Major Budget Buster - HEALTHCARE

[JB2K]

i wonder how they're going to be able to enforce everyone purchasing health insurance when many don't have jobs.

As the IRS is the government agency tasked to "police" who gets/doesn't get health insurance, I'm sure they will conduct that line of business in the same manner.

 

[disneyfan55]

Yes, I know how fortunate we are compared to others. I feel sorry for those coming in.. used to be you took the town/county/state jobs for the benefits. Not any longer. The are voted so many things out it is not worth if for the new people coming in.

I know, but I think still better than what some pay. My daughter works for a large financial institution. They have only 1 choice and it costs her quite a bit for family coverage. Also, high copay compared to me (10 for Direct 10 which they are talking about getting rid of)

 

[disneyfan55]

As the IRS is the government agency tasked to "police" who gets/doesn't get health insurance, I'm sure they will conduct that line of business in the same manner.

I guess. What a nightmare that will be. The IRS already has enough to do without enforcing healthcare! That and the new 1099 for anything over 600 for business a lot of extra unnecessary work.

 

[PatsMom]

I am dreading to see what my insurance is going to cost next year. I haven't had a raise in two years so the increased premiums really hurt. My husband is on a pension and social security. Between Medicare Part B and his supplement, and then coverage for me and our daughter (19), we joke that pretty soon his pension and social security combined wil be a negative amount. And I work in the financial world so I am actually lucky to still have a job that pays relatively well!

I don't know that insurance companies are "greedy". They are certainly easy to blame, just like blaming the government is easy. But they are public corporations (or maybe still some mutual insurers) and so they exist to make a profit. As a shareholder, you would want the company to charge premiums high enough to show a profit each year. And many of you are shareholders and just don't know it. Do you own and S&P 500 Index fund in your 401(k) or IRA? Then you are a shareholder of some major insurance corporations.

The cost of health care has increased dramatically. And part of the reason is that we are living longer. People need more and more care as they age. And as we find more ways to cure disease, people require years of follow up. For instance, one in eight women will get breast cancer. Years ago, quite a few would die. Now the five year survival rate for stage 1 breast cancer is close to 100% according to an article I recently read. I have multiple health issues. The latest is a high grade bladder cancer. Ten or twenty years ago, my only option would be to remove the bladder and hook me up to a bag. Now they have some treatments that may allow me to keep my bladder. But it is a lot of expensive treatment and because of the extremely high recurrence rate, it will be years and years of close and expensive monitoring. And more maintenance treatments. And if the bladder does need to come out, there are more choices regarding diversion and urostomy than there used to be. But these advances don't come free.

I don't know what the answer is - I wish I did because I would publish it and win a Nobel prize or something! But I know that in addition to health care premiums, my co-pays and co-insurance go up each year. And this year I actually reached my out of pocket maximum. I am fortunate that I can afford to pay by cutting back in a few other areas. I watch my neighbors really struggle.

 

[DeniseinNS]

Reading posts like these make me grateful I live in Canada.

And to think everyone here complains about the $250 per year Ontario health premium that is added to your income taxes. So many people here do not realize how great they have it.

Couldn't imagine paying that amount of $$ out of our budget on health insurance.

Who's Prime Minister flew to the USA for treatment????

It wasn't the Prime Minister. Even so, if someone wants to go to the U.S to have something done that is their personal choice. Yes, there can be waits to have things done but if it's an emergency it will get priority which is fine. I think her point was that people here in Canada should appreciate what a good thing they have. EVERYONE is able to go to a doctor/hospital without having to worry about whether they can afford it, there's no stress about trying to cover the cost of insurance/co-pays or huge medical bills.
Momof2gr8kids- I don't think we have a premium here in N.S but $250 a year isn't bad at all.

 

[tinker&belle]

I know it has been brought up already in the thread, but I just wanted to second how great the High Deductible/HSA has been for our family. We pay a low premium (about $100 a month) and DH's employer puts some money in the HSA. Between the employer and us we max out what is allowed per year.

This is really nice because at DH's old job we were paying almost $600/month for health/vision, plus there was a deductible plus TONS of $ in co-pays. I really like with our HSA that all money spent goes toward our deductible then our OOP max.

 

[PatsMom]

I know it has been brought up already in the thread, but I just wanted to second how great the High Deductible/HSA has been for our family. We pay a low premium (about $100 a month) and DH's employer puts some money in the HSA. Between the employer and us we max out what is allowed per year.

This is really nice because at DH's old job we were paying almost $600/month for health/vision, plus there was a deductible plus TONS of $ in co-pays. I really like with our HSA that all money spent goes toward our deductible then our OOP max.

HSA's can be a good option for young people in good health. Or if your employer puts enough money in the HSA to pay all the deductibles. It is an especially good deal if you are in good enough health that you can accumulate funds in the HSA from year to year.

My employer offers a plan with an HSA. They contribute nothing - I would have to fund the HSA myself. Not a good deal for me since I would spend it all each year with my ongoing health issues. But I do think more choices in health care plans will help affordability and availability for everyone!

 

[BoogasMom]

I hope my healthcare costs will go up at least $1000 next year so that I can help pay for everyone elses healthcare while worrying about feeding, clothing and housing for my children. All while DH leaves at 6:00 AM and returns 8:00 PM every day.
I agree we should try to provide healthcare for everyone, but there are other ways. Try controlling expenses or legal issues.

While those whose healthcare your husband will be helping to pay sit at home on their butts every day......

 

[tinker&belle]

HSA's can be a good option for young people in good health. Or if your employer puts enough money in the HSA to pay all the deductibles. It is an especially good deal if you are in good enough health that you can accumulate funds in the HSA from year to year.

My employer offers a plan with an HSA. They contribute nothing - I would have to fund the HSA myself. Not a good deal for me since I would spend it all each year with my ongoing health issues. But I do think more choices in health care plans will help affordability and availability for everyone!

We have had higher than normal expenses this year (younger child had birth defect and had a couple surgeries this year, one that OOP would have be over 60K) and the HSA plan still worked better for us.

I never would have dreamt that would be the case, but compared to the money I was paying every month for premium, plus the MANY $20 copays that didn't go toward a deductible or OOP max (that's what KILLED us) the HSA worked well. We pay $100 for the premium and put $325 in HSA per month.

We ARE fortunate that Dh's employer does put some more money in the HSA. Even if this was all that was being contributed in a normal year with two healthy children it would more than cover typical expenses for our family-it has just been atypical the last few years.

I think if anyone has an HSA available it is worth running the numbers and seeing how much co-pays are adding up to. With our HSA once the deductible was met it even meant we were only paying 20% of prescriptions instead of having to buy them on a tiered system. Once we hit our OOP max, prescriptions are covered at 100%. So it can be good for people with LOTS of expenses too. It was certainly better for us than the PPO system was when we ran the numbers.

 

[windycitymom]

While those whose healthcare your husband will be helping to pay sit at home on their butts every day......

That's not a fair statement to make while unemployment is still around 10% (or more). Those who still have a job and haven't been affected by the Great Recession should not complain about taxes to help those less fortunate. You never know when the shoe will be on the other foot...Care to trade places with the unemployed? I didn't think so.

 

[DisneyMomJen]

While those whose healthcare your husband will be helping to pay sit at home on their butts every day......

I am sure this is not the case with everyone, but we know people who do sit at home on their butts every day and refuse to work and continue to have more children. Guess who is paying for this? Us the taxpayers!!!

 

[Jitzy]

HSA's can be a good option for young people in good health. Or if your employer puts enough money in the HSA to pay all the deductibles. It is an especially good deal if you are in good enough health that you can accumulate funds in the HSA from year to year.

My employer offers a plan with an HSA. They contribute nothing - I would have to fund the HSA myself. Not a good deal for me since I would spend it all each year with my ongoing health issues. But I do think more choices in health care plans will help affordability and availability for everyone!

True, but contributions to HSAs are reduce the amount of income you earn per year, therefore lowering the amount of taxes you may pay.

What is most surprising in all of this debate is that I've only seen one mention of tort reform. The cost of insurance is one of the reasons more doctors are leaving their profession. We will never be able to insure the 30 million people that will be covered by Medicaid if there aren't any doctors!

 

[Jennabeth]

We have had higher than normal expenses this year (younger child had birth defect and had a couple surgeries this year, one that OOP would have be over 60K) and the HSA plan still worked better for us.

I never would have dreamt that would be the case, but compared to the money I was paying every month for premium, plus the MANY $20 copays that didn't go toward a deductible or OOP max (that's what KILLED us) the HSA worked well. We pay $100 for the premium and put $325 in HSA per month.

We ARE fortunate that Dh's employer does put some more money in the HSA. Even if this was all that was being contributed in a normal year with two healthy children it would more than cover typical expenses for our family-it has just been atypical the last few years.

I think if anyone has an HSA available it is worth running the numbers and seeing how much co-pays are adding up to. With our HSA once the deductible was met it even meant we were only paying 20% of prescriptions instead of having to buy them on a tiered system. Once we hit our OOP max, prescriptions are covered at 100%. So it can be good for people with LOTS of expenses too. It was certainly better for us than the PPO system was when we ran the numbers.

This is what I've heard/read. HSAs and High Ded insurance are good for those who are healthy or very unhealthy. Even if my employer wasn't contributing any money I would still enroll in this plan. I love the fact that my money rolls over year after year and earns interest. It's like a health 401K and something I think I'll be glad I have when I retire.

 

[Colleen27]

I don't think it's necessarily wrong for people to profit off of healthcare. I know several doctors personally who will be doing something else very shortly because it's no longer profitable for them to practice.

The richest man in my state invented medical devices that have saved the lives of many and he didn't do it out of the kindness of his heart.

A friend's DH is a brilliant medical researcher and he doesn't do it because it's fun or intellectually stimulating. He does it for the $$$.

I think there's an important difference between a doctor or a researcher or an inventor making a profit of of his/her skills and services and a for-profit insurer who's very business model is based on collecting as many premium dollars as possible while paying out as few coverage dollars as they can get away with. For-profit medicine is a good idea; it attracts bright minds to a challenging field. For-profit health insurance, on the other hand, is a mess.

 

[jocotter]

Among the many things that I dislike about the healthcare reform is the fact that our workplace will most likely lose our insurance coverage. Only about 2/3 of our employees sign up for insurance now. When we have to cover all of them, being a large employer and non-profit, we won't be able to afford it. To take the fine is much less expensive. Being a non-profit, we can't deduct it from taxes, so there is no help. If you are a small non-profit, there is some relief, but not for large ones. Our board has already forwarned us that since we have not received any increases in reimbursement rates since 2001, we can't afford to pay for the additional people. I am hoping something will change, but otherwise we will all be looking for insurance on our own. Since I have a rather serious chronic disease, I am worried.

 

[Colleen27]

It wasn't the Prime Minister. Even so, if someone wants to go to the U.S to have something done that is their personal choice. Yes, there can be waits to have things done but if it's an emergency it will get priority which is fine. I think her point was that people here in Canada should appreciate what a good thing they have. EVERYONE is able to go to a doctor/hospital without having to worry about whether they can afford it, there's no stress about trying to cover the cost of insurance/co-pays or huge medical bills.

Yep. We have a friend in DH's line of work (construction) who lives across the river in Canada. He hurt his shoulder working on his own home. There were some waits involved in his treatment - over 2 weeks for the MRI and then almost 3 months before he could have the surgery. Frustrated, he checked out his options for coming to the states to have it done; he could have it done within a week, but it would cost him just a hair over 50K. There are trade-offs, but personally I'd rather deal with waiting for treatment of a non-life-threatening condition than worry about how to come up with a year's income to pay for the necessary care.

People talk about rationing when health care reform comes up, particularly as it relates to end-of-life and non-emergent care, but the thing is that the US already rations health care. We just do it based on financial circumstances rather than medical.

 

[Colleen27]

That's not a fair statement to make while unemployment is still around 10% (or more). Those who still have a job and haven't been affected by the Great Recession should not complain about taxes to help those less fortunate. You never know when the shoe will be on the other foot...Care to trade places with the unemployed? I didn't think so.

Not to mention, employment doesn't automatically equate to health insurance. Plenty of employers don't offer it, or keep most of their employees part time so they don't qualify, or the employee share is so high in relation to wages that it is offered but still out of reach. You don't have to be unemployed to be uninsured.

 

[dis75ney]

Yep. We have a friend in DH's line of work (construction) who lives across the river in Canada. He hurt his shoulder working on his own home. There were some waits involved in his treatment - over 2 weeks for the MRI and then almost 3 months before he could have the surgery. Frustrated, he checked out his options for coming to the states to have it done; he could have it done within a week, but it would cost him just a hair over 50K. There are trade-offs, but personally I'd rather deal with waiting for treatment of a non-life-threatening condition than worry about how to come up with a year's income to pay for the necessary care.

I injured my knee back in early July, finally got approval for an MRI in the beginning of September, and have been approved for an arthroscopy to repair a meniscus tear for the end of October. While I'm thankful that I can still walk with this injury (although I now have a cane...at the ripe old age of 35), it's frustrating that I've had to wait for almost four months before I can get any kind of pain relief...

We have to wait even in the US if we want any kind of coverage for our non life-threatening illnesses/injuries...

 

[RockAndRollBallerina]

Shouldn't someone who went to med school with the purpose of helping people be helping everyone including those less fortunate who absolutely can not pay out an additional penny a month for health care? I know its the law anyways that they are required to give care to those who cant pay, but when they send a bill to these people that obviously don't have the funds anyway to pay I find it very insulting to those individuals. And health care as a business, are you kidding? How is it that places like Salvation Army, Red Cross, and other organizations like those help people regardless of their financial situation and don't charge a dime for their services. Yet for something that should be a right of all citizens regardless of their financial situation is geared towards those privileged enough to pay? Absolutely absurd.

 

[Tink-aholic]

Shouldn't someone who went to med school with the purpose of helping people be helping everyone including those less fortunate who absolutely can not pay out an additional penny a month for health care? I know its the law anyways that they are required to give care to those who cant pay, but when they send a bill to these people that obviously don't have the funds anyway to pay I find it very insulting to those individuals. And health care as a business, are you kidding? How is it that places like Salvation Army, Red Cross, and other organizations like those help people regardless of their financial situation and don't charge a dime for their services. Yet for something that should be a right of all citizens regardless of their financial situation is geared towards those privileged enough to pay? Absolutely absurd.

What are you talking about? There is no such law in the US. Why should doctors be forced to work for free? Would you work for free??

You clearly have no idea how much it costs to run a doctor's office. In addition to school loans (getting the advanced degree is expensive, not to mention intern time which is frequently unpaid), malpractice insurance (sometimes in excess of $100K per year), continuing education in order to maintain their license, and overhead (including staff, medical equipment and supplies, computers with updated software, etc), they are also scrutinized to the hilt for every penny the insurance pays them. On top of that, these doctors would like to bring home some money for themselves so that they can pay their own mortgage, feed their own kids, and pay for their own health insurance.

Healthcare IS a business. To think otherwise is absurd.