The Current State of Health Care Insurance

I recently saw a statistic that the average monthly cost of health insurance premiums are $421 for a single person and $1147 for a family. So annual costs are $5049 for the individual and $13,770 for the group. A significant amount of money. http://ehbs.kff.org/?page=charts&id=1&sn=6&p=1
You must pay every month, whether you need health care services or not. However, we all understand that a catastrophic illness could be a tremendous financial burden. So we continue to pay. And pay more. Monthly premiums continue to rise. As do deductibles.
An interesting phenomenon has occurred with many insurance plans this year. The co-payments that we are making for our healthcare now may exceed the cash payment price. So, in other words, if you showed up at your doctor’s office without health insurance, your price would be less than with health insurance. And this is not due to any discount. One case in point is North Carolina State Healthplan. The copayment for chiropractic services is now either $52 or $64; depending on enrolled plan. A Chiropractic Adjustment is $45. However, insurance patients get to pay the higher rate.
If affording this higher rate is beyond someone’s means, then they would be forced to avoid seeking treatment. This decreases productivity because individuals will either work ill, injured, or not work. However, they will still have to pay that pesky monthly $1147 for care they now cannot afford. What a great deal for the Insurance Companies! We pay in, they do not pay out.
According to Rick Unger with Forbes magazine, Insurers are posting record profits for the third year in a row. http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2011/05/15/high-deductible-health-... The trend now seems to be increasing deductibles and copays, so that subscribers will not use their benefits. And its working, people are not seeking healthcare as before…but again that pesky $1147. Every month.
If this doesn’t seem right to you, please contact your elected official. Contact your HR representative. Let the people in the position to do something know how you feel.