patrick.net

This is insane and unsustainable. Eventually all of these people will price themselves out of the market. It is also imhumane and unthinkable!

Patrick ... when you go to a doctor, do you use your insurance (deductible) or pay out of pocket. I see why you would need the insurance for catastrophic situations, but you might save some $ when you go for checkups if you pay out of pocket (rather than pay via deductible) ... rates usually drop dramatically. I have a friend who was without insurance and their pediatrician only charged a $20 copay for a visit ... next time you go to a doctor, just ask if the rate would be different ... worth a try.

My better half works for a non profit business in the city. The CEO of the business was a huge supporter of HC reform. Their HC insurance provider is also a non profit, so all cost increases have to be passed on as they are NOT allowed to make a profit.

During the last renewal phase for their HC bennies the CEO and a rep from the insurance company (now remember both these businesses are NON PROFIT) told all the employees the cost of their coverage was going to double. Needless to say the employees were all quite upset. The CEO and insurance rep explained that this was due to the new HC regulations and the cost increases were unavoidable. During this meeting the formerly supportive HC reform CEO was as upset as the employees about what the new HC legislation was doing to costs and coverage.

Both my wife and I work in the HC field as nurses, my wife for 15 years and myself for 5 years. We were both dead set against this legislation for we knew what would happen. Unfortunately it passed anyway and now we will get to see the damage first hand.

What a boondoggle.

Outrageous. Eventually the premiums will rise beyond peoples ability to pay but opting out leaves anybody open to financial ruin. The health care system in this country is no longer about health. It has evolved into a machine for extracting wealth from the population.
There seems to be a lot of discussion about how to pay for health care instead of asking why it costs so much.

Few people are in a position to pay out of pocket for even a relatively minor procedure.
My elderly father recently spent 3 days in the hospital for observation after having a fever. During that time he had a few blood tests and was given an IV bag of antibiotics. The only reason he spent the 3rd day was that his doctor never showed up on day 2 to sign his release paperwork. The bill just came in at slightly over $9,000.

I also pay hundreds per month for a policy that has a $5,000 deductible for each member of my family. It is protection money. So far I have never reached the deductible.

As far as I can tell we already have rationed health care.
Regardless of the severity of the problem, I can't recall an office visit for myself or my family in which we were able to actually talk to a doctor for more than about 7 minutes at a time.
1 to 2 hours of waiting and filling out forms, (missing 1/2 day of work) for a few minutes of consultation.
God forbid if you are suffering from something that can't be diagnosed in 7 minutes.

Cleg

At nearly $800/mo, if you are really paying nearly $10k a year for catastrophic only coverage, this sounds to me like it might conceivably not be worth it; what if it were $20k a year? 30k? What are the risks you will get something or an event requiring insurance for treatment will occur between now and when next full time employed that you will get something catastrophic? (Maybe it's worth it, or you are using the discounted services, etc. - I'm just suggesting it's worth conscious thought.) Have you thought about getting a part time job with coverage? I understand some public sector jobs offer full benefits at half time employment.

JimAtLaw says

At nearly $800/mo, if you are really paying nearly $10k a year for catastrophic only coverage, this sounds to me like it might conceivably not be worth it; what if it were $20k a year? 30k? What are the risks you will get something or an event requiring insurance for treatment will occur between now and when next full time employed that you will get something catastrophic? (Maybe it’s worth it, or you are using the discounted services, etc. - I’m just suggesting it’s worth conscious thought.) Have you thought about getting a part time job with coverage? I understand some public sector jobs offer full benefits at half time employment.

Speaking as someone who worked on the side in Medical Billing for a few years, paying that much for insurance makes no sense. You are better off pocketing the cash and pleading poverty when the bill comes. At the very least, when a giant bill comes, you offer the doctor $5,000 cash, and they make the deal every single time. Basically, we would just ask them to come in to discuss their options. Half the time, we made a decision on the car they drove. If they drive to the office in a Lexus, we tell them they have to pay or we send them to collection. If they drive up in a beat up Buick, a lot of times, we settled for pennies on the dollar.

cleg says

Outrageous. Eventually the premiums will rise beyond peoples ability to pay but opting out leaves anybody open to financial ruin. The health care system in this country is no longer about health. It has evolved into a machine for extracting wealth from the population.

There seems to be a lot of discussion about how to pay for health care instead of asking why it costs so much.
Few people are in a position to pay out of pocket for even a relatively minor procedure.

My elderly father recently spent 3 days in the hospital for observation after having a fever. During that time he had a few blood tests and was given an IV bag of antibiotics. The only reason he spent the 3rd day was that his doctor never showed up on day 2 to sign his release paperwork. The bill just came in at slightly over $9,000.
I also pay hundreds per month for a policy that has a $5,000 deductible for each member of my family. It is protection money. So far I have never reached the deductible.
As far as I can tell we already have rationed health care.

Regardless of the severity of the problem, I can’t recall an office visit for myself or my family in which we were able to actually talk to a doctor for more than about 7 minutes at a time.

1 to 2 hours of waiting and filling out forms, (missing 1/2 day of work) for a few minutes of consultation.

God forbid if you are suffering from something that can’t be diagnosed in 7 minutes.
Cleg

Consider MDVIP. It'll cost you $1400-1800 per year or so on top of what you pay now, but you get a full comprehensive annual exam, and for the rest of the year, 24 hour a day access to your primary care doctor with a fairly limited number of patients so that s/he can (and will) take the time to actually understand what's going on with you and answer all of your questions.

I'm guessing that the 73% rate increase has to do with the combination of Obamacare at the same time your age crept into the next higher age bracket. (IE - you just turned 40, 45, 50, something like that). There is nothing new about a huge rate increase as your birthday present from the insurance company. Also depending upon the number of people in the family, $800 might be a good rate. If they charged by the head instead of the same rate irregardless of the number of kids it would certainly be fairer.

you are better off paying $800/month into an low risk investment account and banking the money and using it as needed for medical procedures or doctor's visits when you need it. now that obamacare has made it so that no one with preexisting conditions can be turned away, you can always decided to get insurance later on if you got really sick.

One possible option that was mentioned on Mish's site was to enroll at a college or university that provides a health insurance plan. The premium plus enrollment costs might still be cheaper than what you are paying. Good luck!

Going to an all-government health care system would just be jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. Think about it: if it was actually more efficient for the government to run the nation's healthcare as a centralized bureaucracy, then it would be more efficient for the government to manage all of the goods and services society needs: food, shelter, clothing, transportation, entertainment, education, everything.

Central planning doesn't work. Free markets work. But as others observed above, we don't have a free market. We have a hybrid where profits go to the private sector and costs go to the taxpayer. That won't work. We have to get back to a true free market in health care, and that means eliminating government involvement except for the usual basic enforcement of contracts and so on.

I found among family papers an invoice for a 10 day hospital stay and surgery my grandfather paid for in 1944. The total cost, adjusted for inflation to today's prices, was just over $1,000. Compare that to a recent outpatient surgery a friend's daughter had on the tip of her finger when it was caught in a bicycle chain - $14,000.

What I never hear is a detailed explanation of how costs have gone from $1,000 for a ten day hospital stay with surgery, anaesthesia, supplies, etc, to $14,000 for an outpatient fixing of a fingertip with no hospital stay. My best guess is the government's involvement in guaranteeing payment for unlimited amounts of healthcare provided to the elderly and indigent. That eliminated the fiscal discipline of the marketplace that usually drives prices lower over time (as it has in the computer/technology field where there is essentially no government involvement).

Same thing happened to the cost of college once the government got involved with guaranteeing an unlimited supply of student loan money. Colleges were able to raise prices as much as they liked because they knew students could always get loans guaranteed by government. Again: profit going to the private sector, cost going to the taxpayer. The moral hazard problem.

Socialist health care systems are already collapsing around the world. Look at the problems with Britain's. We do not need to go that route...it will be worse than what we have now and will cost even more - the cost will simply be hidden in your taxes and interest rates rather than coming as a premium bill from an insurer. We need to get back to a real free market in health care.

kimtitu says

One drastic way is to not to have insurance and just go to ER when thing hits.
Last year, I took my son to ER for real emergency. There are several other patients and their family, who do not seem so urgent but more like having a tour in ER room, before my turn.

Emergency rooms take patients based on their acuity. You don't know what was wrong with these patients. So far as their payment source, you don't know that either. They could have been in greater need than your son.

People without insurance must go to the ER, because otherwise they have to pay cash at the time of service. ER's are mandated to see patients no matter what their payment source might be - so what seemed to you to be a person who wanted a tour in the ER could have been someone with a tumor waiting to be seen. You don't know.

cleg says

My elderly father recently spent 3 days in the hospital for observation after having a fever. The bill just came in at slightly over $9,000.

The amount Medicare paid, after deductible, was about $3,000. Billed charges are different than paid amounts.

Yes - the system sucks. Horribly. However, costs spiraled before Obamacare and this shouldn't be a partisan issue. We really do need socialized medicine, but big insurance and healthcare corporations would lose their huge-ass profits and high paid salaries.

I've said so many times that, to me, a huge waste is the double-dipping of patients in nursing homes on Medicaid ($6,000 by the state/feds) and Medicare paying for hospice ($5,000) at the same time. Sure, there are some patients who need extra care - but most of these patients benefit the hospice, not the patient. Hospice lobbies have made sure that these patients are paid at the same rate as home hospice patients, even though they have 24-hour nursing care and caregivers via Medicaid. Hospice workers love patients in nursing homes - they require substantially less assistance, cost the hospices less and therefore provide a much higher profit to the hospice. The patients don't know the difference - in fact, much of the time they don't even know they're on hospice. Medicaid cuts back the amount that it pays to the nursing homes, yet they hospices are legally allowed to pay that difference back to the nursing home (a kickback of sorts) to encourage the hospice referrals.

There is so much waste and legal ways for companies to manipulate the system - and the rest of us pay for it in the form of higher premiums to the little guys.

Good Grief! No wonder baby boomers are not prepared for retirement!

Outrageous! I'd seriously consider doing without insurance. Of course, I'm single with no dependents, so you may have other priorities.

But I've gone without health insurance plenty of times. I went without for 5 years, then had it for another 5, then went without for another 5. The Oakman is right. When the receptionist or MD would ask whether I had insurance, I noticed that they'd charge me a more reasonable rate when I was without. Seriously - the bills weren't nearly as high for the same services as they were during the times when I had insurance.

I've heard the argument "but just try to pay out of pocket - it's too expensive" and that argument doesn't hold up when it comes to routine stuff. If a person can pay $800 a month and then still shell out for a co-pay, then couldn't that same person just bank the money and pay the bills directly? That's what I did for ten years on and off. It was way more cost-effective that way.

Even if something serious happens, you would probably be better off working something out with the hospital. Here in NJ, high-deductible plans only cover 50% (or slightly more) of your costs after a $10K- $15K deductible. So, if you got socked with $50,000 in charges, the insurer would pay around $20,000. You're still on the hook for $30,000. If you've not been paying $800 in extortion fees and if you can bargain with the hospital / care providers, you might get your costs down to $25,000 or $30,000 anyway.

If I were in that situation, I'd do without the insurance.

Also, in response to "mn_mark": if we had single-payer or national health care, the whole system would not be "run" at the federal level. Like law enforcement, much of a public health care system would be run at the state, regional (e.g. county), and local levels.

Thus, I don't buy the argument that "having public health care won't work because the federal government can't run such a big system". It wouldn't make sense for the feds to run it any more than it would to have them run your town's law enforcement.

Furthermore, people against public health care often argue that the government would then get into providing all our food, shelter, clothing, entertainment, transportation, etc. Who says that ever needs to happen? What do those things have to do with health care? Does the government have to provide those things now because we have public education and public law enforcement? No.

Seriously - I doubt we'll become Communists if we have public health care.

My wife (33) and two kids (7 and 9) pay about $250/mth for a $6,000 deductible plan from Anthem/Blue Cross Blue Shield in Missouri. Everyone is fairly healthy and we have a low claims history.

Honestly, though, if rates get too high, the best catastrophic medical insurance "plan" for the typical middle-class person with few assets is Chapter 7 of Title 11 of the United States Code--i.e. personal bankruptcy. Put that $1,100/mth into your 401(k) and IRAs instead of feeding the insurance machine. Your 401(k)s and IRAs are exempt in a Chapter 7.

That is why the insurance companies sent their lobbies to Washington to make health care MANDATORY! Mr. Obama in his debate with Mrs. Clinton, said that he was opposed to mandated health care, now he has changed his mind!

mn_mark says

Socialist health care systems are already collapsing around the world. Look at the problems with Britain’s. We do not need to go that route…it will be worse than what we have now and will cost even more - the cost will simply be hidden in your taxes and interest rates rather than coming as a premium bill from an insurer. We need to get back to a real free market in health care.

Where are "socialist" (everyone else calls them public) health care systems collapsing around the world? What countries have you spent time in to make this observation? I've had health care in France, Canada, and New Zealand without any problems. The people there are fine with their system. They are mystified by the American system and why anyone would tolerate it. How will it be worse? America doesn't rank all that high on health care outcomes at all. Things like infant mortality in America are down in third world range. Oh right I forgot, everyone else lies about their health care numbers. Only America has an honest government that only tells it's citizens the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

There are something like 60 countries with public health care including 32 of the 33 developed countries (guess the missing country). The only one you found to comment on is Britain, which is universally recognized as being poorly implemented and chronically underfunded. That's pretty objective (not). The cost per person in the other 32 developed countries of the world (oops I gave away the answer) is about half of the cost per person in America. This is pretty simple math, take the total spent on health care (which is very understated in America, a lot isn't counted properly because so much is private) then divide it by the number of people. There is nothing hidden in taxes or interest rates, the cost is the cost.

Let's see, twice the cost for results that are not as good. Yep it sure could be worse.

mn_mark says

I found among family papers an invoice for a 10 day hospital stay and surgery my grandfather paid for in 1944. The total cost, adjusted for inflation to today’s prices, was just over $1,000. Compare that to a recent outpatient surgery a friend’s daughter had on the tip of her finger when it was caught in a bicycle chain - $14,000.

Post a redacted image of both bills. It would be interesting to see. Especially the part about 14,000 for outpatient surgery on a fingertip. I smashed my finger badly while working on one of my properties in Oregon 3 years ago. Total charges for ER at Emmanual in Portland, three visits to an ortho with an in office surgery, and a 40 mile ambulance ride (it was really smashed, I was losing a lot of blood and couldn't drive) was less than 5000.

The other side of the story is it took almost a year, with at least 50 phone calls (from NZ) across 7 time zones, to get all the bills paid. I had travel insurance through an Australian company and they had the patience of a saint dealing with the various billing departments screw ups. Double billings, lost payments, and multiple claims from the hospital, the doctors office, and the ambulance company. Emmanual managed to lose the insurance information 4 times and threatened to sue me for failing to provide it each time they lost it. The doctors office managed to turn the account over to a collection agency even after faxing the information that the claim was paid and they had the money at least 5 times. AMR claimed they couldn't get in touch with me, turned out that they didn't know how to dial an overseas phone number or send a letter overseas. They never bothered with my email address. Absolutely no one answered phones or returned emails. I have friends tell me my billing experience is the norm for most people, not just because I live overseas. The cost of dealing with all this has to be astronomical for the providers.

Here in NZ (which has one of those terrible socialist health care systems) there is ZERO paperwork. You go to the doctor or hospital, get treated, and go home. End of story.

I don't mind mandatory insurance as long as it's capped at some reasonable cost and there is some government option to escape Blue Shield's extortion. Unlimited mandatory premiums to support Blue Shield's executive bonuses is just legalized theft.

We have mandatory elementary schools. It works well enough to provide a basic education for those who put in some effort, and those who don't like it go to private schools. Why aren't the right-wing nut jobs screaming about the communist nature of elementary school? Because they see that yes, government actually can provide some very beneficial services at a reasonable cost to everyone that the private sector cannot.

This looks like a good organization:

http://singlepayernow.net/

Why aren’t the right-wing nut jobs screaming about the communist nature of elementary school?

? they do that too.

That makes it just about the most profitable company

odd metric. Above I broke down Wellpoint:

Wellpoint had $14.6B in revenue and $2B in overhead leaving $1.2B in profits.

So that's ~80% of premiums going to care.

WPT has 10 million or so subscribers, so their overhead is $60/mo and their profit is $40/mo per subscriber.

People complain about the cost of insurance - and I get it. I work with a woman who said that she dropped her insurance because of cost.

But if you have a serious, progressive illness that requires labs, consults and chronic medications, it can cost $300 to $400/mo on top of the premiums just to treat it. I see people who have to choose between treatment and food. It sucks.

Sorry, Patrick, but this is exact, direct, and immediate result of Obama's health insurance reform.

1. The reform actually reduces amount of health care existing facilities/personnel may provide by increasing huge administrative and regulatory overhead.

2. The reduced amount of care supposed to be shared by more people.

3. Health Insurers are allowed to pass the cost to those who can pay.

So YOU should pay for all this.

Beside this, different health insurers had different levels of lobbying success. This created winners and losers among them. Blue Shield / Blue Cross is the main loser, while KP is the main winner.

Of course, the winner (ab)uses the reform as well, but may afford lower increases. So, in my case, "only" my co-payment tripled and some coverage is cut.

Sorry again, but I have an impression you really wanted that reform.

Love that Swedish medical treatment. Man has to wait five months to get an appointment then they mistakenly amputate his penis! http://www.thelocal.se/31130/20101229/

elliemae says

But if you have a serious, progressive illness that requires labs, consults and chronic medications, it can cost $300 to $400/mo on top of the premiums just to treat it.

Ellie for any sinsible person that Anyone expects to pay up to if not more $1400 a month.
I think they can swing that quite comfortably, given the option.

Where's the added benefit, to pay tripple up front for care you don't even need???

IT would be far better suited in any kind of Savings account, and that way an even bigger guarantee they'll be able to afford any minor to mid level medical calamity.

You can actually Vacation in another country and under go serious operations, for 1/10th of what that operation would cost in America. And that's with a stay over in that country to recuperate before journeying home. And again the medicine paying out of pocket in the states would still be cheaper than any premium.

Tenouncetrout says

Federal Health Care System was the only SANE option. Every thing else was just a World Wide Joke of epic proportions.

I agree with all the rest, but it was not a Joke. It was a World Wide FRAUD of epic proportions. The whole reform was created by CEOs of major Health Insurers. In no way they would accept a Federal Health Care System.

winout says

Love that Swedish medical treatment. Man has to wait five months to get an appointment then they mistakenly amputate his penis! http://www.thelocal.se/31130/20101229/

Oh one story out of hundereds of Millions of medical patients in a socialist system in the world. In the meantime, our news papers are filled with "Malpractice" and "Neglegence" on a daily basis.

Just what is the point of these retorts? If ever in the history of "Anything is better than this" Liberal school of thought, Our insurance based medical system in this country, is a shinning example of that logic.
I mean on the scale of one to hundred,
Kerry vs. Bush was a 21.4 compared to this being a hundred.

michaelsch says

The reform actually reduces amount of health care existing facilities/personnel may provide by increasing huge administrative and regulatory overhead.

I find this unsupportable foo-fah.

But I agree that it's no surprise that premiums will be rising on the already-insured. That's what insurance pools are, once we admit millions who were excluded via adverse selection we're going to have to pay for them.

I also agree that KP is the big winner here and we may see health insurers start buying care facilities to get around the MLR stuff.

Getting more care for millions of people is a good first step. That premiums are supposed to be subsidized starting in 2012 or whatever does make this a fight that is going to be continued this decade.

The fight for reform is not over, it's just beginning.

michaelsch says

In no way they would accept a Federal Health Care System.

and neither would the American people, not in 1993 and not in 2010. We're too easily bamboozled. Seniors have largely already got their reforms, and most of the electorate that matters doesn't want government messing with what they have.

I'm willing to be proved wrong on this, but I think ACA was the best the system was able to vend in 2009-2010.

We'll see how it goes from here.

michaelsch says

The reform actually reduces amount of health care existing facilities/personnel may provide by increasing huge administrative and regulatory overhead.

You're saying additional insurance company paperwork costs are responsible for a 73% increase in my premium?

That's just obviously not true, or like Troy says "I find this unsupportable foo-fah."

The main problem with Obamacare is that the insurance companies blocked the public option.

Troy says

WPT has 10 million or so subscribers, so their overhead is $60/mo and their profit is $40/mo per subscriber.

So they have profits of $400 million dollars per month? Sucked out of customers who are trapped like rats in this evil system?

It's actually way higher than that, because that additional "overhead" cost of $600 million more per month no doubt includes the executive bonuses and private jets without which they could not provide their wonderful service...

But it still doesn't explain the 73% increase in premiums.

I just got my insurance raised AGAIN from Blue Shield of CA. It is unaffordable. I don't know what to do I was forced to switch to the lowest policy after the rate hike in Oct. My insurance has gone up over 100% since 2009, plus being a woman they increased my policy by 20%. raised it again, then said they were reducing it because of the gender bias and then raised it by 31.4% on top. It is shameful. I have panic attacks about my health care and how I can't afford it. The lower monthly high deducible policies are wolves in sheep's clothing. In the end you pay thousands more and are stuck with that policy than if you could afford to pay even 100 more a month by a 5000 difference. I have done the math. . It is a greedy system, and is structured to hurt the people who can't afford it the most. My wages aren't going up, I have to buy my own insurance, I work as a freelance person, and have tried to find a full time job in my field but they are limited and most do not offer benefits or have cut them. Everything is getting too expensive. I dread getting older, I turn 45 this year and again my insurance is going to go up by 100 or more a month. I can't make these ends meet and neither can the people I know. We all have 2-3 jobs and it barely covers it. I don't know who is getting the high paying salaries to keep up, but they aren't there anymore. A job that I interviewed for paid 75,000 2 years ago and now pays 35,000 with no benefits. Same job same heavy demanding workload. I am sorry to go off, but I can't believe my insurance is going up again. Also the underwriting is so evil if you have anything, I mean even a cold or god forbid told the doctor you were sad because someone died and they wrote the word Depressed or anxiety in your records they charge 75% above the the advertised rate for the same crappy coverage for 10 years.
I support Obama. At least he is trying to do something, it is out of control. I sit up at night and cry because of this health insurance nightmare, I pray if I get sick I just die so I don't go into financial ruin and be an indentured servant to this messed up system. I hate that I can't go to the doctor when I need to and if I do god forbid there is ANYTHING wrong I will be screwed because I can't afford to treat it and then can't afford the insurance. SHAMEFUL

Troy says

But I agree that it’s no surprise that premiums will be rising on the already-insured. That’s what insurance pools are, once we admit millions who were excluded via adverse selection we’re going to have to pay for them.

Woah, no, that's just the opposite of reality. "Adverse selection" means that only sick people want to buy insurance. Letting people buy insurance only when they want to means that we select for those with adverse health situations.

Adding the millions of others who don't have health issues right now means premiums should go down, not up. More people paying in, same few people are sick.

Tenouncetrout says

Sign up for Ruthy care, you’ll be amazed at the money you’ll save.

What's Ruthy Care? Doesn't show up in Google.

Got a URL for it?

Adding the millions of others who don’t have health issues right now means premiums should go down, not up. More people paying in, same few people are sick.

We haven't added them yet . . . the letter I got from BCBS telling me why my rates are going up 25% from $178 to $222:

ACA: BCBS says this is raising rates 1-5% now

Gender-neutral -- they say this is raising rates up to 17.7%.

ACA has the following changes for 2011:

Dependents up to age 26 now covered
Former lifetime limit of $5M removed
Preventative health care "free"
Pre-existing stuff for minors removed

I guess women have a lot higher health care costs than men . . .

I wouldn't be surprised if the health insurers were simply using Obama care as an excuse to raise rates. It's win-win for them: people will be POed at Obama and vote Republican - the party arguably favored by insurance companies - and in the meantime, the insurers enjoy higher premiums.

Any industry, being Health care, colleague education, housing, that have Gov subsidies prices go up.

These Gov tax subsidies are really Gov assisted robbery of citizen for the benefits of these industries.

Usually if people don't like something we refuse to buy that services and force the prices to go down.

But now even thought people don't like the health care price tag the Obama care will force people to buy that expensive things people hate.

absurd.

Tenouncetrout says

Sign up for Ruthy care, you’ll be amazed at the money you’ll save.

What’s Ruthy Care? Doesn’t show up in Google.
Got a URL for it?

Ruthy is my wife, she pays the Bills, she finds which Doctor we go to, and where we get our medicine. She's been pretty thrifty and effective. Still haven't managed to spend a full months worth of a $1400 monthly premium in the whole year. They've(wife and two daughters) been to the Doctor as many times as anyone else healthy with an insurance plan I know.

Me I don't go, if it aint broke don't fix it.

zongmike says

Obama care will force people to buy that expensive things people hate

you're not forced to buy anything under ACA. I forget, but something like $50/mo or 2% of income is the tax to induce you to get coverage.

I agree with your larger points that subsidies in education and housing are just making them more expensive, and the same thing will happen under ACA as tens of millions will enjoy subsidized health insurance.

This money will have to come out of taxes eventually. Or theoretically. Right now we're not too big on actually having taxes meet expenses for some reason.

I had my rates rise 30% last year for myself wife and 1 year old daughter w/ Blue Shield. I filed a complaint in CA here: http://insurance.ca.gov/contact-us/0200-file-complaint/

BY LAW the insurance company needs to give you 30 (or 60 cant remember) days WRITTEN notice before raising rates. If that did not happen then they cannot raise your rates.

The end result was that I was reimbursed the difference by the insurance company in the months it took to file the complaint and await the review/ negotiation. However I was still owed $775 and B/ Shield have tried the same trick and raised the rate another 20% (again without written notice) so I about to file complaint #2.

Importantly, I kept paying the insurance the whole time until it was resolved. Being from the UK and having been treated there, Australia, Brazil, Singapore and Thailand I can honestly say that the US system is unfair and completely ran in favor of investors. They have no accountability as far as I can see, it is a scam.....

I agree w/ some of the above comments of US doctors suggesting treatments, medicines, procedures etc just to make a quick buck, not necessarily because they are the right thing to do.......

No other country in the world (I have lived in worked in about 15) has TV adverts telling you to "go and ask your doctor if $#@%^ is right for you" If you suffer from headache, nausea, wild erratic spasms, sleep walking or chronic anal discharge then maybe, just maybe......you took the wrong medicine that "your doctor" told you to take!!!