It’s time for my annual protest about
health insurance. Two years ago I wrote
a more involved post (http://eldondekay.blogspot.com/2013/07/monday-july-08-2013.html#links
) on the subject, and I’m afraid I’m going to reprise the same subject with
updated data, and the open question of, “How can this work?”
In the beginning of the Obamacare era, there were only two
companies that offered policies in Alaska: Moda and Blue Cross. Last year another company offered policies,
but notified their subscribers mid-year that they would be leaving the
market. Comparable plans had almost
exactly the same premiums so it didn’t seem to matter which we chose.
My only desire was to buy insurance to cover my wife and I
in the case of a catastrophic accident or illness, but those sorts of policies
are not legal under the ACA. To get as
close to this goal as possible, this past year we chose a policy with the
highest deductible available, namely $12,700 for the family. My premium for that peace of mind was only
$20,000 per year.
Beverly had a kidney stone that had to be surgically removed
and along with other medical expenses, for the first time as a couple, we
actually met our deductible. Since we
met the deductible, we felt empowered to have a few other things taken care of
that we have neglected in the past, but our total medical expenses for the year
will probably be at the highest, $20,000. If our claims are that high, the
insurance company will have paid roughly $7300 after I have paid $20,000 in
premiums and $12,7000 in deductible, or a total of $32,700. The insurance company will still have taken
in $12,700 more than they have paid out on our behalf. Not a bad return if you
can get it.
I got my annual premium notice for next year a week or so
ago. It appears that the return is
obviously not good enough. My premium
for the same policy will be raised to $30,000 and the deductible raised to
$13,700. I will have to pay out $43,700
in insurance plus deductible before the insurance company pays anything. How
can this be tenable?
The federal government pays subsidies for income levels
100%-400% of the federal poverty level.
All subsidies are phased out at a joint income of $97,000 for next year. Assuming others are paying similar premiums,
that means that a family earning $97,000 per year really only has $67,000 per
year on non-medical expenses and will have to pay another $12,700 of their disposable
income in health care costs before their insurance is any good to them.
It seems an anticlimax to a life to be in a hurry to reach
65 so that Medicare kicks in and you can afford your health care, or at least
pass the expenses off to the next generation.
It’s only fair……
