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Health Insurance Premium from $286 to $386
Old 02-01-2010, 11:47 AM   #1
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Health Insurance Premium from $286 to $386

Blue Cross says DW's premium will rise from $286 to $386/month . We'll switch her to their new $7,500 deductible plan, and it will rise to only $309/month. We'll save $924/year in premiums, so if she stays under $5K per year in expenses most years it will probably be worth it.
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Old 02-01-2010, 11:54 AM   #2
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Health insurance rates under discussion on BH's:

Bogleheads :: View topic - Health Insurance Premium just went way up=
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Old 02-01-2010, 11:58 AM   #3
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Man, that's a big increase.

We have our insurance with United Health care through Megacorp's retiree program. Our premium didn't increase this year, but I noticed the deductible went from $2300 to $2400. I have a feeling I'm going to hold my breath each year waiting for the renewal info.
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Old 02-01-2010, 03:41 PM   #4
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Man, that's a big increase.

We have our insurance with United Health care through Megacorp's retiree program. Our premium didn't increase this year, but I noticed the deductible went from $2300 to $2400. I have a feeling I'm going to hold my breath each year waiting for the renewal info.
My individual premium with UHC went up 20% in 2009.
You're lucky to have your MegaCorp program.
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Old 02-01-2010, 04:32 PM   #5
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My individual premium with UHC went up 20% in 2009.
You're lucky to have your MegaCorp program.
TJ
20%...crap.

Yeah I agree we're fortunate. But it took a lot of years with Megacorp to get this benefit. I've got my eyeballs crossed hoping we'll always have it. Sometimes I think only the Shadow knows...
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Old 02-01-2010, 05:06 PM   #6
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My insurance premium is a little over $419. That's for me only and that's under COBRA. At the end of the year when I'm off Cobra it almost doubles.
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Old 02-01-2010, 08:10 PM   #7
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COBRA for DW and I went up 11.2% That's for a Kaiser HMO, though.

We have to exhaust COBRA to get onto the 'continuation' coverage, as we have been declined for other coverage. We did get DD onto an HSA plan.
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Old 02-01-2010, 08:32 PM   #8
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Reading this makes me feel fortunate. My premium (BC/BS HSA) went up about 6% from last year.
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Old 02-01-2010, 09:54 PM   #9
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Reading this makes me feel fortunate. My premium (BC/BS HSA) went up about 6% from last year.
And I feel even more fortunate! My BC/BS PPO premium only went up 2.7% over last year's!

(My BC/BS is the retiree coverage through my former employer...same policy as when I was still working, except I pay 25% of the premium instead of the the employees' 20%.)
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Old 02-01-2010, 09:55 PM   #10
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Reading this makes me feel fortunate. My premium (BC/BS HSA) went up about 6% from last year.
ditto - our megacorp plan stayed the same this year for the 3rd year in a row, but they said it will go up next year. I pay $80/month for DW and myself - $30 co-pays for Dr visits.
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Old 02-02-2010, 07:19 AM   #11
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I got my notice yesterday that my HDHP w/HSA $5k deductible would be going up from $307 to $340, a 10.75% increase. Me, single male turning 53 in April, non smoker normal BP, cholestrol, sugar etc.

If I extrapolate the numbers and see a 10% increase in Health Insurance premiums while giving myself a 3% raise in income each year I will go from insurance premiums being 11% of my annual spending to 24%!
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Old 02-02-2010, 07:26 AM   #12
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My Kaiser HMO went up 9% this year.
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Old 02-02-2010, 09:46 AM   #13
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Our Megacorp premium insurance for me and DW went from $108 to $467 per month but that is mostly because they no longer offer the high deductible plan that we had for the past 5 years. They also started a new wellness program where, like a trained monkey, you have to fill out surveys, call the wellness program hotline, participate in "programs" in order to get reduced deductibles. This program is for both active employees and retirees (like me).

I am not sure why they dropped the high deductible plan ("basic option") but I suppose they would say something like "we really care about your health -- so you can be a more effective employee" (retirees just tag along with what the employees get). Perhaps they would say that they noticed that employees and retirees with the basic option don't get physicals or "preventative care" which they now make 100% paid with no deductible under the $467/month plan.

We are not thrilled with the change as the high deductible plan saved us thousands each year. Megacorp says that the total cost (employee and Megacorp) is now over $18,000 per year now for family coverage.
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Old 02-02-2010, 11:38 AM   #14
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My Anthem plan went from $72/month to $81/month....not bad.
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Old 02-04-2010, 05:11 AM   #15
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My Anthem plan went from $72/month to $81/month....not bad.
12.5% increase. Not a good sign.
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Old 02-04-2010, 06:21 AM   #16
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12.5% increase. Not a good sign.
12.5% is better than 20 or 25%.
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Old 02-04-2010, 09:39 AM   #17
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12.5% is better than 20 or 25%.
When people can be conditioned into thinking a 12.5% annual increase isn't bad, we have a real problem.
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Old 02-04-2010, 09:41 AM   #18
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When people can be conditioned into thinking a 12.5% annual increase isn't bad, we have a real problem.
We still have to deal with reality, and the reality is that the average increase is between 15-25%....so 12.5% isn't that bad. My policy is also a HDHP compatible with HSA, which keeps the rate increases down on a percentage basis. A lower percentage increase of a lower priced policy will have much less effect than a co-pay plan with a $500 deductible, which could have a 25% increase of a much higher payment.
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Old 02-04-2010, 09:45 AM   #19
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I'd rephrase it: 12.5% is bad, but not as bad as many are seeing. But I still say that when we can view 12.5% as a "not bad" increase, the system is broken.

Having said that, my employer-based HDHP rose only 5% this year after dropping about 5% last year. We're paying about the same as we did in 2008.
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Old 02-04-2010, 09:48 AM   #20
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I'd rephrase it: 12.5% is bad, but not as bad as many are seeing. But I still say that when we can view 12.5% as a "not bad" increase, the system is broken.

Having said that, my employer-based HDHP rose only 5% this year after dropping about 5% last year. We're paying about the same as we did in 2008.
Sounds like you're in good shape with your employer HDHP if you're still paying the same rate as 2 years ago. If your employer had a $0 deductible co-pay plan that covers everything under the sun, you'd probably be paying 4x the rate you're paying now. If we completely got rid of co-pays and required full cost-sharing like every single other type of insurance that has a deductible, we could stop the 12.5% (or 20%, or 25%, or 50%, etc) increases....but nobody likes that, everyone wants something for nothing.
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