Health insurance up by double digits in Oregon

[swag]

Source: The Oregonian

Thousands of Oregonians and struggling small businesses will see double-digit increases in the cost of their health insurance over the next year, forcing many to reduce benefits or drop insurance altogether.

The insurance companies also will require their customers to pick up the tab for a 1 percent state tax on premiums to cover uninsured Oregon children

The latest round of skyrocketing health insurance rate increases, from 10 percent to 23 percent, reflect the fundamental reason Congress is embroiled in a turbulent national debate over how to fix the nation's health care system.

Oregon's tough economy and high unemployment has pushed more people to drop insurance, driving up costs for those remaining in insurance pools. Some insurers estimate that the number of uninsured has climbed over the last year to about 750,000 to 800,000 in a state of 3.7 million people.


Read more: http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2009/08/oregon_health_insurance_rates.html

[tomm2thumbs]

1. the insurance companies are all probably chomping at the bit to raise rates if this fails

i suspect they are holding back hoping that they don't look bad and then WHAM! here come the huge spikes in premiums, deductibles, cuts in coverage

just you watch.

[PSPS]

2. Next door in Washington, Regence Blue Shield gave themselves another 16% raise this year

As a self-employed person, I have to get the dreaded "individual plan." Premiums have gone up so much in the last five years that I had to change to their "pretend" policy. That's where I still pay over $7000 a year in premiums but it doesn't really cover anything because of its $10K/year deductible. Then, if I do get really sick and require more than $10K to get well, my claim will be handled by one of their "adjusters," whose pay depends on how many claims he can weasel the company out of paying.

I know it's not a unique situation and it makes me question the wisdom of carrying insurance at all.

[dballance]

6. Why Bother?

I'd put the $7k in the market or a CD instead. At least that way you may be able to pay for health care should you need it. I don't think Regence is going to help you if you need it.

[tsuki]

7. Because you are buying "protection" from price gouging. If a state

passed a bill where the uninsured pay the same rate as the insured, the $7K might make a difference.

Mother spent time in a hospital. I was there all day, every day, to feed her, bathe her, change her diaper, call for meds, basically take care of her.

Her bill was $102K negotiated to $19K by Medicare. No insurance, you pay $102K.

Health insurance is a racket.

[izquierdista]

11. Medicine is a racket

What other business do they say "Oh, you don't have an account with us? Then that will be 5 times as much."

[Lydia Leftcoast]

26. I'm coming around to that opinion myself

With my high deductible policy, I'm paying insurance premiums INSTEAD OF buying health care. I had to think long and hard about whether to get my sprained ankle looked at, but I wanted to make sure it wasn't broken, because it hurt so badly. It wasn't broken, but the cost for exam, X-rays, a splint, and crutches was $500 at an urgent care clinic, and I felt fortunate, because I was anticipating $1000.

I'm truly wondering whether I should just cancel the insurance and put the money into a savings account or just pay down debts. My out-of-pocket and lifetime limit are such that I'd be bankrupt anyway if I had a major medical event, and I don't have a house or other major property to protect.

[Feron]

18. I love that term.

I have a pretend policy as well. And I also feel like I'm just pouring money down a rathole.

[aquart]

3. Such trustworthy corporations.

[Sebastian Doyle]

4. And yet Senator Wyden opposes a public option?

Those Kaiser checks must be big.

[saigon68]

5. He is a WHORE

[Bluenorthwest]

8. Wyden is the worst.

Bought and sold and oblivious.

[depakid]

10. Wyden & Bennet have their own pet plan

Which won't do as thing to bring down or hold the line on costs:

http://www.standtallforamerica.com/issue/health_care/

Here's Blumenauer's (D - Portland) criticism of it:

"The difference is that what Sen. Wyden is proposing would basically eliminate a lot of employer-provided health insurance. And some people think that that's fine, that we would just give tax credits to people and let them go out and buy it on the private market and we'll just pay what we're paying now. And people will be responsible for getting their own insurance and we will have the government just pay for it by shifting around the benefits that are currently provided.

Well, there are three reservations I have with that. First of all, lots of employers are going to stop providing employer sponsored health insurance. So remember one of the rules we had is if people liked their health insurance, they ought to be able to keep it. And if you take away the tax benefits that employers get, frankly employers are going to get out of the health insurance business.

Second, remember one of the things we were talking about was more competition, being able to give people choices.

I mentioned that in the majority of states right now, you don't really have a choice . So people would have to go into one or two of these insurance companies and have to pick, and they wouldn't have the muscle of the employer negotiating, so it may well be that they don't get a benefits package that is as desirable because it's one individual person against the health insurance industry..

Here in Oregon we've got lots of choices, and so we would be in pretty good shape, but I wouldn't want to think about what would happen if we're all just in it on our own.

This to me is a very important benefit of the system that we're working on in the House. Finally, it's just a practical consideration. If you're going to have a system that is going to take away employer provided health insurance for millions of Americans, it's going to create lots of questions and problems.

It's going to be harder to get that passed in my judgment if you all of a sudden have big employers that are against it, if you have unions that are against it, if you have people who don't want to negotiate with one or two big insurance companies but like the system that they have now.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2009/08/blumenauer_wyden_health_plan_h.html

[John Q. Citizen]

16. where has anyone supported an actual "Public Option" All I see are fake "public options."

If you happen to read the HELP bill or HR3200 it becomes clear that what is being touted as the "public option" is a fraud.

Who is going to introduce a "public option" that anyone can actually buy into, and that can actually drive down costs?


The CBO says the public pool in HR320 might enroll 10 million by 2019. That's a joke. And the HELP bill is even worse, creating 50 separate "public options" that are run by private insurance companies to compete with themselves.

The only bill that is truly consumer friendly is HR676, and Obama and the rest of the Dem leadership has pushed it off the table. They push everything off the table that would help consumers or that would threaten insurance company profits.

[Quantess]

23. Wyden could find himself going the way of Gordon Smith.

Gordon Smith was pretty smug, too. He never thought he'd be voted out of office.

[ejpoeta]

9. it doesn't take much thought to see where we are headed if we don't fix this.

I mean, the cost of insurance has been going up every year with higher copays and deductibles for at least a decade. I mean, people are already struggling now. Do they think that somehow this is going to stop if we just leave things alone?? There is a reason the profits the insurance companies are making just increase even as they claim to HAVE to raise prices. There is no reason for them not to. There may be a number of insurance companies, but there is no competition. Drive down the road by a row of gas stations. They are competing, but their prices are all the same. Why?? it doesn't really matter which one you go to... they all sell the same gasoline. they all cost the same price. doesn't seem like much of a competition. and you have a choice.... with insurance companies, there may be many of them, but since we are employer based, then you are stuck picking from what is offered to you by your employer. Unless you want to get an individual policy, which would cost a crapload more money. And those choices will get worse as the cost keeps exploding. but by all means, lets keep things the way they are. Who are these people going to blame in five years when more people have no insurance and less things are covered. I can bet who is going to get the blame... the folks out there with their signs and yelling aren't going to blame themselves, that's for sure. they'll blame the government for not doing anything even though when they tried to do something then these people went all apeshit.

[laughingliberal]

17. The Impact of Our Health Care System is Immeasuable

The rising costs of covering employees is no doubt one of the top causes of stagnating wages over more than 2 decades. The increased costs to patients are hindering working class families' abilities to raise their standard of living. Without doing something the economy will forever be constricted. I don't see why this is hard for people to understand. When the working class has no money to spend the economy does not grow. This is a disaster now heading towards a catastrophe.

[Bozita]

12. BC/BS of MI to up rates 22% effective Oct. 1

Permission was granted two weeks ago.

[Doctor_J]

22. OR and MI. I wonder if Big Insurance is targeting blue states

:shrug:

[stevedeshazer]

25. They are the two states with highest unemployment.

The shrinking pool of the insured means those remaining in the job market cost more to their employers.

[xchrom]

13. kick

[Cass]

14. You know, when you read stories like this one you wnder how anyone could possibly oppose health

care reform. I'm not talking about politicians because many of them are bought and paid for, but I am talking about regular people. It is shocking to me that so many uninformed and misinformed people think our system is fine the way it is.

[Bozita]

15. The HC industry is spending $1.4 million per day to make sure the disinformation sticks.

[depakid]

24. Out of everyone's premium money

[this_side_up]

19. So why do We, The People, allow

Congress to exempt themselves from being covered by the insurance for the peons?

Why do we allow them to give themselves huge COLAs, other benefits,
huge pensions, free travel home, those so-called fact-finding vacations etc?

This shit has to stop.

[Doctor_J]

21. Because we're weak, handwringing talkers with no representation in Big Media.

if we had any spine there would already have been a big pile of bodies

[this_side_up]

28. Thanks. A good explanation.

The result is....the Dems left me. I am registered Not Affiliated with any party. If they want me back, they gotta earn my trust. If Skinner wants to tombstone me, that's ok too.

Corporate CEOs raid their companies and the Senators and Representatives rip off the taxpayers to feather their current and retirement nests. Nothing but the best, top of the line, for all of them.

Think I will shut down the computer & watch a movie.

[Doctor_J]

20. This explains why Wyden doesn't rag on Big Insurance any more

there was a time that he was a populist. The Big Insurance pays him off, and

1. He's against insurance reform, and
2. The people of his state are being raped by Big Insurance

Take to the streets, Oregonians! Burn it down!

[hansberrym]

27. And how is anyone going to stop the rise in cost? Let's not waste time pissing into the wind.

Will the governor decree that people may no longer grow old?
Will the governor require doctors and nurses to work more hours for same pay?

The nation is growing older, the boomers are reaching retirement age, and costs will continue to rise.


The rational thing to do is to accept that a larger portion of the average American's income will go to health costs (because the average American is getting older, and older persons tend to spend more on health care0. The government should be encouraging more people to become doctors and nurses and should be encouraging the increase of facilites such as hospitals, clinics, and testing facilities because we are going to need them over the next 20 or 30 years.
All the focus on holding down costs just makes it that much more difficult to prepare to meet the future needs.



Yes, it would be nice if there were something like 15 workers for every retiree, and it would be nice if the average age of the workforce were 30 and dropping quickly, but that is not the world we live in.