Is the Health Insurance Industry Panicking?

Factual Questions
1

I own a small business. Health Insurance has been a part of what I offer my employees, and it has been pretty straight forward, until recently. Pennsylvania requires companies to give subscribers notice before rate increases. In the past, I’d get a notice maybe once a year, and rates would go up a bit.

This past year, rates have been climbing quicker. My business manager switched from Company A to Company B, and she has changed some of the details to make insurance remain affordable.

Now, we get a notification of possible rate increase every month “just in case”. This past month rates climbed forty percent.:eek:

Does the insurance industry know something about how the health care debate will resolve?

2

They are trying to maximize profits before gov’t competition or control forces them to cut rates to a smaller profit margin.

3

I’d say you’ve been lucky. I’m self-employed, and insurance rates have been climbing anywhere from 25% to 40% a year, every year, for me, long before Obama was in office or health care reform had been proposed. The policy that ran me $270/month 2 years ago is now $430/month. The only way around the increases that I can tell is to just change policies every few years (a strategy that only works for non-group-policies if you happen to be healthy).

4

Do you have some sort of facts to back this up, or is it purely YHO?

5

Thanks. I’m specifically looking for factual stuff.

6

It’s a given constant in the business world.

Companies are always trying to maximize profits.

It just so happens to be at a time “before gov’t control or competition”

So its not opinion. It a safe-assumption - just like the the assuption that the sun will rise tomorrow.

Other possibilities include:
They company is trying to lose customers because the board of directors discovered that Bentleys were much cheaper if you just buy a Chrysler 300 and stick a B over the chrysler logo.

They didn’t see the increased demand for Tamiflu coming and that extra $75 per insuree is bankrupting them.

Their CEO pulled a Letterman and they paid the hush money in untracable bills instead of a rubber check.

7

For what it matters: Blue Cross says in an LA Times report:

8

Basically, I’m wondering if the rapidly rising rates I’m seeing mean that the companies know how the health care debate currently ongoing will end.

9

I worked for the health insurance industry back when the Clintons first tried reform - believe me, they have had contingency plans drawn up for this for years. Regardless of how it shakes out they have a plan of action and the goal will be to maximize their profits, not our health.

10

They have educated guesses, like everyone else who is paying attention. Nobody knows for certain how all the health care bills are going to be reconciled or what else might happen. Meanwhile these companies are dealing with greater medical costs and not getting as much money from investments as they used to.

Health care reform is going to mean millions more people will have insurance. Regardless of the specifics, that’s probably going to mean a lot more money for health insurers.

11

OK, that is what I was afraid of.