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Health insurance premiums to jump 12-23% -- sure glad we "reformed" that industry

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Home » Discuss » Archives » General Discussion (1/22-2007 thru 12/14/2010)

nichomachus

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Thu May-27-10 01:18 PM
Original message

Health insurance premiums to jump 12-23% -- sure glad we "reformed" that industry

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-smallbiz-insurance-20100526,0,4004715.story

Small businesses in California are being hit this year with double-digit hikes in health insurance costs that could hurt the state's economic recovery as companies curtail plans for hiring and expansion to pay their insurance bills.

Five major insurers in California's small-business market are raising rates 12% to 23% for firms with fewer than 50 employees, according to a survey by The Times.

Similar increases are being felt by many small businesses across the nation, including those in Texas, Ohio and Florida � mainly the result of escalating costs for medical care and pharmaceuticals, insurers say.

In California, some small businesses say they are stunned by their latest insurance bills. Longtime customers of Blue Shield of California, for instance, are facing rate hikes as high as 76% after the insurer lost money on a handful of plans.

We've been punked!

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Oregone

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Thu May-27-10 01:19 PM
Response to Original message

1. "We've been punked!"

You wanted to be. Hope and change made your heart go a-flutter. People love being fooled, as it feels oh so good in the moment.

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nichomachus

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Thu May-27-10 01:22 PM
Response to Reply #1

2. I was using "we" figuratively

I pretty much always figured that what we're getting was what we'd get.

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Phoebe Loosinhouse

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Thu May-27-10 01:23 PM
Response to Original message

3. Literally COUNTLESS people pointed out that there were no cost control mechanisms

Of course, the centerpiece of the HCR won't be in place for a while - the exchanges which are supposed to bring in some competitiveness.

But, aside from that, we essentially awarded a "cost plus" contract to the insurers.

My opinion is because there were no cost controls implemented that we will be right back at the starting blocks of screaming for reform in a very few years. Maybe then we can finally have an honest debate about single payer and junk our "uniquely American" piece of crap system.

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aquart

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Thu May-27-10 01:24 PM
Response to Reply #3

5. The bill sucked and they made us praise it.

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aquart

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Thu May-27-10 01:23 PM
Response to Original message

4. 76%!!!!!

Small businesses were supposed to be protected and instead they are being destroyed. You know what this leads to? Illegal off the books employees with no social security payments and no insurance, no taxable income for the government. Genius.

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SoCalNative

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Thu May-27-10 01:27 PM
Response to Reply #4

6. No

it just leads to small businesses not offering health benefits to employees.

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aquart

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Thu May-27-10 03:10 PM
Response to Reply #6

17. I was speaking from experience, actually.

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Skittles

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Thu May-27-10 01:27 PM
Response to Original message

7. naw, it wasn't a scam

:rofl:

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Common Sense Party

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Thu May-27-10 01:30 PM
Response to Original message

8. How much did health care costs rise in the same period? Much less?

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xchrom

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Thu May-27-10 01:34 PM
Response to Original message

9. Of course - without a public option or ridiculous starts to

Legislative changes - and no real enforcer around - this is a matter of course.

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sinkingfeeling

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Thu May-27-10 01:38 PM
Response to Original message

10. And exactly when did the all of the provisions of the 'reform' go into effect? Is it 2014 yet?

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/23/health.care.timeline/index.html

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nichomachus

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Thu May-27-10 02:24 PM
Response to Reply #10

12. Exactly -- the long delay was to give them time to steal as much as they could first

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sinkingfeeling

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Thu May-27-10 02:42 PM
Response to Reply #12

16. Then take a look at the rate increases of the past decade.

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laughingliberal

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Thu May-27-10 03:20 PM
Response to Reply #16

19. We have. They doubled over 10 years. At this rate, they will double or worse over the next 10. nt

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sinkingfeeling

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Thu May-27-10 01:38 PM
Response to Original message

11. duplicate delete

Edited on Thu May-27-10 01:39 PM by sinkingfeeling

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Raineyb

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Thu May-27-10 02:28 PM
Response to Original message

13. Surprise! Surprise!

Okay I'm not really surprised. Actually I could have predicted this. It's the same thing with the credit card companies. Limit how fast or under what conditions they can up the rates but give them several months before it goes into effect and OMG! They jacked up rates and came up with a credit card with a 80%APR.

:grr:

I'm really tired of seeing this shit coming and having people tell me before the fact that I'm just a hater for not liking the bill as it's being passed.

Are we working on fixing it yet? Oh right, we've moved on to something else. Just as I predicted.

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bvar22

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Thu May-27-10 02:31 PM
Response to Original message

14. Thank GAWD it passed!!!!

I would be laughing if it wasn't sooo pathetic,
and oh soooo predictable.

The bad news is that it IS going to get worse.
NOW, the predatory Insurance Corporations have a MANDATED customer base.
They will NOT compete.
They will simply divide the herd, and go about the Sheep Shearing.

But REAL "CHANGE" is too hard,
so we will have to settle for faux change and phony victory parades.
Thank GAWD it passed.

"If we don't fight hard enough for the things we stand for,
at some point we have to recognize that we don't really stand for them."
--- Paul Wellstone

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laughingliberal

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Thu May-27-10 03:21 PM
Response to Reply #14

20. +1000 nt

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Jakes Progress

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Thu May-27-10 02:33 PM
Response to Original message

15. Where are the supporters and their cartoon charts?

When hosts of posters complained that the Health "Reform" Bill was a wet kiss for corporate interests, DU had the faithful posting all kinds of lists of wonderful things that this "victory" for the administration would do. Where are they now?

Any of them care to either admit they didn't know crap about what was happening? Any of them care to admit being fooled again?

Listen for the crickets.

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Starbucks Anarchist

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Thu May-27-10 03:16 PM
Response to Original message

18. You're mad at a law that hasn't fully taken effect yet?

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Jakes Progress

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Thu May-27-10 04:12 PM
Response to Reply #18

21. Read more carefully.

Mad at a sloppy and/or devious attempt to pass reform that purposefully did not go into effect until after the industry it was supposed to regulate could do this kind of shit. Mad that the people who championed this POS bill knew it was a phony attempt. Mad that they actually had the nerve to call it reform.

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