Pre-existing health condition insurance premium too expensive for many

[Dr.Phool]

ST. PETERSBURG — Clyde Holladay says he was excited about a new government insurance plan for people with pre-existing health conditions, one of the first programs of the federal health overhaul package.

That is, until he found out what his monthly premium would be: $773."Almost gave me another heart attack," Holladay joked.

But he's not kidding when he says $773 a month isn't affordable for a 61-year-old man with heart problems, who makes less than $30,000 a year as the proprietor of Pedro's, a small downtown St. Petersburg barbershop.

Holladay isn't alone. While the pre-existing condition insurance plan does offer coverage that often is not available at any price, many Americans are quickly finding out the monthly premiums are out of their reach. Of the estimated 4 million Americans eligible for the program, only about 2,000 had applied as of Aug. 1 in the 23 states, including Florida, that opted to have the federal government run their plans.

(snip)

http://www.tampabay.com/news/health/pre-existing-health-condition-insurance-premium-too-expensive-for-many/1119922

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The article goes through the guy's monthly expenses. He comes up at a negative $518.00 per month on a $30,000 income. And his expenses are very, very, very low.

Only 2000 people applied out of an estimated 4 million eligible. I wonder why?

[ixion]

1. And the Insurance Industry Profit Protection Act rolls on

:argh:

[Tansy_Gold]

2. Gee, Doc, this is an unexpected surprise, isn't it?

No one could possibly have predicted this, could they? Never in a billion trillion years.

[Dr.Phool]

3. Yep, a good time for the stamp.

[Old Codger]

4. shocked

I am shocked that they would take advantage of the chance to make a killing :sarcasm:

[LibDemAlways]

5. Who wants to bet that the millions who are theoretically

eligible but can't afford the premiums are going to run out on election day and return to office those who crafted the legislation? Not likely.

I realize that the R's would have done nothing at all, but they now have the luxury of telling this particular group of disenchanted voters, "Hey, don't blame me. I voted against it."

[Demeter]

6. It Is an Exercise in Futile Stupidity

Neither the discerning nor the gullible will be impressed--and it won't take long for even the dullest to realize that Obamacare is less than a joke and more like a cruel taunt.

[vi5]

7. I suppose he'd prefer Sarah Palin's health plan!!!!"

Sorry. That seems to be the only response or defense anyone has for this debacle. That and telling us to clap louder.

And I say this as someone with a very sick child who theoretically should benefit from the "pre-existing conditions" aspect of the bill, but for whom coverage would still be prohibitively expensive should my wife or I lose our job and as a result his coverage.

In fact it would probably be cheaper to appeal to his long term doctors sense of empathy and sympathy to just set up an acceptable negotiated payment if we should lose insurance. I have enough EOB's from his insurance companies to be able to point to what they would have been paid if we still had insurance.

[MisterP]

28. I'm afraid the Dem leadership and their--ahem, cadres--have turned into

gangsters who, after finding out that ordering us about like we were servants or employees, decided to deploy transparent attempts to induce guilt (just look at these horrible policies that PRESIDENT BOEHNER will instate!!!!111)

in short, they've become the MPAA

[dipsydoodle]

8. The only way you'll ever have all pre-existing conditions covered

would be with a complete socialised healthcare system like the UK's NHS.

Technically a pre-existing condition can't be covered by what would be termed insurance given that it a definate. Insurance covers the risk of an event - not a certainty.

[MedicalAdmin]

15. single payer insurance would also cover this

As well as the NHS. And single payer with private health deliver would more likely pass than something like the NHS.

[keepCAblue]

17. That's pure B.S. Insurance plans used to ROUTINELY cover pre-existing conditions...

When I was growing up, employer-paid health care covered everything. As the healthcare insurance industry grew, it became more greedy and more corrupt, eventually applying a 3 or 6 month exclusion period to new employees before pre-existing conditions were covered. Now, it's becoming the norm for healthcare insurance companies to cover any pre-existing condition because it eats into their obscenely high profits.

[4_TN_TITANS]

22. "Insurance covers the risk of an event - not a certainty"

good point.

[femrap]

9. No one should be surprised

by this. The Prez never said that those with pre-conditions would be able to afford care.

Saw this coming a mile away.

When does a DNR become a KMN (Kill Me Now)?

[MedicalAdmin]

10. For most without insurance (and without millions) it comes

before they get any care. I have a pre-existing condition and have no insurance (why? because I can't afford to get it - my last estimate was in the 24K /year range with a HIGH deductable).

If I get seriously sick or in a car crash or something, I am refusing treatment. I will put a gun to my head before I go to the hospital. My family can get by without my meager salary, but health bills would make my family homeless. And so I don't see doctors because I am taking responsibility for my family.

And I am not alone.

[femrap]

20. I know you're not alone....

the supposedly richest country on the planet and its people contemplate suicide as their only way to get health care.

It's pathetic.

Good Luck...stay save.

[MedicalAdmin]

35. Thanks femrap

Im not religious but inpray for us all when it comes to health insurance. The worst of the worst are in charge of our medical care.

[dotymed]

36. I'd estimate

that at least 95% of our country's economic problems, stem from unregulated capitalism.
FDR proved that in the late '40's.
To imagine that well paid (and even beter bribed) politicians, have "sold out" the country they swore to protect is pathetic.
Greed and corruption...this is so reminiscent of the USSR as it was failing. So is the Afghanistan "war." FYI, that means "I support the troops." I recently moved near a large Army base. To see (just the ambulatory) soldiers who have been so severely, physically disfigured is mortifying. They are so young, they wanted to earn a living, an education, etc.. and "protect America."
Most still do not (want to I think) realize that invading is not protecting. They were told....
Everything has become so senseless while profits soar for the wealthy.

[freebrew]

47. Uh! FDR died before the late 40s...

1944, I think. He may have proved it in the late 30s, though.

[Stinky The Clown]

11. WE'LL FIX IT LATER!!!!!! YEEEEEE HA! VOTE FOR US NOW! WE'LL FIX IT LATER.

etc.

[Bluenorthwest]

12. That figures. I keep seeing posts on DU that tout this aspect

of reform, but each of those posts speaks vaguely, about this plan 'I could get'. None of them seem to have it, none will state how much it would cost them. They dance about shouting that their kid now has access to insurance, but they never state that the kid has the insurance or how much the kid pays for it. Several 'I have a pre existing' posters are the same. They tout the plan, but when asked they do not have the insurance, will not say why, nor will they state the price of that insurance.

[Jefferson23]

13. Pathetic scam artists, the politicians AND the health insurance industry strike again. n/t

[sinkingfeeling]

14. Because true health care is expensive? Who do you think really paid that $100,000 bill?

Now multiply that by those 4 million eligible people. Somebody is paying for their terribly expensive health care and it's all of us who have health insurance.

[keepCAblue]

18. Expensive due to whose fault?

...um, that fault would be due to the greed-driven corporations that run the hospitals, pharmaceutical manufactures and medical device industry. Health care-associated costs in countries that have universal health care are a fraction of what they are here in the U.S., where greedy profiteers have artificially-inflated the market value of drugs, hospital supplies and equipment. My dear, those with health insurance are not paying for the expensive cost of healtcare due to coverage of the uninsured, you are paying for the expensive cost of maintaining industry exec's multi-million dollar salaries, bonuses, yachts and mansions, as well as the millions of dollars it costs to LOBBY and BUY our all-too-easily-corruptible politicians to ensure the continued SCREWING of the American public.

[sinkingfeeling]

19. You have a doctor who charges what per hour? Most doctors today are incorporated and hospitals are

for profit. If you believe doctors are greedy, what's the solution? Look at the number of them that have stopped taking Medicare or Medicaid payments. And I guess you missed all the discussions last year about how the uninsured adds to the cost of healthcare insurance.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/insurance/2009-05-28-hiddentax_N.htm

Families USA, which supports expanded health care coverage, found that about 37% of health care costs for people without insurance — or a total of $42.7 billion — went unpaid last year. That cost eventually was shifted to the insured through higher premiums, according to the group.

"I don't think anybody has any idea about how much they are paying because of the need to cover the health care costs of the uninsured," said Ron Pollack, the group's executive director. "This is a hidden tax on all insurance premiums, whether it is paid by business for their work or by families when they purchase their own coverage."


• Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., in a May 11 statement announcing policy options for expanding health care coverage, said: "The cost of that care is paid by every American with insurance in the form of a hidden tax of more than $1,000 a year in increased premiums."

[girl gone mad]

29. Your blame is misplaced.

The uninsured are less likely to seek care, which drives overall costs down. Uncompensated care for the uninsured amounts to less than 3 percent of all U.S. healthcare spending (the amount of uncompensated care for the insured is actually higher). Most of those costs are covered by various taxpayer-funded programs. There is hardly anything left in the residual costs of uncompensated care to “shift” onto the insured's premiums. Baucus was spouting insurance industry nonsense, as usual.

[Recursion]

34. Eh?

The uninsured are less likely to seek care, which drives overall costs down.

Huh? They don't seek care for their diabetes, for instance, which means they end up getting a leg amputated, which costs orders of magnitude more than the treatment would have cost. And the rest of us have to pay for it.

[pokercat999]

39. And it's going to get more expensive as time passes. That's

just one more reason we need to nationalize the health care system.

[depakid]

16. Yet another of the reasons why Democrats are set to lose big in November

[FiveGoodMen]

21. How dare you say that?!

It was historic legislation.

It saved the world.

Haven't you heard?

[NorthCarolina]

23. The mandate isn't in effect though, so no need to worry about being fined

yet for being unable to afford health insurance.

[elleng]

24. Some facts:

'2014, when more widespread changes kick in. That year, private insurers will no longer be able to exclude people with pre-existing conditions; the government will offer subsidies for lower-income people; and health insurance exchanges will open, promising lower, more competitive rates because the risk will be spread around more.'

We watched the health care legislation process here, didn't we? Did we learn anything about the difficulty of that process?

[Dr.Phool]

25. Yeah, what we learned was that we need to throw everyone in DC out.

Private insurers are parasites and politicians are their hosts. They're devouring us.

[Skittles]

27. yup

that's when we will all be fined for not being able to afford the garbage "insurance" offered

[eridani]

30. Putting off real benefits for 4 years was unbelievably stupid

The bill is, as predicted, a total political disaster becsuse benefits were not front loaded. The numbers helped so far are politically insignificant. All people see is a bill passed that was supposed to help them, and things just keep getting worse.

[fasttense]

31. Now, what politician, in their right mind would support and push through

legislation that provides benefits only After their elections?

I swear, Democratic politicians just don't know how the game is played, or they want to lose.

[Recursion]

33. It was to make the costs not appear in the next budget

Ah, the games we play to pretend we're spending less money than we are...

[Skittles]

26. OMG! I NEVER SAW THAT COMING

:rofl:

IT'S ALL A SCAM

[Recursion]

32. $773 / month is less than the unsubsidized Medicare Part A + Part B premiums

It costs a lot no matter how you administer it.

[Kall]

37. Who could have predicted...

The "fucking retards" were warning all along that this is exactly what would happen, but the geniuses in the Democratic Party knew better.

[Raoul]

38. One more

freaking example of 'hope and change' we were promised..

[Vincevega]

40. Obama is not a magician

I don't know what people expected from Obama. I don't think even god himself can reduce the premium for someone say consuming $1000+ healthcare /month to less than $700. Personally I think unless we can reduce the cost of healthcare in this country, this is the best we can do which is $700 for preexisting condition

[Dr.Phool]

43. So, it's a sick persons fault that the hospital charges them $50 for a Tylenol?

Or your other medications cost about quadruple what the same ones cost in Canada?

I have a friend who has no insurance. If she needs something done, she goes to a PRIVATE hospital in Costa Rica, who's HC system, by the way, is rated higher than ours. Exams and lab tests are back in a couple of hours, instead of days. Treatment is cheap. And she gets a vacation out of the deal.

And again. This is a PRIVATE hospital. Not part of Costa Rica's National Health Care system.

[StarburstClock]

41. Truth hurts, where are all the "HCR is a huge success" people?

Not surprising they all disappear when reality is presented in simple math.

[Recursion]

44. This one is pointing out that 773 is cheaper than the unsubsidized medicare premium

And, predictably, not getting anyone to explain how a public option would be cheaper than that.

[txlibdem]

42. No control on costs in HCR legislation

Just like the credit card "reform" had no limits to interest rates, they just have to let you know 60 days before screwing you. And they gave it two years to kick in so the credit card companies started jacking up rates and lowering credit limits immediately.

Just like the banking reform that "reforms" nothing, outlaws none of the practices that got us into trouble, makes none of the theft that went on a crime is they do a repeat performance.

Let's all just jump up and do a little dance for all these "reforms" we've been getting!!!

What the idiots at the top of our party are thinking absolutely eludes me. As a member of the "unprofessional" left and apparently also a "f*king r*tard" I just can't figure out why they think we're going to bust our asses again to get them re-elected.

[JohnWxy]

45. THIS is PRECISELY WHY we need insurance coverage for everyone

If we had had a system that had everyone insured, getting periodic checkups at a doctor's office, he might very well have been advised to take steps to address his developing heart disease earlier on and have prevented his condition from getting that bad.

There must have been some extraordinary care done in that hospital because ordinarily having a stent put in is nowhere near a $100,000 deal. It's not even considered surgery (its done by catheterization)

Coronary Agioplasty: "Cost of procedure performed in the US: $34,847."

I know someone who had one stent put in for $22,000 (surgeon, anaesthesioligist, one day/night hospital stay).
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"Holladay has been uninsured since 2001. When his marriage ended, so did his health insurance through his wife's employer. He said he was doing okay without insurance, despite an enlarged prostate and some herniated discs in his back.

But in 2009, he suffered a heart attack and had a stent implanted to clear the blockage. Northside Hospital wrote off his nearly $100,000 bill as charity care, but Holladay said he knows he needs insurance."
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By the way, if the cost is legitimate, all taxpayers as well as anyone who has insurance picked up the tab for the unfortunate person. It's called Uncompensated Care and local, state and the Federal Government - you and I, cover these costs for hospitals so they can stay in business. Insurance policy holders cover the costs because they do lead to hospitals billing at higher rates. Thus, the insurance companies pay for it, and that means the policy holders pay for it.

The cost of paying for the care of the uninsured increases Private Company Group Insurance policy premiums about 8.7%

We can pay for it the hard way, or we can insure people and have many illnesses caught early when they can be dealt with much more effectively, and also MUCH CHEAPER.

[bemildred]

46. What amazes me is that anybody give these fuckers a nickel. nt

[Kringle]

48. you will get free health care in the prison you will be put in ..

when you don't buy health insurance

[Dr.Phool]

49. Might be worth it.