My family's health insurance premiums were just raised to $694 a month for 2 adults and 2 kids. Our deductible was also raised to $4000 per person and $7200 for the family. When we got this plan 8 years ago, our premiums were $195 and the deductible was 2500/4000. Over those 8 years, I have paid a little over $30,000 in premiums. The insurance company has paid out a grand total of $732.54. For the first time, we met our deductible last year when my daughter had 2 ER visits due to seizures. Thankfully, they turned out to be only febrile seizures. We chose this plan because it had a low premium with a reasonable deductible. We don't have any health problems and don't go to the doctor very often, but wanted insurance in case of an accident or cancer or something major. That's not the plan we have anymore. We can no longer afford our health insurance.
When I received notice of the increase, I began to look for new insurance. Nothing I found was worth the bother of switching. I did learn something invaluable however. During one call, when the insurance agent learned of my daughter's seizures, the agent suddenly stopped trying to sell me something and started talking to me as a parent. She told me under no circumstances should I cancel my current policy. She told me I would have a very hard time getting new insurance because the seizures qualify as a pre-existing condition. In addition, if I did manage to get new insurance and anything happened to my daughter, the company would blame the seizures and not pay. I've concluded that for-profit insurance has no business being part of this country's health care.
After this premium increase, I will be paying $8328 a year. I would gladly pay $7500 a year in additional taxes if it meant the people of this country could get the health care they need through a single payer system. I have too many friends and family who put off going to the doctor because they can't afford it. This system is beyond broken, it is shattered. There is no hope of shoring it up as long as health insurance companies are in the equation.