Health Insurance Premium from $286 to $386

[TromboneAl]

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.

 

[rescueme]

Health insurance rates under discussion on BH's:

Bogleheads :: View topic - Health Insurance Premium just went way up=

 

[bbbamI]

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.

 

[teejayevans]

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.
TJ

 

[bbbamI]

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...

 

[mountaintosea]

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.

 

[M Paquette]

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.

 

[easysurfer]

Reading this makes me feel fortunate. My premium (BC/BS HSA) went up about 6% from last year.

 

[Goonie]

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%.)

 

[Alan]

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.

 

[shotgunner]

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%!

 

[KB]

My Kaiser HMO went up 9% this year.

 

[dlhanson]

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.

 

[dgoldenz]

My Anthem plan went from $72/month to $81/month....not bad.

 

[Buckeye]

My Anthem plan went from $72/month to $81/month....not bad.

12.5% increase. Not a good sign.

 

[dgoldenz]

12.5% increase. Not a good sign.

12.5% is better than 20 or 25%.

 

[ziggy29]

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.

 

[dgoldenz]

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.

 

[ziggy29]

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.

 

[dgoldenz]

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.

 

[clifp]

My Kaiser (basic plan) went from $186 to $250. I am figuring that turning 50 last year helped push up the rate. Bu now I am wondering to insurance companies typically have age brackets?

 

[REWahoo]

Bu now I am wondering to insurance companies typically have age brackets?

Yes. Both DW and I saw larger (than the normally large) increases in our BC/BS individual plans when we hit 60.

 

[Martha]

Age bands are typical and allowed by most regulators. Even health insurance reform plans had age bands. I just slipped into age 55 and into the next age band. To come out to roughly the same payment a month I would have to increase my deductible by $3000.

 

[dgoldenz]

Just about every company uses some form of age bands, the key is avoiding the ones that have massive differences when hitting the higher ones (like going from 54 to 55). One of the problems with individual health insurance is the consumer has no way of knowing what to look out for without the help of a good agent since it's not publicly disclosed (unless you run the rates manually, that is). Nothing like hitting a higher age band on top of the normal rate increase, leaving you with a 30-50% total increase. Aetna used to be infamous for this and changed their approach last year.

 

[ksr]

My Kaiser (basic plan) went from $186 to $250. I am figuring that turning 50 last year helped push up the rate. Bu now I am wondering to insurance companies typically have age brackets?

I'm turning 50 this year as well and wanted to see what that would do to rates. I was able to learn a lot by plugging in different birth years using eHealthInsurance's online rate quote system. My premium (on an HDHP) alone went from $147 to $164 this year, but then it looks to me like as soon as I hit 50, it's going to jump to $215. As best I could tell from my informal research, it looks like rates will jump at every 5-year interval.