Comments on: Eighty Eight Thousand Is A Lot Of Money http://www.healthinsurancecolorado.net/blog1/2009/07/17/eighty-eight-thousand-is-a-lot-of-money/ Research and discussion of the Colorado health insurance industry and the healthcare crisis in America. Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:14:50 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: Don Levit http://www.healthinsurancecolorado.net/blog1/2009/07/17/eighty-eight-thousand-is-a-lot-of-money/comment-page-1/#comment-13858 Don Levit Sat, 18 Jul 2009 22:59:41 +0000 http://www.healthinsurancecolorado.net/blog1/?p=1224#comment-13858 Louise: The idea of subsidizing households far above the median income tells me that health insurance premiums are out of line for the median household. If annual group premiums are over $12,000 per year for a family, and the median household's income is under $51,000, then the premium is almost one-fourth of the household's income. And, that is before deductibles and out-of-pocket costs. Sounds like health insurance premiums is pretty close to what banks, at least in the past, used to qualify people for mortgages! Subsidizing premiums that are already too high in relation to income is not the way to get a handle on costs. Don Levit Louise:
The idea of subsidizing households far above the median income tells me that health insurance premiums are out of line for the median household.
If annual group premiums are over $12,000 per year for a family, and the median household’s income is under $51,000, then the premium is almost one-fourth of the household’s income.
And, that is before deductibles and out-of-pocket costs.
Sounds like health insurance premiums is pretty close to what banks, at least in the past, used to qualify people for mortgages!
Subsidizing premiums that are already too high in relation to income is not the way to get a handle on costs.
Don Levit

]]> By: Jim Sugden http://www.healthinsurancecolorado.net/blog1/2009/07/17/eighty-eight-thousand-is-a-lot-of-money/comment-page-1/#comment-13857 Jim Sugden Sat, 18 Jul 2009 19:09:26 +0000 http://www.healthinsurancecolorado.net/blog1/?p=1224#comment-13857 Unfortunately, this is another example(intentional or otherwise) of a backdoor way to exclude brokers from the process. There has been discussion of requiring all persons who receive subsidies to participate in the Public Plan Option an d to sign-up through a Connector. If you make the income qualification high enough it will cover 90% of the market, effectively pushing th eprivate sector out of the process. We'll need to keep an eye on the details surrounding subsidies. Fortunately, it looks like many in Congress have taken note of the CBOs warning and will press to curtail subsidies to bring the cost of reform back to a manageble range. Unfortunately, this is another example(intentional or otherwise) of a backdoor way to exclude brokers from the process. There has been discussion of requiring all persons who receive subsidies to participate in the Public Plan Option an d to sign-up through a Connector. If you make the income qualification high enough it will cover 90% of the market, effectively pushing th eprivate sector out of the process.

We’ll need to keep an eye on the details surrounding subsidies. Fortunately, it looks like many in Congress have taken note of the CBOs warning and will press to curtail subsidies to bring the cost of reform back to a manageble range.

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