Anthem Blue Cross raises premiums 39%

[PatekPhilippe]

Anthem Blue Cross customers got a shock this week when the health insurer informed thousands of individual policyholders that their premium rates will jump as much as 39 percent on March 1.


"There aren't any other parts of our society where people have no regard for inflation rate and increase their prices this much. I can't imagine anything in the world that's going up 39 percent," said Josh Libresco, 54, of San Rafael, as he grappled with the news that his family premium will go from $858 per month to $1,192 - and that's with a $5,000 deductible.

Anthem Blue Cross raises premiums

and here is what you embiciles still refuse to see....beyond your left winger talking points about the "evil insurance companies".

Hospital costs are rising to compensate for less days patients spend there which was one of THE ORIGINAL COST CONTROL MEASURES to keep insurance premiums low!!!!
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/11/2/100.pdf

Then we have this....

Nearly half of all healthcare costs in 2007 were due to labor compensation; prescription drugs accounted for 10 percent and program administration 7 percent.

That's nearly 67% of the costs!!!! Medical devices account for another 25%!!!! This adds up to more than 90% of medical costs and they raise their prices many times a year! So what do insurance companies do...they raise their premiums.
What is Driving Rising Healthcare Costs? — The American, A Magazine of Ideas

 

[Charles Stucker]

This is something each State can do on their own if they deem it.

It is NOT CONSTITUTIONAL for the Federal government to get involved, imho.

My mistake, you are quite correct. The individual states should take care of the problem, each in their own way.
I heard similar statistics about doctors (though it was 90% of the claims resulting from 5% of the doctors) and also agree on that - we need to get rid of the bad doctors. We also need to get more young people studying medicine (rather than law for example) - but that won't occur until it is more profitable to get a medical license than a law license.

One other problem is the way people view insurance. They want insurance to cover everything. Insurance might work better if it only covered catastrophic expenses and gave a discount for regular checkups. Chronic complainers run to the doctor at the drop of a hat when they have a $10 copay. They might be a little more responsible if they had to pay the actual cost up front.

 

[uscitizen]

The prescription drug industry also raises costs by their direct advertising of prescription drugs to consumers.

Do you have RLS, we have a pill for that ask you Dr.

Do you have limp weenie? well Medicare will pay for a pill for that too.

 

[PatekPhilippe]

The prescription drug industry also raises costs by their direct advertising of prescription drugs to consumers.

Do you have RLS, we have a pill for that ask you Dr.

Do you have limp weenie? well Medicare will pay for a pill for that too.

Exactly!!!! The prescription drug industry runs wild over patients because they say..."you take this medicine or you die...those are your choices."

 

[uscitizen]

And the pill bill did nothing to contain medical costs either.

 

[uscitizen]

But with all that said, a notable portion of our economic "growth" over the last couple of decades has been due to increased medical costs.

 

[PatekPhilippe]

And the pill bill did nothing to contain medical costs either.

I wouldn't have a clue about that as all my and my families prescriptions are free... for the rest of our lives.

 

[Xenophon]

I said it when they first started doing the debate about HC and I'll say it again now:

The REAL problem is insurance companies, get rid of them and healthcare is an easy fix.

BAN them.

 

[uscitizen]

In truth insurance companies are the ultimate way of avoiding personal responsibility for ones actions and lives.

 

[PatekPhilippe]

I said it when they first started doing the debate about HC and I'll say it again now:

The REAL problem is insurance companies, get rid of them and healthcare is an easy fix.

BAN them.

You're putting the cart before the horse....the real culprit is ever increasing medical labor costs, devices costs and prescription medicine costs.

The purpose of insurance companies is to spread risk over a large pool of people. When the costs insurance companies cover rise 20% a year what choice do insurance companies have?

 

[blu]

I said it when they first started doing the debate about HC and I'll say it again now:

The REAL problem is insurance companies, get rid of them and healthcare is an easy fix.

BAN them.

I had this thought too at first before looking into it. I do think health ins companies need to go, at least for non-catastrophic stuff, as they are an unneeded middle man between drs and patients, but there also needs to be way more fixes than that. medical costs are skyrocketing from procedures to prescriptions. There honestly needs to be cost control or some form of it because as it is now companies all across the medical field are skyrocketing costs because they can and they know people need medical help and will buy their product no matter the cost.

there needs to be reform of health insurance companies, pharma companies, medical hardware supplier companies, and everythign else involved for there to be any real change.

 

[blu]

I said it when they first started doing the debate about HC and I'll say it again now:

The REAL problem is insurance companies, get rid of them and healthcare is an easy fix.

BAN them.

You're putting the cart before the horse....the real culprit is ever increasing medical labor costs, devices costs and prescription medicine costs.

The purpose of insurance companies is to spread risk over a large pool of people. When the costs insurance companies cover rise 20% a year what choice do insurance companies have?

saw this after my reply....

I think the costs for everyting you mention need to be dropped and then controlled. after that happens get rid of the insurance companies except for catatropshic events and put laws in that insurance companies can't drop youw hen you get cancer or other expensive illnesses like they do to paying customers now

 

[PatekPhilippe]

In truth insurance companies are the ultimate way of avoiding personal responsibility for ones actions and lives.

Right...so it's your own fault your kids have Downe's Syndrome.....what the fuck kind of thinking is this....or are you a proponent of eugenics?

 

[Political Junky]

I said it when they first started doing the debate about HC and I'll say it again now:

The REAL problem is insurance companies, get rid of them and healthcare is an easy fix.

BAN them.

You're putting the cart before the horse....the real culprit is ever increasing medical labor costs, devices costs and prescription medicine costs.

The purpose of insurance companies is to spread risk over a large pool of people. When the costs insurance companies cover rise 20% a year what choice do insurance companies have?

Other successful countries spend half of what we do per person on medical, and provide better coverage.

 

[Zona]

Raise your insurance rate bump. There is NOTHING you can do about it at this point.

 

[PatekPhilippe]

I said it when they first started doing the debate about HC and I'll say it again now:

The REAL problem is insurance companies, get rid of them and healthcare is an easy fix.

BAN them.

You're putting the cart before the horse....the real culprit is ever increasing medical labor costs, devices costs and prescription medicine costs.

The purpose of insurance companies is to spread risk over a large pool of people. When the costs insurance companies cover rise 20% a year what choice do insurance companies have?

Other successful countries spend half of what we do per person on medical, and provide better coverage.

Your right...it's called government subsidized medicine which means HIGHER TAXES for everyone and if their care is so great...why do they all come to America for their medical needs?

 

[PatekPhilippe]

Raise your insurance rate bump. There is NOTHING you can do about it at this point.

Typical of the uninformed...attack the symptom instead of the cause.....

 

[Mr.Fitnah]

The prescription drug industry also raises costs by their direct advertising of prescription drugs to consumers.

Do you have RLS, we have a pill for that ask you Dr.

Do you have limp weenie? well Medicare will pay for a pill for that too.

Why did Obama cut a back room deal with the drug companies to insure there would be no bulk bargaining to get better prices ?

 

[blu]

The prescription drug industry also raises costs by their direct advertising of prescription drugs to consumers.

Do you have RLS, we have a pill for that ask you Dr.

Do you have limp weenie? well Medicare will pay for a pill for that too.

Why did Obama cut a back room deal with the drug companies to insure there would be no bulk bargaining to get better prices ?

health care reform died at that point. everyting else was a waste of time

 

[PatekPhilippe]

The prescription drug industry also raises costs by their direct advertising of prescription drugs to consumers.

Do you have RLS, we have a pill for that ask you Dr.

Do you have limp weenie? well Medicare will pay for a pill for that too.

Why did Obama cut a back room deal with the drug companies to insure there would be no bulk bargaining to get better prices ?

Oooooooooooooops!!!!!