DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Affordable Health Care Act has saved us $5 Billion

Just found out my Insurance with work just went up 17%. Thank god its the affordable healthcare act.

Our insurance premiums were rising pretty fast before Obama care and that hasn't changed. I don't know of a single person that has seen insurance premiums stay the same, let alone go down, in a long time. So I have no idea how they calculated this "savings".

But if I stretch and accept that these numbers are true, how much did the government save? After all, wasn't one of the hot selling points of this plan deficit reduction?

When I was working, I was more likely to see benefit cuts, or deductible/co-pay increases than huge monthly increases in my monthly payment. When I started with the company I used to work for, they had a $500 deductible, and 80/20 co-pay to $5000. When I was forced to retire, we were up to a $1000 deductible, and had an 80/20 co pay to $10,000. That was over the course of 7 years. Our monthly payments did not go up to huge extremes, though there were increases every year ......and my COBRA (their cost plus a small administrative fee) was $400/month at the end for my cost. This was for a single person. That ain't cheap for what cannot be considered premium coverage.

I will ask again, what good does it do to cover everyone if they cannot afford what the coverage leaves unpaid? I would bet that the average hospital visit is not more than $5000, final cost. (and sure there are extraordinary costs for things like cancer, organ transplant, etc, but most people probably go to the hospital for outpatient surgery and broken bones, etc) If the patient is supposed to pay $4000 of that, and cannot, then what has been gained? Who has been saved?

There is a growing market for concierge service.

Here is one the fastest growing and if you're in the neighborhood where you can get treatment at any of these, it might be advisable.

Atlas MD

A story from 2011 about one local to me

You can probably find one near you somewhere. Inquire how much it costs and what they offer as services.

j/c

Looks like there are pros and cons to this. Interesting what is happening in Oregon. Some ups, some downs. But it does seem like there might more competitive prices on the horizon.

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Oregonians who buy their own insurance have the first clear indication of what 2014 premiums will look like after state regulators Tuesday slashed carriers' rate requests by as much as 35 percent.

The state's rate decisions show that monthly premiums for a single, 40-year-old Portland-area male nonsmoker -- the example provided by the state -- start at $166 a month and go as high as $274 for basic plans.

The insurers' filings do not come with details on claim-handling policies or the extent of available provider networks. But the state decisions do settle long-standing speculation that "rate shock" will hit the individual market due to changes under the federal Affordable Care Act.

In Oregon, many consumers will pay higher premiums, in part because insurers now can not discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions. Also, federal rule changes mean people under 50 will tend to pay more, and lower cost catastrophic-care plans will no longer be available to most people.
On the upside, at least half of individual consumers are expected to qualify for income-based tax credits that can be applied to 2014 premiums immediately, starting in January.

Tax credits will be available through a new health insurance marketplace called Cover Oregon starting in October. There, individual consumers and small business owners can also comparison shop and enroll.

Gov. John Kitzhaber said the decisions show the state's process of reviewing insurer premiums is working. "While the review continues," he said in a statement, "it is clear Oregon consumers are well-positioned to benefit from a more competitive marketplace and a wide range of options."

Jesse O'Brien, a consumer advocate for the OSPIRG Foundation, had questioned several of the requested premiums in hearings. He said the state appears to have "cut millions of dollars in unjustified costs. That's a win for consumers."

Last month the state posted all the insurers' proposed rates at the same time, sparking two insurers to seek lower premiums.

The efforts led to some of the biggest reductions as the state reviewed the rate requests' for reasonableness: Kaiser Health Foundation (12 percent), Providence Health (20.5 percent), FamilyCare (35.1 percent) and Trillium Community Health (32.4 percent). Health Net of Oregon was hit with a 27.5 percent reduction because of an error in filing.

Providence had asked for a 15 percent reduction, citing an error and the need to be more competitive. In a statement Michael White, the plan’s chief operating officer said the decision “will allow us to provide access to health care for more people.”

Moda President Dr. William Johnson said the decisions show the benefit of increased transparency in the health care market.


--Nick Budnick

Oregon insurance rates
State officials required some insurers to decrease their proposed rates for next year. Except where otherwise noted, the state's monthly premium examples are for a 40-year-old single male Portland-area nonsmoker who buys their own insurance:
Atrio Health Plans: 21.1% reduction, $241 premium approved in Salem area.
Bridgespan: 3.5% reduction; $236.
FamilyCare Health Plans: 35.1% reduction, $274.
Health Republic Insurance: 4.1% reduction, $241.
Health Net of Oregon: 27.5% reduction; $197.
Kaiser Health: 12.0% reduction; $201.
LifeWise Health Plan: 1.5 percent reduction; $192.
Moda Health: 1.8% reduction; $166.
Oregon's Health Co-op: 2.5% reduction, $228.
PacificSource Health Plans: 2.1% reduction; $191.
Providence Health Plan: 20.5% reduction; $231.
Regence BlueCross BlueShield: 3.4% reduction, $229.
Time Insurance: 28.4% reduction; $209.
Trillium Community Health Plan: 32.4% reduction, $271.