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WA Health insurers propose 19 percent average rate increase

Thu Jun 14, 2018 1:19 am

Mine went up 60% last year alone.
19% sucks, but not as bad as 60%.
Trumps fault...................

Fucking Crybaby Kreidler.
Been hating that SOB since the early 90's.


https://www.insurance.wa.gov/news/healt ... ual-market

Eleven health insurers filed 74 health plans for Washington state’s 2019 individual and family health insurance market, with an average proposed rate increase of 19.08 percent. There are no bare counties, although 14 counties will have only one insurer selling through Washington’s Exchange, Washington Healthplanfinder.

“I’m relieved to see lower rate requests than we expected by most insurers and coverage in every county, but any increase will be hard for consumers to bear,” said Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler. “We're committed to working on solutions that improve affordability and consumer choice and will review these filings very carefully.

“There’s still a great deal of uncertainty in individual markets across the country, fueled by the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine the Affordable Care Act. Instead of getting behind solutions that shore up these markets, the administration seems solely focused on undermining our health insurance system and the individuals and families who need to buy their coverage in the individual market.

Re: WA Health insurers propose 19 percent average rate incre

Thu Jun 14, 2018 5:42 am

It is trumps fault, in a way. Weakening the foundation of the ACA allows the insurance companies to deal it a final blow with their increased costs. This was forecasted to happen shortly after the ACA got implemented.

Re: WA Health insurers propose 19 percent average rate incre

Thu Jun 14, 2018 5:56 am

I would like to respectfully disagree. When I had insurance there were year over year increases from 10-25% upwards. Far greater than the rate of inflation, and meanwhile MY wages were static.

How can that "industry" justify YEARLY increases of multiples surpassing inflation. And how can the market (you guys) afford such exorbitant costs?

Re: WA Health insurers propose 19 percent average rate incre

Thu Jun 14, 2018 6:39 am

Yeah my Insurance guy told me that this was going to happen.

Dont expect it not to increase another 20% next year....its math.

Every one of us that are paying this now realize we could have bought a pretty nice rental house for what we're throwing down a hole on Health Insurance.

Or a couple rentals ...for that matter.

Re: WA Health insurers propose 19 percent average rate incre

Thu Jun 14, 2018 7:12 am

Obviously I have to be a little vague...............

But one of the high-muckity-mucks of a medical firm based in Seattle, is having us do a $100,000.00 upgrade on his plane. He drives a late model Porsche too. He tells me that he has a boat, that to me would qualify as a yatch.

Is it all his fault? No, he is just riding the gravy train just like others in the medical field.....

But man, DON'T ANYONE blame this shit on Trump. Insurance premiums have been going up for a while now, but especially when that Obamination occupied the White House. Remember.... "You can keep your plan? You can keep your doctor?" What a bunch of unadulterated BULLSHIT.

I don't hold against my customer, but ever since he has been my customer, and filling me in with details in the medical industry...... I wish there was a way to rein it all in. Not going to happen. My contempt for the medical industry as a whole, is at an all time high.

Re: WA Health insurers propose 19 percent average rate incre

Thu Jun 14, 2018 7:43 am

I worked for a large, non-profit insurer for a few years, during which time Obamacare came along. We went from funding a large reserve to losing millions every year. All of the losses were from the individual market. It caused lots of lost jobs (including mine) and reductions in benefits.

My neighbor is a muckity muck for a nursing home which specializes in helping disadvantaged people. Medicare/Medicaid doesn’t pay enough to actually cover the costs of care.

The medical industry is FUBAR. The whole arrangement of submitting a super high claim and then only paying negotiated rates is stupid. The inflated costs are also stupid. The whole thing needs a reset and to get the govt out of it.


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Re: WA Health insurers propose 19 percent average rate incre

Thu Jun 14, 2018 8:19 am

edogg wrote:I worked for a large, non-profit insurer for a few years, during which time Obamacare came along. We went from funding a large reserve to losing millions every year. All of the losses were from the individual market. It caused lots of lost jobs (including mine) and reductions in benefits.

My neighbor is a muckity muck for a nursing home which specializes in helping disadvantaged people. Medicare/Medicaid doesn’t pay enough to actually cover the costs of care.

The medical industry is FUBAR. The whole arrangement of submitting a super high claim and then only paying negotiated rates is stupid. The inflated costs are also stupid. The whole thing needs a reset and to get the govt out of it.


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I'm an insurance agent, I don't do health but of course I feel the ripple effect. This is spot on. The system can't continue as is. I already see lots of couples with kids, both making $13-$15/hour, that pay into the four figures a month for health insurance. The only thing that makes it even feasible are the credits. If those go away, coupled with increases, no "working class" people will be able to afford health insurance in 5 years.

Re: WA Health insurers propose 19 percent average rate incre

Thu Jun 14, 2018 10:21 am

we need to ask the question: Why only 11 insurers???? What if we opened the door to the others and tripled the number of options?

Re: WA Health insurers propose 19 percent average rate incre

Thu Jun 14, 2018 11:20 am

TINCANBANDIT wrote:we need to ask the question: Why only 11 insurers???? What if we opened the door to the others and tripled the number of options?


The only way to make this happen would be to allow them (the insurers) to cross state lines without a whole lot of roadblocks. Insurance is one of the most heavily regulated businesses, and almost entirely at the state level so it's not just a swipe of a pen. Not saying it can't happen, but it wouldn't be easy.

Re: WA Health insurers propose 19 percent average rate incre

Thu Jun 14, 2018 11:43 am

Before 0bongocare there was talk about adopting the Group Health model.
Would have been much cheaper.
But it wasn't available or legal in all states.

Re: WA Health insurers propose 19 percent average rate incre

Thu Jun 14, 2018 1:57 pm

I can't afford health insurance, especially for a family, so I participate in a religious health share:
https://www.libertyhealthshare.org/
$450/mo for my family
You have the affirm that you believe in God and don't abuse drugs, that's it! (It's run by Mennonites)

Added:
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-03- ... -hospitals

Since losing my good paying job years ago, times are tough. I took a job further away working as a contract worker for a company that is not self insured like Boeing and even employees that work for large companies are being gouged by their insurance!

One lesson learned is to avoid the hospital emergency room and go to an urgent care facility (if you have to go), which *might* be cheaper (check first).

If you are an illegal, Al Qaeda or MS-13, just go, you are covered. I knew a guy who lived in shared housing who was an illegal who owned his own landscaping business in Seattle, and he drank too much vino one Sat night and called 9-11 for an ambulance to go to the hospital to get his stomach pumped for free. LAND OF THE FREE! Nice!

Re: WA Health insurers propose 19 percent average rate incre

Thu Jun 14, 2018 2:25 pm

I think that a lot of people are oblivious to the actual costs of Healthcare Insurance unless they are buying it themselves and not receiving it as part of an employment agreement.

Costs skyrocket as more and more technology is introduced and to support the investments by clinics and hospitals Dr's are encouraged to refer patients for more and more costly "tests, scans, and imaging". I witnessed this as I went through both my wife's treatments for Cancer and my own heart attack and bypass surgery. In both of our cases the cost to me, as well as my insurance company (a Medadvantage Plan) was moderated by "Medicare" and it's established rates.

Another cost increasing practice is the automatic prescribing of medications when one is admitted to the hospital. Both my wife and I were prescribed several med's "Just because we do it with all patients", not as a matter of need. In one case a med they "automatically prescribed" for me was recently revealed to cause Kidney damage and was only truly needed when the patient had bleeding ulcers or acid reflux. It did however add some to the profit margin at the hospital.

I do believe that the American Public would find the only real cure totally distasteful. Take the profit motive out of all medical care and the pharmaceutical industry. Unfortunately that means that the Government would be running the show. We'd be looking at the Cuban Model.

Re: WA Health insurers propose 19 percent average rate incre

Thu Jun 14, 2018 3:15 pm

All very good points, especially this:

deadshot2 wrote:I do believe that the American Public would find the only real cure totally distasteful. Take the profit motive out of all medical care and the pharmaceutical industry. Unfortunately that means that the Government would be running the show. We'd be looking at the Cuban Model.


It's not just providers that want cost to go up. The insurance company actually has no interest in lowering them either. Why? Because their profit is 'capped' by regulation. The 80/20 rule means that they have to spend 80% of premiums on care, leaving 20% for admin, marketing, etc. a bit oversimplified but you get the idea. If costs go up then the 20% that the insurance companies get to keep does as well.

How anyone thought that "capping profit" would solve anything is a fool. The insurance companies will find a way.

Re: WA Health insurers propose 19 percent average rate incre

Thu Jun 14, 2018 4:09 pm

I left a corporate salary job with less than $400 a month insurance a few years ago.. shitty insurance but it was affordable. Now my insurance is about $1400 a month, next year or will be about the same price as my house payment. And yet people only get outraged when a holywood producer takes advantage,or millionaire athletes take a knee. This country is fucked.

Re: WA Health insurers propose 19 percent average rate incre

Fri Jun 15, 2018 12:18 am

The cost of health insurance has gone up every year, for as long as I can remember. It is what it is. Insurance companies are, well, companies.

You can choose to buy a high-deductible lower cost plan through your employer or whatever, but don't expect Cadillac coverage when you're paying Volkswagen Beetle prices. Yes, you will eventually receive the same care as someone who purchased a more expensive plan; it'll just take a lot longer to receive that care.

Me, I've always purchased the most expensive plan offered by my employer, mostly for the prescription drug coverage (cheaper plan=higher copay and stricter formulary). That said, the time I really found out how good it is to choose to have excellent if expensive insurance was about 20 years ago. I was working in a radiology clinic and because my mother has neurofibromatosis, which can cause tumours to form on the auditory nerves, my doctor suggested that I have an MR study of my brain done to rule out any possibility of the disease.

The study showed no evidence of neurofibromas but did pick up what is called an incidental finding--like with John McCain, where his physician was looking for something else and happened to find the glioma. My incidental finding was also a tumour--a cavernous hemangioma--roughly the size of a golf ball. Within 72 hours of the diagnosis, I saw three neurosurgeons and then was sent to UWMC and to Dr. Richard Winn, who gave the final verdict--yah, it's a big tumour, but it's benign and because it's in my deep left parietal lobe, the risk of serious damage caused by removing it far outweighed the benefit of having it gone.

Any other patient with a lesser insurance plan would have eventually received the same prognosis, but it would have taken weeks, easily. Because I had insurance that didn't require preauthorisation for specialists or radiological studies, I knew in less than five days what might've taken weeks of worrying and waiting with any other plan.
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