In article , "Mr.
Luddite" says...

This is great. If you watch, make sure you pay attention to the
captions:

http://gawker.com/this-three-minute-...ood-1309506149

Well done ad. Hits some universal themes.
Kindness, selflessness, memories.
Here's another way that works.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_HjTNh65iE

The Thai ad must have been made before 2001.
Since 2001 Thailand has had universal health care covering virtually
everybody. So that big bill for the patient is impossible.
Maybe it was made to depict America pre-ACA.

"Boating All Out" wrote in message
...

In article , "Mr.
Luddite" says...

This is great. If you watch, make sure you pay attention to the
captions:

http://gawker.com/this-three-minute-...ood-1309506149

Well done ad. Hits some universal themes.
Kindness, selflessness, memories.
Here's another way that works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_HjTNh65iE

------------------------------
That's funny right there!

In article ,
says...


I am going to be on the bleeding edge of this because IBM chucked us
into exchanges.

Florida isn't exactly good place to be with this.
Not sure of all the details, but I've seen "things" on the internet.
Your governor putting up roadblocks to exchange enrollment doesn't help.
A Richard suggested, this isn't set up well for higher income folks.
But that's really only if they choose the type of "golden" plans which
do what you don't like - remove out-of-pocket costs.
I expect the premiums on those type plans will subsidize "lesser" plans.
Many of the issues people whine about should and could be addressed if
the degenerate Congress wasn't...degenerate.
Good luck to you.
You've got an absolutely great head start - Medicare.
So you're only talking about a supplemental.
You can commiserate with Mr. Krause about the big evil corporation
stripping your company benefits.

On 9/16/13 4:31 PM, Boating All Out wrote:
In article ,
says...


I am going to be on the bleeding edge of this because IBM chucked us
into exchanges.

Florida isn't exactly good place to be with this.
Not sure of all the details, but I've seen "things" on the internet.
Your governor putting up roadblocks to exchange enrollment doesn't help.
A Richard suggested, this isn't set up well for higher income folks.
But that's really only if they choose the type of "golden" plans which
do what you don't like - remove out-of-pocket costs.
I expect the premiums on those type plans will subsidize "lesser" plans.
Many of the issues people whine about should and could be addressed if
the degenerate Congress wasn't...degenerate.
Good luck to you.
You've got an absolutely great head start - Medicare.
So you're only talking about a supplemental.
You can commiserate with Mr. Krause about the big evil corporation
stripping your company benefits.


Awwwww. My health plan benefits aren't changing, nor is my premium going
up, though I do plan to switch to Medicare and a Supplemental at my next
birthday. It's not easy to figure out which Supplementals provide the
widest and deepest coverage. My monthly health care premiums will be
going...down.

On 9/16/13 4:51 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 16 Sep 2013 16:37:20 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:

On 9/16/13 4:31 PM, Boating All Out wrote:
In article ,
says...


I am going to be on the bleeding edge of this because IBM chucked us
into exchanges.

Florida isn't exactly good place to be with this.
Not sure of all the details, but I've seen "things" on the internet.
Your governor putting up roadblocks to exchange enrollment doesn't help.
A Richard suggested, this isn't set up well for higher income folks.
But that's really only if they choose the type of "golden" plans which
do what you don't like - remove out-of-pocket costs.
I expect the premiums on those type plans will subsidize "lesser" plans.
Many of the issues people whine about should and could be addressed if
the degenerate Congress wasn't...degenerate.
Good luck to you.
You've got an absolutely great head start - Medicare.
So you're only talking about a supplemental.
You can commiserate with Mr. Krause about the big evil corporation
stripping your company benefits.


Awwwww. My health plan benefits aren't changing, nor is my premium going
up, though I do plan to switch to Medicare and a Supplemental at my next
birthday. It's not easy to figure out which Supplementals provide the
widest and deepest coverage. My monthly health care premiums will be
going...down.

Are you on your wife's policy?


Nope.

On 9/16/13 4:43 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 16 Sep 2013 16:25:45 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:

On 9/16/13 3:54 PM, wrote:

I am going to be on the bleeding edge of this because IBM chucked us
into exchanges.


Nobody at IBM to negotiate your retirement bennies when you left, eh?
Well, there's no strength in individualism.

I suppose you should talk to my FIL. The UAW threw him from the train
a while ago.



Yeah, it's really too bad the union movement has been shrinking and that
many workers no longer have the sort of representation they need to
protect themselves from large corporate employers. Workers are out there
on their own, no more than serfs, and without a safety net. But, hell,
this is a corporation uber alles world, and nothing matters more than
huge corporate profits.

On 9/16/2013 10:25 AM, wrote:
On Mon, 16 Sep 2013 07:54:57 -0500, Boating All Out
wrote:

The Thai ad must have been made before 2001.
Since 2001 Thailand has had universal health care covering virtually
everybody. So that big bill for the patient is impossible.
Maybe it was made to depict America pre-ACA.



Why does anyone think ACA is going to eliminate big medical bills?

To start with the insurance itself may cost up to $12,000 a year and
there are still co-pays and things that are not covered.


I'm already seeing premium increases, 19.4% last year, 21% this year.
the previous three years were about 7.8%.
I complained, I received this response.
Increases in premiums imposed for our individual policies can occur for
two reasons:



1) The total experience for all policyholder’s is such that
the claims costs being incurred under the policy exceeds, or threatens
to exceed, current premiums;

2) Because of certain changes in the individual
policyholder’s circumstances.



This structure provides Florida Blue important flexibility in today’s
rapidly changing health care environment and better enables us to
achieve our strategic objective of transforming to a health solutions
company. As a not-for-profit MIHC, owned by Florida Blue’s
policyholders, its mission will be consistent with Florida Blue’s
mission of helping people and communities achieve better health by
increasing access to health care, bolstering affordability, and ensuring
the delivery of quality care throughout Florida’s communities.

The prices may look cheap, but this plan has a $10,000 deductible.

The Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) approved a premium increase in
2012 of 10.7 percent with a rate cap of 19 percent and the filing number
for this is FLR 12-02231.


The following is the breakdown of the 2012 premium increase effective
June 1, 2012
· $438.00 per month ($876.00 every two months) from June 1, 2011
through May 31, 2012

· +6.4 percent due to aging

· +8.9 percent due to area factor adjustment (hospital and
provider contracting changes, etc.)

· +13.8 percent annual rate increase for the product

· -9.2 percent rate restructure transition

· +19.4 percent total rate increase for the above items brought
the premium to $523.00 per month ($1,046.00 every two months).



Additionally, the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) approved a
premium increase in 2013 of 14.7 percent with a rate cap of 19 percent
and the filing number for this is FLR 13-04109.

The following is the breakdown of the 2013 premium increase effective
August 1, 2013:

· $523.00 per month ($1,046.00 every two months) from June 1,
2012 through July 31, 2013

· +5.3 percent due to aging

· +14.6 percent annual rate increase for the product

+21.0 percent total rate increase for the above items will bring
the premium to $633.00 per month ($1,266.00 every two months). This is
within the maximum capped amount allowed: a 19 percent cap and an
increase of 5.3 percent due to aging means that this contract’s rate is
not allowed to increase by more than 25.3 percent.

Now that's a Tear Jerker!

On 9/16/13 5:40 PM, amdx wrote:
On 9/16/2013 10:25 AM, wrote:
On Mon, 16 Sep 2013 07:54:57 -0500, Boating All Out
wrote:

The Thai ad must have been made before 2001.
Since 2001 Thailand has had universal health care covering virtually
everybody. So that big bill for the patient is impossible.
Maybe it was made to depict America pre-ACA.



Why does anyone think ACA is going to eliminate big medical bills?

To start with the insurance itself may cost up to $12,000 a year and
there are still co-pays and things that are not covered.


I'm already seeing premium increases, 19.4% last year, 21% this year.
the previous three years were about 7.8%.
I complained, I received this response.
Increases in premiums imposed for our individual policies can occur for
two reasons:



1) The total experience for all policyholder’s is such that
the claims costs being incurred under the policy exceeds, or threatens
to exceed, current premiums;

2) Because of certain changes in the individual
policyholder’s circumstances.



This structure provides Florida Blue important flexibility in today’s
rapidly changing health care environment and better enables us to
achieve our strategic objective of transforming to a health solutions
company. As a not-for-profit MIHC, owned by Florida Blue’s
policyholders, its mission will be consistent with Florida Blue’s
mission of helping people and communities achieve better health by
increasing access to health care, bolstering affordability, and ensuring
the delivery of quality care throughout Florida’s communities.

The prices may look cheap, but this plan has a $10,000 deductible.

The Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) approved a premium increase in
2012 of 10.7 percent with a rate cap of 19 percent and the filing number
for this is FLR 12-02231.


The following is the breakdown of the 2012 premium increase effective
June 1, 2012
· $438.00 per month ($876.00 every two months) from June 1, 2011
through May 31, 2012

· +6.4 percent due to aging

· +8.9 percent due to area factor adjustment (hospital and
provider contracting changes, etc.)

· +13.8 percent annual rate increase for the product

· -9.2 percent rate restructure transition

· +19.4 percent total rate increase for the above items brought
the premium to $523.00 per month ($1,046.00 every two months).



Additionally, the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) approved a
premium increase in 2013 of 14.7 percent with a rate cap of 19 percent
and the filing number for this is FLR 13-04109.

The following is the breakdown of the 2013 premium increase effective
August 1, 2013:

· $523.00 per month ($1,046.00 every two months) from June 1,
2012 through July 31, 2013

· +5.3 percent due to aging

· +14.6 percent annual rate increase for the product

+21.0 percent total rate increase for the above items will bring
the premium to $633.00 per month ($1,266.00 every two months). This is
within the maximum capped amount allowed: a 19 percent cap and an
increase of 5.3 percent due to aging means that this contract’s rate is
not allowed to increase by more than 25.3 percent.

Now that's a Tear Jerker!


You live in Florida, a state where the State Insurance Commission is
under the control of a crooked Republican governor whose hospital
company bilked the government out of hundreds of millions of dollars.

In article ,
says...

On Mon, 16 Sep 2013 15:31:55 -0500, Boating All Out
wrote:

You've got an absolutely great head start - Medicare.
So you're only talking about a supplemental.

Medicare sounds like a great thing, until you understand it only
covers 80% of your hospital cost. When hospital bills can easily go
$20,000-60,000 a day, 20% of that nut can be a number,


80% is a great head start. You'd have to be pretty ignorant to not know
that you need a supplemental.
It' blasted on TV every day.
Personally, I think Medicare should cover 100%.
Or the remainder past 80% after the recipient kicks in 10-15% of income.


The last time I was there they charged $40,000 for a half a day out
patient procedure and even with my "golden" plan, I paid $1,835 of
that. (just to the hospital)

There are not a lot of people who can write a check for close to two
grand.


Plenty do that every day. Car downstroke, big screen TV, new PC, new
furnace, etc, etc.
Your plan wasn't "golden" at all.
My +80 year-old folks on Medicare with a "gold" supplemental, that costs
them a total of about $4k a year, don't pay another dime.
Cancer treatment, joint replacements, rehab care, blah, blah.
Because they lived high and didn't plan that $4k hurts them.
But they don't complain about it. Just brag about how their health care
doesn't cost them a dime.
They're the ones who couldn't write a $2k check. Or a $500 check.

"F.O.A.D." wrote in message
m...

On 9/16/13 4:31 PM, Boating All Out wrote:
In article ,
says...


I am going to be on the bleeding edge of this because IBM chucked
us
into exchanges.

Florida isn't exactly good place to be with this.
Not sure of all the details, but I've seen "things" on the internet.
Your governor putting up roadblocks to exchange enrollment doesn't
help.
A Richard suggested, this isn't set up well for higher income folks.
But that's really only if they choose the type of "golden" plans
which
do what you don't like - remove out-of-pocket costs.
I expect the premiums on those type plans will subsidize "lesser"
plans.
Many of the issues people whine about should and could be addressed
if
the degenerate Congress wasn't...degenerate.
Good luck to you.
You've got an absolutely great head start - Medicare.
So you're only talking about a supplemental.
You can commiserate with Mr. Krause about the big evil corporation
stripping your company benefits.


Awwwww. My health plan benefits aren't changing, nor is my premium
going
up, though I do plan to switch to Medicare and a Supplemental at my
next
birthday. It's not easy to figure out which Supplementals provide the
widest and deepest coverage. My monthly health care premiums will be
going...down.

---------------------------

Don't bet on that. I'll bet you will find that Medicare with a
decent supplemental plan will be close to whatever you are paying now.
I've been talking to those slightly ahead of me in years (I turn 65
and am eligible for Medicare in another year). All have told me that
their monthly premium cost didn't change much.