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P.S. Best I can figure out with my plan - since it's been closed for so long - is that the $10k a year per person shortfall is mostly the result of a lot of older patients left in the plan who need lots of expensive drugs. Like AIDS patients - MS patients - etc.. Even when they're over 65. Because AIDS and MS drugs are expensive and frequently not covered by a lot of Medicare Part D plans in whole - and even a part can run into 5 figures a year. Robyn
You'd better have kids with a lot of money. For example - I am considered a class 1 insured under my health care plan. If I were class 3 (sicker - like with heart disease or diabetes or AIDS or cancer) - I'd be paying well over $700/month. And that's with a $10k deductible and max $3k co-pay.
If you take a look at the states that still maintain high risk health plans - you'll see that the plans are very expensive - basically only affordable for upper middle class or upper class people.
And who's going to make up the shortfalls in these plans (and there are always shortfalls - even if the premiums seem really high)? In my plan - it is about $10k per member per year - and the cost is passed on to people who have regular health insurance policies through their insurance companies (much like losses on our state high risk property pool are passed on to other consumers who buy insurance from regular companies). In other states - the shortfalls are paid by taxpayers. In states like Florida - the biggest opponent of plans like this are outfits like the Chamber of Commerce. Because employers are already "up to here" with the costs of buying any kind of health insurance for their employees. It's hard enough to pay for their employees - much less subsidize a lot of sick people they don't employ. TANSTAAFL people. So who's going to pay for this? Robyn
We have standard rates "MHIP" for those who are not financially eligible for the state/fed subsidized rate "MHIP+"
For example, the standard rate for a 64 year old who chooses the High Deductible PPO is $397/mth (without the 6 month precondition "buydown".) The HDP has a $2,600 combined deductible for both medical and drugs.
I have several friends who are insured under one of the subsidized plan (MHIP+).
We have standard rates "MHIP" for those who are not financially eligible for the state/fed subsidized rate "MHIP+"
For example, the standard rate for a 64 year old who chooses the High Deductible PPO is $397/mth (without the 6 month precondition "buydown".) The HDP has a $2,600 combined deductible for both medical and drugs.
I have several friends who are insured under one of the subsidized plan (MHIP+).
Maryland's plan may be reasonable for people who participate in it. But it's a black hole in terms of costs (seems to have run almost a $100 million operating loss for fiscal year 2009). And - best I can figure out after a quick glance (I'm not planning to move to Maryland so I didn't do an exhaustive investigation) - the plan is financed with premium revenues - an assessment on hospitals (which of course is passed on to other patients) - some federal funds - and the rest is paid for by the taxpayers of Maryland:
FWIW - I don't think this profile is unusual at all in terms of state high risk plans. The last year my plan had a website - perhaps 3-4 years ago - it showed a $5 million loss on a pool of fewer than 1000 insureds.
I kind of despair of any solution to this problem until people in the US realize that as much as people pay in countries for "universal health care" (and they pay a lot in first world countries) - they get less access to expensive high tech stuff than we do. So we have to be willing - all of us - to pay more - or get less - or some of each - from any government run system. I will also note that there is an increasing trend in first world countries to allow citizens/residents to buy private insurance on top of the government plans. Even in Canada - there is an ever-expanding network of "gray market" private clinics - where you can skip wait lists if you pay for medical care out of pocket.
And my only personal wish is that no matter what the government does - that I will always have the option to pay for my own health care if the government says it won't pay for this - that or the other thing that my doctor recommends. Or - who knows - one day - instead of Canadians coming to the US for health care - people from the US will be going to Canada. Robyn
In Vermont, we have Catamount Health, a low-deductible Blue Cross plan that offers premium assistance for us low-income folks. I pay $60 a month for the best coverage I have had in years. For sure, we will be the first state to provide universal health insurance for everyone...I think the goal is 2013. Vermont also has income-sensitive property taxes. Since I stopped working, I will pay $800 this year instead of the $2700 I used to pay. I'm 60, had to stop working because of severe arthritis, and all I get is a small SSDI check. I won't be able to stay in the house forever, though...I have a mortgage and my check just covers the house. But there are some very good things about Vermont from a retirement perspective, if you can stand the winters!!
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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It is good to know that VT has some financial benefits (property tax and heatlhcare reductions for needy seniors).
It tops the lists of highest tax / CoL burden. I really enjoy visiting, but my best friend moved there and did not find it friendly enough to stay (tried it for only 5 yrs).
I'm glad you get a break, if you have lived there very long, you have paid dearly. If you haven't, you need to profusely thank those who have made this possible for you!!. I have a sneaking suspicion it is not sustainable in our coming era of aging.
Not sustainable at all. Middle income people ($50k income range) pay about 7% in state income tax to support this stuff. Might make sense for some people to live there - but not your average middle income worker. Robyn
It is good to know that VT has some financial benefits (property tax and heatlhcare reductions for needy seniors).
It tops the lists of highest tax / CoL burden. I really enjoy visiting, but my best friend moved there and did not find it friendly enough to stay (tried it for only 5 yrs).
I'm glad you get a break, if you have lived there very long, you have paid dearly. If you haven't, you need to profusely thank those who have made this possible for you!!. I have a sneaking suspicion it is not sustainable in our coming era of aging.
I believe I got what I paid for after 20 years in the Upper Valley. My son went to excellent schools, housing has always been affordable based on my income ($65k when I retired), I never have had to lock my doors, my neighbors have always been friendly and helpful, the air is clean, the scenery beautiful (fall foliage!) and there is very little traffic. I never had a problem finding work, and in my field (software) and before that medical, I earned a salary comparable to what I would have earned back on Long Island. My son went to college in Burlington and had multiple job offers in Vermont upon graduation. As far as COL, I never found it to be burdensome. DHMC, in NH, is 15 minutes away and is a great hospital. *But* I did pay dearly in suffering through winter! Until I receive Medicare, I need to stay here for the health insurance benefit. The property tax relief is helpful but will not matter once I rent again. The population is aging and I don't know what will happen down the road in Vermont, and though I dream of warmer winters, I really don't know that I would leave. I know there are many more affordable places for retirees that need to rent, but the idea of starting all over again, alone, in a new place, seems sometimes impossible....but that's another thread, isn't it?
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