we have a Health Expense Reimbursement Account. We pay $400 a month for it. In return, the Insurance company puts in $250 a year . Once we have spent the $250.00, it pays exactly nothing, nada, zip until we have met a $12,000 family out of pocket amount. This is the plan that was foisted off on all State of Georgia employees.
ReplyDelete$250? In some areas, and with some doctors, that's a single office visit! Because of the "Affordable" Care Act, most insurance is becoming UNaffordable. And falling in quality.
DeleteFor what it's worth, the deductible for our plan is, I believe, *not* a family deductible, but an individual one.
Well said, and not a single four letter word!!! And yes it SUCKS!!!
ReplyDeleteSometimes four letter words distract from the message. If you'd've heard my thoughts, though... ;-)
DeleteProbably about like mine... NOT pretty...
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