Dilemma over deductibles: Costs crippling middle class

"Physician Praveen Arla is witnessing a reversal of health care fortunes: Poor, long-uninsured patients are getting Medicaid through Obamacare and finally coming to his office for care. But middle-class workers are increasingly staying away.

"It's flip-flopped," says Arla, who helps his father run a family practice in Hillview, Ky. Patients with job-based plans, he says, will say: " 'My deductible is so high. I'm trying to come to the doctor as little as possible. … What is the minimum I can get done?' They're really worried about cost."


It's a deep and common concern across the USA, where employer plans cover 60% of working-age Americans, or about 150 million people. Coverage long considered the gold standard of health insurance now often requires workers to pay so much out-of-pocket that many feel they must skip doctor visits, put off medical procedures, avoid filling prescriptions and ration pills — much as the uninsured have done."
http://www.usatoday.com/longform/ne...e-to-pay-for-care-despite-insurance/19841235/

Woo-hoo. People on the dole get prompt health care at absolutely no cost. Working people avoid getting care because of the expense. What could be a better win/win for President Obama and the Affordable Healthcare Act?

 

I is quite apparent that Obama hates the middle class.

 

Gruber must me so proud, he, Obama and the rest of the loon left democrats managed to decimate the middle class even more than it was being eroded by other liberal loon programs. Yes, the stupidity of the American people is the fruit that Gruber described, when Americans vote for these insane programs that will financially destroy their own personal incomes. Now how (*)(*)(*)(*)ing stupid is that?

 

For sure Ubama figured with himself in office more people would need to see a doctor. All he had on mind is more money.

 

Hmm, that's weird. Wall street journal say the average deductible was $1200 in 2010. Which would mean they haven't gone up since obamacare came on the scene.
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2010/11/17/survey-average-health-insurance-deductible-is-now-1200/

NYT and the Kisser Foundation say the same thing.

 

Any Win for Obama is a loss for the American people. In fact, they are his nemesis.

 

It's getting tough to defend President Obama and Obamacare, isn't it?

"Family health plan premiums jumped 73 percent, to $16,029, while median family income increased by just 16 percent, according to the report. The study shows a similar discrepancy for individuals.

Employers also shifted more of the cost of coverage to their workers.

Employees' share of health plan premiums rose from $606 in 2003 to $1,170 for single coverage in 2013 -- a 93 percent increase, the study found.

At the same time, deductibles for single and family coverage more than doubled. And the percentage of workers in health plans that require deductibles swelled to 81 percent in 2013, from 52 percent in 2003."
http://consumer.healthday.com/publi...osts-outpace-family-income-report-694472.html

 

Nice bait-n-switch there. Blind people make good cops, don't they... maybe if 'deductible' was the only thing to worry about in this scheme to take over 1/6 of this nation's economy you'd have a point. But there's a little more to it. Isn't there.

The dishonesty required to be an Obama cheerleader keeps rising at an exponential rate. Somewhere along the line you're going to have to give it up.

 

Do you know what "average"?? Even though the deductible has gone up for most people - those who pay for insurance - the rise in average deductible has done down because those who pay nothing don't have deductibles. By averaging the free loaders in the massive increases for those who work it makes the system look good until you see that the workers - who the dems used to like - are getting screwed.

We are approaching the point where the producers will start to give up - as we see by the number of people who have left the work force..

 

Guessing you didn't bother to read the link in the OP. It specifically says that workers on employee plans average $1200 deductibles. Which numerous sources state were the average in 2010, before Obamacare.

 

Was essentially the same in 2012, again before Obamacare kicked in
http://kff.org/other/state-indicator/single-coverage/

And I already covered that deductibles have been essentially the same since at least 2010 in a previous post.

Dishonest data manipulation might make for a nice headline but that doesn't make it true.

 

I call bull(*)(*)(*)(*). $100 deductible? Sssuuurrreee it was.

 

If you'd read the links you would have seen that almost half the employer provided health insurance had no deductible. Mine didn't before I retired. So, I call bull(*)(*)(*)(*) on your post. Sssuuurrreee you read it. If your talking points memo doesn't cover it you're totally out of luck.

 

My current plan is zero deductible, zero co-pay, the annual premium is zero as is the coverage.

Last year's out-of-pocket was less than $300.

Screw ObombaCare.

If I get seriously sick I will screw the system by enrolling then, in a new state if needed, to f over the rules.

 

OK, I went back and re-read the links, including mine. I didn't see anything about half of the plans being $0 deductible, though I did see a chart saying that 40% still have deductibles below $1000.

I did also notice that even the links cited in the OP are careful to note that these are all decade long trends and not linked directly to ACA.

I've been in the job market for a lot of years and I've never personally seen or heard about a $0 deductible plan though employers until now. I have no doubt they existed, but I figured they were for congressmen and such. I personally have never had a plan with less than $1000 deductible and have had considerably higher at different times when that was all I could afford. Fortunately I am at the stage where a $1000 deductible is not a big issue to me. I do understand it can be a hardship for many people though.

 

My apologies. I run across so many people posting unsubstantiated bullpucky here I jumped to the conclusion that you were one. Research reveals $0 deductible plans were more common than I thought.

 

And 30,000,000 are left uninsured thanks to the great liar. If I remember, Obama promised to cover ALL.

- - - Updated - - -

If you like your HC plan, you can keep it...................if you like your doctor, you can keep him....................premiums will be reduced by $2500...........................everyone will be covered..................

 

I had my first child in 2010. Her birth cost my wife and I $100. We had our second child in 2013 and she cost us $2900. All thanks to Obama and his communist supporters. This country will survive Obama but there is no way it survives the rising tide of thieves who support his communist agenda.

 

Most of those 30 million would be covered if the states that refused the medicare expansion would get on board.

The plans eliminated were so poor as to be almost worthless with no real coverage and deductibles on the order of $10,000.

The doctor issue is from the insurance companies, not Obamacare.

And last but not least premiums could be reduced by up to $2500.

Get some new talking points. Those have been addressed over and over ad nauseum.

 

Wrong. 30,000,000 were left uninsured by design.

The plans were fine if they covered ER, prescriptions, and major medical which mine did. No need to lie.

Obama lied about getting to keep your doc. Look it up.

Another lie. He said they would be reduced.

No need to defend the great liar. It's out there for everyone to see.

 

Did you select a lower premium plan with a higher deductible? Did you just go with the first plan that looked good without shopping around? There are good, affordable plans out there if you compare. Don't try to navigate the website yourself, go to an agent (not a .gov navigator) and I think you will be surprised. I was.

 

Well, having looked into all of this quite extensively I can say for certain that someone here is lying, but I don't think it's the president.