I have an individual health insurance policy for my family these days. For over 30 years, we had group insurance. I made a job change to a small company several months ago, and it was an uneasy time for me.
As I was shopping for the individual policy, I learned that people who are blessed with good health can buy the individual policy at a lower cost than a group policy. When I worked for the large company with the group plan, our insurance rates were based on the cost of claims for the group as a whole last year. Everyone paid the same average cost per family for the insurance, and the company paid about 70% of the premium. With that rate structure, an older person or someone with poor health got the same deal as a younger, healthier person. That was a good deal for the person with expensive medical care and a bad deal for the healthy people.
With an individual policy, the insurance company asked a lot of question about our ages and recent medical history. My small company employer pays half of my health insurance premium. With our good health, a much higher annual deductible, and my employer's 50% contribution, the premiums paid out of my pocket are a little lower right now. I considered a low deductible, co-pay policy similar to the higher deductible policy. Reducing the deductible by $3000 cost about $3000/year in extra premiums. That didn't make sense, considering that it is highly unlikely to use the entire deductible every year. Also, a high deductible plan allows me to have a health savings account (HSA). I can save up the money to cover the deductible in my HSA, and I get to keep it if there aren't huge expenses. The policy covers all of the major expenses for big problems, and I pay the smaller stuff like a visit to the doctor for a sinus infection. Check-ups and my wife's mammograms and pap smears are provided at no cost to me.
I just got a letter from my insurer a couple of days ago. They said that my policy doesn't meet the rules in effect starting in 2014 for the Unaffordable Care Act. Apparently, a policy that is written in 2013 will stay in effect for the term of the policy, so the insurer is offering to renew the policy on December 31st of 2013. Then, I will keep everything the same until December 31st of 2014. As of December 31st of 2014, our policy premium will increase by more than 80%. Why?
Obamacare works a lot like the group policy that I used to have. Now everyone, no matter how young or healthy, must purchase insurance by law. If they don't, there is a fine that is used to help buy insurance for other people that really need it. The president says that young people need insurance, because some of them get really sick or are injured in an accident. He claims that uninsured young people are a drain on the system, because the government has to pay for their medical care when one of these catastrophic events happens. I don't believe it. I believe he just wants to force them to pay premiums to reduce the costs for old, sick people. If they still don't buy the insurance, then they pay an extra, young person tax. You know, if these folks that don't have high health care costs paid a low premium that is commensurate with the risks assumed by the insurance company, they would be more likely to buy insurance. These young people generally don't get a lot of wellness care and check-ups either. They are just paying for middle age people to have check-ups.
My insurer wrote that the Unaffordable Act requires them to provide Essential Health Benefits (EHB's) whether I want them or not. As I wrote above, it didn't make sense to pay the extra money for all those "free" services. Now, I have no choice. I have to pay for mental health and substance abuse services we don't need. My wife won't be having any more kids and doesn't need birth control, but we must have a policy that provides for these things.
Now, when I start paying that extra premium of over $500/month, that money will come from somewhere. My boss won't give me a big raise to cover it. That money is currently being spent for something, but after Obamacare and the MessAPolitico kick in, it will go to the insurance company. That will take it away from something else. Maybe we won't go on vacation. Maybe we will keep that car an extra few years, because $500 would make a pretty good car payment.
Of course, when we don't buy a new car, auto workers lose their jobs. When we don't go on vacation, the motel doesn't need as many maids and the restaurants don't need as many cooks and servers. This is the same ripple effect that has been going through the US economy since Obama and the "tree huggers" have been doubling the cost of gasoline and electricity.
Obamacare is a MessAPolitico that must be stopped before it does irreparable harm to the health care system. The continuing resolution may be our last chance to stop this thing, but there are too many Republicans that are afraid to get this done. They are afraid of the press saying that they shut down the government. They are backing down from Obama before he has done anything. We need to all tell our Representatives and Senators, whether they are Republican or Democrat, that we expect them to de-fund Obamacare. If they vote for a continuing resolution that funds Obamacare, then they might as well have voted for it in the beginning. Any politician that votes for a continuing resolution that funds Obamacare doesn't represent me. They must vote against funding for Obamacare, or I will never vote for them again.
No comments:
Post a Comment