Obamacare open enrollment starts today!

[Steelin]

We had more medical expenses than normal this year...a broken arm, lacrosse stick to the throat requiring ER and an MRI, some PT...still didn't sniff meeting the deductible. All out of pocket.

Now the rub is that we pay the rates negotiated by the insurance companies...without insurance we'd have to pay close to double for all that stuff as well as full price for all of our preventative care. But it still wouldn't have exceeded the premium and deductible. And that's with paying 45% less that we will likely pay this year.

Are you sure that you'd pay more without the insurance company involvement? When I had a high deductible plan I was able to negotiate non insurance rates for different things, one being an MRI that was only $400 and not $1100 for the same procedure performed a couple of years earlier. Have you tried negotiating independently?

 

[oneforthebus]

Are you sure that you'd pay more without the insurance company involvement? When I had a high deductible plan I was able to negotiate non insurance rates for different things, one being an MRI that was only $400 and not $1100 for the same procedure performed a couple of years earlier. Have you tried negotiating independently?

No, we've never gone without insurance before. We have three kids who started out life with severe medical problems. My husband worked for a big company at the time so we were fortunate to have great insurance. Now self-employed. Now everyone's healthy but we're wary of the risks.

Looking for a job myself just for the benefits. Two interviews but no offer so far. Plenty of part-time no benefit jobs out there though...

 

[Steelin]

Probably so.

Guess what Medicaid pays for now that was unheard of while I was growing up? Braces...that's right braces. My teeth look good and appear to line up fine. However, I have an overbite that has contributed to TMJ my entire lifetime with pain, cracking, etc. The dentist said "She needs braces." He was told "We can't afford it." But now anyone can get them, for free. Well, not anyone. We paid $5,000 or so a piece for our kids to get braces. Then we'd see people who obviously didn't have to pay for them in the waiting room for our Orthodontist. That just rips my ***.

 

[Steeltime]

Two interviews but no offer so far. Plenty of part-time no benefit jobs out there though...

As warned by many when Obamacare was proposed, and where employers were required to give medical insurance with no policy limit, no limit on pre-existing conditions, etc. Many theorized that employers would simply make the employees work less than 30 hours per week, and thereby shield them from the medical insurance requirement.

 

[Steelin]

No, we've never gone without insurance before. We have three kids who started out life with severe medical problems. My husband worked for a big company at the time so we were fortunate to have great insurance. Now self-employed. Now everyone's healthy but we're wary of the risks.

Looking for a job myself just for the benefits. Two interviews but no offer so far. Plenty of part-time no benefit jobs out there though...

I probably wasn't very clear there. I meant that you would have the High Deductible plan for catastrophic care but would pay/negotiate with the provider yourself. I believe that it still goes toward to your deductible but not through your insurance.

 

[oneforthebus]

Guess what Medicaid pays for now that was unheard of while I was growing up? Braces...that's right braces. My teeth look good and appear to line up fine. However, I have an overbite that has contributed to TMJ my entire lifetime with pain, cracking, etc. The dentist said "She needs braces." He was told "We can't afford it." But now anyone can get them, for free. Well, not anyone. We paid $5,000 or so a piece for our kids to get braces. Then we'd see people who obviously didn't have to pay for them in the waiting room for our Orthodontist. That just rips my ***.

Oh yeah...which is why my blood boils every time I hear about "free college" for everyone making less than 125,000. So yeah we are fortunate to have that income but it also means no financial aid whatsoever, meanwhile people I know are getting college basically paid for already and now we are hearing that's not enough, they should all get to go FOR FREE! My husband put himself through college and grad school cutting lawns to get where he is, I have three super bright kids who are getting fantastic grades and test scores but now we are supposed to pay for everyone else's college instead of theirs.

 

[oneforthebus]

I probably wasn't very clear there. I meant that you would have the High Deductible plan for catastrophic care but would pay/negotiate with the provider yourself. I believe that it still goes toward to your deductible but not through your insurance.

You are not allowed to buy a catastrophic care only plan unless you are under 30 or demonstrate financial need. It's illegal.You must buy a plan that meets Obamacare 10 essential benefits or whatever it's called.

 

[Steelin]

Oh yeah...which is why my blood boils every time I hear about "free college" for everyone making less than 125,000. So yeah we are fortunate to have that income but it also means no financial aid whatsoever, meanwhile people I know are getting college basically paid for already and now we are hearing that's not enough, they should all get to go FOR FREE! My husband put himself through college and grad school cutting lawns to get where he is, I have three super bright kids who are getting fantastic grades and test scores but we are supposed to pay for everyone else's college instead of theirs.

Don't get me started on that one. My eldest is a junior at ISU and they are ripping all of us off. You know what the wonderful state of Iowa did? They padded tuition by 25% to help the "needy". We are already helping them with our tax money!!! So not only do we get to pay extra taxes to help, we get to pay higher tuition to help also. On top of that, a bunch of the kids getting the "free" ride don't give a **** about their grades, their future or taking advantage of the opportunity given them.

 

[Steelin]

You are not allowed to buy a catastrophic care only plan unless you are under 30 or demonstrate financial need. It's illegal.You must buy a plan that meets Obamacare 10 essential benefits or whatever it's called.

I didn't realize that. Does the stupidity never end?

 

[oneforthebus]

Still can't get a quote from Healthcare.gov, but saw these approved rates for our area...these are per person...for our family of 5 the cheapest (and only) on-exchange HMO
is around $1625/month.

http://www.insurance.pa.gov/Consume...ns Individual 2017 vs 2016 by Rating Area.pdf

 

[Ron Burgundy]

When your insurance deductible is like $12,000, you don't really have insurance.

 

[oneforthebus]

When your insurance deductible is like $12,000, you don't really have insurance.

That's right...it's like the super high deductible plans they used to sell, only they aren't cheap any more.

 

[hamster]

When your insurance deductible is like $12,000, you don't really have insurance.

Hey, wait. Wasn't the average person supposed to save $2500.00 per year? What's going on here?

 

[DBS1970]

idiots. just put it on your WhitePrivilege card.
works like magic

Poor White Trash from Appalachia don't get those. I got to keep working at a job with benefits.

 

[DBS1970]

As warned by many when Obamacare was proposed, and where employers were required to give medical insurance with no policy limit, no limit on pre-existing conditions, etc. Many theorized that employers would simply make the employees work less than 30 hours per week, and thereby shield them from the medical insurance requirement.

I seem to remember a guy on the board that used to run a business saying something about cutting staff to get under that cap. Then later saying he was not able to grow and expand his market share so his sales were tanking so he was going to sell out and change careers.

 

[Steeltime]

I seem to remember a guy on the board that used to run a business saying something about cutting staff to get under that cap. Then later saying he was not able to grow and expand his market share so his sales were tanking so he was going to sell out and change careers.

He sounds like a very wise man ... unless he goes by the initials "RB," in which case he is just sponging off his white privilege.

 

[Steelin]

That's right...it's like the super high deductible plans they used to sell, only they aren't cheap any more.

Exactly. That's why I was so surprised that there isn't a catastrophic option for everyone. What they've forced upon us is not much better maybe worse because of the premiums. Back in the 2000-2008 years my employer offered a high deductible plan. For our family of four, all preventative was covered, my premiums were under $200 a month and my employer put $300 a month in a health savings account. It wasn't too long before I had $5000- $6000 in that account. Over the span of those years I paid for both of my kids braces out of that account along with a lot of dental care, vision care, etc. I knew it was going to be another assault on the middle class when I heard how Obama care was going to limit these accounts to generate more taxes. So we go to my spouses employer for their more expensive but more comprehensive plan. My employer has paid employees that refuse their insurance while covered under their spouse $190 a month. Wouldn't you know it! After 20 years of going with my insurance and not getting that benefit, Obama care made it illegal. Thanks a lot ******. Why did they think they had to mess with that benefit???? I believe this "law" has cost us thousands of dollars and we have Blue Cross, $10 copay for everything insurance. I can't imagine how bad it would be if we had to take th8s garbage. Repeal Repeal Repeal.

 

[tapeANaspirin2it]

This is working as intended. The whole point is to blow up insurance, get people to blame the insurance companies for jacking up the prices and then demand that government just take over.

Look at what they've created. You had a system where most people had affordable coverage that they were happy with. Then there was medicaid and other programs for people without.

Now they have created a system where only the rich and the poor (through subsidies) can really afford this. They want you to give up control of your life and get on the gravy train, vote Dem and then get whatever scraps they think you should have.

The proof that this is designed to fail is the fact they have specifically removed competition from the formula. If companies could compete with each other and across state lines, and you could actually choose the level of coverage you need, you'd be able to buy something reasonable.

Most people would be able to get a cheap high deductible plan to protect against the big things and then also have a Health Savings account that they could use to pay for the small stuff. They specifically destroyed any reasonable options.

 

[Stryker]

This is nothing new guys. As a business owner, Insurance rates have always gone up 15-30% annually for no ******* reason. They just do. Now everyone gets to see it. It's not the plan to blame, it's the ******* insurance companies, who are nothing but middlemen, out there to **** you out of your money.

I've been paying all of my employee's premiums for over a decade. Why? Because we can afford it. Want great workers who don't need to worry about healthcare? Nut up, drop your multimillion dollar bonus and pay for them. There is room in this country for employers to pull some weight. They used to do it in the olden days. Back before the boards line itemed it out as a frivolous expense to maximize margins.

If I can do it under a $1M Gross and take care of all of my full time employees and their families, multimillion and billion dollar industries can easily do the same. My company IS my employees. They sleep easy and work hard for us. Go ahead and call me a socialist, but I feel a responsibility as a business owner, to take care of the employees that work hard for me.

 

[MT~Forged]

This is nothing new guys. As a business owner, Insurance rates have always gone up 15-30% annually for no ******* reason. They just do. Now everyone gets to see it. It's not the plan to blame, it's the ******* insurance companies, who are nothing but middlemen, out there to **** you out of your money.

I've been paying all of my employee's premiums for over a decade. Why? Because we can afford it. Want great workers who don't need to worry about healthcare? Nut up, drop your multimillion dollar bonus and pay for them. There is room in this country for employers to pull some weight. They used to do it in the olden days. Back before the boards line itemed it out as a frivolous expense to maximize margins.

If I can do it under a $1M Gross and take care of all of my full time employees and their families, multimillion and billion dollar industries can easily do the same. My company IS my employees. They sleep easy and work hard for us. Go ahead and call me a socialist, but I feel a responsibility as a business owner, to take care of the employees that work hard for me.

An easy math exercise. Spend $1 on employee benefits, easily reap $2-3 in increased productivity. Thing is, big companies are more interested on the own bonuses and cushy retirement plans. Since those executives do not have an investment, they could care less if it continues after they rape the checkbook. OWNERS are the only ones who see or care about the big picture.

I used to work for a family owned company, when the son took over he started to pay the salesmen 2x the commission they were making. After 2 years the sales more than doubled. He always told them to feel free to make as much as they wanted.

 

[oneforthebus]

This is nothing new guys. As a business owner, Insurance rates have always gone up 15-30% annually for no ******* reason. They just do. Now everyone gets to see it. It's not the plan to blame, it's the ******* insurance companies, who are nothing but middlemen, out there to **** you out of your money.

I've been paying all of my employee's premiums for over a decade. Why? Because we can afford it. Want great workers who don't need to worry about healthcare? Nut up, drop your multimillion dollar bonus and pay for them. There is room in this country for employers to pull some weight. They used to do it in the olden days. Back before the boards line itemed it out as a frivolous expense to maximize margins.

If I can do it under a $1M Gross and take care of all of my full time employees and their families, multimillion and billion dollar industries can easily do the same. My company IS my employees. They sleep easy and work hard for us. Go ahead and call me a socialist, but I feel a responsibility as a business owner, to take care of the employees that work hard for me.

My husband is self-employed and not by choice. He continues to look for a job while making a living consulting. We don't know how much we will make this year or next year. Again, we are fortunate that so far it is beyond the 90,000 subsidy limit, but this is a time we are cutting way back on all of our expenses on everything because of the uncertainty. I don't want or need maternity coverage, birth control, chiropractic, mental health coverage etc etc etc. My kids are healthy and have had all their vaccinations for the most part and really don't even need to see a physician annually. Heck, we can get a sports physical at the nearby urgent care for $75 bucks.

All we need is to cover the risk of a serious illness or accident. But we are not allowed to choose that, at this time when we don't know where our next paycheck is coming from and when we have two children heading to college in a year and a half, we have to pay for all this crap we don't want or need. Not just for us but we are subsidizing it for a bunch of other people. Just to be allowed to insure ourselves against disaster.

And yes, my husband had employer provided insurance most of his life and premiums went up every year. But not like this.

 

[IndySteel]

The rates will drop considerably with Trump's plan to allow for open competition. Right now the insurance companies basically have a monopoly.

 

[Steeltime]

Again, we are fortunate that so far it is beyond the 90,000 subsidy limit ... All we need is to cover the risk of a serious illness or accident. But we are not allowed to choose that, at this time when we don't know where our next paycheck is coming from and when we have two children heading to college in a year and a half, we have to pay for all this crap we don't want or need. Not just for us but we are subsidizing it for a bunch of other people. Just to be allowed to insure ourselves against disaster.

Good to hear your husband's business is doing pretty well, OFTB. Best wishes for continued success.

I have been self-employed for 10 years. Best thing I ever did. Make a ****-ton more money, pay a ****-ton of taxes.

It seems that both parties have been intent on wiping out the middle class. You and I are in that category, but are not rich. Yet we pay so effing much to finance other citizens ... where I am treated like a pariah by the parties that are oh so willing to take my tax money.

 

[IndySteel]

Good to hear your husband's business is doing pretty well, OFTB. Best wishes for continued success.

I have been self-employed for 10 years. Best thing I ever did. Make a ****-ton more money, pay a ****-ton of taxes.

It seems that both parties have been intent on wiping out the middle class. You and I are in that category, but are not rich. Yet we pay so effing much to finance other citizens ... where I am treated like a pariah by the parties that are oh so willing to take my tax money.

Yeah...whenever I hear ***** Hillary say "pay their fair share" I want to smash things. This country would have zero debt and much lower taxes if we stop all the wasteful spending and crooked handouts. Quit funding bullshit studies like how is the environment impacted every time lizards ****.

 

[oneforthebus]

Good to hear your husband's business is doing pretty well, OFTB. Best wishes for continued success.

I have been self-employed for 10 years. Best thing I ever did. Make a ****-ton more money, pay a ****-ton of taxes.

It seems that both parties have been intent on wiping out the middle class. You and I are in that category, but are not rich. Yet we pay so effing much to finance other citizens ... where I am treated like a pariah by the parties that are oh so willing to take my tax money.

Thanks Steeltime. Yeah, he actually loves the flexibility and being in control of his own destiny. The last few jobs he's had nothing but stellar reviews but been forced out by things completely beyond his control like companies being bought, downsized, split up etc. Not to mention relocating our family twice. Thankfully he has some expertise that a lot of companies seem to need. Hoping we can sustain it and grow it.