35% increase in Health Care Premiums

Just found out my family's MVP Health Care Premiums are increasing by 35%. WTF. If this is across the Nation cuz of Obama care, it will put a heavy burden on the Nation. Even before Obamacare, the Goverments, local, State, Feds have been struggling to pay health premiums, Many local govs have been going broke because of healthcare/retirement costs. Now with a 35% increase it will be a kick in the gut. Taxes will be going up substantailly Homies!

In our small company, insurance premiums went up 35% two years ago, and 21% last year.  With the business environment being so tough over that period, we had little choice - either layoff staff - or raise the our deductibles sky high. Deductibles for certain meds went from $20 to $180 over that period. And the deductible for overnight stays ... lets just say ... if you can possibly wait until morning to go to the ER ... you do it. If they admit you at midnight, it's going to be a ugly. Not a great position to be in as a patient or a company.

Wow. That's incredible Harv. That's a 63.35% increase in healthcare premiums. $10 + 35% = $13.50 +21% = $16.335. Dat's crazy. Now, on top of that, there'll likely be another large increase in premiums!?

Are you saying the premiums went up 63.35% AND the deductibles also went sky high? Not faulting your company, just curious.

There's some smaller local govs here that are at the point where the majority of their budget is needed just for healthcare and retirement costs. A recipe for disaster. Now their health care cost are gonna soar again?

There's some very ridiculous goverment retirement plans here including the State's. 20 - 25 years gets one full retirement. Hammer down on the overtime the last years of employment and you get a retirement check that equals  your working salary. They could be collecting a full salaried retirement for 40-50 years! Benefits can be very lucrative too. Some examples include fully paid with low deductables. The Teachers, if the stock market takes a downturn, the taxpayers must make up the difference in their retirement fund. Don't know many in the private sector who get that.

There's over 100,000 ny gov employees earning over $100,000 per anum. That's WAY over 10 billion dollars per year PLUS their healthcare and retirement costs. Good chance they can retire after 20-25 years at close to full pay and little health care contributions from the retiree for the rest of their lives. Insanity.

This is gonna grenade.

Europe's making real moves to reign in their debt. We're not. They'll make it so European countries can't have a debt larger than 60% of their GDP. America already blows that right out of the water. Our National debt is already at 100% of our GDP and it's climbing fast with the GDP about to nosedive.

This fall, the Federal Reserve "WAS" going to buy between 500 billion and 1 trillion dollars of new US debt. Where does the Federal Reserve get that kinda money.....print it? That is not without consequences.

Snowballs wrote

Are you saying the premiums went up 63.35% AND the deductibles also went sky high?

I wasn't meaning to imply that, although I can see how you got that from what I said.  Those increases were presented to us to keep the plan we had. We "chose" to raise the deductibles that high to keep the payments where they were. Like I said the only other option was an additional layoff.

It was pretty demoralizing. First a layoff, then reduced pay followed by tons of overtime and huge jumps in health deductibles. Hard to keep people smiling.