Health care costs to rise 9 percent in 2011

[cooker263]

Health care costs to rise 9% in 2011 with higher deductibles

Julianne Pepitone, staff reporter, On Monday June 14, 2010, 2:17 pm EDT
Companies that offer health plans will see their costs jump 9% in 2011, and most employees will pay higher deductibles as a result, said a report released Monday.

Employers will try to offset cost increases by requiring their workers to shell out more cash before coverage kicks in, according to a survey of 700 employers by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

By 2011, more than 50% of workers will have a deductible of $400 or more. In 2008, only 25% of companies said they had plans with deductibles that high.

In 2010, 13% of companies said their primary plans were those with high-deductibles -- generally considered to be $1,100 or more. That's more than double the level of 6% in 2008.

The report's authors said predicting 2011 costs was "especially challenging," since the past year has brought major changes not only to the health care industry but to the economy as a whole.


Read the rest here (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Health-care-costs-to-rise-9-cnnm-2499249126.html;_ylt=AnQaCJCWSISpcnu0VUKDrVK7YWsA; _ylu=X3oDMTE1bTQybGM3BHBvcwM3BHNlYwN0b3BTdG9yaWVzB HNsawNoZWFsdGhjYXJlY28-?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=5&asset=&ccode=).


Not much new here, but is the whole purpose of the health bill to break our backs to implement a complete government-operated system?? Just like with education, we know that at some point the 10 percent annual increases in costs can't last.

I really thought Pelosi carrying the gavel a few months ago meant sunshine and rainbows:(

[Zippyjuan]

The health care bill does not kick in until about 2014 but even at that it does little (as far as I have seen) on controlling the cost side of things. The purpose of the bill was not to create a complete government operated system- although some opponents tired to portray it that way.

Higher deductables are one way to try to control costs- the more that patients are responsible for the costs of their care, the less likely they are to want to have every possible thing done for them which is what they demand when they are divorced from the costs. That is why higher deductable insurance policies usually cost less too. Companies wanting to control the cost of their insurance programs for their empoyees have an incentive to go with higher deductable plans for the same reason- it keeps their costs lower.

[awake]

The 9 percent figure is what they can manage to fudge out and still look credible... I would say it is much higher and a true reflection of actual effects of inflation. Fresh government dollars enter certain areas of the economy first, health care would be one of them.