Health insurance costs surged in 2011

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A new survey shows that the average cost of employer-sponsored health insurance surged this year, snapping a trend toward moderate growth, but experts say increases may slow again in 2012.

A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation says annual premiums for family coverage climbed 9 percent compared to 2010, when they rose only 3 percent. Companies and workers split the premium for employer-sponsored coverage, the most common form of health insurance in the United States.

The study does not delve into why rates spiked this year, but Kaiser officials say the cost of care continues to rise and new health care overhaul provisions played a small role. Growth in health care use has slowed this year, and that may lead to slower premium growth next year.

news.yahoo.com...

Yeah, I can attest to this. My premiums just went up...as it has the last few years. Employer didn't want to keep our plan...so they hacked it up. Keeping it the same would have been a 25 percent increase. Instead, my rate goes up 10 percent and my deductibles double as ownership decided they didn't want to take that big of a hit.

"At least you still have insurance."

yeah, we just went over our new health cost for work. $300 more per family a month this year!!!!!! those are raw numbers. Thanks Obama Care.

you know if i never use national health care system in all my life


i would still be very happy about paying for it through taxes, for the people who do really need it .


sorry for the broken health insurance that people still try and rationalize as "good" .


it will just keep surging and surging to the point where

how many people dip into home equity just to pay for this nonsense?


there a 5 zillion problems we have to deal with everyday , could they not cut some slack and throw you a bone with a little healthcare?

no... of course not .

just another fork to stick in your back to keep you on your knees an paying your hard earned money to the criminals in power

reply to post by David9176


Health Care in the UK............FREE to all (That includes anyone who falls ill when visiting the UK)

its only going to get worse alot worse which was the goal of the care act.

break the system so that there will be only one game in town.

think its bad now? wait til theres only one game in town as in 1 provider.

people need to be very weary of universal healthcare because that was its goals.

if your still missing the picture if you will think of it this way.

all the big oil companies formed a monopoly over the energy industry in this country nowhere to run to.

less red tape more people producing more goods and services at a cheaper and better quality of service.

competionl killed which has what the government has wrought.

think its bad now wait til you see whats coming

Originally posted by David9176

Yeah, I can attest to this. My premiums just went up...as it has the last few years. Employer didn't want to keep our plan...so they hacked it up. Keeping it the same would have been a 25 percent increase. Instead, my rate goes up 10 percent and my deductibles double as ownership decided they didn't want to take that big of a hit.

"At least you still have insurance."

Same here!

Every year, our contribution goes up and the amount of coverage goes down. About five years ago it was 100% paid for by my employer. Now, it's about 75/25. Can't say that I blame ownership though. I've seen the numbers. They simply cannot afford to pay 100%.

The system is broken. Plain and simple. We need another option.

What that would be?????

Originally posted by alldaylong
reply to post by David9176

 

Health Care in the UK............FREE to all (That includes anyone who falls ill when visiting the UK)

well in america i pay, BUT, im seen instently! x-rays, cat scans, MRI's done in 10 min, blood work taken in 2 min, you name it it's done fast. do you have that in the UK?

reply to post by camaro68ss
[moY

Yes we do. Here is the last published list of Health Care Rankings:-

www.photius.com...



The UK ranked 18th and the US 37. I will see if i can search for a more updated list.

Insurance, Obamacare or UK style national healthcare, in the end it's all being rationed out to the people who are of some value to the state.

The same people who cry lines like "how can you put a price tag on life?" turn around and deny expensive treatments to those they deem unworthy.

It's all a farce. Bickering over UK, US, socialized, free-market nonsense is pointless. The simple fact of the socialized systems all being bankrupt and the so-called "free-market" systems being anything but is a testament to that fact. Arguing over phantoms that don't exist.

Originally posted by alldaylong
reply to post by camaro68ss
[moY

Yes we do. Here is the last published list of Health Care Rankings:-

www.photius.com...



The UK ranked 18th and the US 37. I will see if i can search for a more updated list.

hahaha i dont even need to read that Bull(bleep) Its major criteria was if people had to pay for health care and that’s why the USA is “ranked” the lowest.

Let me ask you where do all the major healthcare brakethroughs come from????? awwwww USA!

and you dident awnser my origianl question

reply to post by Hessling

Every year, our contribution goes up and the amount of coverage goes down. About five years ago it was 100% paid for by my employer. Now, it's about 75/25. Can't say that I blame ownership though. I've seen the numbers. They simply cannot afford to pay 100%.

I understand that....the costs are incredible....problem is....if you have a job...you don't have another option unless you are making a ton of money...otherwise it's unaffordable to pay the full premium...so we are stuck with what our employer gives us....that is why many wanted a public option...which of course didn't happen.
There are plenty of things wrong...but with so many unemployed and without insurance...it makes it worse....not just for them as financial ruin is guaranteed...but it continues to increase the costs for everyone....on top of everything else that is getting far more expensive.

Eventually, when costs get too high...people will begin to say "To hell with it."

Just quit paying altogether. Then the whole thing will collapse.

reply to post by camaro68ss

Let me ask you where do all the major healthcare brakethroughs come from????? awwwww USA!

Actually, Israel is a world leader in medicine.

They have universal healthcare....that little country we send billions to every year....

reply to post by camaro68ss


Another American who thinks everything only happens or comes from the US LOL I am off to bed but i will reply tomorrow with a list of UK Medical adavances. Here is just one for you........DNA Profiling Invented at Leicester University England.

Goodnight

Originally posted by David9176
reply to post by Hessling

 

Every year, our contribution goes up and the amount of coverage goes down. About five years ago it was 100% paid for by my employer. Now, it's about 75/25. Can't say that I blame ownership though. I've seen the numbers. They simply cannot afford to pay 100%.

I understand that....the costs are incredible....problem is....if you have a job...you don't have another option unless you are making a ton of money...otherwise it's unaffordable to pay the full premium...so we are stuck with what our employer gives us....that is why many wanted a public option...which of course didn't happen.
There are plenty of things wrong...but with so many unemployed and without insurance...it makes it worse....not just for them as financial ruin is guaranteed...but it continues to increase the costs for everyone....on top of everything else that is getting far more expensive.

Eventually, when costs get too high...people will begin to say "To hell with it."

Just quit paying altogether. Then the whole thing will collapse.

So very true.

Which causes me to go off on a tangent having to do with this matter.

There are times I'd like to tell my employer "Bon Voyage!" but I cannot.

If I tried even a sideways move no one is going to hire a 49-year old with the associated insurance costs. So, no matter how sucky it might get at my job, no matter how well skilled I am, I'm almost certainly stuck there. (Until I reach about sixty whereby they'll find a reason to lay me off I'm sure.)

Let me ask you where do all the major healthcare brakethroughs come from????? awwwww USA!



Are you sure about that?...

on topic:
Really seems to me that the American healthcare system is a joke.
I think it's scandalous the premiums that you guys have to pay just to access medical care.
Here in Ireland, things aren't too bad, the premiums we pay through work are pretty manageable, it's just the waiting times to get seen can be a bit extreme!

reply to post by cahlmac

I think it's scandalous the premiums that you guys have to pay just to access medical care.

The problem is that we have universal healthcare coverage but individual healthcare payment. The costs of all medical services in the U.S. have become horribly inflated as availability has increased through government sponsored programs and insurance programs (often in the form of unnecessary screenings and insurance programs that pay for routine checkups and the like - which translates to paying someone else to pay a regular expense).

We have to go get a prescription for just about everything, these days, so that also places a lot of strain upon doctors (of which, only a limited number can be "made" annually.

If you look at health insurance costs prior to the explosion of medicare and medicaid programs - our system was doing pretty damned well. We are just feeling the crunch right now as the Baby Boomers pass into their twilight while also trying to deal with hideous inflation brought about by the sub-prime market burst (also triggered by the Federal Reserve and lending policies encouraged by government legislation - fancy that).

Sure - insurance companies are out to make a profit. That said - the -insurance- companies don't often report profits greater than 5%. Pharmaceuticals post profits in the 10% (considered quite extortionate amongst 'hard industry' veterans and managers). Beverage companies post profits in the 30% range (Let's bitch about health insurance companies making a profit over a few shots at the bar).

The problem is your source providers, who have little choice but to raise their costs in many cases. Especially now that we are seeing the effects of inflation following the market burst and bail-out attempts.

Originally posted by David9176

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A new survey shows that the average cost of employer-sponsored health insurance surged this year, snapping a trend toward moderate growth, but experts say increases may slow again in 2012.

A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation says annual premiums for family coverage climbed 9 percent compared to 2010, when they rose only 3 percent. Companies and workers split the premium for employer-sponsored coverage, the most common form of health insurance in the United States.

The study does not delve into why rates spiked this year, but Kaiser officials say the cost of care continues to rise and new health care overhaul provisions played a small role. Growth in health care use has slowed this year, and that may lead to slower premium growth next year.

news.yahoo.com...

Yeah, I can attest to this. My premiums just went up...as it has the last few years. Employer didn't want to keep our plan...so they hacked it up. Keeping it the same would have been a 25 percent increase. Instead, my rate goes up 10 percent and my deductibles double as ownership decided they didn't want to take that big of a hit.

"At least you still have insurance."

The rise in health care costs is due to everyone trying to set the bar as high as possible before other parts of obamacare take effect in hopes that all these new costs will get grandfathered in.

Where's my obamacare exemption?

reply to post by centurion1211

The rise in health care costs is due to everyone trying to set the bar as high as possible before other parts of obamacare take effect in hopes that all these new costs will get grandfathered in. Where's my obamacare exemption?

The article states otherwise....but what you state is only partly true. It's not like costs weren't going up before Romney/Obama/Corporate care....and I'm sure are equally angry at the health insurance companies for lobbying for the health mandates...or Big Pharma cutting their deal long before the bill was ever passed.


Right now, you can't be denied for pre-existing conditions and you can also carry children on your insurance till they are 26 years old.

Many will be on their parents insurance instead of their own for a very long time...seeing how there are no jobs....

Originally posted by David9176
reply to post by centurion1211

 

The rise in health care costs is due to everyone trying to set the bar as high as possible before other parts of obamacare take effect in hopes that all these new costs will get grandfathered in. Where's my obamacare exemption?

The article states otherwise....but what you state is only partly true. It's not like costs weren't going up before Romney/Obama/Corporate care....and I'm sure are equally angry at the health insurance companies for lobbying for the health mandates...or Big Pharma cutting their deal long before the bill was ever passed.


Right now, you can't be denied for pre-existing conditions and you can also carry children on your insurance till they are 26 years old.

Many will be on their parents insurance instead of their own for a very long time...seeing how there are no jobs....

I should have made myself clearer. Most of the blame for this goes to the companies greedily trying to get more for theirs while they can before obamacare sets in. That's what has made the rise in prices accelerate over what was already taken place.

Of course without obamacare driving this acceleration, we'd just be stuck with the rising prices we already had.

reply to post by David9176


Now if we could just find a kind Uncle Sam to start underwriting all of our expenses, imagine how generous our health care could be.

reply to post by alldaylong


Please keep sharing your information with the grossly misinformed populace over here. I still can't believe how many over here STILL think we have the best healthcare. It's true only if you are wealthy.

I actually get to take quotes on our companies health plan every year and I sure would like to have one of the companies that's raising their rates the 3% or 9% cited by the Kaiser Foundation. I see more like 10% to 20% increases annually. The insurance companies keep structuring new plans that can keep your premiums about the same but increasingly more of the liability falls on the shouders of the insured.

Gets almost to the point you only carry the policy for catastrophic occurances with the outrageous deductibles (thousands per occurance). With a minor illness or accident you're pretty much paying ALL of the costs yourself between the deductibles, the co-pays and the premiums.