Can you imagine if we increased prices like these damn HMO’s…over 6 years of double digit increases only to get hammered again for this yrs renewal. Just wonderin’ if what type of increases you guys are seeing in group plans? We are a successful family owned & operated place but premiums for my family, my sisters, and our mother and father who still work here will cost $3,800 per month next year…are you guys in the same boat?
I’ve owned my own computer business for going on 9 years. Received 25-35% annual increases on my small group health plan (United HealthCare) every year up till this year when it only went up 12%. What you’re seeing is the norm, and it’s going to hit a crisis if something isn’t done about health care in the near future. Two years ago I had to go to a $1000 deductible, now it’s $2000 and my Rx copays are now $30.
Senator Jim Talent (R-MO), has been pushing for a change in federal insurance rules that would allow associations (like the Natl Restaurant Assn) to sell health insurance to its members as one big pool, which greatly reduces the price and gets you a Fortune 500 style plan for your shop. Now that the dems are in we can all look forward to seeing a government doctor, since Hillary wants Uncle Sam to be your medical provider too.
It’s funny but I only had small increases like 5 or 6 percent until my son was born. Now I see about 25% a year! I only go to the Doc in an emergency, and my son winds up in the Doc’s office about two or three times a year! I get nothing out of my insurance except a little peace of mind if something big were to happen, and then the insurance company will do all they can to get out of it anyway!!!
Yeah, but we didn’t have the new designer pill of the week 10 years ago either.
I think the pharm companies are the biggest reason for the skyrocketting prices. You can’t get the fancy new drugs without a prescription and no generics for many years.
You may gripe about Hilary’s government Dr. but if we had a Canadidan style system at least you would get to see a Dr. I am in the Detroit area, just a stones throw from the Canadian border. I know a lot of people from Canada. They ALL LOVE THE SYSTEM THERE! Free health care every bit as good as ours. Free prescriptions every bit as good as ours. I always laugh when politicians say there is a long wait to see a Dr. NOT TRUE! It is an unusual circumstance if it does happen! The point is they get to see a Dr. And when the pharm companies talk about meds not being safe in Canada I simply say "yeah last time I was in Windsor I was tripping over the bodies of all the Canadians falling over dead in the street from their unsafe meds!------NOT!!!
THe problem is the insurance a pharm lobby own the government here!
Rant off
So maybe I can offset the increase by charging all my pharmeceuctical rep catering by 27% more?
I think its a combination of malpractice and covering the cost of all the people who do not have insurance including illegals
Perry, you are only repeating talking points from the Republicna party. Malpractice according to research that I have read accounts for about 1% of the cost of health care. Illegals don’t typically get health care through employers or themselves and even if they do they pay for it. Do you mean illegals are getting government provided health care and driving up the cost? That doesn’t make any sense. Because the government is paying for it. It would not logically make any difference on the cost. It might cost the govt, and may result in cuts in other programs or higher taxes, but it would not result in higher helath care costs. So both of those arguments are really non-starters. Look at the enormous profits of insurance companies and drug companies. Those are profits even after paying absurd multi-hundreds of millions of dollars to their executives. Look I want to make a buck like the next guy, but what do I need $30 million a year for when $20 million will do me just fine. Hell give me $2 million and I would be a happy guy! For that matter $100,000 job offer right now and I would close the pizza store tomorrow!
Your sources are flawed. A client of mine is a 6 doctor gastroenterology practice (triple word score for that one!). Last March their malpractice insurance premiums INCREASED by $1,000,000 for the practice. That’s over $160,000 per doctor, per year INCREASE and they have NEVER had a malpractice claim filed against them in over 10 years of practice.
That amounts to a ton of Upper and Lower GI’s to pay for that bill. Makes your delivery insurance look like peanuts now.
I think tons of things add up to cause the kinds of increases we are seeing.
-People going to the Docs at the sign of the first sniffle
-The incredible increasing cost of drugs, but if you need that new expensive drug I bet you are very happy that it was discovered and available for sale no matter what the cost.
-I am sure illegals do cost us through our taxes as well as our own insurance because I am sure the govt. does not pay the retail of those bills. I would be surprised if they pay for anything above cost, and those companies have to make up the profit potential somewhere.
-Malpractice is so out of control, but Docs do really screw up at times too.
-Profit for everyone in the biz from the development, manufacturing, sales reps, distributors, resellers, and end users.
-You think you have a shrinkage problem in your store!!! Try a hospital!
I know I just touched the tip of the iceberg here as well. I don’t have a clue as to how they could fix the system, but I can think of a few things that would sure make it a little bit better!
Since we’re talking health insurance…
Not to pirate the topic, but…
Does anyone have a recommendation for a small group health company?
I’m in California, and running out COBRA from my last “day job” - I’d like to create a company plan, partly to actually offer a benefit to some FT, adult employees, and partly to get my own family covered…