UGH!!! Health Insurance! How Much Did Your Premiums Go Up?

[lynzi2004]

Our costs keep going up as we are self-employed, small business (chiropractors). We switched to a Christian sharing plan for catastrophic situations and pay OOP for normal dr visits. Taking a kid to the dr is $35 cash. Insurance would have been a $1000/month premium and a $75 office visit.

 

[j's m]

My DS currently has an Amerihealth off the exchange plan with out of network benefits. For 2017 they are dropping the national network and out of network benefits and reducing the price $ 7 (from 404 to 397 a month), also raising the max out of pocket from 6350 to 7150. NJ has no plans for 2017 with out of network benefits. I'm so glad he will soon be covered by his work insurance which is way better. Individual insurance is insane.

 

[kydisneyfans]

Our plans are up in the single digits, but 2 new plans were added. We will pay around $60 more per pay, but will have an $800 deductible instead of $1600 and doctor visits are now $30/$45 instead of deductible then 80/20. Hospital stays are $500 now, not 80/20. That is huge when one has Crohn's. We will offset the increase cost by paying less in medical bills.

 

[scrapquitler]

And what are you doing to mitigate the price increase?

We just got our notice and the cost is going up another $500 per month!!!! I could drop my cable AND cellphone plans and I still would not make up that difference. We're looking into a cheaper plan, but the deductibles and co-pays on them are so high that it would end up costing us pretty much the same amount OOP in the long run while requiring referrals and restricting access to select providers.

So, how are others absorbing the cost increases? Are you dumbing down your plans (if at all possible) or are you tightening your belts more in order to keep your current coverage? If it's the latter, what kind of cost-saving measures are you taking to absorb the hit?[/QUOT
.

$280 month increase. Higher copay, higher out of pocket max, higher deductibles.

I think we are going to switch from a gold HMO Plan to a Bronze PPO plan. It will save us almost $700 a month. We hardly go to the doctor, so I think the (much) higher out of pocket max and deductibles won't be a problem for us. We should still save in the long run.

 

[wendow]

Ours has done nothing but go up and coverage worsen since ACA...hate it!...For this next year, our plan is going up 15%. We are already on a HDHP w/HSA. We have a family deductible (no individual) of $10k per year. We pay OOP for everything and it stinks, especially since my oldest dd has been sick with a 'mystery illness' for almost 18 mos now.

I am looking into a Christian healthshare for us for this next year. I'm tired of paying out the nose and getting absolutely nothing in return.

 

[MomToOne]

My costs are TRIPLING next year when you figure premiums/deductibles I will definitely end up paying/drug costs (assuming no major new illnesses - in that case it will be even worse) - yup, that's a 300% increase. But it's not because of the insurance system, it's because our company decided to scr*w my division over. They even admitted it - "decided to restructure costs". Despite profits being up. It's all due to a spin-off of our division and then merger of it with another company that will happen early next year.

It doesn't help that they are forcing us all to change plans - there are no options to keep any of the existing plans - and they then provided pretty much no info (or even worse, conflicting or just downright WRONG info) on the different plans. Sorting out what the coverage options are now is the biggest mess I have ever seen in my life. People have spent DAYS trying to figure it all out, instead of the normal few hours it takes each year. We call HR with basic questions, and they just tell us "we don't know - call the individual health plans". Really?? Of course you call the health plans, and they give you answers that almost always conflict with the little bit of info our company provided. So you are left trying to figure out what to believe. We have taken to referring to our enrollments as "our leaps of faith".

Oh yeah - and along with the increased medical costs, they also completely dropped our long term disability insurance coverage, lowered our life insurance coverage and lowered the 401K match. They've also been very vague about what will happen to the vacation accrual policy after the merger...

And the really interesting thing is that the other divisions in the company are getting benefits similar to this year, with only slight cost increases. It's only our division that got this complete overhaul in the benefits package. (Of course the company admitted that only AFTER employees put 2+2 together) I've never in my 30 year career seen anything like it.

They are just trying to get people to quit so they don't have to pay severance to a bunch of people after the merger...

 

[Viking7641]

So, for those of you who say that your rates are the same or going down, is that with keeping the same plan? or is it because your employer changed the available plans? or your employer is taking care of the increase.

And for those who work for the government or have union plans, I'm jealous. You guys seem to be insulated from the cost increases.

We most assuredly are not. Our plans have been going up for years and our choices have been cut to almost nothing. I also make less than most secretaries.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

So, for those of you who say that your rates are the same or going down, is that with keeping the same plan? or is it because your employer changed the available plans? or your employer is taking care of the increase.

And for those who work for the government or have union plans, I'm jealous. You guys seem to be insulated from the cost increases.

We have the same plans. I assume my employer is taking care of the increase, if there is an increase.

 

[kamik86]

My health insurance went up but only a bit like $50 a year. DH's we don't know yet. Dental and vision are the same.

I might drop mine to a lower one though. I have had the enhanced plan with a slightly lower deducitble, out of pocket mx and lower coinsurance rates in between. However I have had this kind of plan for 5 years and never hit the deductible anyway so maybe I'm better off with the lower rate. Its a bit more of a risk but if I manage for several years of that it would cover the difference if I suddenly needed it one year.

 

[daughtersrus]

So, for those of you who say that your rates are the same or going down, is that with keeping the same plan? or is it because your employer changed the available plans? or your employer is taking care of the increase.

And for those who work for the government or have union plans, I'm jealous. You guys seem to be insulated from the cost increases.

Ours is a plan with a union. Our coverage actually increased significantly with the ACA. Prior to it, we had no coverage for preventative care, including immunizations. We also had a lifetime max of $1 M. Now we have coverage for preventative at 100% and no longer have a lifetime max. This is a big deal for us since we had a DD with a very rare genetic disease

 

[Marionnette]

$280 month increase. Higher copay, higher out of pocket max, higher deductibles.

I think we are going to switch from a gold HMO Plan to a Bronze PPO plan. It will save us almost $700 a month. We hardly go to the doctor, so I think the (much) higher out of pocket max and deductibles won't be a problem for us. We should still save in the long run.

We have a PPO Gold plan that we pay for completely because we're self-employed. I think we may keep my husband on it because he's the big user of healthcare. We can drop mine down to a Bronze HMO with a high deductible and copays because I need to be on death's door before I go to the doctor. It would bring our total premium costs down to what we're paying this year. I hate the thought of downgrading my coverage to just the bare bones while paying the same amount, but we just can't sustain the price of these premium increases.

Three more years and my husband qualifies for Medicare. I just hope that we can run the clock out before our bank account runs out.

 

[scrapquitler]

We have a PPO Gold plan that we pay for completely because we're self-employed. I think we may keep my husband on it because he's the big user of healthcare. We can drop mine down to a Bronze HMO with a high deductible and copays because I need to be on death's door before I go to the doctor. It would bring our total premium costs down to what we're paying this year. I hate the thought of downgrading my coverage to just the bare bones while paying the same amount, but we just can't sustain the price of these premium increases.

Three more years and my husband qualifies for Medicare. I just hope that we can run the clock out before our bank account runs out.

Yes, my DH is self employed as well. No big employer to help bear the cost. I'm pretty sure we are scaling back our coverage. Fortunately, we are healthy and like you, only go to the doctor when it's absolutely necessary.

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

I just spoke with our agent. 10.5% increase exact same plan. it will be almost $2000 a month thru our small business for dh,self,2ds (18,20). $1000/4000max deduct,80/20, $25/45 reg/specialist.

Way to much. I have 1 issue and may need surgery next year so i am trying to facyor that in as well in looking at policys. We hhad individual, then did 2 us t hru exchange-hard, hard time finding specialists that would take it, then to small group thru our bus.

We also conver 2 other employees. Under 10 in florida is tough!

 

[hedg12]

I wish we were insulated from cost increases - I work for the state & our premiums went up 23%, copays went up $5 a visit, and our deductible went up $250 per person. Same plan - we have the choice of 4 plans from 2 different providers, and this is still the best deal.

 

[LJSquishy]

Ours increased quite a bit last year for slightly worse coverage than we had previously, but my husband just changed employers and our new health insurance is around $300/month for the two of us (no kids) with a $1500 individual deductible, $35 office visit copays, and we pay 30% of other services. It's a good plan, typical of what we've always had. This particular employer has the right idea with plans...choices are: Employee. Employee/Spouse. Employee/Spouse/Child. Employee/Spouse/ChildREN. Employee/Child. Employee/ChildREN. It's a great plan for us in the future once we adopt because we only plan to have one child so we'll have to pay less than a family with 8 children which is how it should be for everyone. I hate seeing "family" plans wherected you pay the same whether you have 1 or 10 children. With our old insurance, if we added a child to our family our insurance would have increased by $400/mo.

I'm curious if those of you who have these outrageously priced plans with high deductibles are in typical careers with employer-offered insurance plans or are these plans you're seeking out on your own (Affordable Healthcare Act) because you have hourly-paid jobs? We don't know anyone in typical college-educated careers that have these insanely priced plans.

 

[havaneselover]

Ours increased quite a bit last year for slightly worse coverage than we had previously, but my husband just changed employers and our new health insurance is around $300/month for the two of us (no kids) with a $1500 individual deductible, $35 office visit copays, and we pay 30% of other services. It's a good plan, typical of what we've always had. This particular employer has the right idea with plans...choices are: Employee. Employee/Spouse. Employee/Spouse/Child. Employee/Spouse/ChildREN. Employee/Child. Employee/ChildREN. It's a great plan for us in the future once we adopt because we only plan to have one child so we'll have to pay less than a family with 8 children which is how it should be for everyone. I hate seeing "family" plans wherected you pay the same whether you have 1 or 10 children. With our old insurance, if we added a child to our family our insurance would have increased by $400/mo.

I'm curious if those of you who have these outrageously priced plans with high deductibles are in typical careers with employer-offered insurance plans or are these plans you're seeking out on your own (Affordable Healthcare Act) because you have hourly-paid jobs? We don't know anyone in typical college-educated careers that have these insanely priced plans.

I work for a consulting firm--my colleagues are highly educated. But it's a small business.

 

[wilkeliza]

Ours increased quite a bit last year for slightly worse coverage than we had previously, but my husband just changed employers and our new health insurance is around $300/month for the two of us (no kids) with a $1500 individual deductible, $35 office visit copays, and we pay 30% of other services. It's a good plan, typical of what we've always had. This particular employer has the right idea with plans...choices are: Employee. Employee/Spouse. Employee/Spouse/Child. Employee/Spouse/ChildREN. Employee/Child. Employee/ChildREN. It's a great plan for us in the future once we adopt because we only plan to have one child so we'll have to pay less than a family with 8 children which is how it should be for everyone. I hate seeing "family" plans wherected you pay the same whether you have 1 or 10 children. With our old insurance, if we added a child to our family our insurance would have increased by $400/mo.

I'm curious if those of you who have these outrageously priced plans with high deductibles are in typical careers with employer-offered insurance plans or are these plans you're seeking out on your own (Affordable Healthcare Act) because you have hourly-paid jobs? We don't know anyone in typical college-educated careers that have these insanely priced plans.

The people I know who pay the outrageous amounts either work for small businesses (which could be a college-educated career) or are self employed like Lawyers who have their own practice, doctors, property managers, etc. It is getting harder and harder for the mom and pop and small businesses to be able to provide insurance or even afford it for the owners etc.

 

[kamik86]

Another possible difference. For those with very small increases do your companies self insure? I just remembered mine does. The fund is managed by a insurance company but the money pool is my company's.

 

[LJSquishy]

I work for a consulting firm--my colleagues are highly educated. But it's a small business.

The people I know who pay the outrageous amounts either work for small businesses (which could be a college-educated career) or are self employed like Lawyers who have their own practice, doctors, property managers, etc. It is getting harder and harder for the mom and pop and small businesses to be able to provide insurance or even afford it for the owners etc.

Ah, I see. I was just curious. It seems to be a major problem for small businesses.

 

[wilkeliza]

Ah, I see. I was just curious. It seems to be a major problem for small businesses.

It really is. Before ACA I know a small business owner who was able to provide health insurance for his entire office of 7 people. After ACA they had to drop health insurance as a benefit as it was sucking all their profit. Yes they don't have the mandate to provide it but they no longer could find a plan that covered anything and was worth the cost. I believe they gave everyone a raise equal to what they use to pay for each employees health care plan.