This recently happened in Florida. The state of Florida put in price and coverage restrictions for property and casualty insurance in an attempt to bring down costs for homeowners after premiums went up due to so many hurricanes. But instead of getting cheaper insurance, residents are finding it hard to get insurance at all because so many insurance companies have decided to not sell new policies in Florida. It’s not because the insurance companies are greedy. It’s because they can’t remain financially sound paying for huge claims while collecting low premiums.

The same thing will happen if Obama gets his wish with health care reform.

And heaven forbid people in the health care industry make a good living. Doctors who spend at least eight years in college and at least three years in residency, working 80+ hours a week while paying off huge student loans . . . Why should they make a good living? The government should make them work for average pay like the rest of us who didn’t put in nearly the sacrifice.

Sorry for the sarcasm but people tend to complain about profits in the health care industry then turn around and willingly contribute to the lucrative entertainment industry without blinking an eye.

Our priorities are out of whack.

Group Plans Through Your Employer:

In Utah, you can’t be denied coverage under an employer’s group plan if you have maintained continuous coverage.

Premiums are based on the overall risk across the entire group. Typically, the larger the group, the lower the premiums.

Employers typically pay up to 70% of the actual premiums for health insurance. For example, if you are paying $400 per month in premiums for your family, your employer is probably paying $900 or more — for a total of $1400 per month.

Individual Plans:

Insurance companies can approve or deny coverage for individual plans at their discretion.

Premiums are set according to the policy holder’s risk and not averaged into any group, which typically results in higher rates.

Without an employer to contribute to your premiums, you are left holding the entire bill. It is not uncommon for individual policies for families to run $1500 to $2000 or more per month.

I bet that makes COBRA seem like a deal, doesn’t it?

Having been self-employed in the past, I had to come to terms with the fact that higher premiums for individual plans is a risk one must understand and accept before taking the self-employment plunge. It is one of the reasons I am no longer self-employed.

There are other options that may be more affordable, though. Some insurers offer Health Savings Account plans, with lower premiums. You contribute money into an interest-bearing account, out of which you pay your medical expenses. Such plans typically have high annual out-of-pocket limits, but once you hit the limit, everything is covered 100%. I actually have an HSA plan through my employer. You might want to look into it.

My wife also suggested that you contact the Disability Law Center to get coverage for your son expedited.

Maybe they do need to reform that system but how else are we suppose to pay for our own child till them?

I think the feds should start small by fixing their existing health programs. When they can sustain medicare and medicaid, then maybe they can think about creating a new program to compete with the insurance companies. I also think congress should be required to use whatever plan they come up with.

In the mean time they should lift restrictions that prevent more competition among insurance companies. They might also pass a law that prevents denial of coverage due to a pre-existing condition for people, like you, who had continuous coverage.

You say your high premiums for the Arizona option (AHCCCS I assume) meant less money for a “really good plan.” Are you talking about a plan for you and Dallas? Couldn’t you have got a decent plan for yourselves only and kept Tyler on AHCCCS? I also wonder why you moved to Utah when you had coverage in Arizona. Seems like a self employed software engineer wouldn’t need to relocate.

You’re right, I’m already paying for others’ health care through taxes. Plus I’m paying for my family’s health care (out-of-pocket because I have a high deductible plan) plus insurance premiums. I just don’t believe my taxes and/or premiums will go down under Obamacare. What I do see are skyrocketing premiums and taxes for most of us. The rich people will find ways to keep from shouldering the country’s tax bill which means Obama is going to have to collect from the middle class.

Having said that, I can understand your desire for a gvt. plan. If you have no insurance you’ve got nothing to loose. Better to have poor health care than none at all.

2 years ago we moved to Arizona. Right before we left for Arizona we had only our group plan and we were left with 20 percent of a Total skull reconstruction that left us OWING over 150 K.

Our group plan in Arizona had an option to pay a higher premium ( which we did) which meant less money in our pocket each month to get a really good plan. Also while in Arizona Tyler was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy thus granting us long term care for him which gives him insurance NOT based on mine and Dallas income. It did not cover Dallas and I.

After looking at options in Utah Tyler has a 8 year waiting list ( or longer) for long term care services. So we thought since we have been COVERED CONTINUALLY since the day he was born 4 years ago that we would be able to buy insurance and we have been denied. One look at his history will not allow us to be covered. Paying cobra premiums is 1200 a month which is more than our house payment and we have been left MASSIVELY indebt due to the SHORT time we were without a Government plan.

So would he still be alive with a goavernment plan, YES he would. Why do I know that? Because the federal government set up guidlines for pregnant women and their “fetus” and what lengths they will go to to save a child. 23 weeks seems to be the cutoff. AND he would be alive because he WAS on goevernment health care and he was able to get the services he needs.

Without health care for him NOW he does not get preventive care because I cannont afford out of pocket to pay a neurologist, pediatrcian, neurosurgeon, orthopedic doctor, opthamologist and a rehabalitation doctor OUT OF POCKET. Instead I will have to wait till something breaks and he needs life saving measures taken at the expense of other peopele that could have been prevented.

Health insurance companies won’t accept you for the same reason a homeowner with a multi-million dollar house would be rejected for insurance after it being severely damaged by fire or flood. For an insurance co. to accept you, they’d have to significantly raise premiums for everyone they insure to cover the costs.

This the the main problem with President Obama’s plan. He wants insurance companies to not deny coverage due to pre-existing conditions and to cap out-of-pocket expenses. The only way insurance companies can do this, without going broke, is to jack up premiums for everyone. A government plan will have to do the same thing. The other alternative would be to limit who gets coverage. This is where the “death panels” come in.

Government health plans in countries like Canada are causing their governments to go broke. Our government is already broke (over $11 trillion in debt) and we haven’t even started Obmama’s plan yet.

As nice as it may sound, there’s no way they can cut $900 Billion of waste out of the health insurance industry. Even if they could, I doubt it be enough to allow affordable premiums *and* unlimited health care for everyone. Think about it, the US government is the poster child for bureaucratic waste. If the insurance industry can’t cut waste the Federal Gvt. really can’t.

Just out of curiosity, how were you able to pay for all of Tyler’s treatments so far? I’m just afraid that if you had been under a government health plan, Tyler wouldn’t be alive today.