Rant (healthcare costs)

boatman37

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Jun 6, 2015
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pittsburgh
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So started a new job with a new company 2 weeks ago. My old company had Blue Cross. For me and y wife it was about $400/month with a high deductible. New company has United Healthcare and their rates ranged from $750-950/month for us two. Quite a jump but I did get about a $16,000 increase. After taxes maybe $9000 in my pocket. My insurance was going to go up about a minimum of $400/month so maybe $5000 left in my pocket after all that. Well got an email today from my company saying rates with the new plan will be substantially higher with our new plan that starts in 2 weeks. So there goes my $16,000 pay bump. A co-worker made the same move and got a $17,000 pay bump but needs whole family coverage. She said hers would be about $1500/month before the 'substantial' increase. She said even with this $17,000 pay bump she will barely bring home what she used to and with this 'substantial' increase she will likely bring home less. She is supposed to start with the new company Thursday and is already regretting it.

On the flip side, wife has a few 'acquaintances' that do not work and get medicare and don't pay a penny. One just went today for some type of nerve test where she had a helmet on. Won't cost her a penny. This same girl dropped out of college because she was further ahead on welfare. I don't even go to the Dr when I have the flu because of how much it costs. Affordable Healthcare? Certainly not affordable for me. I pay more for healthcare than I do my mortgage...no joke

Rant over!
 
I feel your pain (figuratively, of course). My medical is mostly covered by the VA. Dental is not and some prescription drugs are not. We're holding off on anything for my wife because she will be covered by Medicare in April. She currently has a health care policy that costs us about $480/month. It covers the big stuff but there's still a ton of out of pocket costs.

For me, the dental coverage is a joke. I'm going to be looking at a different policy because the one I now have has a very high deductible and it doesn't seem like they pay much at all.

Health care in this country is an absolute joke, as is the cost of medications. I can't wait until Trump goes after big pharma over the costs of their drugs in the US.
 
well... I would imagine this is going to bring in some interesting discussions.

One aspect of many that increases Insurance premiums is people abusing the system. I have a friend that goes to the hospital for the smallest things. I would classify this type of person a hypochondriac!
 
Just remember. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. Oh and let's not forget that $2500 / month savings each family is getting....."period"
 
So started a new job with a new company 2 weeks ago. My old company had Blue Cross. For me and y wife it was about $400/month with a high deductible. New company has United Healthcare and their rates ranged from $750-950/month for us two. Quite a jump but I did get about a $16,000 increase. After taxes maybe $9000 in my pocket. My insurance was going to go up about a minimum of $400/month so maybe $5000 left in my pocket after all that. Well got an email today from my company saying rates with the new plan will be substantially higher with our new plan that starts in 2 weeks. So there goes my $16,000 pay bump. A co-worker made the same move and got a $17,000 pay bump but needs whole family coverage. She said hers would be about $1500/month before the 'substantial' increase. She said even with this $17,000 pay bump she will barely bring home what she used to and with this 'substantial' increase she will likely bring home less. She is supposed to start with the new company Thursday and is already regretting it.

On the flip side, wife has a few 'acquaintances' that do not work and get medicare and don't pay a penny. One just went today for some type of nerve test where she had a helmet on. Won't cost her a penny. This same girl dropped out of college because she was further ahead on welfare. I don't even go to the Dr when I have the flu because of how much it costs. Affordable Healthcare? Certainly not affordable for me. I pay more for healthcare than I do my mortgage...no joke

Rant over!

Sounds like those are the plans the new company sees fit to offer and they elect to have their employees contribute more than your previous company did. Maybe that’s how they can pay you more.
Regarding Medicare: I became eligible for it this past year.
Eligible as in being forced to take it.
It’s not free. That’s a scam line political candidates feed potential voters who they hope cast a vote for them before finding out the truth.
After paying in to it for 50 or so years and my employers paying in a matching amount for all those years, they charged me 135.00 a month for it up until last month.
It comes right out of my social security check.
This month it goes up to 144.20.
It covers about 80% of Doctor bills. No dental, no prescription.
My wife will be eligible for it in a little over two more years.
That will be an additional 144.20 per month, or whatever they raise it to by then. She and her employers have also paid in to it for more than 50 years.
Her payment will come out of her social security check too.
 
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I own a relatively small company yet still offer a variety of plans so that employees can choose whether to pay high deductibles or higher premiums. I'm also sensitive to the cost since I pay half. But, my most generous (and expensive) plan doesn't get anywhere close to the levels you are describing. I wonder if your employer is going self-insured? That's not regulated much at all and I think they can avoid paying the half share.
One wrinkle that seems to throw off employees is that premiums are age-based since the advent of the ACA. So, the very young have smaller premiums while those approaching 65 pay the max.
 
Sounds like those are the plans the new company sees fit to offer and they elect to have their employees contribute more than your previous company did. Maybe that’s how they can pay you more.
Regarding Medicare: I became eligible for it this past year.
Eligible as in being forced to take it.
It’s not free. That’s a scam line politics candidates feed potential voters who they hope cast a vote for them before finding out the truth.
After paying in to it for 50 or so years and my employers paying in a matching amount for all those years, they charged me 135.00 a month for it up until last month.
It comes right out of my social security check.
This month it goes up to 144.20.
It covers about 80% of Doctor bills. No dental, no prescription.
My wife will be eligible for it in a little over two more years.
That will be an additional 144.20 per month, or whatever they raise it to by then. She and her employers have also paid in to it for more than 50 years.
Her payment will come out of her social security check too.
Actually, Medicare Part A, which covers hospitalization, is "free" and typically has no premiums. The premiums you describe are for Part B, which covers some other medical services and is optional.
My wife and I pay close to $500/month each for Part B coverage. I wish I could get away with the premium you're paying but it's worth it to us. It's mandatory to enable continued military health systems benefits which pretty much cover every conceivable cost and also provides prescription coverage.
 
The problem is healthcare is not competing with each other ..it’s competing for profits. Privatized health care is the only answer.

think of auto body repair....insurance pays for it but you can run around and get bids and the quality repair you want. You know the cost up front if you want

until healthcare is forced to compete for price ...cost will continue to go up.... they won’t do it on their own....why would they...unfortunately it’s going to take government to make this change... cost needs to be transparent up front
 
Part A is automatic. So is part B. Part B, the doctors, is not really optional. But you can choose to improve upon part B through a third party private company (part C) instead, but you can not elect to have no doctor coverage.
You can either just have regular Part B administered by the government, or you can elect to get a “Medicare Advantage (part C) ” plan instead through a private carrier like the ones that advertise on TV.
Load it up to suit your needs and pay the price.
But one way or the other paying at least the 144.60 is not optional. When those companies on TV tell you that you can get blah, blah, blah... for “little or no premuim”. The “little or no premium” is in addition to the 144.60 each person must pay one way or the other.
I just went through this last year with friends of ours, a married couple who both turned 65, they bought a place in South Carolina and thought since they got a “Medicare Advantage (part C)” type plan down there for under $100.00 a month each they were saving money. Then they found out that the amount they were paying was in addition to the amount (135.00 at the time, now 144.60) everyone must pay monthly one way or the other.
The kicker! They’re basically snowbirds and the plan they pay extra for down there has a bunch of network doctors participating down there, not a bad deal at all, but the doctors they’ve been using for years up here are “out of network”.
Hopefully they’ll only get sick down there.........
Bottom Line! Medicare is not free!

https://www.aarp.org/retirement/social-security/questions-answers/medicare-enroll-collecting-ss/

or this:

https://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/medicare-costs-at-a-glance
 
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I was at the doctor the other day. She said is it okay if I record this visit...she went on to say a stenographer on the other end was going to type the conversation into my file ...in the end so the doctor didn’t have to waste the time and could see another patient with the time saved.....not to lower my insurance cost....but to bring in new revenue.
At the end of the visit ...they said they wanted blood work done in two weeks and to meet with an NP to review the results.... I have been reviewing blood results for 10 years ....I don’t need an NP to tell me what went up and what went down... again just another waste and a money grab....in the end I said no to the NP if you see something crazy have the doctor call me... and that was fine with them.
 
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The problem is healthcare is not competing with each other ..it’s competing for profits. Privatized health care is the only answer.

think of auto body repair....insurance pays for it but you can run around and get bids and the quality repair you want. You know the cost up front if you want

until healthcare is forced to compete for price ...cost will continue to go up.... they won’t do it on their own....why would they...unfortunately it’s going to take government to make this change... cost needs to be transparent up front

<giggle> You said "government" and "transparent" in the same sentence.</giggle>
 
I feel your pain (figuratively, of course). My medical is mostly covered by the VA. Dental is not and some prescription drugs are not. We're holding off on anything for my wife because she will be covered by Medicare in April. She currently has a health care policy that costs us about $480/month. It covers the big stuff but there's still a ton of out of pocket costs.

For me, the dental coverage is a joke. I'm going to be looking at a different policy because the one I now have has a very high deductible and it doesn't seem like they pay much at all.

Health care in this country is an absolute joke, as is the cost of medications. I can't wait until Trump goes after big pharma over the costs of their drugs in the US.
Have you thought about getting your dental done in Mexico when you go to Sun City?
My Aunt and Uncle that also live in Sun City get their dental work done there for a fraction of the price.
 
The problem is healthcare is not competing with each other ..it’s competing for profits. Privatized health care is the only answer.

think of auto body repair....insurance pays for it but you can run around and get bids and the quality repair you want. You know the cost up front if you want

until healthcare is forced to compete for price ...cost will continue to go up.... they won’t do it on their own....why would they...unfortunately it’s going to take government to make this change... cost needs to be transparent up front

Keeping the government out of it is key too!
If you just keep Part B for the 144.60 a month you get marginal doctor coverage from the government.
If you shop around for Part C instead like they tell you on TV you might get a plan that will suit your needs better for an additional fee from a private company. Sometimes not all that much more in the relative scheme of things.
More proof that the government is so screwed up that private for profit companies can do the job better for less.
 
Have you thought about getting your dental done in Mexico
Can you imagine being murdered getting a cavity fixed?.... because you were trying to save money?
Health care, dental, plastic surgery needs to be done in the USA.. you take your life in your own hands leaving the country
 
I feel your pain (figuratively, of course). My medical is mostly covered by the VA. Dental is not and some prescription drugs are not. We're holding off on anything for my wife because she will be covered by Medicare in April. She currently has a health care policy that costs us about $480/month. It covers the big stuff but there's still a ton of out of pocket costs.

For me, the dental coverage is a joke. I'm going to be looking at a different policy because the one I now have has a very high deductible and it doesn't seem like they pay much at all.

Health care in this country is an absolute joke, as is the cost of medications. I can't wait until Trump goes after big pharma over the costs of their drugs in the US.

As a retiree I still get prescriptions and dental through my union.
Check out Costco.
When I first retired, my kids were still young but weren’t eligible to be covered for prescriptions. I paid cash for them and found Costco to be the absolute lowest prices by far for their prescription drugs. My union improved things five years later and offered retirees the option of paying an additional annual premium to cover kids. I jumped on it.

Shop around for different dental plans.
Our dental coverage is kind of a joke, but still better than nothing. My union gave us retirees an option two years ago to pay an additional monthly premium for a little better plan with more participants, lower copays, but an annual family max each calendar year. I jumped on it and by spacing things out on the calendar I’ve been able to make it worth it so far.
 
Sounds like those are the plans the new company sees fit to offer and they elect to have their employees contribute more than your previous company did. Maybe that’s how they can pay you more.
Regarding Medicare: I became eligible for it this past year.
Eligible as in being forced to take it.
It’s not free. That’s a scam line political candidates feed potential voters who they hope cast a vote for them before finding out the truth.
After paying in to it for 50 or so years and my employers paying in a matching amount for all those years, they charged me 135.00 a month for it up until last month.
It comes right out of my social security check.
This month it goes up to 144.20.
It covers about 80% of Doctor bills. No dental, no prescription.
My wife will be eligible for it in a little over two more years.
That will be an additional 144.20 per month, or whatever they raise it to by then. She and her employers have also paid in to it for more than 50 years.
Her payment will come out of her social security check too.
My Medicare costs just dropped about 50 bucks a month. Now I have enough more money to do ah....well, not much, but it is more.:)
 
Have you thought about getting your dental done in Mexico when you go to Sun City?
My Aunt and Uncle that also live in Sun City get their dental work done there for a fraction of the price.

Even better: Find a dental school and have the dental work done by students. They need the practice, are supervised by a real dentist and some schools give you a big price break.
 
I have a dental plan offered to employees in my own company. I don’t use it. It’s cheaper for me to self insure... 2 cleanings a year for the three of us is cheaper than the premiums.
 
What’s up with you old guys defaulting to Medicare? :) .... this thread started on private care and the employee paying higher cost.
Must be some resentment in Medicare ?
 
Not going to get into an internet argument, but apparently you guys have no idea.
The dentist's are schooled in the USA, and the town is Algodones, and there's nothing wrong with it, but that's ok.
 

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