is your health insurance going up? (1 Viewer)

[Quez]

Next month is open enrollment for my company and it looks like the plan for my family will go up about $40 a month.

I am on the "Employee & Family" (2 adults, kid) PPO2 with Cigna. It is pretty comparable to the one I had last year. The only difference is the max out of pocket went up $1000, and everything that was "CYD then 10%" went to "CYD then 20%".

In sum, I am paying about $500 more a year and the plan isn't as good.

 

[Keerock]

Thanks Obama.

 

[Koya]

My plan is virtually unchanged - Empire BCBS. There are some docs that are no longer in network, however.

 

[Aerial Assault]

Nope, not at all.

 

[KCitons]

Has it ever gone down?

 

[Plorfu]

My answer depends entirely on my political affiliation.

 

[Cawdor]

Starting this month mine has went up $145/month ( 2 adults and 3 children).

 

[lod01]

Has it ever gone down?

Not that I can remember however, I am going to a new option next year that is lower and has the same bennies. HR pointed that out last enrollment.

At my previous employer, it went up every year since the word go. It is held down by HR as they switch providers. The provider offers a sweet 1 year deal. Then when the 2nd year amount is announced, HR would go back to the previous vendor to keep costs as low as possible.

 

[Bucky86]

Has it ever gone down?

Thanks, Obama.

 

[NCCommish]

Mine has been unchanged for 2 years. Thanks Obama.

 

[matttyl]

Has it ever gone down?

Possibly, sorta.

I'm in my 30s now. Back in my late 20s, the rate was lower for a 28 year old (for instance) than it had been the year before - only now I was 29, not 28.

So what you had may now cost less, but you're now a year older as well. The difference between 28 and 29, though, is nothing compared to the difference between 48 and 49, or 59 and 60. Getting older AND having the same plan cost less rarely happens.

 

[matttyl]

Mine has been unchanged for 2 years. Thanks Obama.

Individual or group? If group, are you saying the group's rate (what your employer was charged) was unchanged, or your portion of that premium?

 

[NCCommish]

Mine has been unchanged for 2 years. Thanks Obama.

Individual or group? If group, are you saying the group's rate (what your employer was charged) was unchanged, or your portion of that premium?

Group. The groups rate stayed the same for the last 2 years.

 

[Quez]

Starting this month mine has went up $145/month ( 2 adults and 3 children).

At least you are getting the most bang for your buck with 3 kids.

 

[NutterButter]

Mine has been unchanged for 2 years. Thanks Obama.

Individual or group? If group, are you saying the group's rate (what your employer was charged) was unchanged, or your portion of that premium?

Group. The groups rate stayed the same for the last 2 years.

No thanks to Obama

 

[matttyl]

Mine has been unchanged for 2 years. Thanks Obama.

Individual or group? If group, are you saying the group's rate (what your employer was charged) was unchanged, or your portion of that premium?

Group. The groups rate stayed the same for the last 2 years.

Did the carrier guarantee the rate for 2 years? Some carriers do that as a way to differentiate themselves - they won't touch your rate no matter what for 48 months....then.....who knows.

 

[Godsbrother]

Mine went up slightly but that has been the case since my first job out of college in 1981. My son had an individual policy last year that was $320 a month, he is paying $172 / month for better coverage with obamacare.

 

[NCCommish]

Mine has been unchanged for 2 years. Thanks Obama.

Individual or group? If group, are you saying the group's rate (what your employer was charged) was unchanged, or your portion of that premium?

Group. The groups rate stayed the same for the last 2 years.

Did the carrier guarantee the rate for 2 years? Some carriers do that as a way to differentiate themselves - they won't touch your rate no matter what for 48 months....then.....who knows.

No they quoted us the same rate two years in a row. Hey I was as surprised as everyone else. We usually shop the policy each year due to rising costs.

 

[NCCommish]

Mine has been unchanged for 2 years. Thanks Obama.

Individual or group? If group, are you saying the group's rate (what your employer was charged) was unchanged, or your portion of that premium?

Group. The groups rate stayed the same for the last 2 years.

No thanks to Obama

Can't have it both ways. If Barry is responsible for every premium that goes up then he gets the credit the other way as well.

 

[Ditka Butkus]

So far, so good. No changes

 

[NutterButter]

Mine has been unchanged for 2 years. Thanks Obama.

Individual or group? If group, are you saying the group's rate (what your employer was charged) was unchanged, or your portion of that premium?

Group. The groups rate stayed the same for the last 2 years.

No thanks to Obama

Can't have it both ways. If Barry is responsible for every premium that goes up then he gets the credit the other way as well.

I believe the tactic is embellish the negative, bury the positive.

 

[the moops]

Mine went up 7 dollars a month. Went up about that much each of the previous three years I have been at this job

 

[matttyl]

Mine went up slightly but that has been the case since my first job out of college in 1981. My son had an individual policy last year that was $320 a month, he is paying $172 / month for better coverage with obamacare.

And you're apparently around the Pittsburgh area - which is the second cheapest area in the nation for these new plans, amazingly within $8 a month of what your son is paying now on average.

By comparison, if he lived in "Southwest Georgia", the same plan would cost $461, just over 2.5x as much. Tells me that the Pittsburgh area drastically under-priced their products.

He shouldn't get too comfortable with that rate (if he in fact lives around the Pittsburgh area).

 

[NCCommish]

Mine went up slightly but that has been the case since my first job out of college in 1981. My son had an individual policy last year that was $320 a month, he is paying $172 / month for better coverage with obamacare.

And you're apparently around the Pittsburgh area - which is the second cheapest area in the nation for these new plans, amazingly within $8 a month of what your son is paying now on average.

By comparison, if he lived in "Southwest Georgia", the same plan would cost $461, just over 2.5x as much. Tells me that the Pittsburgh area drastically under-priced their products.

He shouldn't get too comfortable with that rate (if he in fact lives around the Pittsburgh area).

So Southwest Georgia couldn't be overpriced?

 

[LAUNCH]

Mine went up slightly but that has been the case since my first job out of college in 1981. My son had an individual policy last year that was $320 a month, he is paying $172 / month for better coverage with obamacare.

And you're apparently around the Pittsburgh area - which is the second cheapest area in the nation for these new plans, amazingly within $8 a month of what your son is paying now on average.

By comparison, if he lived in "Southwest Georgia", the same plan would cost $461, just over 2.5x as much. Tells me that the Pittsburgh area drastically under-priced their products.

He shouldn't get too comfortable with that rate (if he in fact lives around the Pittsburgh area).

So Southwest Georgia couldn't be overpriced?

Maybe it's the copays and deductibles that are different.

 

[NCCommish]

Mine went up slightly but that has been the case since my first job out of college in 1981. My son had an individual policy last year that was $320 a month, he is paying $172 / month for better coverage with obamacare.

And you're apparently around the Pittsburgh area - which is the second cheapest area in the nation for these new plans, amazingly within $8 a month of what your son is paying now on average.

By comparison, if he lived in "Southwest Georgia", the same plan would cost $461, just over 2.5x as much. Tells me that the Pittsburgh area drastically under-priced their products.

He shouldn't get too comfortable with that rate (if he in fact lives around the Pittsburgh area).

So Southwest Georgia couldn't be overpriced?

Maybe it's the copays and deductibles that are different.

Maybe. I just love the assumption that in the state where the politicians would rather sacrifice their young than have the ACA is the one you should pick for pricing comps.

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

Two years ago our rates stayed the same but they made a major change in the way prescription coverage was handled, which resulted in a large out of pocket increase before our deductible was met. It probably didn't end up being a significant net change for us since we always hit our deductible anyway but the way costs were concentrated made it feel like more.

This year it switched back to a standard prescriptions coverage plan with a small increase in rates, not noticeably more or less than usual. There has also been a 3 year trend of having a lot of wellness incentives available. Discounts for not using tobacco products, taking health assessments, etc.

 

[sbonomo]

Mine went up again....co-pay went from $1,000 per year to $3,500, doctor visits (outside of yearly check up) from $25 to $50 and monthly premiums (myself and my wife) 400 per month vs 285 last year. FU obama.

 

[3C's]

Here we go again...

 

[Aerial Assault]

Mine went up slightly but that has been the case since my first job out of college in 1981. My son had an individual policy last year that was $320 a month, he is paying $172 / month for better coverage with obamacare.

And you're apparently around the Pittsburgh area - which is the second cheapest area in the nation for these new plans, amazingly within $8 a month of what your son is paying now on average.By comparison, if he lived in "Southwest Georgia", the same plan would cost $461, just over 2.5x as much. Tells me that the Pittsburgh area drastically under-priced their products.

Tells me that you are stationed at your keyboard 24/7 to ensure that we know to blame the president for any aspect of the health insurance system that affects anyone negatively.

 

[Quez]

No wonder Steelers fans travel well. The money they save on health insurance they spend on tickets.

 

[matttyl]

Mine went up slightly but that has been the case since my first job out of college in 1981. My son had an individual policy last year that was $320 a month, he is paying $172 / month for better coverage with obamacare.

And you're apparently around the Pittsburgh area - which is the second cheapest area in the nation for these new plans, amazingly within $8 a month of what your son is paying now on average.

By comparison, if he lived in "Southwest Georgia", the same plan would cost $461, just over 2.5x as much. Tells me that the Pittsburgh area drastically under-priced their products.

He shouldn't get too comfortable with that rate (if he in fact lives around the Pittsburgh area).

So Southwest Georgia couldn't be overpriced?

Of course it is. If you average them out, it's over $300 a month, or an 80% increase from what his son is paying now.

 

[matttyl]

Mine went up slightly but that has been the case since my first job out of college in 1981. My son had an individual policy last year that was $320 a month, he is paying $172 / month for better coverage with obamacare.

And you're apparently around the Pittsburgh area - which is the second cheapest area in the nation for these new plans, amazingly within $8 a month of what your son is paying now on average.

By comparison, if he lived in "Southwest Georgia", the same plan would cost $461, just over 2.5x as much. Tells me that the Pittsburgh area drastically under-priced their products.

He shouldn't get too comfortable with that rate (if he in fact lives around the Pittsburgh area).

So Southwest Georgia couldn't be overpriced?

Maybe it's the copays and deductibles that are different.

Maybe. I just love the assumption that in the state where the politicians would rather sacrifice their young than have the ACA is the one you should pick for pricing comps.

I didn't pick them, KFF did. They are the highest and the lowest prices in the nation for as close to apples to apples as you can get for these plans (mid-tier silver plan for a 40 year old non-smoker). The Kaiser Family foundation did the study to find the most and lest expensive places nationwide. His son apparently lives in the 2nd lowest prices area in the nation. The 2nd highest is Southwest Georgia, which is over 2.5x higher (again, for as close as you can get to the same plan - similar copays and deductibles and such).

 

[matttyl]

Mine went up slightly but that has been the case since my first job out of college in 1981. My son had an individual policy last year that was $320 a month, he is paying $172 / month for better coverage with obamacare.

And you're apparently around the Pittsburgh area - which is the second cheapest area in the nation for these new plans, amazingly within $8 a month of what your son is paying now on average.By comparison, if he lived in "Southwest Georgia", the same plan would cost $461, just over 2.5x as much. Tells me that the Pittsburgh area drastically under-priced their products.

Tells me that you are stationed at your keyboard 24/7 to ensure that we know to blame the president for any aspect of the health insurance system that affects anyone negatively.

No, just an easy to find study. Obama really don't have anything to do with the rates that carriers in Pittsburgh or in Georgia came up with for their (extremely similarly built) plans.

 

[17seconds]

Mine went up fairly regularly from 2000-2011. The last couple of years it has not gone up. Our enrollment is July 1 so I'll be finding out soon. The leadership of our company is very anti-Obama, so who knows they may raise it just to be crybabies.

 

[Aerial Assault]

Mine went up slightly but that has been the case since my first job out of college in 1981. My son had an individual policy last year that was $320 a month, he is paying $172 / month for better coverage with obamacare.

And you're apparently around the Pittsburgh area - which is the second cheapest area in the nation for these new plans, amazingly within $8 a month of what your son is paying now on average.By comparison, if he lived in "Southwest Georgia", the same plan would cost $461, just over 2.5x as much. Tells me that the Pittsburgh area drastically under-priced their products.

Tells me that you are stationed at your keyboard 24/7 to ensure that we know to blame the president for any aspect of the health insurance system that affects anyone negatively.

No, just an easy to find study. Obama really don't have anything to do with the rates that carriers in Pittsburgh or in Georgia came up with for their (extremely similarly built) plans.

I know that, but it's surprising to see you admit it. Are you sure this isn't Obama's fault somehow??

 

[The Big Guy]

Mine went up just like OP did. The biweekly cost remained the same and the our of pocket expenses increased, so our company can make this great announcement that our plan is still the same deduction.

Works perfectly with those who do not read or can do math.

 

[ArbyMelt]

Amazing how obamacare supporters rates stayed flat, and others went way up.

Someone is lying.

 

[matttyl]

Mine went up slightly but that has been the case since my first job out of college in 1981. My son had an individual policy last year that was $320 a month, he is paying $172 / month for better coverage with obamacare.

And you're apparently around the Pittsburgh area - which is the second cheapest area in the nation for these new plans, amazingly within $8 a month of what your son is paying now on average.By comparison, if he lived in "Southwest Georgia", the same plan would cost $461, just over 2.5x as much. Tells me that the Pittsburgh area drastically under-priced their products.

Tells me that you are stationed at your keyboard 24/7 to ensure that we know to blame the president for any aspect of the health insurance system that affects anyone negatively.

No, just an easy to find study. Obama really don't have anything to do with the rates that carriers in Pittsburgh or in Georgia came up with for their (extremely similarly built) plans.

I know that, but it's surprising to see you admit it. Are you sure this isn't Obama's fault somehow??

I haven't blamed Obama for much of anything in any thread on the subject. There are some things the administration has done after the fact (changing the rules and such) that I think will have a negative impact on rates going forward, but it doesn't mean anything in terms of the premiums today.

 

[17seconds]

Amazing how obamacare supporters rates stayed flat, and others went way up.

Someone is lying.

No. People whose costs don't match their political angle aren't posting.

 

[jamny]

Ours would have gone up 22% last year but we switched to a HSA. Something that wasn't offered until this past year. Hopefully we don't get sick and have to pay the high deductible.

 

[Godsbrother]

Mine went up slightly but that has been the case since my first job out of college in 1981. My son had an individual policy last year that was $320 a month, he is paying $172 / month for better coverage with obamacare.

And you're apparently around the Pittsburgh area - which is the second cheapest area in the nation for these new plans, amazingly within $8 a month of what your son is paying now on average.

By comparison, if he lived in "Southwest Georgia", the same plan would cost $461, just over 2.5x as much. Tells me that the Pittsburgh area drastically under-priced their products.

He shouldn't get too comfortable with that rate (if he in fact lives around the Pittsburgh area).

I know nothing about Southwest Georgia but there is lots of competition in the Pittsburgh area. UPMC and Highmark are in a fierce battle right now. We are bombarded with advertising, both positive and negative, night and day.

But that was true last year as well. The big difference for him was switching to Highmark from UPMC which was made possible by the elimination of preexisting conditions feature in Obamacare.

 

[IC FBGCav]

I have been in charge of insurance at my company since 1997. IT ALWAYS GOES UP! NO MATTER WHAT! If you stay with the same provider. The only relief you get in price has to do with two things. Changing providers or changing what your insurance covers.

What sucks is for the last 16 years the coverage offered has either stayed the same or dimished while the price constantly increases. 15 out of the 16 years the price increase has been double digits if we decided to stay with the same provider.

 

[matttyl]

Mine went up slightly but that has been the case since my first job out of college in 1981. My son had an individual policy last year that was $320 a month, he is paying $172 / month for better coverage with obamacare.

And you're apparently around the Pittsburgh area - which is the second cheapest area in the nation for these new plans, amazingly within $8 a month of what your son is paying now on average.

By comparison, if he lived in "Southwest Georgia", the same plan would cost $461, just over 2.5x as much. Tells me that the Pittsburgh area drastically under-priced their products.

He shouldn't get too comfortable with that rate (if he in fact lives around the Pittsburgh area).

I know nothing about Southwest Georgia but there is lots of competition in the Pittsburgh area. UPMC and Highmark are in a fierce battle right now. We are bombarded with advertising, both positive and negative, night and day.

Competition helps, and it's even better when the carriers are guaranteed against losses for 3 years. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out over the next 3-5 years with the rates in these extreme areas.

 

[Aerial Assault]

Mine went up slightly but that has been the case since my first job out of college in 1981. My son had an individual policy last year that was $320 a month, he is paying $172 / month for better coverage with obamacare.

And you're apparently around the Pittsburgh area - which is the second cheapest area in the nation for these new plans, amazingly within $8 a month of what your son is paying now on average.By comparison, if he lived in "Southwest Georgia", the same plan would cost $461, just over 2.5x as much. Tells me that the Pittsburgh area drastically under-priced their products.

Tells me that you are stationed at your keyboard 24/7 to ensure that we know to blame the president for any aspect of the health insurance system that affects anyone negatively.

No, just an easy to find study. Obama really don't have anything to do with the rates that carriers in Pittsburgh or in Georgia came up with for their (extremely similarly built) plans.

I know that, but it's surprising to see you admit it. Are you sure this isn't Obama's fault somehow??

I haven't blamed Obama for much of anything in any thread on the subject. There are some things the administration has done after the fact (changing the rules and such) that I think will have a negative impact on rates going forward, but it doesn't mean anything in terms of the premiums today.

I don't agree about the "rule-changing," but if that is truly your take then I unfairly bundled you in with some other anti-ACA mouthbreathers from the "government ineptitude" thread.

 

[fantasycurse42]

I've got Cigna too... Employee, spouse, & child.

Cost to me stayed the same as did the coverage.

 

[The Goat]

Our situation was similar to the OP before my employment situation changed. Increase of around $500 per year, worse coverage. My new employer's coverage kicks in in about 2 months. We'll see what happens then.

 

[MaxThreshold]

Mine went up slightly but that has been the case since my first job out of college in 1981. My son had an individual policy last year that was $320 a month, he is paying $172 / month for better coverage with obamacare.

And you're apparently around the Pittsburgh area - which is the second cheapest area in the nation for these new plans, amazingly within $8 a month of what your son is paying now on average.By comparison, if he lived in "Southwest Georgia", the same plan would cost $461, just over 2.5x as much. Tells me that the Pittsburgh area drastically under-priced their products.

Tells me that you are stationed at your keyboard 24/7 to ensure that we know to blame the president for any aspect of the health insurance system that affects anyone negatively.

No, just an easy to find study. Obama really don't have anything to do with the rates that carriers in Pittsburgh or in Georgia came up with for their (extremely similarly built) plans.

I know that, but it's surprising to see you admit it. Are you sure this isn't Obama's fault somehow??

Are you sure it's not?

 

[MaxThreshold]

I have been in charge of insurance at my company since 1997. IT ALWAYS GOES UP! NO MATTER WHAT! If you stay with the same provider. The only relief you get in price has to do with two things. Changing providers or changing what your insurance covers.

What sucks is for the last 16 years the coverage offered has either stayed the same or dimished while the price constantly increases. 15 out of the 16 years the price increase has been double digits if we decided to stay with the same provider.

You're couching the ACA increases with the "well, rates always go up" shtick. That way, the ACA NEVER gets any blame when rates go up.

It gives the left excuses to massively increase everyone's premiums and deductibles and still blame it on "market forces" and/or the insurers without taking any blame themselves. Convenient.

 

[Cawdor]

Starting this month mine has went up $145/month ( 2 adults and 3 children).

At least you are getting the most bang for your buck with 3 kids.

That's just how much it went up, not total monthly bill and I have a 10K deductible.