Why did my health insurance premiums go up by 30% this year?

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   bradmasterOCcalposted 8 years ago

   Why did my health insurance premiums go up by 30% this year?
   
   Most of the people that I know have had similar increases in their health insurance. Is this Obamacare?
   To boot, the congress increased the medical deduction threshold from 7.5% to 10%. That means that we have to have more medical expenses to get a tax deduction. Is this another perk of Obamacare?
   So far, I don't see any benefits from Obamacare.
   
   

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2. 94

   lisavollrathposted 8 years ago

   For that answer, you should follow the money.
   
   First, your insurance company is in business to make money, and not to cover your health care costs. There is no limit on what they can charge you for coverage.
   
   Second, if you ask your insurance company why your premiums are increasing, they'll blame it on the rising cost of health care. Every doctor, lab, drug manufacturer and hospital paid by your insurance company is in business to make money, and not to provide you with health care. They are free to charge whatever the market will bear---and also, to inflate their billings in order to get paid by both you and your insurance company. That's why you get charged $10 for a single dose of Tylenol when you're in the hospital.
   
   The problem with the way health care is structured in this country is that every step of it is based on profit, rather than care. Everybody along the way is all about maximizing the profit, and sooner or later, it comes out of your pocket.
   
   My democratic socialist solution: nationalize health care, and make it a service, rather than a for-profit business. Nobody should be profiting from human misery. Health care should be a right, not a privilege reserved for those who can afford it.
   
   Oh, and benefit of the Affordable Care Act: I have insurance I can afford, for the first time since I left corporate America 10 years ago. As a self-employed person, I foot the whole bill for my health insurance costs, and let me tell you, without that employer subsidy, the cost to insure a woman my age is roughly equivalent to my mortgage payment. With ACA tax credits, I pay about $100/month, for a policy that would otherwise cost me $700/month.

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      bradmasterOCcalposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      That solution didn't work in England or Canada.
      How did Obamacare help or hurt healthcare?
      I do agree with the for profit insurance as a problem.

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      Austinstarposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      National Health Care does indeed work in Canada and England. Ask those that live there. The problem in the USA is the insurance companies, not "Obamacare". Private insurance companies are stealing as much as they can right now.

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      bradmasterOCcalposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I have asked my friends in both places, and guess where they come to have their surgeries, the US. It takes years sometimes to get the necessary surgeries.

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   peeplesposted 8 years ago

   Our premium did the same. My husband's job was presented with 2 new options and the old option was no longer on there. One was a high deductible of $3000 (we were at $750 on our current plan). The other had a deductible of $1500, still higher than my current plan. On top of that the monthly premium for the $1500 plan was $40 more per pay period than we are currently paying.
   To make all of this worse, I've actually been told by 3 doctors that Obamacare has caused an increase in insurances and doctors fees for some.
   I looked on the government Obamacare site, premiums were quadruple what I am paying now.
   As someone who actually had hope for some sort of healthcare reform I have yet to see any improvements that impact me in any way. I've only seen negatives. There has to be a solution so people can afford to live. I won't pretend to know the solution, but something has to be better than the current plan.

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      bradmasterOCcalposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for the info. Some people believe that Obamacare is good, I haven't seen it.

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   peachpurpleposted 8 years ago

   Medical insurance premium gradually hike up due to the insurer age, life premium doesn't

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      bradmasterOCcalposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      in one year?? 30%

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