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Covered California rates going up

July 28, 2015

Covered CaliforniaHealth premiums for Californians using Obamacare will rise by an average of 4 percent in 2016. [LA Times]

Premiums offered in Covered California, the state exchange, also increased by an average of 4 percent this year. Supporters of the system, however, say the 4 percent increase is good news, since rates could have gone up more.

Gerald Kominski, director of UCLA’s Center for Health Policy Research, said premiums for health coverage typically rose by more than 10 percent annually prior to Obamacare. Kominski also said 20 percent of Covered California customers are in line for a rate decrease in 2016.

“When is the last time any of us saw our premiums go down?” Kominski said. “Covered California continues to be a very successful negotiator.”

Currently, 1.3 million Californians buy individual policies through Covered California. About 30,000 of those customers will have rate hikes of more than 15 percent in the upcoming year if they do not change health plans.

Rates will rise by 7 percent in Northern California. Premiums will increase less than 2 percent in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Prices are historically higher in Northern California, where big health systems have market clout.

Statewide, the largest health insurers are Anthem Inc., Blue Shield of California and Kaiser. In 2016, Anthem Inc. premiums will increase by an average of 5.9 percent, Kaiser rates will go up by 5.2 percent and Blue Shield premiums will rise by 2.3 percent.

In a recent survey, 44 percent of Covered California customers said they found it difficult to pay their monthly premiums. Some people have also said they feel shortchanged in terms of the doctors they can see and the service they receive from Covered California or their insurer when health problems arise.


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These are Government numbers. The same government who told us for years (we used to call this “lied to our faces”) that things would be CHEAPER (average savings up to $2500 per family). I guess “up to” now includes negative numbers? So the average family now saves -$10,000+ annually?


Being government numbers, I do not trust them to be accurate. They may be in the ballpark, or they may just be purely massaged into what they need them to be (like the NASA climate data was). Either way, if they massaged them or fudged them and it’s STILL worse than what we were told (lied to about), then I can only imagine what the “real” numbers are going to be.


Idiots voting for idiots get idiotic things.


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“Idiots voting for idiots get idiotic things”.


Republicans prove that ALL the time.


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Really? Democrats voted for Obama care….


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Consider yourselves lucky the rates are only increasing 4%… Forget about the fact that everyone that shoved this mess down our throats said everyone’s rates would go down and the average family would save $2400 per year. BUAAAHAHAHAHAHA! suckers. I don’t know about any of you but I do not appreciate being lied to. The longer this law is in place the more people will be harmed by it. I had a plan that I liked and it was affordable, Of course I was not paying enough to help cover people that for whatever reason had no insurance. I guess Obama and Pelosi felt that was not fair. They have a very weird concept of fair if you ask me.


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The more I read stuff like this, the more I wish I had the lazy gene. I could sit my my butt, getting all kinds of “free” stuff. Why work hard? No, really; why work hard?


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Because it’s in our nature, but soon, all of us dinosaurs will be gone and then the whole system will collapse as in Greece


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That’s only 1/4 the story.


Add in the fact that a bronze plan equivalent has a $5,000 deductible and what they call co-insurance. That means you pay for the first $5,000 out of your pocket. Then, the plan says it will cover up to 60% after that–up to 60%–so let’s say 50%. The other 50% they call co-insurance which is in reality no insurance so you are responsible for that.


So let’s say you break a bone and the cost is $15,000. You pay the first 5. Then you pay 1/2 the next 10 so you end up paying 10 and your insurance pays 5. You pay 2/3. And the reality is you don’t have 10 so they put you into collections and you end up paying about 20 over 3 years.


That’s the real change. You still pay through the roof in premiums but you’re not getting 1/2 what you used to get.


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But the point is, by choosing a less costly insurance policy with high deductibles, you’ve gambled that you’re not going to break a leg. By all means, if you plan to break a leg, pay a bit more for a better policy, and transfer some of the cost for your medical care to the insurance company. But don’t blame them because you chose a lower cost policy, then needed care. You get what you pay for.


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pay a bit more for a better policy

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A bit more? You don’t understand insurance. There is no free lunch. Insurers aren’t dumb. They aren’t going to give you twice the coverage for a bit more premium. You don’t pay a bit more and get a lot more coverage. If you pay a bit more, you get a bit more. If you want a lot more coverage, you have to pay a lot more premium. It’s all the same. For example, the silver policy is only slightly better than the bronze. Bronze covers 60%, silver covers 70%. But silver will cost you an extra $300 a month. That’s an extra $7,000 a year for 10% more coverage. The good policy is the platinum and for that get ready to pay about $1,200 a month in premium. Is $14,000 a year in premium a bit more to you?


The gamble is only on how big of an injury/sickness you want to bet you won’t get. If it’s catastrophic injury or sickness obviously the expensive policy pays off. But a catastrophic injury is very unlikely so there’s about a 99% change buying the cheapest policy will be the best insurance. And if you buy the cheapest insurance and get a catastrophic injury or disease like cancer, the bill is going to be so high, if you survive it you might as well declare bankruptcy and start over anyway.


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Not a great analysis. Before the ACA, you had better coverage for less money. Just because you have a cheaper option vs the more expensive policies, that still is more expensive with less coverage, doesn’t make it cost effective or provide what the private market place did before.


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The Bronze Plan cost $1/month… you should have plenty leftover to pay your medical bills. Seriously, who would get the bronze plan?


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MajorityFan – ?? The Bronze Plan for a family of three DOES NOT cost $1. If you’re in the lower middle income (don’t qualify for a subsidy) and work hard to try to get ahead and NOT LIVE OFF THE gov’t then you’re going to have to pay $1,462.72 a month for a family of 3 JUST for the Bronze planwith a high deductible and crappy coverage. If you go to the silver you’re talking about $1,700 a month. That is a huge chunk out of the family monthly income for insurance when you still have to pay OUT OF POCKET EXPENSES before you ever meet the deductible. So, since we’re required BY LAW (which we have always had insurance anyway) to have insurance we could only afford the Bronze Plan with our monthly income. The only other way was to MAKE LESS MONEY so we would qualify for a subsidy…but not everyone WANTS a hand out for the goverment…and then that’s WHY my rates have gone UP….because although I did it the “right way” all these years and NOW I’m penalized and have to pay more to hand it out to people who are now forced to have it as well. I bet a lot of people who didn’t have medical insurance before ObamaCRAP are the same ones who spent their extra money on the latest cell phones, cable TV, tattoos, drugs fancy rims, etc….when they could have been making a premium payment. I’m good with everyone being required to have medical insurance – I’m not ok with the chaos ObamaCRAP has caused in the Medical Industry and the people who have done things the right way always seem to get taken advantage.


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Seriously now, have you shopped around and can you actually find any private insurance plan that’s better than bronze for what it costs? A reality check in needed. All medical insurance is outrageously expensive, and a large part of the reason is these are private companies making heaps of profits for shareholders, plus enough to run the corporate jet fleet and pay for luxurious offices. Their overhead is outrageous, and that, not Obama, is why you pay so much. How about admitting it: single payer would be cheaper, more effective, and totally eliminate the profiteering off families like yours?


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The Bronze Plan cost $1/month…

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You don’t understand insurance either. The bronze plan costs about $300 a month on average fair market value. If you have a bronze plan for $1 a month, that means you are a bum and someone else is paying your share. Sure, it’s easy when other people pay your way in life.


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“Sure, it’s easy when other people pay your way in life.” Guess that’s why you get to drive on the highways for free — somebody else is paying for them.


The subsidies are only needed because Obamacare was a deck of cards dealt entirely to the private profit-seeking insurance companies. Were it not for that silly scheme, we could all have single payer, at less cost to the nation, and with better health outcomes. Oh, but I guess you want to stand on your own two feet so badly being part of a single payer plan would hurt them.


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And of course, you would be paying your fair share under a single payer system right. I work hard, long hours, etc. I provide for my family as I should, I pay my taxes, I give to my Church but I do not want to pay for anyone else. Do well with the dollars I am paying, stop giving to other countries, illegals, etc and take care of own. If the government knew how to manage the revenues they get, and stop bloating the government we would not be in this mess. What Happen to Obama’s promise to go line-by-line in the budget in get rid of waste. He must of forgotten as he has bloated our debt more than all prior presidents. His IRS – corrupt, Veterans Administration – corrupt, EPA – corrupt, Justice Department – corrupt, etc. etc. etc.


Can anyone explain to me, PLEASE, this is serious, why we need to subsidize Planned Parenthood ($400 million dollars a year) when everyone is suppose to have health insurance and women can go to a Dr and get her annual checkup and pills based on her insurance. And why, in 2015 with all this access to birth control are we even talking about abortions with all the education, birth control, etc.. Please, explain this to me!


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It is an affordability issue. And why would you defend a plan that costs more than in the past with less coverage?


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Do what the globalist left does: Storm your “Representative’s” office en masse, and DEMAND an end to their marxist obama-care-less-about-you agenda. You will continue to be absolutely steamrolled by them until you do.

And put a stop to SB4.

Or accept it and stop whining.


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Yesterdays senate 256th? attempt to repeal obamacare failed, the attractive utility of your last choice considered.

Globalism there is an alternative


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Of course rates are not going to shoot up. Most good doctors will not accept covered California


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Still waiting for our $2500 annual savings….


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There is no doubt in my mind that we are setting the stage for socialized healthcare. After the individual’s cost for healthcare gets high enough, socialized healthcare will appear to be a savings. We can thank our insurance industry for their part in the fraud that inflates every cost in healthcare, a vicious circle within our present system. Socialized healthcare will also morph into a beast with time. Cleansing all fraud is our only hope for affordable healthcare.


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I agree 100%.


The architects of Obamacare–including the POTUS himself–knew exactly what would happen. Rates would go up, coverage would go down, many doctors wouldn’t take the state-by-state varying coverage…


So In marches a national socialized healthcare plan. President-in-Waiting Hillary cannot wait to take office so Hillarycare can begin. ]


We are so screwed.


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It seems nothing can make you happy. A broken medical system you can’t afford is bad. An insurance system to help pay your costs is even worse. And, godforbid, a socialized medical system with free service is the worst possible thing you can imagine. The right-wing mind is truly amazing. Sore winners all the way.


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People that I know that live in civilized nations around the world think that there is a deep mental disorder among most Americans that oppose a comprehensive health care system. Even conservatives feel this way.


At the end of World War II, one of the terms of surrender ( imposed by us, the US ) for Germany and Japan was that they had to institute a national health care system.


The right wing ‘mind’ isn’t amazing ….it’s destructive, even self-destructive.


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Moving away from the history lesson, i’d like to entertain a pragmatic suggestion for today, know what we are paying for. For starters, forget all insurance coverages, the dotors and their patients. Go back to the risk is on you and you just pay the doc. His costs are limited to his services. As for the hospitals, they too will not have insurance so if you want to buy some sort of liability insurance, go right ahead as it is not a party to the cost of providing healthcare. The point is that we need to get the lawyers and insurance companies out of our lives. If their headquarters were all in the same city the place would like like Vegas, a town fund by losers.


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So what civilized nations do these people live in? Greece, Spain, Portugal, France? Yeah, their socialized ways of life are working out just fine, yet you want to head down the same path. How do you feel about the DMV or IRS? What was your last experience there like? That is where socialized medicine will take you.


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“An insurance system to help pay your costs is even worse. And, godforbid, a socialized medical system with free service is the worst possible thing you can imagine.”


Uhh, I’m confused about the free part. Are the doctors going to volunteer their time and hospitals will let everyone use their facility for free?


If you there healthcare is expensive now, wait until it’s free.


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there = think


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I disagree Jorge, we can’t blame the insurance company. The blame lies with the administration and Congress that allowed the insurance industry to remain as the engine within Obamacare. And that was allowed because of the tremendous financial clout of the insurance lobby. And so, the blame for the crap we’re living with now lies squarely with us the voter.

Insurance companies are investment groups that use premium money to make their shareholders and themselves more money. The quality or availability of healthcare benefits aren’t at the top of their priority list. Their biggest priority is this quarter’s financial statement and next quarter’s stockholder’s meeting. And no elected official that wants to survive the next election cycle dares to go against the grain.

Single payer health insurance, the sooner it arrives, the sooner we can move on to more pressing issues….like stopping people from bringing their friggin’ comfort dogs into restaurants.

Will government provided health insurance be a beast and inefficient? Yep! It’ll still beat what we’re living with now.


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“Will government provided health insurance be a beast and inefficient?” Probably not, if it’s run well. Medicare, a government provided health insurance system, is much more efficient and much more economically run than ANY private insurance company. Almost all the money actually goes towards medical care, not towards profits, jet fleets, ridiculous CEO compensation, and the like.


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You must be missing all the stories about Medicare fraud, untold millions wasted and paid to corrupt physicians who have figured out (like a lot of others) how to scam the government…they’re easy prey. One hand doesn’t know what the other is doing–lots of room to sneak in bogus billing and make off like a bandit.


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Try getting a doctor or hospital with your Medicare and not a Supplement Insurance Plans. Even Medicare patients have to buy a supplement. Obama allowed the insurance companies to help write Obamacare. I am still waiting for my $2500 savings, I want my insurance policy back, give me back my doctors. The winners here are Obama this is his legacy, the Obama administration with the assistance of Jonathan Gruber (a professor of economics at MIT and an architect of Massachusetts’ health care reform who advised the Clinton and Obama presidential campaigns on healthcare issues). wrote the ACA in collaboration with all the major players in the health care industry, the drug and insurance companies, the major hospital chains, and lobbyists representing the largest employers in the country. Thank you Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Chief Justice Roberts, David Axelrod, and Rahm Emanuel senior advisors and strong arms for the Obama adminsitration in 2008, and Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel (Rahm’s brother) who is the most radical mean spirited professional I have ever heard for helping to make sure this mess got passed! This is the Socialist Group we can thank for this mess.


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Well, I would have much rather kept my old plan IF it would have been at my old rate and gone up accordingly. BUT NOOOOO, with the stinkin’ ObamaCRAP my premiums went WAY UP so I was forced to switch to the covered CA plans (not subsidized) but with all of the Affordabel Care Act provisions. NOW, I pay more than what I was paying before ObamaCRAP I have a HIGHER deductible, I have less coverage (RX) and they proclaim “zero” dollars for my mammos and other annual visits. UMPH, I was WAAAAAAAY better off paying for those with my % of co-payment than the INCREASED MONTHLY PREMIUMS I’m paying now. Plus I lost doctors who won’t accept the Covered CA bronze plan…and again I am NOT subsidized but we couldn’t keep our individual plan b ecause it was going up to $1480 a month for 4 with a $1500 deductible. Now we have a $5000 deductible, crappy RX, lost Doctors and pay more for our visits. Even out Out of Pocket expense before Insurance with totally cover is MORE! So, Obama, will all the LIES that came out yours and other politicians mouths…you really think that your trustworthiness and your “historical reputation” will be that you did such a wonderfu thing! I DON’T thing SO!! ObamaCRAP STINKS!!!


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Maybe you needed some help in enrolling. My plan went down in cost over 65% and with better coverage. Great doctors still, since they didnt change at all with the plan.


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Love the spin. Good news the rates increased because the rates could have been much worse! Uh…..ok.


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Don’t forget to mention the additional millions that are now receiving Medi-cal.

We’re all paying for that, in addition to our own increased expenses, in many cases for less coverage or services.

We have been duped, but Nancy and the gang knew that.

More often than not, when something sounds too good to be true IT IS!

We haven’t seen or heard the worst yet, not by a long shot.


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