Lower gas prices means no Social Security increase next year

[Car-Guy]

The comments make me wonder - If things like grocery prices are up when gasoline is down (delivery/transport costs), what will the price of groceries be when/if gasoline prices go back up?

My guess is they will go up, a lot. And of course the government and most people will blame the oil companies for that too.

 

[W2R]

Gas prices may be down but grocery prices certainly are not.

That's for sure. Grocery prices here have gone way up.

What amazes us, is that none of the menu prices at our favorite mom'n'pop restaurants have gone up yet. I know they probably buy their food from different sources than just the grocery store down the street, but still. The portion sizes haven't decreased, either. One restaurant did go out of business. I don't know how long the others can survive but so far, so good.

 

[sheehs1]

Its all in the details 1982.... My individual healthcare plan of $5k deductible for previous 5 years ranged from $72-$88 a month. This year because of Obamacare it went from $88 to almost $300 for a $6500 deductible. So my Obamacare inflation was triple digit inflation! And from what I read next year from local newspaper the Act is ready to kick me hard in the privates again. BTW- 1982 was a good year!


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Yes. The devil is in the individual details. They can say all they want but I have seen mass inflation in my health care because it is an individual policy and I don't qualify for a subsidy. So, for all cheering please know some of us are not.

Mulligan, just got my Anthem letter for 2016. To keep my 2015 level Bronze plan for 2016, my monthly premium went up @28%. (from $454 to $579) They outlined other changes to my coverage.
1. My coinsurance went from 15% to 35% (same plan)
2. Deductible of $6,000 stayed the same
3. Max out of pocket went from $6,350 to $6550 (same plan)
I went to the doctor only twice last year and that was unavoidable, for much needed antibiotics.

For those like me, ACA has had the opposite affect. I don't go to the doctor unless I have to. Paying monthly premiums buys me absolutely nothing, no care at all, Unless or until I have a catastrophic condition (knock on wood).

One additional change which doesn't affect me but will affect families is that Anthem (perhaps other insurers as well), states: It takes satisfying at least two or more of the individual deductibles to satisfy the Family Deductible. Apparently, they had situations where one member satisfied the Family Deductible and they were on the hook for all other family members or they found a way to get more dollars….because they could.

I will be shopping around again. Don't know what else I will be able to find in my state as my state. Plus this was already a BRONZE plan!!!

 

[Nodak]

The comments make me wonder - If things like grocery prices are up when gasoline is down (delivery/transport costs), what will the price of groceries be when/if gasoline prices go back up?

When fuel prices go up the stores raise prices to cover costs. But when the fuel price goes down there is never an associated lowering of prices for food.

 

[Mulligan]

Yes. The devil is in the individual details. They can say all they want but I have seen mass inflation in my health care because it is an individual policy and I don't qualify for a subsidy. So, for all cheering please know some of us are not.



Mulligan, just got my Anthem letter for 2016. To keep my 2015 level Bronze plan for 2016, my monthly premium went up @28%. (from $454 to $579) They outlined other changes to my coverage.

1. My coinsurance went from 15% to 35% (same plan)

2. Deductible of $6,000 stayed the same

3. Max out of pocket went from $6,350 to $6550 (same plan)

I went to the doctor only twice last year and that was unavoidable, for much needed antibiotics.



For those like me, ACA has had the opposite affect. I don't go to the doctor unless I have to. Paying monthly premiums buys me absolutely nothing, no care at all, Unless or until I have a catastrophic condition (knock on wood).



One additional change which doesn't affect me but will affect families is that Anthem (perhaps other insurers as well), states: It takes satisfying at least two or more of the individual deductibles to satisfy the Family Deductible. Apparently, they had situations where one member satisfied the Family Deductible and they were on the hook for all other family members or they found a way to get more dollars….because they could.



I will be shopping around again. Don't know what else I will be able to find in my state as my state. Plus this was already a BRONZE plan!!!

I hear ya Sheehs. At your price including deductible you are in effect paying $13,000 before you get a penny of insurance assistance. Really in effect the policy is a subsidy for others. I haven't consumed $13k of medical use including my delivery charges at birth. I never go either. I have reverted back to the 1970s mentality... "I got a baseball sized knot growing on my head, I guess I better go to the doctor and check it out."
I don't think mine will be that high. But if it cost that much at my age ,51, I just wouldn't pay for it, and they could pound sand as I wouldn't pay the penalty either. If I was age 60 or higher I would pay it, complain, and run out the clock until Medicare.


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[MichaelB]

I don't know how they measure health care, because prices between insurers and providers are secret and providers have many different prices. Also not clear is how they factor in the transfer of cost from employer to employee via higher deductibles.

Here's a link to the BLS table with detail broken out by item. The biggest driver of inflation right now is rent. It's also pretty clear that manufactured goods are still falling while services, such as health care and insurance, are rising more than overall CPI. Given our typical profile here inflation is indeed hitting us more that average. Table 7. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): U.S. city average, by expenditure category, 12-month analysis table

 

[mpeirce]

Mulligan, just got my Anthem letter for 2016. To keep my 2015 level Bronze plan for 2016, my monthly premium went up @28%. (from $454 to $579) They outlined other changes to my coverage.
1. My coinsurance went from 15% to 35% (same plan)
2. Deductible of $6,000 stayed the same
3. Max out of pocket went from $6,350 to $6550 (same plan)

We got our Anthem letter a week or ago.

Happily our plan is still offered (a pre-ACA plan). Pretty much coverage stayed the same. The premium went up about 9%, which frankly I'm not all that unhappy about considering an ACA plan would still be almost twice the monthly premium.

We haven't had to use the plan much (we're generally healthy). This year I just had a covered yearly physical, a covered colonoscopy, a covered flu shot, and I paid $70 for a skin check. I still could get hit by a bus before year end, but I dutifully budget for the maximum out of pocket deductible. So I'm good (except for the actual pain for the bus thing...).

 

[athena53]

Yes. The devil is in the individual details. They can say all they want but I have seen mass inflation in my health care because it is an individual policy and I don't qualify for a subsidy. So, for all cheering please know some of us are not.

For those like me, ACA has had the opposite effect. I don't go to the doctor unless I have to. Paying monthly premiums buys me absolutely nothing, no care at all, Unless or until I have a catastrophic condition (knock on wood).

One additional change which doesn't affect me but will affect families is that Anthem (perhaps other insurers as well), states: It takes satisfying at least two or more of the individual deductibles to satisfy the Family Deductible. Apparently, they had situations where one member satisfied the Family Deductible and they were on the hook for all other family members or they found a way to get more dollars….because they could.

I hear ya. I have a similar deductible and when I had a chronic cough checked out a year ago, the doc offered to do an X-ray although he said it would likely be negative. "No", I said. I've got a $6 thousand deductible. I don't want to pay for a negative X-ray." In retrospect, it was likely a seasonal allergy. It disappeared on its own. I'm due for a colonoscopy but have decided to postpone it to January since I haven't used up any of my deductible this year. May as well get a start on the 2016 deductible.

The family deductible/max OOP is tricky. I was pretty horrified when I found that we had to absorb twice the per-person deductible in one year even though it was all due to DH's expenses, in order to meet the family deductible. That was my previous employer and I believe it was $1,250 per person/$2,500 family. I'd like those deductibles back, please!

I try to live in the moment but I'm really looking forward to being eligible for Medicare in a couple of years. DH has it already.

 

[Zathras]

I live in a competitive grocery market. Multiple grocery chains, including smaller specialty markets, such as Sprouts and Trader Joe's, as well as Walmart and Target. Red bell peppers used to be three for $1.00 on sale. Now they are $0.88 each on sale. Lettuce is $1.69 regular price this season, used to be $0.99. Frozen vegetables that could be snagged for $1.00 at Target last year are $1.82 on sale. Sugar, flour, other baking supplies are all up 20 percent in the last year or so. Eggs, thanks to the California cage law, went from $1.99 to $4.99. Halloween candy, which was a loss leader last year, is not cheap this year.

Boneless, skinless chicken and from what I see pork are still at or close to last year's prices. Meat prices are like oil prices, they vary with supply. Potatoes on sale are priced the same as last year.

Overall, my grocery bills are about 15 to 20 percent higher than last year. And I don't see them coming down anytime soon.

ETA: I just signed up for Social Security that will start next year. Guess I will use the money to stock up on food. That might be followed by guns and ammo, if prices get completely out of control!

I find this interesting.
I don't pay that much attention to individual item prices.
Overall, our monthly grocery bill has not increased in the last year, so I have not noticed any food inflation.
I'm not saying you are wrong with the items you mention in your area. Just that we have no overall increase in our area.

 

[bclover]

The comments make me wonder - If things like grocery prices are up when gasoline is down (delivery/transport costs), what will the price of groceries be when/if gasoline prices go back up?

as much as folks like to blame the government for all their ills, many times grocery prices are dependent on other factors.

Cost of eggs has gone up due to Avain flu wiping out a huge population of hens leading to a shortage.

Bake goods, mayonnaise etc are going to be higher.

California has been in a drought for 4 years.


We've been exporting a lot of dairy and cheese products to 3rd world countries and now we have a growing demand for it, you know what happens with supply and demand

Don't get me wrong, I'm not putting any faith in the bozos in Washington, they are the very definition of Murphys law, if they can screw it up they will

 

[Dave J]

I'm due for a colonoscopy but have decided to postpone it to January since I haven't used up any of my deductible this year. May as well get a start on the 2016 deductible.

.

Check your policy. Some colonoscopy's are covered 100%, no deductible. I was surprised when my second 5 years later was covered 100%. I did not think it would. Pleasant sunrise for a change.

 

[karen1972]

As for food prices, the BLS actually has stats on all these items and you can see exactly what the price last year was for a myriad of items. Dairy is down, pork is down, chicken and beef is up. Its kind of a mixed bag depending on what you buy.

People have to remember its YoY so they take the 3 summer months and avg them from YoY to determine if it has gone up or down. They also break it down by region. Granted I've bought more pork and fish lately because that's been what was on sale, but just this week there was a lot of beef roasts on sale so I stocked up again.

 

[athena53]

Check your policy. Some colonoscopy's are covered 100%, no deductible. I was surprised when my second 5 years later was covered 100%. I did not think it would. Pleasant surprise for a change.

No, mine will be diagnostic because they've found minor nasties before. I plan to use colonoscopyassist.com, which has been recommended here and will refer you to board-certified specialists at a reasonable, all-in cost.

 

[Another Reader]

I have no idea how the BLS compiles its data. Mine comes from the local supermarket trenches and reflects what is on (or not on) my receipts. I pay the water (up dramatically) and the PG&E bills. Insurance is up a few percent overall. Despite Prop 13, taxes are up, thanks in part to all the special assessments as well as the automatic two percent increase in base value. My personal COL is up significantly, except for gasoline.

 

[Car-Guy]

as much as folks like to blame the government for all their ills

Not all, but a lot.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not putting any faith in the bozos in Washington, they are the very definition of Murphys law, if they can screw it up they will

Death, taxes and very frequent Washington screw ups. Probably the top three things you can depend on in life.

 

[Dave J]

No, mine will be diagnostic because they've found minor nasties before. I plan to use colonoscopyassist.com, which has been recommended here and will refer you to board-certified specialists at a reasonable, all-in cost.

That is what mine was, but it was covered. Don't know if things changed or it was a mistake, but I was not going to argue. It was a 5 year follow up. Maybe those are covered, maybe not. You are close enough to end of year next year will not matter if you put it off til then. But if it is covered , why not.

 

[gerntz]

What a bunch of #$%#%$. Rents are up, food is up, medical is up, and we have no inflation!

But energy is down. That helps balance out the calculation.

 

[gerntz]

I've switched to cheaper booze too.

 

[mpeirce]

My personal COL is up significantly, except for gasoline.

Frankly it doesn't really matter if any one individual's COL is up or down. Government adjustments don't work at that level. They attempt to find the average and they use that.

Someone will always benefit and someone will always get the short end of the stick.

This year, you lost...

 

[Another Reader]

No, they misrepresent and obfuscate, because that's what governments do. I spent many years watching the show, although at a more local level.

My guess is most folks that really need Social Security to survive are not big consumers of gasoline. The older they are, the less they drive. They pay housing costs, utilities, taxes of various kinds, food, medicare and/or other health insurance plus co-pays, some clothing costs, and entertainment. Those people are the ones that really suffer in this situation.

 

[Nodak]

Yeah, its only happened 3 times in 40 yrs. and I have been lucky enough to endure all 3.

Me too

 

[NW-Bound]

I hear ya Sheehs. At your price including deductible you are in effect paying $13,000 before you get a penny of insurance assistance. Really in effect the policy is a subsidy for others. I haven't consumed $13k of medical use including my delivery charges at birth.

My pre-ACA insurance required me to be out more than $17K each year before they paid anything ($10K deductible + monthly premium). I had the policy for 7 years and got nothing for it, then boom, it suddenly cost them a couple of hundred $K. They paid everything that the hospitals, clinics, doctors, and surgeons submitted. Never had to call or write them. Good insurer, they are.

So, I now stop complaining that I am subsidizing for others.

I never go either. I have reverted back to the 1970s mentality... "I got a baseball sized knot growing on my head, I guess I better go to the doctor and check it out."...

Yes, by that time it will cost your insurance fistfuls of money. That will teach them.

 

[Fermion]

Yes, by that time it will cost your insurance fistfuls of money. That will teach them.

I guess that is the saying "penny wise and pound foolish" (waiting until the tumor has grown from the weight of a penny to a pound).

But hey, whatever makes you sleep better at night.

 

[Mulligan]

I guess that is the saying "penny wise and pound foolish" (waiting until the tumor has grown from the weight of a penny to a pound).

But hey, whatever makes you sleep better at night.

My apologies, I need to specifically state "hyperbole" when implying it. But yes high deductibles as several posters state will inhibit some usage, mine included... But the main point I will explicitly make is this...It still gets to the point 20% of the population consume about 80% of all healthcare costs. The bottom half consume about 3%. If the cost of high deductibles become too great with no perceived benefit for the purchaser in relation to disposable dollars one has available, the risk/reward ratio will tilt to the side of foregoing the payments.
Now that I have been more precise with my comment, I will sleep well at night.


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[pb4uski]

....The family deductible/max OOP is tricky. I was pretty horrified when I found that we had to absorb twice the per-person deductible in one year even though it was all due to DH's expenses, in order to meet the family deductible. ....

What we did to avoid that was to just get separate policies so coverage kicks in earlier especially since the premium for a couple is 2 times the single premium.