Healthcare and Insurance - It's Not a Free Ride

[wajobu]

I am so sick of the Conservatives and Republicans complaining about any kind of rethink with health insurance and healthcare reform. They, of course, have no constructive alternatives, because they're often in bed with the insurance and drug company lobbies (not that the Democrats aren't either).

I do think that the approach to reform working its way through the House and Senate is the wrong approach, but the cost of health insurance is absolutely stifling--and getting ever worse. I think that the solution is simple...every citizen in the USA should have a limited major medical coverage package for hospitalization with a high deductible in direct proportion to one's Adjusted Gross Income...if you want extra coverage or some kind of supplement, buy it on the commercial market.

Anthem Blue Cross in CT is once again seeking 24 to 33% increases on premiums for the coming year. At the moment we have a $5,000 deductible (that we have increased each year to keep premiums manageable), which means that we pay for everything out of pocket unless we end up in the hospital and then Anthem re-prices every charge to reduce charges against the deductible ( prolonging our satisfying our deductible). We also have an Health Savings Account (HSA) that we fund every month to give us a hedge on the deductible. With the increase that Anthem is seeking our monthly insurance premium will once again surpass the cost of our housing.

We are fortunate to have health insurance, but if the economy doesn't improve and the health insurance costs continue to rise, we too will be uninsured.

The system is broken, and needs to be fixed, and the Republicans better shut-up, get constructive or get out of the way. They continue to use fear tactics to tell folks that government-based insurance is the villain...I think that there can be a government and regulated private industry solution developed.

I think that many folks out there that don't like the talk of reform just want free healthcare, but someone has to pay for it...nothing is free. I'm willing to pay for health insurance, I'm willing to pay more taxes to help fund a solution, but I'm sick of folks complaining about making a change and I'm even sicker of 16 to 40% insurance premium increases every year for less and less coverage (and we have done nothing, but decrease coverage, increase deductibles and watch our premiums continue to skyrocket). We need insurance regulation.

Government isn't always the villain...I think that the profit-based Insurance Industry is largely responsible for this mess.