# My Obamacare bill is going from $380 to $550/month 1.1.17 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 5, 2016, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-obamacare-bill-is-going-from-380-to-550-month-1-1-17/770756 "2016-11-05T21:42:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-obamacare-bill-is-going-from-380-to-550-month-1-1-17/770756/21 "2016-11-07T03:39:13Z")
Health insurance for me and my daughter went from $440/mo to $550/mo to this year’s $660/month. Next year, it will increase to $905/mo and the plan I currently have is being cancelled and replaced with one with a deductible 3 times my current one. I can keep my plan if I like it? I can’t even keep the _Obamacare_ plan if I like it. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-obamacare-bill-is-going-from-380-to-550-month-1-1-17/770756/22 "2016-11-07T03:45:44Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > Rescission is where the insurance company could decide to demand a refund on bills it paid for your medical care b/c it decided it shouldn’t have paid them in the first place. What was happening is they’d see how much $$ they lost on a patient and then go back through the patients records to find a place where they could make it seem a patient lied about having a pre-existing condition, then use that to yoink their money back from the provider. This left the patients w/ hundred of thousands in unexpected bills suddenly and sometimes years later. But it was sure great for the company’s bottom line! Now that is illegal. > > But couldn’t you have almost the exact same problems w/ car insurance? I mean, you can opt out by not having a car and you can’t opt out of being corporeal, but aside from that these were the reasons people didn’t want to have to insure their cars. Now we realize how much better things are when everyone who has a car has insurance; when they don’t the consequences are grave and NO ONE wants to be in an accident w/ a person who doesn’t have car insurance. Ah. Okay, I’ve heard of that, just not the term. I don’t find the car insurance comparison to be compelling. There is an immediacy with cars that I don’t find with health insurance. I don’t have an issue with universally funded (ie something similar to social security) universal health care per se, but the ACA is, to me, thoroughly unjust, unworkable in the long term, and, I believe, going to be subject to or the opening for, the complete corruption of our national government, the longer it is in force. I happen to agree with the idea that I’ve seen here and there that the ACA was intended to not be good. That it was intended to force the US to move on to universal health care by being so intentionally horrible and by poisoning the well of free market health insurance (not that it was ever really that great) ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-obamacare-bill-is-going-from-380-to-550-month-1-1-17/770756/23 "2016-11-07T13:36:40Z")
Obamacare was a sop to the insurance companies. I didn’t much like it at the time, and I still think Medicare for All (with some changes to Medicare) is a better idea. Stop companies trying to make a profit on people’s health with their bullshit prior authorizations, “losing” or “not receiving” requests for prescriptions and documentation, and all the rest of their little games. Just stop. * * * ETA: One year, mid-1990s, my insurance premium increased by 100%. Single employee coverage had been free, since I worked for a Blue Cross. It was a touted benefit. And then it was gone and I was paying more for my premium than my parents were (government employees). * * * Related rant below: My employer just bought insurance from a new company, and my neurologist and pain management docs are not participating because this major insurance company is SO BAD TO WORK WITH. I’m looking at $6K out of pocket to continue treatment with the people who took me from unable to work to pretty normal. I’ve looked at the options on the exchange. If my employer will pay me the $400 they pay for my premium every month, I can get a decent plan on the exchange using their premium money and mine together. I doubt it’ll happen, though, but I’m going to ask. My company is self-insured and would save money by me going on the exchange. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-obamacare-bill-is-going-from-380-to-550-month-1-1-17/770756/24 "2016-11-07T15:53:12Z")
Astro, you say “My Obamacare bill is going from $380 to $550/month 1.1.17” Do you write your check out to “Obamacare”? No? Didn’t think so. Please consider directing your complaints at the proper target - at the insurance provider. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-obamacare-bill-is-going-from-380-to-550-month-1-1-17/770756/25 "2016-11-07T16:10:07Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > What do conservatives think would be happening if the ACA hadn’t been passed? What would health care costs and health insurance costs be in 2016 if there had never been an ACA? > > With or without ACA, health care costs and insurance costs are unsustainable and growing. I fail to see how you can blame this on the ACA. > > If the ACA hadn’t been passed, we would still be where we are now where health insurance is unaffordable. it isn’t like you could buy a high quality family policy for $300 in 2016 if the ACA never happened. I don’t believe this is true. I was paying $451 a month for my family of four in 2012, for a decent plan that had average copays and a $4,200 family deductible. For 2017, a similar plan from the same insurer would cost $1,886 a month, or more than four times as much (and for the same age participants - I subtracted five years from our ages). I cannot afford that much, so I will choose a much worse plan, but still pay $1,400 +/- a month. Yes, plans now have no maximum lifetime limit (we had a limit before, which I can’t recall), and cannot exclude people for pre-existing conditions (three out of four of us were rated at the lowest premium level, and one was rated one step higher before Obamacare). But premiums that rose four-fold in five years, and I’m not supposed to blame Obamacare? ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-obamacare-bill-is-going-from-380-to-550-month-1-1-17/770756/26 "2016-11-07T16:48:33Z")
I was paying $75 a month before the ACA. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-obamacare-bill-is-going-from-380-to-550-month-1-1-17/770756/27 "2016-11-07T17:11:32Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I was paying $75 a month before the ACA. For what? ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-obamacare-bill-is-going-from-380-to-550-month-1-1-17/770756/28 "2016-11-07T17:11:51Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > Obamacare was a sop to the insurance companies. I didn’t much like it at the time, and I still think Medicare for All (with some changes to Medicare) is a better idea. Stop companies trying to make a profit on people’s health with their bullshit prior authorizations, “losing” or “not receiving” requests for prescriptions and documentation, and all the rest of their little games. Just stop. The amount of profit insurance companies make is minuscule compared with outlay. You could take every cent of profit out of the equation and people would still spend within ten percent or less of what they’re having to pay now. Further, in many states insurance companies are losing money and that’s why they’re dropping out of exchanges and in others it’s why rates are going up so rapidly. Every doctor I’ve seen and who’s talked about it since Obamacare kicked in has been critical of Obamacare not the insurance companies, and it’s Obamacare that’s getting the blame for driving specialists to give up and quit. Obamacare is a crap program that Obama himself felt compelled to lie about in order to gain public support. It’s resulted in a new normal work week of 30 hours or so for millions of lower income workers in order to escape insurance requirements for their employers, for millions of people being forced to pay for insurance they can’t afford to use, and for specialists being driven out of business, which is going to lengthen wait times and result in fewer options and substandard care. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-obamacare-bill-is-going-from-380-to-550-month-1-1-17/770756/29 "2016-11-07T17:31:39Z")
For just this year, my 2016 high-deductible plan costs $943 a month, but the company has left my state. So, I’m down to two companies to choose from, and similar plans costs $1,243 from one company and $1,306 from the other. That’s $300 (32 percent) and $363 (38 percent) higher than this year, and the annual deductible and maximum out of pocket are both higher than in 2016. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-obamacare-bill-is-going-from-380-to-550-month-1-1-17/770756/30 "2016-11-07T18:30:14Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > For what? A good Anthem/Blue Cross plan, was a PPO I believe. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-obamacare-bill-is-going-from-380-to-550-month-1-1-17/770756/31 "2016-11-07T18:38:04Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > A good Anthem/Blue Cross plan, was a PPO I believe. Company subsidized? ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-obamacare-bill-is-going-from-380-to-550-month-1-1-17/770756/32 "2016-11-07T19:05:16Z")
Oh, man, now I’m ever more confused than before. Unlike my current insurance company, both of the ones I have to choose from have different tiers of provider networks. I know with the one I have to choose the “premier” level (the middle level of three) to include my GP and the hospital in my town. I’m not sure about the other insurance company, but I think I have to move up to their middle level, as well. What a friggin’ nightmare. The best plans, with insurance similar to what government employees get, would cost my family $3,000 a month. Oh, yeah, that’s affordable. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-obamacare-bill-is-going-from-380-to-550-month-1-1-17/770756/33 "2016-11-07T19:07:38Z")
The fundamental problem is that patients are relatively numerous, and doctors are relatively scarce. ACA subsidizes demand. It does nothing for supply. That does not fix the underlying problem. It does not matter how much Three-Card Monty you play with the bills, trying to shift the burden away from Obama’s supporters, and onto Obama’s opponents. Big-picture, long-term, ACA puts upward pressure on prices. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-obamacare-bill-is-going-from-380-to-550-month-1-1-17/770756/34 "2016-11-07T19:14:00Z")
Looks like my company sponsored HSA insurance is going up by 2.2% this year. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-obamacare-bill-is-going-from-380-to-550-month-1-1-17/770756/35 "2016-11-07T19:15:19Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > The fundamental problem is that patients are relatively numerous, and doctors are relatively scarce. Gosh. Market Forces, how do they work? Obviously by increasing demand for medical services. Which leads to increased supply over time to match the new demand. ---
**Author:** ![Macca26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Macca26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Macca26)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-obamacare-bill-is-going-from-380-to-550-month-1-1-17/770756/36 "2016-11-07T19:55:19Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Gosh. Market Forces, how do they work? > > Obviously by increasing demand for medical services. Which leads to increased supply over time to match the new demand. It takes years to get new doctors through the education system and out to the workforce. And if specialists really are quitting left and right, does that really sound very endearing to prospective students? “Pick the career nobody else wants to put up with!” What a sell. It’s my understanding that we’ve been in a nursing shortage for many years now. I’m sure all the stories about exploited nurses taking incredibly long shifts while understaffed has not helped drive prospective students in that direction, or the issue would be over by now. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-obamacare-bill-is-going-from-380-to-550-month-1-1-17/770756/37 "2016-11-07T19:59:44Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Gosh. Market Forces, how do they work? > > Obviously by increasing demand for medical services. Which leads to increased supply over time to match the new demand. There are way too many market distortions to suggest that market forces will act as they should. Start with who pays, who makes decisions, how insurance is structured and how it is nearly impossible to shop for medical care. If you really want market forces to be in play, we are going in the wrong direction. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-obamacare-bill-is-going-from-380-to-550-month-1-1-17/770756/38 "2016-11-07T20:42:21Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Company subsidized? No, it was a plan for self-employed people. Virginia. I had perfect health. ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-obamacare-bill-is-going-from-380-to-550-month-1-1-17/770756/39 "2016-11-08T19:52:05Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I’m sorry that is happening, however I wouldn’t lay all the blame on Obamacare. Health care and health insurance rates have been skyrocketing for years. > > [https://kaiserfamilyfoundation.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/slide20.png](https://kaiserfamilyfoundation.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/slide20.png) > > We need to reduce health care costs. However doing that requires passing reform that the pharma industry, AMA, hospital industry, medical device industry, etc. do not like so nothing is done about it. > > Obamacare just expanded coverage and changed some consumer protections without doing much of anything to reduce costs. Insurance companies suck Suck your money from your wallet…could congress and the sitting president “do” ACA instead of what they are getting now? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2016, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-obamacare-bill-is-going-from-380-to-550-month-1-1-17/770756/40 "2016-11-08T21:15:42Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > No, it was a plan for self-employed people. Virginia. I had perfect health. That price is so far away from any plan that I’ve ever heard of, that I don’t know what to think. Either you found some type of loophole, or you weren’t getting what you think you were. As an example, before ACA, I was paying $1,200/month for a plan that I had never made a claim on (I too, was self-employed). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-obamacare-bill-is-going-from-380-to-550-month-1-1-17/770756.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-obamacare-bill-is-going-from-380-to-550-month-1-1-17/770756.md?page=3)