Health Insurance Changes

[Guest ocsurfer999]

Found out at work today that our union will have to work on a new bargaining agreement for our health insurance. Our contract says that if costs increase 7% or more in a year we have to go back to the table. Work is blaming it on the new health reform act. The only thing I don't understand is how the cost can increase 29% in one year. Personally I think the insurance companies are out to suck every nickel they can out of us.

[Sally]

Well,

Let's see you are right and it is because of the possibility of actual health care reform.

The insurance companies cannot make enough money to keep their greedy CEOs and officers happy - that is why we are in this recession - banks and insurance companies and all of the extra homes in the Camyons.

The government bailed them out and they are repaying their loans with the money we gave them - cute isn't it?

They now must rip off all of the money that they can because in the event of any meaningful health care reforms they will be regulated again and health care will be the main concern and not profits.

Love ya,

Sally

[Guest Donna Jean]

Found out at work today that our union will have to work on a new bargaining agreement for our health insurance. Our contract says that if costs increase 7% or more in a year we have to go back to the table. Work is blaming it on the new health reform act. The only thing I don't understand is how the cost can increase 29% in one year. Personally I think the insurance companies are out to suck every nickel they can out of us.

A few months back, my health care here at work incrfeased 100% for my "out of pocket" costs...

We were just informed that it's going up another 35% shortly for us....

I may just have to drop it altogether....

I've had health insurance for about 40 years...now I may just have to drop it and pray for the best....

Donna jean (don't get me started!)

[Guest ma-head-a-spinnin]

Welcome to the club.

My insurer is suckingmy wallet dry.

I have to pay ± €120,-, a month. That's ± $155,- USD, in todays exchange rate.

The government gives me a small rebate, since I'm not making any money. They give me ± €45-50,- a month.

Guess it's more palatable, then.

Good grief, every year I pay more, while they cover less! It's theft, that's what it is!

[Guest Donna Jean]

.

Well....as posted above...

I was close to losing my unsurance....

I did lose it.....priced itself right out of my range....

One month it had doubled for my co-pay...3 months it went up 100% again and I no longer could afford it..

Luckily for me I'm a Veteran and I get health care there...

Donna Jean

[Guest Pammy]

I'm with Donna Jean...I get my major medical care through the VA. But I also have to buy into the health plan at work. Yes, I *have* to. No opt-out. That plan is the pits! They charge more per month than I pay for a year of Tricare. And they cover much less and have huge co-pays and deductibles. I may have to change jobs if this keeps up!

Love

Pamela

[Guest Tiaria]

.

Well....as posted above...

I was close to losing my unsurance....

I did lose it.....priced itself right out of my range....

One month it had doubled for my co-pay...3 months it went up 100% again and I no longer could afford it..

Luckily for me I'm a Veteran and I get health care there...

Donna Jean

Donna, do you mind if call you just 'Donna'?

We Dutch don't have something like veteran care. And even if we did, I'm no soldier material. While I do like to put things on the line (if you cath my drift), I prefer to do so in my own little way.

Hell, give me an AR, and you'll probably have a FF incident within a week, 'cause I'd misinterpret my orders/instructions.

[Guest Mrs Brisby]

The real travesty about this situation, is that starting in 2014, you can be fined for NOT having insurance.

Yup, that's right. No matter what prices they charge you, you have to pay it. No matter how they screw you with denied covered, you must still pay them. They bribe politicians into deregulating the laws allowing them to rob you blind, and now they've got the law itself forcing you to buy it.

This has got to be the greatest scam in history. The Mafia's got to be so jealous of these companies.

[Milly]

I hear that revolution a callin' its a comin to america, can you feel the tension, feel the pressure? A collective pot of anger ready to blow.

[Guest NatashaJade]

Without getting too political (a hard topic not to do this with...), much of the recent health care reform is actually wonderful for us. My wife and children (and now me, as it were), all have pre-existing conditions that would make it near impossible for us to buy personal coverage for. Fortunately, we have group coverage through work, but it costs us $800 a month and up until this law we couldn't even consider leaving it. The sad part is this law was passed with compromise after compromise to the minority party and squeaky wheels in the majority party who continually demanded concessions to the insurance companies and a watering down of what could have been strong reform. We got a few good things and a few bad things. The sad part is, after Tuesday, government in the U.S. will become gridlocked, no effective laws will be passed to amend the flawed HC reform because the party out of power has basically said they are going to shut everything down simply to get rid of the president. They don't care about the people. They only care about power and they will lie and distort everything to do so.

Sorry. Got political. But what you think you know may not be true. Read everything from all sources. Don't let me or any one person, conservative or liberal, be your source of information. But read both sides and ask yourself who benefits most from their policies and practices. If it's not the general population, then it's not you.

xoxo

Gin

[Cyndee]

The medical industrial complex is one of the most powerful here in the US. I fear it, I loath it, however at some point we must submit to it.

The sharing of personal medical information is of the most concern. It has become so universal, even though they put cute names like HIPAA on it, I feel we have lost control. Your medical information is so easily transmitted, oops I just sent your sensitive endo info to some outside entity by mistake. Or worse the data base that houses your information was hacked, and shared with entities and organizations that have some other agenda (use your imagination). Sorry if this sounds like something Orwell (1984) would have written about, but it is just a fact of our modern life.

Cindy -