Taking a walk on the Wednesday OPEN thread
Shot by Dan
“A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned how to walk forward.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
December 5, 2012 - 10:00 AM
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December 5, 2012 - 10:00 AM
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Thursday, June 20, 2013
THE ROANOKE TIMES
According to the RT this morning, our health insurance premiums went down under Obama. Funny since I don’t know anyone who had a decrease. My premiums went up under Obama.
Most groups got a rebate check due to the ACA, Henry. In that sense, yes the premiums went down. Also, small groups are now age and gender banded and for young healthy people that is a LARGE decrease. Not so much for older folks or women but still, I have seen much larger increases in coverage cost.
#1:
Henry, yes, it is funny that you have such a limited, homogenous set of acquaintances, and funnier that you nonetheless try to derive broad insights from your own anecdotal evidence. As for your premiums, has anyone you know gotten younger in the past year?
#1 Did you buy health insurance on your own, Henry?
Now we know who stole the 2012 election from the Republicans.
http://www.nationalmemo.com/poll-nearly-half-of-republicans-think-defunct-acorn-stole-2012-election/
Henry, tell me about a year your premiums did not go up. Under any president.
@5 Good stuff Ron. I especially liked this:
“…the 25 percent who professed an opinion on the non-existent “Panetta/Burns” plan, which PPP invented to test how many people would claim an opinion on a plan that they know nothing about.”
The sad thing is, these same folks will vote for someone they know nothing about.
The passing of great one — Dave Brubeck.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faJE92phKzI
Alfred,
When I read these studies, I have a clearer understanding why we elect the people we do.
Kristen,
Was there any other president that promised that rates would not go up?
Before obamacare was enacted our rates rose, most years, in the single didgets (mostly based on usage numbers), we have been told to expect increases of 20-50% due to obamacare alone (not including usage). Granted we will make changes (like charging employees more, as they currently pay less than 10%, and reducing benefits (we have a very generous plan); but ultimately our employees will see a drastic change as new regulations and “guidance” (as the bureaucrats like to call it) comes forth.
MIkeo, what I see is a guy looking to cut costs on the backs of his employees. Which is fine, but please stop blaming Obama. Rates have always, always gone up. If you and your provider feel like chalking it to ACA, have at it. But what was their excuse every other year?
Kristen,
Unfortunately, what you do not (or refuse) to see is a guy, who has been paying 100% for healthcare for his employees (and their families) for over 25 years and only in the last couple has he not been able to absorb the costs any longer without having to make the difficult decisions he has put off; ie… cut employees, mandate they pay, reduce benefits, etc… ( or of course we could go out of business and then everybody suffers)…
As I stated “every other year” the increases were based on usage issues and slight administration increases.
It is rather sad that you seem to believe the mantra of a “guy looking to cut costs on the backs of his employees” is the epitome of a businessperson.
We avoided this as long as we could (and we will continue to do that if we can); however with the information we are getting we can not continue on that path and still be able to make payroll.
(hint) If my healthcare costs rise 30% and I gave up 100% of my pay for 5 years I could still not absorb the increase of one year’s increase.
It is simple math, no matter how much I care for an individual employee, I would still need to look out for the entire company; so if I have to let some go to reduce costs (for the betterment of the whole) that is what I will need to do.
You may not understand it, but in a word… it sucks…
unfortunately, I can’t print money and pass the burden on to my great grandchildren.
As usual mikjeo seems to be buying his numbers from some faux news kool aid stand. Here are some real numbers from a highly respected health care research/survey group which clearly show that increases in health care costs have slowed significantly in the past four years and will continue to moderate going forward:
Cost Trends
Active Employees
Over the last fi ve years, we have witnessed the
longest period of stability in health care cost
increases since this survey began in 1995. Medical
cost trends have stabilized between 5% and 7%
since 2007 after plan design and contribution
changes (Figure 4). In 2011, costs rose 5.4%
compared with 6.0% in 2010 and are expected to
increase by 5.9% in 2012. To put this stabilization
in context, it is important to realize that without
changes to plan design and increases in employee
contributions, average cost trends would have been
8% in 2011 and anticipated to be only slightly lower
(7.4%) next year.
While increases in health care costs have leveled
off at historically low levels, they are nonetheless
growing at about twice the rate of the general CPI.
Equally important to note, health care cost trends
have outpaced wage growth for more than a decade.
In fact, wages have been rising between 2.0% and
3.5% annually for much of the last decade, dipping
to 1.5% over the last three years.1 The slower pace
of health care cost trends, then, does not diminish
the growing affordability challenge for active
employees, who see an increasing share of their
total rewards going to health care benefi ts.2
Employers anticipate total health care costs will
reach $11,664 per active employee in 2012, up
from $10,982 in 2011 — a 6.2% increase in total
costs over the period (Figure 5, page 8). The average
employer share of total costs also continues to
climb to unprecedented levels — $8,900 in 2012,
compared with $8,453 in 2011.
Meanwhile, employees, on average, paid 23.0% of
total premium costs in 2011 and are expected to pay
23.7% in 2012, as companies take steps to control
their costs. In paycheck deductions, this translated
into an average employee contribution of $2,529
to premiums in 2011, which is expected to rise to
$2,764 in 2012 — a 9.3% increase in one year.
Employers’ costs also continue to rise. On average,
they pay 34% more than they did fi ve years ago,
while employees contribute nearly 40% more (Figure
6, page 8). For some employees, the question of
affordability becomes even more evident as their
paycheck deductions for health care premiums rise
while their wage increases shrink in order to fund
higher health care costs.
1 Wage and salary increases are based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment Cost Index.
2 See Steven A. Nyce and Sylvester J. Schieber, “Treat Our Ills: Killing Our Prospects,” Towers Watson Research Paper. towerswatson.com/research/5216.
0%
-5%
5%
10%
15%
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012**
7.5
9.7
10.3
14.7
13.0
10.6
8.5 8.0
6.0 6.0
7.0
6.0
5.4 5.9
9.0
8.0 8.0 8.0
7.4
Health care trend
after plan and
contribution changes
Health care trend
before plan and
contribution changes
CPI-U
Figure 4. Health care cost increases have leveled off
Here is a link to the study which gives a great deal more detail on where we have come from annual premium increases of over 14% in the 2005/2006 period to increases in the 5% range now. And the analsis says that creation of the health care exchanges under the ACA will continue to moderate costs going forward.
http://www.towerswatson.com/assets/pdf/6556/Towers-Watson-NBGH-2012.pdf
“Unfortunately, what you do not (or refuse) to see is a guy, who has been paying 100% for healthcare for his employees (and their families) for over 25 years and only in the last couple has he not been able to absorb the costs any longer without having to make the difficult decisions he has put off; ie… cut employees, mandate they pay, reduce benefits, etc… ( or of course we could go out of business and then everybody suffers)”
mikeO, you forgot to add that IT’S ALL THE FAULT OF OBAMACARE!!!!!
Except that has nothing to do with it, and you know that, and you made NEVER admit that.
We need more signs like the push button walk sign. Some people today entering or leaving mall retailers dare you not to hit them while they are on their “smart phones”.
Was there any other President whose promises you held them too Mike O? No one can be certain what the full effects of the ACA will be until it kicks in. I KNOW many businesses will get a refund on premiums paid for last year and that IS a reduced premium. If your group’s care cost more, maybe not, but that is also not Obama’s fault.
It may shake out to leave us about the same or with slightly higher costs but getting everyone covered and everyone with “skin in the game” is a solid conservative value, until Obama supports it.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/09/rising-health-costs-undermine-obama-pledge-to-curb-trend/
Mikeo? Obama made you no such specific “promise”, first of all. He said that the expanded coverage would result in greater preventative care and less spending on health care in general, ergo lower costs. But he doesn’t have magic fiat control over the health insurance companies, and they can do whatever the heck they want with their premiums at any time, for any reason.
It has nothing to do with Obama, and everything to do with everyone trying to boost their bottom line. Which is capitalism and just dandy, but that’s all it is.
Really???
“Your” link validates that obama “did” say premiums would be reduced
I am becoming less and less surprised by uber-liberal revisionist history… Is “truth” even in the uber-liberal dictionary?
Dan, re: “obamacare… has nothing to do with it…”
My only response is that you are “wrong”…
I have “forgotten” more about these issues than you will ever know… (for the simple minded this means that the portion of knowledge I have forgotten is greater than that which Dan will ever understand on this issue).
mikeO, your premiums were increasing when Bush was president and when Obama was in the Senate. And Obama had nothing to do with that.
Sorry Mike O, you cannot claim that which you yourself have so handily proved to be false.
I will grant you that business and insurance companies are “blaming” the increases on Obamacare, but having done this renewal dance for 16 years, I know beyond doubt that rates have risen by huge 30+% in years when the TP/R was in charge of the White House and the Congress. It is not a political function. Just like Romney can “blame” his loss on Obama giving gifts and cheating, the truth is that is just a scapegoat.
Are you saying that your company, the one you are so knowledgeable about, did not get any rebate?
mikeo, if he actually does run a business, is using Obamacare as an excuse to screw his employees out of their benefits. He obviously feels the need to rationalize his shame by bringing cockamamie excuses to the blog. Sorry, mikeo, you’ll find no quarter here.