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So sorry. Your local and state tax dollars and your vote at work. My suggestion: Vote for Texas to comply and to enforce more evenly, or move to a state that does. In the meantime, buck up and shell out the coinage. It's a Texas problem - big state, big problems.
So why did New Hampshire's policies have such a huge increase in premiums? DC? South Carolina? Those aren't particularly big states.
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There were double-digit increases in 10 states plus the District of Columbia (Alaska, the District of Columbia, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and West Virginia).
An analysis of the data by The New York Times suggests that although consumers will often be able to find new health plans with prices comparable to those they now pay, the situation varies greatly from state to state and even among counties in the same state.
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But the lower premium means that consumers will have to pay a much larger annual deductible, $4,000, rather than $2,000.
Let's get one thing straight right now - Premiums are not the only out of pocket expense for the insured. People can be lulled into a false sense of security when their premiums stay the same...till they realize that - WOW - deductibles come straight out of their pocket as well!
But thanks ever so for your tough talk. Because you've been so strident with me, I guess I'll pay the premiums - otherwise I was thinking about just, well...NOT. You really talked some sense into me though!
You do know that the number of uninsured in Texas includes illegal aliens, right? And that we have a huge Hispanic population - legal AND illegal? And that the Hispanic culture is pretty adamantly "anti-insurance" culturally? And that the Texas-Mexico border makes up 1,254 miles of the 1,900-mile-long U.S.-Mexico border? And that NATIONWIDE, 45 percent of foreign born residents are uninsured?
Yes facts are sometimes pesky little things, and if you are going to quote them you might check the source they come from. I don't think that "Newsmax.com" serves as a very reliable fact source except perhaps for some very loyal Fox News audiences. Please read: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/11/bu...anted=all&_r=0
Of the over 6.3 million calculated uninsured in Texas only 1.2 million are illegal. You are correct in one thing, Hispanics are much more likely to forgo insurance, primarily because they are lower income earners and have jobs that do not provide insurance to it's workers which in turn effects their culture. Also because Texas has more companies not providing insurance than any other state in the country. So, as you would imagine encouraging those who can now afford to purchase insurance should be paramount. Instead, Texas is in hot pursuit of seeing to it that these people never get insurance and are actively trying to remove the insurance mandate from their state (which is really going to help the insured with their rates there) Not to even mention Medicaid. So if you seek fact, here are some real facts.
Yes facts are sometimes pesky little things, and if you are going to quote them you might check the source they come from. I don't think that "Newsmax.com" serves as a very reliable fact source except perhaps for some very loyal Fox News audiences. Please read: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/11/bu...anted=all&_r=0
Can you tell me what facts I had wrong, rather than trying to undermine one source I used? What specifically did I say that was in error?
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Of the over 6.3 million calculated uninsured in Texas only 1.2 million are illegal.
And just to clarify, 38 percent of the population in Texas is Hispanic (compared to 18 percent nationwide). There are nearly ten million Hispanics living in Texas.
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You are correct in one thing, Hispanics are much more likely to forgo insurance, primarily because they are lower income earners and have jobs that do not provide insurance to it's workers which in turn effects their culture.
Well, actually I was correct pretty much across the board, whether you approved of one of my sources or not. Once again, what specifically did I say that was incorrect?
But let's get on to that "Hispanic culture" issue.
You state these as the reasons the rate of insurance coverage by Hispanics in Texas is at an abysmal rate (legal - 25 percent, illegal 49 percent nationwide, about 38 percent average in Texas): FastStats - Health of Hispanic or Latino Population
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because they are lower income earners and have jobs that do not provide insurance to it's workers which in turn effects their culture.
Over half of the foreign born residents of the US are Hispanic. About 1/3 of the Hispanics living in Texas are foreign born. 88 percent of Hispanics in Texas are from Mexico. Sixty percent of those who are foreign born in Texas are uninsured, while only 25 percent of native born Hispanics are uninsured in Texas. Higher share of Hispanic immigrants than U.S.-born lack health insurance | Pew Research Center
Aside note - 76 percent of Hispanic households in Texas do not speak English at home. The ACA marketplace has done an abysmal job with the Spanish language segment of it's website.
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Missteps like the troubled rollout of a Spanish-language marketplace website and a lack of bilingual health care navigators have muddled efforts to educate and enroll Hispanics — the largest and youngest minority group in the U.S., and the most likely to be uninsured. More than a third of Hispanics in Texas — about 3.5 million — are uninsured, accounting for 56 percent of the state’s uninsured population.
Now this is important because of the culture from Mexico regarding health insurance. Private health insurance in Mexico is a luxury of the wealthy and some middle class - those of the lower economic classes generally do not carry private health insurance. There has only been a rudimentary form of preventive care "insurance" for the less fortunate in Mexico since 2004 and like I said, this basically covers vaccinations and some preventive care - it's not a comprehensive health care policy. Healthcare and Education in Mexico | InterNations.org
Most immigrants from Mexico to Texas were already poor (and basically uninsured) when they lived in Mexico. And illegal immigrants do not qualify for ACA coverage, which further compounds the situation.
I say all this to point out that it's not the lack of employer-provided insurance that "effects" or creates their culture when it comes to health insurance - it's their culture IN GENERAL. Illegal immigrants who are working illegally in the US are probably not going to have employer-provided health insurance - that's correct. But that's not the main reason they don't have health care coverage.
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Also because Texas has more companies not providing insurance than any other state in the country.
Please provide a source. And I'd prefer to see the PERCENTAGE rather than simply the NUMBER of companies which don't provide insurance, since we both know that the state of Texas is very large and the economy is doing well so the sheer number of companies won't be as accurate as the percentage of companies.
So, as you would imagine encouraging those who can now afford to purchase insurance should be paramount.
Texas has a unique problem and it's called ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. Once again, the numbers of uninsured residents in Texas touted by most sources INCLUDES illegal immigrants - who do not qualify for ACA plans and generally cannot afford private plans. What would you recommend as a solution to that problem?
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Instead, Texas is in hot pursuit of seeing to it that these people never get insurance and are actively trying to remove the insurance mandate from their state (which is really going to help the insured with their rates there)
"These people" include around 2 million illegal immigrants, out of an overall state population of about 26 million. 6.2 million Texans are uninsured - but nearly 1/3 of those are ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. Talk about trying to herd cats!
Thanks. According to your source, half of the uninsured in Texas don't qualify for ACA subsidies or insurance plans due to either income level, existing employer benefits, or immigration status. Nearly three million more are eligible for Medicaid/CHIP and/or tax credits.
Well, thank you for all those interesting facts. However, it is all a moot point, as that was not what we originally pointed out as one of the reasons for Texas having high insurance rates. California has an equally high percentage of Hispanics, both legal and illegal. The percentages dropped considerably through the expansion of Medicaid and through California's efforts in getting people signed up. But there are still quite a number uninsured. You couple that with California's high cost of living, strict regulation, and you get high insurance rates.
No, I will talk numbers. You still have over 5 million insurable uninsured people in Texas which is almost 1/4 of your population. So no matter what kind of number's you try and throw out, this fact still remains true.
We were not talking about how much rates increased in states. Insurance companies had to go in blindly the first year to see how they faired and to experience the number of expensive claims filed (the sick coming into the system) We were talking about the current cost of insurance in states and comparing them and looking at the reasons which effect rates in general. They usually include several factors.
1. An excessive amount of uninsured population
2. States who have not expanded Medicaid
3. States with a very high cost of living
4. States with no regulations in premium controls
5. States with much higher standards of regulations like New York
6. States or counties with no competition (one or two providers)
Now wouldn't you agree that where you live that 4 of the above list apply to your area?
In all of the reading that I have just done about Texas, high insurance rates are nothing new to Texas.
The second article I posted was an older study done Pre-ACA, and the same points discussed here were also discussed in the study as contributing to hospitals charging more causing the insured to pay more. Which only reinforces my questioning how you had such a wonderful BCBS 80/20 plan (with dental) for only $287 ea. for people in their 50's.
As stated before, I lived in Florida at the time and when I was in my mid 50's (18 yr. ago) I paid over $500 for a HMO 80/20 plan, with no maternity, mental health, no dental care whatsoever, no wellness care and a limit of $1,500 a yr. for drugs. And it was also with BCBS. So yes, that still leaves me puzzled as to how you managed such a plan in Texas only a year ago no less ,with limited providers in your area and Texas's higher cost of insurance.
One of the big problems with insurance rates prior to ACA was the 5 tier system they had for insurance. Once you reached your 50's insurance rates really started to sore. So much so, as to make it unaffordable for people of modest means to afford (at a time when you will be needing medical care more) The ACA tried to lessen this cost increase in later years by developing only three tiers, and having the younger population who will likely not need coverage as much pay more, so when they get older they can still afford insurance.
I am active on another board that has to do with retirement and finances, and insurance was often discussed. Many of the conversations involved people in their 50's who wanted to retire, but due to their premiums being in excess of $1,500 to $2000 for a couple at their age, they could not see how they could do it. That was the normal price of a decent policy then. I had the cheapest one I could find that still would cover me in case of major medical expenses, but with a very limited network.
As far as Texas's high premiums, some of these factors are largely the fault of your government's actions or lack thereof. It is not your state or it's people that anyone has ill feeling for. It is just the opposite, we feel sorry for you and the way your government treats people. It is a business friendly state that is for sure, but when it comes to the middle class and the poor, Texas ranks 50 on the charts. I think most reasonable people would recognize that states who lean to much to the left are not always good as it causes too much financial stress on the state but states that lean too much to the right can border on being inhumane.
Last edited by modhatter; 01-12-2015 at 03:23 PM..
I have doubts. Yes, lots of postings, but ask enough questions it usually boils down to a high deduct or very limited policy or else with an employer.
I never claimed to have "great" insurance before. I actually had pretty crappy insurance before, with a very high deductible. I basically have the same crappy insurance now - with a much higher premium.
And we've had private insurance paid for directly out of our own pockets at 100 percent for the past five years.
^^^
THat's the 1%ers of healthcare, that constantly ***** and moan about how hard they have it , yet everyone else would give their right arm for that policy.
Imagine how much they'll ***** under single payer, when they are getting exactly the same insurance everyone else gets and have to pay higher tax amount for it.
I never claimed to have "great" insurance before. I actually had pretty crappy insurance before, with a very high deductible. I basically have the same crappy insurance now - with a much higher premium.
And we've had private insurance paid for directly out of our own pockets at 100 percent for the past five years.
You know, what you are really seeing is the true cost of health insurance.
And your state is doing nothing to help. In fact, they are an impediment. But I guess they'll keep on with their stupidity until they run out of money and are forced to look at alternatives. Which might be soon given the way oil prices are dropping like a rock. .
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