The Missus works in the title insurance industry, and it is through her coverage that I am insured. She worked for 10 years, until late 2014 for one Houston based firm (~12,000 employees) then for the first 11 months of this year has been with a larger firm in that industry, based in CA, with 22,000 employees.
I assume that firms with that many employees are getting the best rates for their employee coverage, because with pools that large, insurers can more accurately predict their costs. That is my assumption, based on being covered as an adult under a variety of plans over the last 30 years, mostly from my own employment.
In the last 2 years there have been significant increases in monthly premiums, and absurdly large increases in deductibles. So many pharmaceutical categories that were formerly covered are either only slightly defrayed, or not at all. One monthly prescription I was taking went from $0 copay to $487/month at the beginning of this year, which was the full retail price with no contribution from the insurance plan.
I don’t have to be an insurance industry insider to see what this is about. Obamacare’s genius was the difference between what it really was and what it could be portrayed as for political support and acceptance (which it achieved by the skin of its teeth.) The massive amounts of subsidies needed to expand coverage to the formerly uninsured are effectively being accomplished though tax subsidies and a re-shaping of traditional coverage, which through the labyrinth process of Obamacare is resulting in these shocking changes in total expenses. I speak with a lot of older employees who are not yet on Medicare, and they are all seeing the same complex pattern of changes, which uniformly results in much higher total health insurance expenses (premiums and out of pocket costs.)
It’s to the point where I think that Obamacare’s architects cynically designed in this result, to generate frustration that will ultimately build a plurality political consensus for single payer.
From 0 to $487 a month on one prescription! Wow!
I agree that the big companies must get the best rates, but they must also be contributing to the subsidies in some way, which I’m not up on.
If you’re in good health, you just have to hope you continue to be so, until you reach age 65 and qualify for Medicare. Part A, for which retirees pay no premium, is enough to avoid the Obamacare penalty. Parts B and D cost a monthly premium to retirees. So in any event, hit age 65 and go on Medicare Part A will at least save you the Obamacare penalty.
I know the liberals wanted single-payer, but whether they designed Obamacare to fail in order to get there, or whether they really thought Obamacare was an improvement over the previous system, I don’t know.
I never underestimate the arrogance of unqualified liberals to think they can do something better than the despised private sector.
I assume that firms with that many employees are getting the best rates for their employee coverage, because with pools that large, insurers can more accurately predict their costs.
It is likely your wife's firm is self insured. I saw a report that said close to 90% of firms over 5K employees go that route. They don't have to meet all the requirements of ACA, just some of them.