My Real Life ObamaCare Horror

[Greenbeard]

- We have no ability to change co-pays or deductibles or we will not be grandfathered into the "Cadillac Plan" tax exemption. If we do tweak a co-pay by even $5, we will be set the company up for the 40% tax.

- Many of our employees fully use the current $5,000 Health Savings Account benefit; this is reduced to $2,500 starting next year, increasing their personal tax liability.

Some points:

• The excise tax is more than seven years down the road.
• The point of the excise tax itself is not dissimilar from the aim of the consumer-driven health care movement that backs HSAs coupled with high-deductible plans: shifting away from overly comprehensive (er, "Cadillac") coverage and relying on greater cost-sharing (e.g. higher deductibles) to mold people into more cost-conscious health consumers. If you're relying on high-deductible plans but still contributing enough (>$27,500) to your HDHP to eventually be subject to the excise tax, you're quite possibly doing it wrong.
• How much you can change your co-pay while still maintaining grandfathered status depends on the value of the co-pay. You can change it by up to the greater of 1) $5 +($5 * the rate of medical inflation), or 2) a percentage change of 15% + the rate of medical inflation. For a small co-pay, obviously the former is going to be the larger number and you'll only be able to increase the co-pay by five dollars and some change. But if you're looking at a larger co-pay you can raise it by 15% + 3.4% (assuming that's roughly what medical inflation for the relevant period will be) = 18.4%. So for a $100 copay, it could be raised by as much as $18.40 without the plan losing its grandfathered status.
• As already noted, the amounts for HSAs in 2011 are unchanged from 2010.

 

[boedicca]

The broker has now come back with info that we do get the HSA amounts listed by the IRS for 2011 - but will be hit with the lower levels in 2012.

Also, the providers are assuming that all small companies will not be covered by the exemption in Cadillac Plan Exemption in 2018 and are adjusting rates accordingly (whatever that means is still being deciphered).

Surprisingly, Kaiser is now more expensive than our PPO alternative.

 

[Ravi]

The broker has now come back with info that we do get the HSA amounts listed by the IRS for 2011 - but will be hit with the lower levels in 2012.

Also, the providers are assuming that all small companies will not be covered by the exemption in Cadillac Plan Exemption in 2018 and are adjusting rates accordingly (whatever that means is still being deciphered).

Surprisingly, Kaiser is now more expensive than our PPO alternative.

Also untrue. The limits have not been decided on...they will be adjusted upward for inflation or continue at 2011 levels.

Someone is pulling your leg.

 

[uscitizen]

I thought this was going to bend the cost curve down? Where's the 2,500% saving from switching to ObamaCare?

that was before the corporate lobbyists got done with the bill.
As I predicted even before debate started. HCR wound up only benefitting helath care related corporations.

I expect that some of the current insurance adjustments (premium increases and benefit decreases) are being blamed on HCR whether it is to blame or not.

remember recovery? Health care cost increases makes the GDP increase.

 

[Charles_Main]

Your broker doesn't sound very bright.

I'll defer to your "superior" experience on not being very bright.

We have a low deductible plan, and can't make any changes without losing our Cadillac plan exemption.

A low deductible on a cadillac plan is a good deal anyway. Why would you want to change anything?

Because his cost is going up and he is looking for ways to lower them. I would assume. Raising your deductible is one of the easiest ways to lower you monthly costs.

 

[jimbetty123]

what are different health plans introduced by gov./companies??

 

[Common Sense]

so funny, this is actually typical of health insurance companies. my company was going to see a 12% increase "in anticipation of rising costs." (although we fought the change by threatening to go to another provider) or at least thats what they said. i dont think some of the health care reform provisions go into effect for a few years, so they might be trying to raise costs now, because they know that in a few years they cant raise an individual or small groups costs, without raising the costs of everyone they insure.

Actually, they can raise costs to cover lifetime caps, which were lifted, and pre-existing conditions, which they now must cover, as well as 26 year old dependents.

And raising everyone's costs makes everyone equal?

agreed that they can raise costs, what the law was trying to do was prevent them from simply raising the costs on a small group of people instead of the whole. but i dont believe most of those provisions go in affect until 2014 or 2016. so in the interim they will most likely raise their costs just to try and increase profits as much as possible. providers also know that starting very soon they are going to have to provide documentation that states a minimum of 80% of all premium dollars actually be spent on health care services (as opposed to administrative services). i think this will be a way to help control costs, but im sure the HC insurers and providers are looking for a loophole in this somewhere. id actually like to see health care providers take more of the Kaiser route and become a non profit. (you can be for or against kaiser, that not the issue here) but at least by taking out the profits, more money actually can be spend on patient care. and you are not profiting through the denial of care.

 

[Common Sense]

We just did our benefits and the price went up approx. $250/yr. (medical, dental, vision).

Question. We've never done HSAs (we always go with a PPO). Our insurance for HSA is use it or lose it at the end of the year. Are all HSA like that?

Yes, if you put money into an HSA you must use it by the end of the year, by law, or you lose those monies. its the gamble you take with an HSA. because these are pretax monies. thus you have to plan accordingly in order to save the tax consequences on these monies.