9.3% increase to Humana HDHP premium

[Buckeye]

Our annual renewal is June 1 for our HumanaOne high-deductible health insurance policy. Our deductible is $11,900, they pay 100% after that, and we have an HSA. Me 53, DH 62.

My broker sent me a generic "your insurance premium is going up so give us a call email" so I gave Humana a call to get our new rates. They said the notice was in the mail but gave me the new rates over the phone.

Current premium: $339.04
New premium: $370.54
Increase: 9.3%

I have an appt to talk to my broker today to see if he thinks there is anything cheaper out there. My guess is there isn't but he might as well take a look. Still no meds and no pre-existing conditions so we will be able to purchase another policy if it is beneficial.

 

[REattempt]

Ouch...My plan, I'm still in my 40s, with a $2500 deductible is $190/mo with Golden Rule (a part of United Health Care). I'm sure I'll get stuck with a bigger bill when I exceed 50 years of life.

1) You might want to shop around directly (without a broker).
2) Try UHC/Golden Rule. I went direct to UHC/Golden Rule and the rates, for same deductible, were $35/mo lower than rates I got with a broker with other companies.

YMMV.

Glad you are well.

 

[easysurfer]

I pay about $240/month with BCBS.

50 yo, $5000 deductible.

 

[Corporate ORphan]

You might want to try BCBS. We are both 56. Our $11,000 deductable, 0% Copayment after that, HD HSA plan went up from $224.66 to $233.33 or about 4% this year. You can go on the BCBS site and get an estimate without using your broker. We're in Missouri.

 

[Buckeye]

Apparently Humana "owns" this area of Florida. Everybody else was at least $150 more per month with some co-pay after the deductible was met.

I guess I'll suck up my increase and be happy my rates are so "low!"

 

[explanade]

HD policies may seem a respite because of the lower premiums but they're going to close the gap, no?

CA tried to pass a law to approve big premium increases but the insurers blocked it in the State Senate and now, they're trying to bring it to a ballot initiative.

 

[MichaelB]

Apparently Humana "owns" this area of Florida. Everybody else was at least $150 more per month with some co-pay after the deductible was met.

I guess I'll suck up my increase and be happy my rates are so "low!"

Last time we looked at alternate policies our agent said something similar - there's not a lot of head to head competition in Florida, the insurers went after different market segments. He showed us lots of options, but none came close. That, and the fact that changing insurers meant new underwriting, has led us to stay with what we have despite the price.

 

[mh]

I pay about $240/month with BCBS.

50 yo, $5000 deductible.

My kaiser plan is the same. I'm 51

 

[Gone4Good]

9.3% is about the going rate for increases. Some may be a little higher or lower but nine-ish isn't unusual.

We have four things working against us, most of which won't change anytime soon if ever. 1) We're a year older and that much more likely to need expensive care. 2) Medical costs are inflating faster than everything else. 3) The real value of our deductible is lower by the amount of medical cost inflation 4) Once you have a policy the insurer can't drop you for medical reasons, so they inflate the annual increases more than necessary. Those who stay healthy will eventually be able to go through the underwriting process again and get a cheaper rate, but those who are sick will be stuck with the more expensive insurance.

If you haven't already, I'd plan on ~9% increases for the foreseeable future.

 

[frank]

mine was approximately nine percent also with bcbs.

 

[Mulligan]

$72 a month Anthem BCBS for $5500 deductible age 47. Ive had it a year and a half and pay $1 less now than when I started.

 

[Buckeye]

$72 a month Anthem BCBS for $5500 deductible age 47. Ive had it a year and a half and pay $1 less now than when I started.

You can't be in FL!

 

[Mulligan]

You can't be in FL!

No, I live in MO. I have thought about moving eventually out of state, but the thought of paying high HI premiums deters me from doing it. Especially since it is essentially dead money as I have little health costs outside of dental cleanings.

 

[colorado_felix]

$72 a month Anthem BCBS for $5500 deductible age 47. Ive had it a year and a half and pay $1 less now than when I started.

That's amazing.

For me, $107/mo. Humana Autograph HSA for $5200 deductible. Will be age 37 this year. Live in northern Colorado.

History of my rates:
2006 $71.60/mo. HumanaOne HSA $2600 deductible
2007 $79.56/mo. HumanaOne HSA $2600 deductible (11.1% increase)
2008 $54.78/mo. HumanaOne HSA $5000 deductible (if stayed with $2600 deductible, would have been $91.87/mo. = $15.4% increase)
2009 $66.31/mo. HumanaOne HSA $5000 deductible (21.0% increase)
2010 $68.10/mo. Humana Autograph HSA $5200 deductible (if stayed with HumanaOne $5000 deductible, would have been $84.54=27.5% increase)
2011 $82.72/mo. Humana Autograph HSA $5200 deductible (21.5% increase)
2012 $107/mo. Humana Autograph HSA $5200 deductible (29.4% increase)

So since 2006, my insurance rates would have increased on average by 21%/year---and have only been kept somewhat in check by either switching Humana plan or increasing my deductible.

This despite being super healthy and only having seen the doctor ONE TIME during all that time for an annual physical (which was supposedly covered for free under the "preventive" clause, but I ended up getting charged $150 for a 10-minute followup visit to get the results of the physical and was perplexingly considered a second, uncovered visit).

Every year I look for a competing plan, but it still seems like my rates are still "very good" compared to alternatives...

Anyone else think this is out of control?

 

[ziggy29]

2009 $66.31/mo. HumanaOne HSA $5000 deductible (21.0% increase)
2010 $68.10/mo. Humana Autograph HSA $5200 deductible (if stayed with HumanaOne $5000 deductible, would have been $84.54=27.5% increase)

Is this right? You saved $197 a year by taking a $200 higher deductible? Either there's something else going on here (higher out of pocket maximum or higher co-pays) or this is incompetent underwriting...

 

[MichaelB]

Is this right? You saved $197 a year by taking a $200 higher deductible? Either there's something else going on here (higher out of pocket maximum or higher co-pays) or this is incompetent underwriting...

It is a different policy. I bet the terms of coverage changed even if the changes were not obvious to the policyholder.

 

[ziggy29]

It is a different policy. I bet the terms of coverage changed even if the changes were not obvious to the policyholder.

Ah, yes, just noticed the difference in the titles ("Humana One" and "Humana Autograph"). So there must be something different about them than just the $200 deductible difference, because that would have been crazy-stupid pricing if there were no other differences.

 

[colorado_felix]

Is this right? You saved $197 a year by taking a $200 higher deductible?

Correct. I don't think there were any other major differences between the HumanaOne HSA and Autograph HSA plans---at least not that I could detect by speed-reading the 100 pages of plan descriptions Humana sends me each year.

Either there's something else going on here (higher out of pocket maximum or higher co-pays) or this is incompetent underwriting...

For each of the plans above my out-of-pocket maximum always equaled my deductible (e.g., 100% co-pay before deductible was reached; 0% co-pay afterward), assuming I visited an in-network provider. (If I visited out-of-network providers only, my deductible is double and 30% co-pay afterward...)

I agree that something does not feel right about all this.

 

[MichaelB]

Our insurer offered a similar initiative to change policies (UHC). The changes to the certificate of coverage were things such as eliminating coverage for specific treatments, limiting certain medications, and unbundling charges (a blood or allergy test done by a Dr. in his/her office during a visit) into multiple individual charges subject to different categories of coverage, reimbursement and deductable. Just the unbundling could easily increase one's total out of pocket by a couple of hundred $.

 

[Mulligan]

That's amazing.

For me, $107/mo. Humana Autograph HSA for $5200 deductible. Will be age 37 this year. Live in northern Colorado.

History of my rates:
2006 $71.60/mo. HumanaOne HSA $2600 deductible
2007 $79.56/mo. HumanaOne HSA $2600 deductible (11.1% increase)
2008 $54.78/mo. HumanaOne HSA $5000 deductible (if stayed with $2600 deductible, would have been $91.87/mo. = $15.4% increase)
2009 $66.31/mo. HumanaOne HSA $5000 deductible (21.0% increase)
2010 $68.10/mo. Humana Autograph HSA $5200 deductible (if stayed with HumanaOne $5000 deductible, would have been $84.54=27.5% increase)
2011 $82.72/mo. Humana Autograph HSA $5200 deductible (21.5% increase)
2012 $107/mo. Humana Autograph HSA $5200 deductible (29.4% increase)

So since 2006, my insurance rates would have increased on average by 21%/year---and have only been kept somewhat in check by either switching Humana plan or increasing my deductible.

This despite being super healthy and only having seen the doctor ONE TIME during all that time for an annual physical (which was supposedly covered for free under the "preventive" clause, but I ended up getting charged $150 for a 10-minute followup visit to get the results of the physical and was perplexingly considered a second, uncovered visit).

Every year I look for a competing plan, but it still seems like my rates are still "very good" compared to alternatives...

Anyone else think this is out of control?

I sure hope your rate increases settle down for awhile. I am very surprised yours has jumped so much the past 2 years. I was under the impression the increase rate was slowing. Yours is almost up 50% in the past 2 years, while mine is unchanged and I am 10 years older. Very odd.

 

[ziggy29]

I sure hope your rate increases settle down for awhile. I am very surprised yours has jumped so much the past 2 years. I was under the impression the increase rate was slowing. Yours is almost up 50% in the past 2 years, while mine is unchanged and I am 10 years older. Very odd.

Certainly didn't settle down for me this year. My portion of what I pay rose by close to 20%, AND the deductible rose from $2500 to $3000, AND the OOP maximum rose from $4000 to $6000.

Thank you, may I please have another?

 

[Mulligan]

Certainly didn't settle down for me this year. My portion of what I pay rose by close to 20%, AND the deductible rose from $2500 to $3000, AND the OOP maximum rose from $4000 to $6000.

Thank you, may I please have another?

I just never have experienced the rate shocks in MO, like I read here. I had my daughter on an individual BC/BS plan and it went up from $95 to $170 over an 11 year period that ended last year. I got her on my ex wife's new husbands policy now thats free so you cant beat that. But still, $95 to $170 really wasnt bad for a 1000 deductible plan. Like I said, mine is unchanged for the almost 2 years Ive had mine now. Maybe we never go to the doctor and just die quickly here in MO.