I just paid off my house. Why do I feel like I am trading a house payment for a health insurance payment?--A Tedious Systems Retiree
November, that time of year when we get to make those important decisions about our health insurance. You know, like deciding whether we dare just drop it and hope for the best? A a minimum what do we sacrifice to be able to pay the increased premium?
I just got my renewal packet from Tedious Systems for 2010. I know that I'm fortunate to have access to group insurance, but that knowledge does little to ease the bite of ever-increasing higher premiums.
The increase in monthly premium as a whole, including the Tedious Systems portion and my share, increased 7.5%. Not the end of the world, except that Tedious Systems capped their contribution a few years back. Health insurance costs may rise in the future, but Tedious won't be picking up any of the increases.
So, the entire increase gets paid by me. I'm not saying that is unfair, but that doesn't make it a walk in the park either. Luckily, Mrs. Sneed has her own insurance though her employer. Her employer is very generous.
In real terms, my increase in heath insurance premiums for 2010 is 28.5%. In dollars it is less onerous, $60 a month, but $60 a month is nothing to sneeze at.
To make matters worse, virtually every copay associated with my coverage is up dramatically too. That actually happened beginning in 2009, 2010 remains to be seen.
My prescription copays went up 50%, doctor's visits 25%, visits to my dermatologist 60%.
The worse part is that the focus of the big government push for health care reform seems to be on getting more people insured and less about the runaway costs.
All I can say is that I hope I die before I get really sick.
Things in this blog represented to be fact, may or may not actually be true. The writer is frequently wrong, sometimes just full of it, but always judgmental and cranky
Oct 28, 2009
I just paid off my house. Why do I feel like I am trading a house payment for a health insurance payment?--A Tedious Systems Retiree
November, that time of year when we get to make those important decisions about our health insurance. You know, like deciding whether we dare just drop it and hope for the best? A a minimum what do we sacrifice to be able to pay the increased premium?
I just got my renewal packet from Tedious Systems for 2010. I know that I'm fortunate to have access to group insurance, but that knowledge does little to ease the bite of ever-increasing higher premiums.
The increase in monthly premium as a whole, including the Tedious Systems portion and my share, increased 7.5%. Not the end of the world, except that Tedious Systems capped their contribution a few years back. Health insurance costs may rise in the future, but Tedious won't be picking up any of the increases.
So, the entire increase gets paid by me. I'm not saying that is unfair, but that doesn't make it a walk in the park either. Luckily, Mrs. Sneed has her own insurance though her employer. Her employer is very generous.
In real terms, my increase in heath insurance premiums for 2010 is 28.5%. In dollars it is less onerous, $60 a month, but $60 a month is nothing to sneeze at.
To make matters worse, virtually every copay associated with my coverage is up dramatically too. That actually happened beginning in 2009, 2010 remains to be seen.
My prescription copays went up 50%, doctor's visits 25%, visits to my dermatologist 60%.
The worse part is that the focus of the big government push for health care reform seems to be on getting more people insured and less about the runaway costs.
All I can say is that I hope I die before I get really sick.
Things in this blog represented to be fact, may or may not actually be true. The writer is frequently wrong, sometimes just full of it, but always judgmental and cranky
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
Something has to take up the slack for the housing industry...
:(
Its true.. and it's very very scary..
I worry constantly because our life with Matthew is full of doctor appointment and knowing he'll have heart surgeries forever... and his lungs are a mess...
I live in fear everyday of running out of insurance again...
medical care, it is soo expensive... I even worry about US getting sick too...
I feel sorry for seniors too now b/c of the threat of Medicare being cut 400,000 to 500,000 million... or is it billion...
The insurance industry is completely immoral, unthinkable in a truly civilized society. Why we tolerate it is completely bewildering to me.
I have a friend with cancer who can't afford to have the scans she needs - she's topped her lifetime maximum & has to pay out of pocket even though they have insurance. It really is immoral, I think!
"All I can say is that I hope I die before I get really sick."
I'm with you there. For now I'm healthy. I go to the doctor about once a year, and I'm certainly not getting my money's worth from my insurance company. That's not complaining! My plan is to keep this up for many, many years, and then die instantly while doing something awesome.
I like Julia's idea.
Yeah, I agree with Julia too!
Can you get on Mrs. Sneed's insurance? Would that be a better option?
I was lucky to get subsidized health insurance here designed for unemployed losers like myself. With the discount, it still costs more than my old Kaiser plan.
Post a Comment