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Thread: Health Insurance

  1. #1

    Health Insurance

    As an employer we have always paid our employee's and their families health insurance. We have really good health insurance. It's time to renew our policy and the first time I have looked at what Obamacare did to/for me and my employees.


    Our health premium averaged $1550 per employee a month (that includes their family), Thanks to Obamacare that has now jumped to $2000 per employee a month. That is an increase of 29%.


    As an employer I'm not sure if I can afford to keep offering health insurance in the employee benefit package. Just thought some of you might be curious of what Obamacare has done to business.


    Thanks Obama.

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  3. #2
    Our health premium averaged $1550 per employee a month (that includes their family), Thanks to Obamacare that has now jumped to $2000 per employee a month. That is an increase of 29%.
    Ouch. That's expensive.

    Was that a one step increase, or has it been 29% over time?
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  4. #3
    Wilderness Photographer cchoc's Avatar
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    Is that for the exact same benefits? Seems steep unless it includes additional coverage.
    Charlie...
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  5. #4
    That is the increase from 2013 to 2014 for the exact same plan with no changes.

    And I don't call the increase expensive, I call it ridiculous.

  6. #5
    Wilderness Photographer cchoc's Avatar
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    Sounds like your insurance company is using the ACA to stick it to you.
    Charlie...
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  7. #6
    Our insurance went down (slightly).

    Just a wild guess, but I wonder how much of it has to do with age of employees?

    I'm guessing one reason ours went down is because we have an older than average workforce. Under Obamacare, insurance companies have to charge the same rate, regardless of age (?). If true, if you have a younger than average workforce, your premium would rise. Maybe that's why our rates dropped?

    One thing for sure is that I'm glad we have good insurance now. I still owe $40K+ for medical bills on the previous insurance though.

    Anyway, medical insurance is a mess in this country. I don't think either political party has proposed a good solution.

    I used to think that the bulk of the blame lay on the medical companies and pharmaceutical companies. After working in the industry, some things were eye opening though.

    For example, pharmaceutical companies often make huge profits and have seemingly extremely high markups on their medications. They have to though. One class action lawsuit from a side effect can easily wipe out an entire pharmaceutical company, even if it was large and has been established for years. They have to make big profits and have high markups as a cushion to guard against lawsuits. This is just one example of why medical cost are so high in this country.
    Utah is a very special and unique place. There is no where else like it on earth. Please take care of it and keep the remaining wild areas in pristine condition. The world will be a better place if you do.

  8. #7
    Wilderness Photographer cchoc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scott P View Post
    Our insurance went down (slightly).

    Just a wild guess, but I wonder how much of it has to do with age of employees?

    I'm guessing one reason ours went down is because we have an older than average workforce. Under Obamacare, insurance companies have to charge the same rate, regardless of age (?). If true, if you have a younger than average workforce, your premium would rise. Maybe that's why our rates dropped?

    One thing for sure is that I'm glad we have good insurance now. I still owe $40K+ for medical bills on the previous insurance though.

    Anyway, medical insurance is a mess in this country. I don't think either political party has proposed a good solution.

    I used to think that the bulk of the blame lay on the medical companies and pharmaceutical companies. After working in the industry, some things were eye opening though.

    For example, pharmaceutical companies often make huge profits and have seemingly extremely high markups on their medications. They have to though. One class action lawsuit from a side effect can easily wipe out an entire pharmaceutical company, even if it was large and has been established for years. They have to make big profits and have high markups as a cushion to guard against lawsuits. This is just one example of why medical cost are so high in this country.
    Sadly we all pay for litigation costs in just about every product and service. My brother worked for big pharma and R&D costs are huge too, and companies have to make it back before the drug goes generic. I worked in the insurance industry years ago and they are hugely profitable and basically define the rules of the game, since they are the house in the gamble.

    The ACA is a huge mess, but I believe it is to my advantage to be surrounded by healthy people. I also like well educated and well fed people around me. I predict we'll eventually go to single payer healthcare which is what we should have gone to in the beginning. My state, though, still refuses to accept federal money to expand medicaid, so what do I know?

    Charlie...
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  10. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Scott P View Post
    I used to think that the bulk of the blame lay on the medical companies and pharmaceutical companies. After working in the industry, some things were eye opening though.

    I actually consider myself pretty knowledgeable on this..... the short answer is....


    The blame is with the insurance industry. In no other industry in our country does the middle man run the show, except in the medical profession. That is insane.


    The insurance companies wrote the current medical insurance laws (Obaamacare), that is insane.


    If you want to really fix the problem you must go with a single point provider (Federally run health care system). The crazy thing about Obamacare is the US already runs such a single point provider system (Medicare), to fix the problem all we had to do was force everyone to sign up for Medicare, but there was no way in hell the insurance companies were going to let that happen because they would then be cut out of the loop (read out of the money stream).


    Yes, a federally run health care system has its faults, but nothing could be worse than the current system as the insurance companies currently suck a large chunk of coin (huge profits) right off the top before any service is rendered. Consider for a minute what your health care premium would be if the insurance companies were cut completely out of the loop, which could be done with a single point provider.


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  12. #9
    Remember that insurance actually increases the costs for medical care as well. You have a whole bunch more employees to pay and a whole separate business to run. You'll pay MORE on average for health insurance than if you were paying for your bills as you go. You have to or the insurance companies couldn't stay in business. What insurance does is buffer the high expense times against the low expense times. This is a budgeting tool, not an insurance tool which is to protect against large unforeseen losses. A true medical insurance looks more like the catastrophic coverage policies, not the well care policies.

  13. #10
    I sent our company insurance package out to bid to about a dozen different companies. I have found insurance that is comparable (better in some ways and worse in others). The premium will jump from $1550 per family to $1720 per family. That is an 11% increase. I wish I could increase my fees 11%. The is the absolute best I can do.

    Being a company I have advantages you an an individual can't match when getting rates. Like the ability to put my health package out to bid, unlike an individual that has to pay the walk-up price (I can always pay the walk-up price).

    Anyhoo.... Bottomline is an 11% increase is a big hit to any company.


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  14. #11
    As a general rule, business insurance policies are more expensive than individual policies because the insurance company has to accept any future employees that you hire. A healthy individual can get a lesser expensive policy than a small to midsize group can

  15. #12
    What you are saying was true before 2014, but that was one of the major changes in Obamacare. The insurance companies now have to accept everyone and charge the same rate. A healthy individual now pays the same rate as someone with a poor medical history.

    Tap'n on my Galaxy G3

  16. #13
    Could be. I havnt really even looked into it


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