Search found 7 matches

by Kythas
Sat Oct 05, 2013 9:58 am
Forum: Off-Topic
Topic: Just Lost My Insurance
Replies: 122
Views: 20793

Re: Just Lost My Insurance

cb1000rider wrote:
For the sake of argument, let's say that we keep things the way that they are today as most people seem to like that idea.
You've bought into Democrat propaganda, my friend.

Nobody has said to keep things the way they are. This is a lie told over and over again by proponents of Obamacare.

The fact is, Republicans have - and continue to do so - proposed numerous alternatives to Obamacare. During the Obamacare debates, Republicans proposed no less than 11 alternative solutions. All of which were summarily dismissed by Pelosi as she decried Republicans for not having their own plan. Democrats have, in fact, castigated Republicans for not having a plan while dismissing the plans Republicans have proposed.

Look into this and you'll see I'm right. Everyone knows some changes must be made. The disagreement is on what those changes look like. Should it be a socialist approach or a free market approach? I vote free market.
by Kythas
Sat Sep 28, 2013 7:50 am
Forum: Off-Topic
Topic: Just Lost My Insurance
Replies: 122
Views: 20793

Re: Just Lost My Insurance

cb1000rider wrote: The alternative is "do nothing". The course of doing nothing leaves the vast majority of Americans on a track that would mean they can't afford to be old or sick, unless they're substantially wealthy. There would be mass migration to Canada... :-)

Here, my friend, you've fallen for Democrat propaganda. The alternative is not, and has never been, do nothing.

Republicans have proposed numerous alternatives, especially when Obamacare was being debated originally. Their proposals were dismissed by Democrats, who then insisted that Republicans had no plan. This was all a lie.

This past June, the House of Representatives has introduced HR 2300 (written by US Rep Tom Price, who is a doctor), which replaces Obamacare with a series of health care reforms, most notably:

-- It extends tax deductions for health insurance to those who buy as individuals, thus eliminating the incentive that favored employer-purchased insurance.
-- It gives patients true portability by making them the owners of their insurance – not their employers.
-- It gives doctors the real power to make treatment decisions, not insurance companies or the government.
-- It reforms medical liability laws and thus saves money by reducing the practice of defensive medicine.

As recently as two weeks ago, Republicans unveiled what they call the American Healthcare Reform Act, which also seems to be a decent alternative.

My point in bringing up these particular bills is not to endorse them, but to show that Republicans do have, and have had for years, alternatives to Obamacare. Many of these have been passed by the Republican controlled House, but Harry Reid refuses to even consider them in the Democrat controlled Senate, then pillories the Republicans by saying "They hate Obamacare but have no plan of their own", knowing all the time it's a lie. The media, which is nothing more than the propaganda arm of the Democrat Party these days, then repeats that mantra. The media claims to cover the topic of healthcare, then ignores proposed solutions from the very people they criticize for allegedly not having any.
by Kythas
Sat Sep 21, 2013 2:00 pm
Forum: Off-Topic
Topic: Just Lost My Insurance
Replies: 122
Views: 20793

Re: Just Lost My Insurance

mojo84 wrote:
Kythas wrote:So I went through the exchange website this morning. Here's what I got.

A high-deductible plan with a Health Savings Account. The deductible is $2,000 individual/$4,000 family, which is double the deductible of my old BCBS insurance plan. Everything is paid 80/20 after the deductible is met, which is the same as my old BCBS plan.

I opted for dental and vision coverage for my wife and myself. My son is only 9 days old so will not need dental or vision this year.

I opted out of short and long term disability. The monthly premiums for those don't make much sense at all (the STD was $39/mo premium to only pay a benefit of $100/mo if used).

All in all, I'm losing the short and long term disability insurance which my company used to pay for, and am having my annual deductible doubled. The medical/dental/vision plan I chose has a total annual premium of $21,516. That includes the $6,250 annual HSA contribution I'm making. All this is paid for with pre-tax dollars.

My employer will be contributing $11,379 per year for my health insurance, leaving my portion of the total cost at $10,137.96. Again, this DOES include the amount I'm contributing to the HSA, which is all my money. Without the HSA contribution, my total share of the insurance premium itself is $3,687.96 for the year.

I was paying $322/mo for insurance premiums for my wife and myself. Since we just had our baby, this would have gone up when I switched from Employee/Spouse to Employee/Family, anyway. We were also told by BCBS that premiums would increase 20-35% this coming plan year if we stayed with them, which is why my company chose to use the exchange.

I've been paying $250/mo into a Flex Spending Account.

I will now be paying $307.33/mo for insurance premiums for my entire family.

I will be paying $537.50/mo into a Health Savings Account to cover my deductible.

All in all, I'm not unhappy with it. I will be paying more overall out of pocket, but not an exorbitant amount. My total monthly cost will go from $572.00 to $844.83. Again, to be perfectly honest, my premium would have gone up anyway since I would have switched to cover my entire family rather than just my wife and myself. This cost is probably in line with the extra person on the policy and what the annual increase would have been with BCBS.


Can you confirm those rates are 2014 rates? There are private exchanges up an running but they are quoting pre-2014 rates. It's my understanding the 2014 rates have not been released yet and people are not able to obtain quotes from the national government ran Marketplace Exchange until October 1 for a January 1 effective date.

I also heard or read this morning, can't remember which but will try to find it, a flaw was found in the way the premiums were being calculated on the gov exchange and they are working to get it corrected before 10-1 when they go live.

Would appreciate your feedback Kythas.


edit: here is the link for discussing the glitch. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 59370.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mojo, the rates I have quoted are the rates I will begin paying Oct 1 of this year through Sept 30 of next year.
Beiruty wrote:It seems a family of 4 would pay $14k BEFORE a single cent is paid by the insurance. $7k premiums and $7k deductible! If you self-employed or semi-employed. That is a big BIG tax to swallow.
Beiruty,

The $14,000 is premium only. It doesn't include the deductible. In my case, the deductible is $2,000 per individual/$4,000 per family. Insurance pays nothing before the deductible is met. It pays 80% after the deductible is met.

My current BCBS insurance policy, which is being dropped for Obamacare, has a $1,000 per individual/$2,000 per family deductible. Let me put that in a little perspective here. My wife just had a baby 10 days ago. With all the prenatal visits, ultrasounds, etc. related to being pregnant over the year, she still has not hit her $1,000 deductible. We don't expect either of us hitting either our individual or family deductibles this next year. Therefore, we don't expect our new insurance plan to pay anything. All our health care expenses will be out of pocket. And we still have to pay this premium.
by Kythas
Sat Sep 21, 2013 8:55 am
Forum: Off-Topic
Topic: Just Lost My Insurance
Replies: 122
Views: 20793

Re: Just Lost My Insurance

cb1000rider wrote:
texanjoker wrote:Sorry to hear that. I am dreading to hear what work does on our benefits (Jan 1).... regardless the cost will go up.
Unless you work with a bunch of people that are already in the high risk pool... In that event your costs may go down. It's all conjecture at this point.

I'm anxiously awaiting actual costs on this across the USA - apparently the software isn't in place to support pricing on the exchanges yet. I hear all the chest thumping on Obamacare, I want to see what the actual metrics are - or see a realistic alternative proposed.
My total premium cost on the exchange for a family of 3, with dental and vision coverage, was approximately $14,000 for the year. Luckily, my employer is covering about 65% of that amount for me.
by Kythas
Fri Sep 20, 2013 1:58 pm
Forum: Off-Topic
Topic: Just Lost My Insurance
Replies: 122
Views: 20793

Re: Just Lost My Insurance

So I went through the exchange website this morning. Here's what I got.

A high-deductible plan with a Health Savings Account. The deductible is $2,000 individual/$4,000 family, which is double the deductible of my old BCBS insurance plan. Everything is paid 80/20 after the deductible is met, which is the same as my old BCBS plan.

I opted for dental and vision coverage for my wife and myself. My son is only 9 days old so will not need dental or vision this year.

I opted out of short and long term disability. The monthly premiums for those don't make much sense at all (the STD was $39/mo premium to only pay a benefit of $100/mo if used).

All in all, I'm losing the short and long term disability insurance which my company used to pay for, and am having my annual deductible doubled. The medical/dental/vision plan I chose has a total annual premium of $21,516. That includes the $6,250 annual HSA contribution I'm making. All this is paid for with pre-tax dollars.

My employer will be contributing $11,379 per year for my health insurance, leaving my portion of the total cost at $10,137.96. Again, this DOES include the amount I'm contributing to the HSA, which is all my money. Without the HSA contribution, my total share of the insurance premium itself is $3,687.96 for the year.

I was paying $322/mo for insurance premiums for my wife and myself. Since we just had our baby, this would have gone up when I switched from Employee/Spouse to Employee/Family, anyway. We were also told by BCBS that premiums would increase 20-35% this coming plan year if we stayed with them, which is why my company chose to use the exchange.

I've been paying $250/mo into a Flex Spending Account.

I will now be paying $307.33/mo for insurance premiums for my entire family.

I will be paying $537.50/mo into a Health Savings Account to cover my deductible.

All in all, I'm not unhappy with it. I will be paying more overall out of pocket, but not an exorbitant amount. My total monthly cost will go from $572.00 to $844.83. Again, to be perfectly honest, my premium would have gone up anyway since I would have switched to cover my entire family rather than just my wife and myself. This cost is probably in line with the extra person on the policy and what the annual increase would have been with BCBS.
by Kythas
Thu Sep 19, 2013 12:19 pm
Forum: Off-Topic
Topic: Just Lost My Insurance
Replies: 122
Views: 20793

Re: Just Lost My Insurance

Robert*PPS wrote:My condolences. I've told many people at my organization that it's coming. Some laugh, some get defensive, and some are downright offended that I could even think it was a possibility. In the end though, it is almost guaranteed to happen. Since my job IS the health plan of my organization, I'll lose insurance and employment.
My company president said, and I quote, "This is where everyone is headed eventually. Within the next few years, every company will move in this direction."

He's right, too. It makes business sense to do it.
by Kythas
Thu Sep 19, 2013 12:01 pm
Forum: Off-Topic
Topic: Just Lost My Insurance
Replies: 122
Views: 20793

Just Lost My Insurance

My company just held a meeting in which we were just informed we are all going into the Obamacare exchange.

Yeah.

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