Skyrocketing health insurance costs-This is crazy!

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Sep 6, 2013

It's not necessarily that insurance rates per se are rising so rapidly (although they will probably go up some in the run-up to mandatory coverage as a precaution), it's also that employers are steadily decreasing their contribution to your insurance coverage, leaving you to assume more responsibility for it.

As a point of comparison, you are paying about $1400 for yourself, your spouse, and your children (unspecified number and ages). I am self-employed and pay about half that just for myself. So yours is still getting some level of subsidy, which I do not enjoy.

Also, remember that coverage for a spouse under an employer's plan was instituted in a time when few spouses worked. Now, employers are not too keen to cover spouses when those spouses have coverage options under their own employers. Employers will cover a spouse employed elsewhere, but they are beginning to charge you extra for the privilege, or to deny it entirely (which is their right). They have been trying to get out from under this burden for a long time, and the beginning of individual mandate is an excellent time to do it.

Finally, remember that while you might stay married forever, not everyone will. The individual mandate assures you that should you divorce you do not need to worry about losing coverage from a spouse's employer plan, nor does your spouse's employer have to worry about covering you, the divorced spouse.

OCNRN63, RN · Sep 6, 2013

Excellent explanation, GrnTea!

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Sep 6, 2013

At least folks in other (saner) states don't have to deal with the impact of our Governor Goodhair... whose brilliant decision to opt out of the Medicaid extension is having a cascade of effects including premium increases of ~ 10% for those of us who have pvt insurance. Sigh.

FutureCRNA?, BSN, RN · Sep 6, 2013

When I turned 25 (8 years ago), my insurance for me alone went up to over $900 per month and I was self employed. Couldn't afford it, so didn't have any insurance at all for several years. It's not a new problem

Altra, BSN, RN · Sep 6, 2013

Premiums rose an average of 4-5% from 2012 to 2013, and yes, there is a continued trend to shifting a greater portion of those premiums to employees.

Health Benefits In 2013: Moderate Premium Increases In Employer-Sponsored Plans

lhflanurseNP, APRN · Sep 6, 2013

Expect insurance premiums to go up next month. There will be a lot of options available, but the ones we can really afford are going to return to catastrophic health. If you want to have stuff covered, you are going to have to pay the big bucks. My husband and I spend about $600.00 a month. I thought that was high until I started looking around and really couldn't find anything better. We are waiting to see what the ACA health "malls" will provide next month.

Not_A_Hat_Person, RN · Sep 6, 2013

My company offers 3 health plans. I have the second-cheapest, which is $20 more per month than the catastrophic plan. It still costs about $800 per month to insure me and my husband, more than our mortgage. He hasn't had a job that offered health insurance for 5 years. A family plan will cost just over $1000 per month. COBRA will be very, very expensive. We're looking into the state health insurance exchange. Even without a subsidy, switching may pay off.

MyUserName,RN · Sep 6, 2013

At least folks in other (saner) states don't have to deal with the impact of our Governor Goodhair... whose brilliant decision to opt out of the Medicaid extension is having a cascade of effects including premium increases of ~ 10% for those of us who have pvt insurance. Sigh.

Are you in Florida HouTx? That's what happened here too. The hospital I'm currently at has been badly affected by our gov. opting out of the medicaid extension. I've obviously been spoiled with good and affordable insurance for a long time. The costs are overwhelming. Thankfully, My husbands plan will cover us pretty decently, but still. How anybody could afford $1400 a month on a nurses salary alone is beyond me. I'm sure most opt for the very high deductible plan instead, which makes it hard to get any kind of routine care.

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Sep 6, 2013

percentage increases are meaningless until you compare actual costs. If a premium of $150/mo increases by 10% I am still better off than paying $500/mo. It will be interesting to see how premiums are affected by the healthcare act. This is one reason I do not retire. Cannot afford it.

brandy1017, ASN, RN · Oct 26, 2013

I've resigned myself to a high deductible plan even though I have some chronic medical problems and am on several prescriptions. What bothers me is that an office visit costs $200-300 depending on primary MD or specialist, but the insurance discounts itself to about half if they are paying it, but I don't believe they will do that when it is going to come out of our pocket until we hit the deductible. I've had to fight with them in the past to get them to pay what they are supposed to and suddenly when they do then they discount, otherwise they charge you the undiscounted amount as if you had no insurance and were self pay. It ****** me off how they go out of their way to nickle and dime us for necessary health care. A high deductible plan is a gamble, but worst case scenario it will cost the same as the better insurance and frankly I don't want to give them one penny more than I have to for insurance premiums. They are doubling the premiums on regular insurance unless you agree to be micromanaged with the wellness program. Luckily most of my meds are $4 generics at Walmart, although my inhaler costs $50/month. I'm thinking about getting it from a Canadian pharmacy as they charge less for many meds and have generics we don't have such as nexium. For some reason they have generic nexium already, but we are forced to pay full price for brand name in America. The govt is totally sold out to the corporations and pharmaceutical companies and let them rip us off. All other countries limit what pharmacy drugs can cost, but not the good old USA!

The only consolation is that the high deductible plan with the HSA limits the maximum out of pocket to just over $6,000 so they can't charge beyond what the govt allows as long as you stay in network. I think family coverage max is around $12,000 and where does the average person come up with that kind of money on a yearly basis? Single is about 10% of an average nurses income, but I wonder how in the world are the CNA, HUCS, and secretaries supposed to afford this? The cost of healthcare is going up so much faster than wages, it is causing people to go bankrupt, even those with insurance because the out of pockets are just insane and unreasonable!

But whatever you decide to get for insurance both the FSA and HSA allow you completely tax free money for medical care. The drawback of the FSA is its limited to $2500 and must be used within a certain period of time or the money is forfeited. At least with the HSA you keep the money and if you don't use it it compounds, its still competely tax free and you can save $3300 a year. Frankly if you can afford the high deductible and even afford any medical/dental expenses without using the HSA you can keep it and let it grow as a totally tax free retirement plan. If you can do this, it is the best retirement plan option out there! You can reimburse yourself for any medical/dental expense at any time, even in the future, you just have to maintain the records for tax purposes in case you are audited. Your HSA can be used to pay for medicare premiums, long term care insurance premiums and once you turn 65 you can use it tax free for non-medical reasons, which makes it a unique retirement plan!

Also you can pair it with a limited FSA specifically for dental & vision. You can pre-plan any necessary dental or vision care and save alot of money since it is completely tax free, you don't even pay FICA or medicare taxes on it, unlike a 401k or 403b where you have to pay FICA & medicare taxes. But all FSA's have to be used by their deadline or you forfeit the cash! Frankly this feature is the govt's fault! They are the ones that designed the FSA with the forfiture feature. Why they didn't let people roll over their FSA like an HSA is beyond me. They are frankly totally out of touch with the American people.

Obamacare is all well & good but if the premiums are simply unaffordable, only the sickest people are going to sign up and the premiums are just going to go higher till its out of reach of everyone but the rich. Heck the rich can self insure and don't even need to pay for health insurance. What we need is national health care like the rest of the civilized world has!

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Oct 26, 2013

Are you in Florida HouTx?

HouTx is located in Houston, Texas (hence the user name of HouTx). :)

And the Governor Goodhair to whom she refers is none other than Rick Perry.