This is the time of year that insurers have to put their cards on the table for next year. Since by now, ACA was going to be wildly successful, the ACA was to phase out the guarantee of Federal money if actuarial projections wildly understated actual costs. Now with two years of data, there is no reason to need “risk corridors” since the data on who will enroll and how much they cost is no longer so speculative. It’s time to set the premiums at levels reflecting actual costs.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article80879447.html
United Healthcare has already folded their hand in NC. Cigna has volunteered to fill the void, but only over in the Research Triangle counties which have access to Duke Medical Center. Blue Cross would like another 18% and suggests they may selectively drop out county by county. Connecticut based Aetna expects to keep writing policies. They are acquiring Humana and previously acquired Coventry in 2013.
Lack of competition is never a good thing. If it looks like Donald Trump is going to win, health insurers will become even more reluctant to take risks. I suspect that in the event everyone pulls out or Republicans totally defund Obamacare, things will revert back to state run assigned risk pools under HIPAA which will leave me trapped in North Carolina – but that’s OK.
It’s just the premiums will probably go up to $2,000 a month for the remaining 4 years until Medicare eligibility. With my 2016 Cadillac United Healthcare policy, it’s June and my medical expenses YTD are currently $0.00. That might change, but I’m reluctant to find out all the things wrong with me – racking up new pre-existing conditions to scare insurers away in a post Obamacare apocalypse. I sincerely appreciate the people already on Medicare wanting to dismember the ACA. Perhaps I will be able to return the favor some day.
If you need any type of major work, it is cheaper to fly to Mexico City or even India and pay 1/10 th the cost that it is here. It is often cheaper than meeting the deductibles and copays under the Obamacare AND there is no prior existing condition in any payer or provider database when you return.
When people pay for the care themselves, there are fewer unnecessary tests and no third parties siphoning away as you pay. In the US, the providers can bill for whatever they want and they are seldom questioned.
Have a toothache checked in a US emergency room and they want to bill you thousands of dollars to cover all their ER overheads and the high staffing levels they need for true emergencies when the truth is you are being seen when there is no emergency and the doctors have idle time. Obamacare created more idle time in the ER and therefore drives up emergency costs despite the Orwellian speak from that fraudster dude from Massachusetts had said to scam the public. Someone should file a RICO case against his firm and clawback his ill-gotten gains.
So reading between the lines and connecting the dots, I conclude you are going to Mexico for gender reassignment surgery so you stand in the long lines at stadium events when you return.
lol I am a hair stylist with a shampoo bottle that needs reassignment as a hair comb. If you don’t have cable tv, this might be even more challenging to connect the dots, but I see you are quite good at it. 😉
I am going to the west coast of Mexico through the Panama canal and then taking a train to Mexico City. I plan to visit the new Ford factory and check out the site of the new carrier air plant before I return. I am will bring my Florida grown potato chips with me because I don’t care for Plantains.
I’ll create a photo essay of the street cars provided I can expense all to the either the TV Guide or the SR Guide. 😉
I need to get back and be on the north side of the Rio Grande before wall construction commences lest I have to pay for it because I am on its southern facing side.
Floating solar cells are interesting but even more interesting will be seeing a wall floating in the center of a river. I’ll scout out Mexican snorkeling schools and report back.
People who want to build a wall on the border have never looked at the river in Google Earth. It meanders back and forth as much as the Mississippi River. Rivers just do what they want to do.
In unrelated agriculture news, Nigeria is facing a severe tomato shortage. I smell opportunity.
Writing this blurb reminded me why I’m in no rush to see my primary care doctor.
Mohammed Ali died of septic shock, which is basically a blood infection. You die very fast. Last fall, I had two active dental infections. My lymph nodes were swollen. I was having other symptoms that were consistent with septicemia – shivering, fever, drop in blood pressure. I live by myself, and nobody would notice. If I went into septic shock while alone, that’s game over. Even if I survive, major organs will be damaged. Heart damage is also probable.
So I dragged myself there – first time he had seen me. I was very focused on my concern – I had a long talk with his assistant – she had come extremely close to death from septic shock, made much worse by delaying seeking help. We could not have been more on the same page. Then it is time for my 2 minute $140 Doctor visit. Without any blood work or even knowing my temperature – I asked him what my temperature was, knowing it hadn’t been taken… He declared that septicemia was very rare and I didn’t have it. The dentist didn’t want to do anything unless I had a primary care doctor. Not unreasonable.
So I got antibiotics and things quieted down – they were already somewhat going down by the time I saw the doctor. After a longer delay than I wanted and twice what I paid in Connecticut, we pulled the two crowns that probably never should have been done in the first place and were too far gone. I’m developing an appreciation for why soft foods exist 😉
Now there is a great topic – Dentists and how good they are at fleecing you for every penny in your bank account.
Now I’m letting Delta Dental fleece me. I know it is a double the price, 50% off scam