Health Insurance Solution....I think!

Well, it's been an interesting 3 weeks since we got our last premium rate increase notice from Humana.  It's taken several emails to Humana along with the promise of filing yet another complaint with the Wisc. Commissioner of Insurance office in Madison.  I'm still waiting for the actual information from Humana on just how they came up with the 25.7% increase in healthcare costs for our area of the state.  I now know that we are in Region 1, which also includes Milwaukee County.  The differences in medical insurance premium in Humana world based on where you live in Wisconsin is huge!  Region 1 (Waukesha/Milwaukee) is also the home of the highest premiums in the State. 

Here's an option that we are considering in order to avoid these 20%+ rate increases every year with Humana.  We were told of this Association by our Insurance Agent.  It's called FACT Association.  Here's the link to their website. http://usafact.org/Default.aspx

By joining this organization ($3 per month), we are eligible for the group rate on medical insurance with Golden Rule Insurance/United Health Care.  Our deductible will be 5k a year and we can go anywhere in the 50 states that accepts UHC.  That means no out of network higher premium.  (Humana's was 10k in network and 26k out of network).  Since we travel to so many states on business, this will be a huge relief.  Our premium will go from $641.25/mo. to $448.00/mo.  Doesn't that make sense?  For the higher deductible and limited coverage area, we were paying almost $200 more a month.  Needless to say, Humana should be ashamed of themselves. 

Another plus is that every year you are on the plan and you do not actually meet the deductible. It reduces 20% the following year all the way to ½ of its original amount.  If this is our situation, it would be 5k this year, 4k next year and 3200 in year three.   Since we don't go to the doctor unless it's an emergency, that is also a nice bonus.  We have not used/met our deductible with any other medical insurance company in over 7 years.  I asked what their average rate increase has been over the past 2 years and the answer to that one is 10-12%.  Since we are part of a group, there is a lower rate increase per year.  Of course, I don't know what ObamaCare will do to this since most of the new healthcare 'rules' start in 2014. 

I had an interesting email from a lady in the Wisc. Ins. Comm. Office saying that the reason that they do NOT check out the figures on the rate filings from medical insurance companies here in Wisc. is because we have a free market.  Thus, the rates regulate themselves.  Funny in that the week after I got that email from her, there was an article in the JS Online that our wonderful Ins. Comm. Office is going to be the receipient of a $1 million grant from the Health and Human Services branch of our Federal Govt. to hire a few people to check out the insurance rate hikes as well as how much healthcare costs in our state by area.  Evidently, all 50 states are eligible for this grant. 

My question to her would be, if the free market is working so well at keeping the insurance companies honest and fair, why take the money?  Maybe we'll get lucky and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel will do a investigative story on that.  Nah....

Have a great week!