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Way to go Anthem Blue Cross! Adjusting my rate by 29.9%
Got it in the mail today.
Rate change effective March 1, 2010
While we strive to keep costs as low as possible, it is necessary to adjust our rates to cover the escalating cost of health care. As of March 1, 2010, the monthly rate on your HMO Saver will change from $329.00 to $427.00. Anthem Blue Cross will usually adjust rates every 12 months; however, we may adjust more frequently in accordance with the terms of your health benefit plan.
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Now, please excuse me for a moment while I ask the insurance company where they expect the policy holder with multiple sclerosis and seizure disorder to come up with another hundred bucks a month... assholes.
Thing is, they don't. They REALLY want to drop me. *lol*
See, this is something that most people wouldn't notice, I don't think, but that going to law school has done for me. It taught me how to look at the world through my Genuine, Certified "So-This-Is-How-They-Screw-You" Lawyer GogglesTM. And the second that I saw that my premium didn't jump a nice neat $100, but rather $98, I knew something was up. (Who ends a number in a 7? Honestly?!) It bugged me. So I decided to figure out what percentage we were looking at. Sure enough, 29.9%. You know what that means, boys and girls? It means they're not allowed to raise my premium by 30% or more. There's a rule, somewhere, saying they can't. They're raising it as much as they can.
It is rules like this that we need more of.
When I talk about healthcare reform, I am talking about making more rules like this. Maybe Insurance reform is more what is important to me. I dunno.
It seems crazy to me that the amount of money it costs for my healthcare per year is more than I have made per year.
I mean, let's do the math -
Monthly Insurance Premium: $427
Topamax (copay): $30
Cymbalta(copay): $30
Seasonale (copay): $30
Lisinopril/HCTZ (copay): $10
Gabapentin (copay): $10
Herbal Meds: $50
Psychologyist for therapy - One Visit:$90
Psychiatrist, monthly visit: $10
One visit to a doctor if I feel sick: $10
Total before Copaxone even comes into the picture: $697
Copaxone would be $780 (and that's the 30% copay) if I weren't incredibly lucky and having my copay taken care of by Shared Solution's copay assistance program.
If I didn't have Shared Solutions' help, it would cost me $1477 before I even started thinking about things like rent, food, or utilities.
That blows my mind. Lets add to that my student loans. How the hell am I supposed to conquer THAT?
I am NOT a stupid individual, nor am I lazy. I have a bachelor of music in music business from Berklee College of Music. I have a juris doctor from Southwestern University. I am 29 years old. But even my best job didn't pay me enough to do everything up there and take care of all my needs.
Anthem is counting on that.
This company that is supposed to exist to help people is trying to bully me out of my policy by making it too expensive to have the good coverage that I found through them in the first place before we discovered that I was ill.
Well, guess what, Anthem Blue Cross?
You can't bully me.
I will always find a way to keep my ass covered, and if I can't do it, my crazyass awesome family and friends will. Because that's what we do for each other.
Rate change effective March 1, 2010
While we strive to keep costs as low as possible, it is necessary to adjust our rates to cover the escalating cost of health care. As of March 1, 2010, the monthly rate on your HMO Saver will change from $329.00 to $427.00. Anthem Blue Cross will usually adjust rates every 12 months; however, we may adjust more frequently in accordance with the terms of your health benefit plan.
-------
Now, please excuse me for a moment while I ask the insurance company where they expect the policy holder with multiple sclerosis and seizure disorder to come up with another hundred bucks a month... assholes.
Thing is, they don't. They REALLY want to drop me. *lol*
See, this is something that most people wouldn't notice, I don't think, but that going to law school has done for me. It taught me how to look at the world through my Genuine, Certified "So-This-Is-How-They-Screw-You" Lawyer GogglesTM. And the second that I saw that my premium didn't jump a nice neat $100, but rather $98, I knew something was up. (Who ends a number in a 7? Honestly?!) It bugged me. So I decided to figure out what percentage we were looking at. Sure enough, 29.9%. You know what that means, boys and girls? It means they're not allowed to raise my premium by 30% or more. There's a rule, somewhere, saying they can't. They're raising it as much as they can.
It is rules like this that we need more of.
When I talk about healthcare reform, I am talking about making more rules like this. Maybe Insurance reform is more what is important to me. I dunno.
It seems crazy to me that the amount of money it costs for my healthcare per year is more than I have made per year.
I mean, let's do the math -
Monthly Insurance Premium: $427
Topamax (copay): $30
Cymbalta(copay): $30
Seasonale (copay): $30
Lisinopril/HCTZ (copay): $10
Gabapentin (copay): $10
Herbal Meds: $50
Psychologyist for therapy - One Visit:$90
Psychiatrist, monthly visit: $10
One visit to a doctor if I feel sick: $10
Total before Copaxone even comes into the picture: $697
Copaxone would be $780 (and that's the 30% copay) if I weren't incredibly lucky and having my copay taken care of by Shared Solution's copay assistance program.
If I didn't have Shared Solutions' help, it would cost me $1477 before I even started thinking about things like rent, food, or utilities.
That blows my mind. Lets add to that my student loans. How the hell am I supposed to conquer THAT?
I am NOT a stupid individual, nor am I lazy. I have a bachelor of music in music business from Berklee College of Music. I have a juris doctor from Southwestern University. I am 29 years old. But even my best job didn't pay me enough to do everything up there and take care of all my needs.
Anthem is counting on that.
This company that is supposed to exist to help people is trying to bully me out of my policy by making it too expensive to have the good coverage that I found through them in the first place before we discovered that I was ill.
Well, guess what, Anthem Blue Cross?
You can't bully me.
I will always find a way to keep my ass covered, and if I can't do it, my crazyass awesome family and friends will. Because that's what we do for each other.
I got my health insurance when I was starting law school and was considered healthy. I had 1 pre-existing condition, that of hypertension. I started off paying around $129/month back in 2005. So, they've raised the premium by $300/mo over the last 5 years, since my becoming diagnosed with stuff.
Don't get me wrong, it makes sense. It's just not insurance if they keep jacking the rates on you, you know? It's more of a managed healthcare cost-lowering plan. Call it what it is, you know?
Moreover, it's a gamble. My rates were only as low as they were because of my health at the beginning and laws regarding how much they can/can't raise on someone once they have a policy.
I'm not sure what your situation is, but there's a whole slew of options that can affect your pricepoint.
If you're paying more than $427/mo (or, heaven forbid $1000/mo on meds and healthcare out of pocket), you should look at what you can do to improve your situation. Whether it can currently be improved is another story altogether.
I'm happy to help if I can. I'm not sure how much of a help I will be, but I guarantee that an insurance salesperson, especially in this economy, will be more than happy to help you find the best coverage for your situation.
Plus, you live in San Francisco, where there is public healthcare.
So sorry!
Part of the reason I write sometimes, aside from venting frustration, is because I have a lot of friends with disparate political beliefs.
These friends, I've grown up with. Some of these people have known me since I was knee-high. They know me to be responsible, smart, frugal, and an upstanding citizen.
For better or for worse, these friends have also grown up to become libertarians or staunch right-wingers who support the status quo.
They say things like they support the idea of drug testing for people who are on welfare, even though they know that without medical cannabis, I'd be in extreme amounts of pain on certain days. Then, when I ask them, they say they mean heavier drugs...
I wonder,
What do you think? Would it matter? Would it help Congress at all to know these things? How could we get that info to them in a meaningful way?
I hate dealing with insurance companies. Keep your chin up and your fighting spirit strong hot stuff. <3
I'm on Seasonale b/c it means that I have my period 4 times a year instead of 12, which is SO important, because it really lives up to the nickname, "the curse" with this condition - it's stronger seizures throughout the day and my MS flares like a bitch. Good luck getting anything done.
Also, ANOTHER GOOD REASON TO WANT A WALMART OUT HERE! Gah! I'm still using Walgreens.
It just seems like there should be someway for people that NEED a break to get it...especially the way they raised your premiums.
Try Target. Or CVS.