LAT: High-Deductible Insurance Plans Reach Large Corporations

High-Deductible Insurance Plans Reach Large Corporations
By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Times Staff Writer


WASHINGTON — For years, they were the kinds of health insurance plans one found at small businesses or among the self-employed, plans that had huge deductibles and required workers to pay a lot of medical bills themselves — everything from allergy shots and chest X-rays to the cost of a new baby.

They weren't the policies most people preferred, but they were the best some people could afford, better than no insurance at all.

Now, as medical costs keep climbing, those high-deductible plans are spreading to the giant corporations that have long been the backbone of traditional job-related, low-deductible health insurance. And if the trend continues, it could reshape the medical insurance landscape and sharply redistribute costs, risks and responsibilities for many of the 160 million Americans with private health coverage....(L)arge employers are adding so-called consumer-directed health plans to their menus of insurance options....

***

A few companies are pursuing a "full replacement" strategy that leaves workers with no other choice. But even where such plans are optional, they are proving popular with workers who might once have scorned a plan that could leave them with several thousand dollars in medical bills each year. At Fujitsu, about half of 5,000 eligible U.S. employees have signed up for the option.

What suddenly makes such plans attractive to workers is that many are caught in a painful bind: In recent years, pay increases have been small at best. At the same time, employers have been requiring workers to pay a larger and larger share of their health insurance premiums. It's not uncommon for higher payroll deductions for healthcare to more than offset any pay raises....


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-insure23may23,0,4459137.story?coll=la-home-headlines

are being reduced (higher deductibles), and the worker:employer contribution ratio is shifting to a higher number, then is the medical information that covered workers are required to provide to third parties for each medical service being reduced?

Pretty soon every American will have to pay for their insurance and at humongous costs... Meanwhile others will be uninsured...

Soon to be the majority!!!

Right now I'm paying $1,153 per month for a family plan. It's a fee for service plan that provides very good coverage. I'd take a look at a high deductible MSA if it was available to me, but I'm biased against them. Anything the Republicans push is highly suspect, and usually dismissed automatically.

man or woman is forced to assume, the less likely he or she will be to seek treatment -- meaning problems that might have been caught early will more frequently be put off until they become crises in an emergency room. If people can't afford today's deductibles on the typical 80/20 type policy, where is the money going to come from to pay many thousands in out-of-pocket expenses?

Providing everyone with "catestrophic illness only" insurance would be a national catastrophe.

and the coverage is for catastrophic coverage. Also, the employer's carrier will usually "reinsure" all claims above $50K per covered person. (That means a combination of several carriers combine to pick up claims above $50K).

This gets back to the original, 1930's model of health insurance - major medical only.

You pay premiums and get slightly more than catastrophic health coverage. Next stop - the no coverage option.

Oh, wait, it's already here - it's called the Republican Party.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-insure23may23,0,4459137.story?coll=la-home-headlines

May 23, 2005 latimes.com : Nation E-mail story Print Most E-Mailed

Insurance Option Has Workers Pay More
By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Times Staff Writer


WASHINGTON — For years, they were the kinds of health insurance plans one found at small businesses or among the self-employed, plans that had huge deductibles and required workers to pay a lot of medical bills themselves — such as allergy shots, chest X-rays and the cost of a new baby.

They weren't the policies most people preferred, but they were the best some people could afford, better than no insurance at all.


Now, as medical costs keep climbing, those high-deductible plans are spreading to the giant corporations that have long been the backbone of traditional job-related, low-deductible health insurance. And if the trend continues, it could reshape the medical insurance landscape and sharply redistribute costs, risks and responsibilities for many of the 160 million Americans with private coverage.

A number of large employers, including defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp., the Wendy's hamburger chain, high-tech conglomerate Fujitsu and office supply retailer Staples Inc., are adding what they call consumer-directed health plans to their menus of insurance options..........

-

Depending on what numbers you believe, corporations at a minimum have a 17% profit increase this year, and wages (again depending on who you believe) have risen only .3%. Now why do corporations need to take more benefits away from their workers?

No matter how you spin the numbers, corporations' profits are up and wages are stagnate. I guess there is no end to people's greed, especially repukes.