Is This Really a Victory for Religious Liberty

I try not to spend a lot of time expressing my opinion to much on this blog but I had to try to help my readers understand how things like this effects their lives.  JE Health Care Solutions was founded, because of what was going on with our healthcare in this country.  I wrote this post in an effort to get you to think for yourself and take control of your own healthcare.  We all need to quite expecting the government to take care of everything and go back to relying on ourselves to solve problems.

Today President Obama announced a revision on the rule requiring that insurance plans offer free contraception.   My question is how this can be a victory when the first rule violated the 1^st amendment to the Constitution.  By requiring Religious groups to offer this even though it went against there religious teaching’s and Church doctrine.

So now he is just going to require insurance companies instead to offer the woman contraceptive care free of charge, without co-pays and without hassles.  Does anyone believe that the insurance companies are going to foot this cost?  The answer is no!  The cost will be passed on to the policy holders with increased policy costs. 

Here is one part of the Presidents statement that says a lot about the government’s way of looking at anything.

As part of the health care reform law that I signed last year, all insurance

Plans are required to cover preventive care at no cost. That means

FREE check-ups, FREE mammograms, immunizations and other

Basic services. We fought for this because it saves lives and it saves

money for families, for businesses, for government, for everybody.

That’s because it’s a lot cheaper to prevent an illness than to treat one.

To see a full transcript of the President’s remarks click here. 

Now the key word in this quote is the word FREE, does anyone believe that there is anything for free?  Someone is got to pay for this and it is not going to be the insurance companies.  While I agree an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, I also understand there is nothing free in this world. 

So, what does this mean to you and your family?  It means that even if you don’t need these services you are going to pay for them with increased cost for your health insurance policies.  This is what happens when the government gets involved.  This is also what happens when congress passes laws without reading them.  The next question is, what other surprises are we in store for?   

HHS Gives States Flexibility On Health Law's 'Essential Benefits'

This just in from Kaiser Health News.  Thought you would like to Know.  Remember if you can't get or can't afford healthcare insurance, JE Health Care Solutions is here to help with possible solutions.  Our programs with Renco Direct and NACD can give you control of your medical treatment and cost of your medical care.

How Cost of Health Insurance Is Affecting Business

This is part 2 of my 3 part post. 

 

If you are a small business owner you know how hard it is to keep good employees.  One way business’s have done this is by offering employee benefits.  The cost of these benefits have gone up every year, the biggest driver of these is healthcare insurance.  The following shows what has happen to these cost.

This information is from the Kaiser Report (EMPLOYER HEALTH BENEFITS 2010 REPORT) 

 You can get the full report HERE.

The key findings from the 2010 survey, conducted from January through May 2010, include increases in the average single and family premium, as well as in the amount workers pay for coverage. About a quarter (27%) of covered workers have a deductible of at least $1,000 for single coverage and a greater proportion of workers are enrolled in high-deductible health plans with a savings option (HDHP/SO) than in 2009. Firms responded that they increased cost-sharing, or reduced the scope of coverage, or increased the amount workers pay for insurance as a result of the economic downturn. The 2010 survey continues to track the percentage of firms offering wellness benefits or health risk assessments and also included questions on health plan quality indicators and benefit changes made as a result of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act.

The average annual premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance in 2010 are $5,049 for single coverage and $13,770 for family coverage. Compared to 2009, premiums for single coverage are 5% higher ($4,824) and premiums for family coverage are 3% higher ($13,375). Since 2000, average premiums for family coverage have increased 114%. Average premiums for family coverage are lower for workers in small firms (3–199 workers) than for workers in large firms (200 or more workers), ($13,250 vs. $14,038). Average premiums for high-deductible health plans with a savings option (HDHP/SOs) are lower than the overall average for all plan types for both single and family coverage. For PPO's, the most common plan type, the average family premium topped $14,000 annually in 2010.

As a result of factors such as benefit differences and geographical cost differences, there is significant variation around the average annual premium. Twenty percent of covered workers are in plans with an annual total premium for family coverage of at least $16,524 (120% of the average premium), while 19% of covered workers are in plans where the family premium is less than $11,016 (80% of the average premium).

In 2010, covered workers contributed a greater share of the total premium, a notable change from the steady share workers have paid on average over the last decade. Covered workers on average contribute 19% of the total premium for single coverage (up from 17% in 2009) and 30% for family coverage (up from 27% in 2009). As with total premiums, the premium shares contributed by workers vary considerably around these averages. For single coverage, 28% of workers pay more than 25% of the total premium while 16% make no contribution.

Fifty-one percent of workers with family coverage pay more than 25% of the total premium; only 5% make no contribution.  Looking at dollar amounts, the average annual worker contributions are $899 for single coverage and $3,997 for family coverage, up from $779 and $3,515 respectively in 2009. Workers in small firms (3–199 workers) contribute about the same amount for single coverage as workers in large firms (200 or more workers), ($865 vs. $917), but they contribute significantly more for family coverage, ($4,665 vs. $3,652).

NOTE: There was another 10% increase in cost in January 2011. There is no sign that these increased costs are going to slow down anytime soon. Individual plans have followed suit in cost increases.

The following is an example of what happens to your insurance dollars.

ABC co. inc. insures 100 employees. The national Average for a single person is $5000 per year. Cost to the company is $500,000.00 for the 100 employees. On average 90 employees will get about $450.00 annual benefit, 3 employees will get about $5000.00 annual benefits and 7 employees will need be hospitalized.

Average cost for a hospital stay is $30,000.00 of which the insurance co. will pay an average of $10,000.00 after they take there provider network discount. So company wide average benefit paid out is $125,000.00 annually. This means only $.25 of each dollar paid out in premiums goes to your actual healthcare.

As small business owners Jo Anne and I had to find an answer to this problem.  This is what leaded us to starting JE Health Care Solutions.  There are answers out there that puts us in control of our healthcare and cost, but if you don’t know what they are it is hard to deal with.   We went several years with out healthcare coverage because we could not afford it, and were lucky that we did not need it. 

The purpose of this series of posts is to try to give you the information that everyone needs to know.  The 3^rd post will give you some answers to the problem that I hope will give you some options to consider.

Remember you can download my e-book for free at the following link.

Why We need to change our way of thinking about Health Care

PART 1.  The Problem

I am writing this blog post because I am tired of hearing everyone complaining about Obamacare and the high cost of health care insurance, but yet they do nothing to change how they are dealing with their health care.  As long as Americans continue to think someone else is responsible for paying for their health care then nothing will change.  Anytime you have a third-party payer system for anything someone else is going to make the decisions for you.  It is your responsibility, not someone else’s!  Remember, once you give your money to the insurance companies, it is no longer your money, it is theirs.  Think of it this way; if you went to a company and said, “I will pay you so much a month and you take care of my electric bill every month”, don’t you think they are going to control the amount of power you use every month?  So what makes you think health care insurance companies are any different?

Did you know, on average, for every dollar you pay for health insurance, you get about 25 cents of service?  The other 75 cents goes to the insurance companies.  If you think about it, that is not a very good bargain.  Yet we have been doing this since the 1920’s and think it is great.  So who is getting a piece of this 75 cents? 

1.     The Insurance Company now has control of your insurance dollar.

2.     Risk Group: ( Employer Groups) These are the people in your group that are sick, because it is a guaranteed issue group policy.

3.     Government: This is all the laws, regulations, political contributions. taxes, fees, etc.

4.     Labor: Because of labor unions in hospitals, costs are driven up. Labor union demands for high cost insurance plans drive up the cost; things like low co-pay, low cost prescriptions, etc.

5.     Government Programs: Medicare and Medicaid; reimbursements from your policy have to go to help cover the under-payment from these programs.

6.     Big Disease: These are non-profit and put mandates on every ones policies. Things like cancer, heart disease, COPD, etc. Your premiums reflect these costs because all of these have to be covered for everyone.

7.     Drug Companies: The drug companies have put themselves between you and your health care dollar by marketing directly to you with ads for the next miracle drug, so you will self- diagnose and run to your doctor and ask for their drug by name.

8.     Attorneys: These are the tort attorneys that are waiting for your doctor to make a mistake. Malpractice insurance is built into your doctor's cost of doing business but this forces them to do unnecessary tests just to cover themselves against the attorneys.

9.      Billings and Collections: This would not be needed if it weren't for insurance companies. Billing is needed to handle the paper work involved with filing with insurance companies. Collections are needed because the insurance company can deny your claim and they have to collect from you.

10.  Claims: A lot of claims are denied or delayed. The claims job is to save the insurance companies money by denial or delaying claims.

11. Case Manager: The case manager's job is to approve the least expensive treatment and the doctor with the lowest.

All of these entries are between you and your doctor, and thus, your health care.

This is a health care delivery system not health care.

This ends part 1.  Please be looking for part 2 and 3 over the next few days.  I have written an e-book about this, which has a lot of reference material in it.  You can download it at the following link.  It is free, because I am trying to help as many people as possible to become informed consumers on health care.

 Download E-Book 

It is free

Health Reform Law Will Not Help Contain Costs

You need to read the complete article.  It shows again why you need to get out of the health care delivery system.

This is why Direct Concepts Healthcare program is a great solution over high cost of health care insurance.

Health Reform Law Will Not Help Contain Costs

Potential Impact of Health Reform on the Cost of Private Health Insurance Coverage

Written By: PriceWaterhouseCoopers Staff

Published In: PriceWaterhouseCoopers

Publication date: 10/01/2009

---

Health reform could have a significant impact on the cost of private health insurance coverage.

There are four provisions included in the Senate Finance Committee proposal that could increase private health insurance premiums above the levels projected under current law:

- Insurance market reforms coupled with a weak coverage requirement,
- A new tax on high-cost health care plans,
- Cost-shifting as a result of cuts to Medicare, and
- New taxes on several health care sectors.

The overall impact of these provisions will be to increase the cost of private insurance coverage for individuals, families, and businesses above what these costs would be in the absence of reform.

On average, the cost of private health insurance coverage will increase:

- 26 percent between 2009 and 2013 under the current system and by 40 percent
during this same period if these four provisions are implemented.

- 50 percent between 2009 and 2016 under the current system and by 73 percent
during this same period if these four provisions are implemented.

- 79 percent between 2009 and 2019 under the current system and by 111 percent
during this same period if these four provisions are implemented.

Down Load full PDF report:

Is the High Cost of Health Care Insurance Killing your Budget Part 5 "A Solution"

Today I want to offer a Solution to the problem of our Health Care Delivery System that we have today.  The short answer is to get out of the system.  So how do we do this?

In the first part of this series I gave you an example of what happens when you go to your doctor for a basic office visit.  His cash price is $100 for an office visit, but with health insurance he only gets the PPO Allowable of $50.  You pay part of the PPO Allowable with your co-pay and the insurance pays the other part. 

Now let’s look at the numbers:

Yearly cost with Health Care Insurance:

The National average cost for a family of 4 for health care insurance is now $800 to $1100 per month.  For the purpose of this example we will use the low end of $800 per month or $7200 per year.  The average family will go to their doctor 6 to 8 times per year.  If you pay a co-pay of $25 per visit and your family goes to the doctor 8 times a year that is another $200 per year.  So now you are at $7400 for the year.  Another words your are paying $7200 a year for the privilege of paying a $25 co-pay 6 to 8 times a year.  If this makes sense to you then I cannot help you, but if you are like me this does not make sense than continue reading because I am going to show you a solution.

A Solution:

Direct Concepts Healthcare offers a solution to the problem.  By putting you directly into the PPO network we remove the insurance company from the equation.  This way you and your doctor control your health care, not a third party that is more concerned with making a profit and controlling their cost than your health care, and not some Government panel that could care less about you or your family.

So how does this program work?  Direct Concepts uses two of the major PPO Networks, PHCS and Galaxy.   Let’s look at how this works with the numbers.

Yearly Cost With Direct Concepts Healthcare:

Direct Concepts Healthcare cost $88 dollars a month per family.  There are no limitations and pre-existing conditions do not matter.  That means you pay $1056 a year instead of $7200.  The program includes prescriptions, Dental, Vision, and much more.   When you go to the doctor with our program you would pay the PPO Allowable which in this case is $50.  That means once again it your family goes to the doctor 8 times a year you would pay $400 for the year.  That means our total would be $1456 for the year as compared to $7400 with traditional health insurance.   Direct Concepts work's the same way with Hospitals, with our patient advocates working on your behalf with the hospital to re-price your bill.  To give you an example one of our clients had to have knee surgery, His hospital bill was $10,588.26 the re-price under our plan was $1,750, a saving of 84%.   I can show several other examples but you can expect a 60 to 80% savings and some time more on hospital cost.  The point is you can have control and cost savings with our program.

If you want to learn more CLICK HERE and let us show you how you can have total control of your and your family’s health care at great savings.

I hope with this 5 part series I have helped you understand how the health care delivery system works and the problems it is causing for you and your family’s health care.

Is the High Cost of Health Care Insurance Killing your Budget Part 3

Today I want to try and explain how the Drug companies are helping in  controlling your health care.  Have you noticed all the commercials on TV and ever where else about this or that new wonder drug.  So people self diagnose themselves and go to their doctor and want a prescription for this wonder drug that is going to cure what ever.  The problem is they don’t cure the problem they treat the symptoms  an cause new problems.  Half of these commercials are used to explain all the side effects they may cause.  Did you know for a new drug to get FDA approval it must be toxic to the body? 

So when you go to the doctor for your new wonder drug guess who makes money?  It is now you!  The cycle starts all over again the doctor files an insurance claim the drug store files a claim and the insurance company makes more money off of you.  Remember for every dollar you pay for health care insurance you get 25 cents worth of service and the insurance companies and drug companies and others get a part of the other 75 cents.

Have you noticed no one talks about curing a problem?  All we here is lets treat the problem with this drug or that drug.  Drug companies send billions of dollars pushing their drugs to doctors and the public.  When you are at your doctors office how many drug companies reps. Are there waiting for their turn to show the doctors the latest and greatest drug out.  This process starts while the doctors are still in medical school and this is how they are taught, this is how the system is suppose to work.  There is no profit in curing someone only in treatment. 

After the billions that the American Tax payer has poured into this research group or that research group you would think they could come up with a CURE for something.  Don’t get me wrong we need to do research, but should we not whole someone responsible to produce something that is a CURE, not just another treatment that cost some outrages amount of money.  Have you noticed doctors always say we can treat this with this drug or this drug but never say we can cure the problem.  CURE is the dirty four letter word to the health care delivery system.

All of this information is out there you just have to take the time to find it.  A good place to start is Care Liberty and I strongly urge you to get educated on what is really going on with our health care system.   Both for yourself and your family’s health.

Here at JE Health Care Solutions we are ready to help you understand the health care delivery system and out to get out of it.  Just contact us at our web site or call 865-357-3379 for more answers.

Be watching for the next post in this series and sign up for the email alerts to get the latest information.

Is the High Cost of Health Care Insurance Killing your Budget Part 2

Yesterday I told you what happens when you go to the doctor’s office and use traditional health care insurance.   Today we are going to talk about why the system works this way.  First of all you need to understand who controls the health care industry. 

1.     Insurance companies

2.     Drug Companies

3.     AMA

4.     Government

For over 50 years the insurance companies have been working to control your health care by convincing us that you have to have health care insurance.  They have done this by working with unions, Governments (Local, State and Federal) and thru commercials on radio and TV.  By convincing us that a “third party payer system” well offer the people the best health care possible at the lowest cost.   Well we know now that this is not true.  What has happen is we now have a health care delivery system controlled by the insurance companies and others and no control by the patient or the doctor.  I am sure you have noticed how people from other countries come to the US for medical treatment at least those that can afford it, because they can get the best treatment in the world here.  The difference is they pay cash for their treatment.  So when some political figure says our health care is not good here in America they are lying to you, because we have the best medical care available in the world.   What is not working is the health care delivery system we have.   Our health care should never be controlled by anyone but ourselves and our doctor’s. 

So how do we change this?

 

Start by taking responsibility for your health care.  When you go to the doctor pay cash for your visit.  I will explain how soon.  Quite going to the doctor every time you have a cold are such minor ailments, and justify it by saying all I have to pay is a $25 co-pay.  You are forgetting you are also paying $700 a month for the privilege of having that $25 co-pay.    

Remember by making this change you are now buying direct which is how we buy everything else.  You don’t buy car insurance to cover gas, oil changes, tires or minor repairs so why should you do anything different with Health Insurance.   If you want to know how to buy your Health care directly CLICK HERE.  By having Direct Concepts Healthcare you are now out of the health care delivery system and can now afford to pay cash when you do go to the Doctor.  Plus have control of your health care instead of the insurance companies.

Be watching for part 3 tomorrow that will continue your education on Health Care in America.  In the mean time remember:

 Take Control Of Your Health Care starting TODAY!

For more information you can click the contact button on the right enter your information and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

What are Accountable-care Organizations and how do We Avoid them

According to AVERY JOHNSON  of the The Wall Street Journal in New York

ClickHere for the full Article.

“ In broad outline, these entities propose to unite doctors and clinics or hospitals in groups that pool their resources with the goal of trimming spending while boosting the quality of care. When the group can show that it is improving care and delivers it for less than the cost projected—arrived at by crunching historical patient data for that market—a share of the savings goes to the ACO's bottom line”

“ACOs exist more on paper than in reality, for now. But a few organizations up and running for decades do closely resemble how the concept can work. One of the most prominent is Atrius Health of Newton, Mass., an alliance of five medical groups comprising more than 800 physicians, about 700,000 patients and 30-plus care centers in eastern Massachusetts.”

This is the State that has Rommycare and they are having all kinds of problems with it.  What it really is, is more Health Care Delivery. not quality Health Care, where someone else is making medical decisions for you instead of you making them for yourself and your family.  Guess who will be making those decisions for you and your family?  A panel of 15 People that are appointed as government appointees. Is this what we want to hear?  No, enough with the government, insurance companies, AMA, and the drug companies making our decisions!

According to an article by ANNA WILDE MATHEWS  for the Wall Street Journal Hospitals and Doctors are pushing back against this as well.  Click Here for the complete Article.

“Hospitals and doctors are pushing back against an Obama administration initiative that urges them to create new organizations to coordinate the care of groups of Medicare patients.
The voluntary program seeks to save money and improve treatment. But the health-care providers say the rules proposed for the initiative are too onerous and the financial incentives too weak, and that they will participate only if the program gets a major revamp.
The deadline for response to the proposal is June 6, but health-care providers have already been unusually vocal in their complaints. "It's pretty much a nonstarter as structured," said Anders M. Gilberg, an official at the Medical Group Management Association.”

Obamacare is what is driving this program.  If you look at it, it will only lead to rationed care for people on Medicare.  Obamacare came from the same people who now run commercials showing a Congressman throwing Granny off a cliff.  Well, who is really throwing Granny off the cliff?

Until we, as Americans, step up and take responsibility for our health care, this problem will never be solved.

HOW DO WE DO THIS?

Step Number One:  Change your mindset that someone else is going to pay for your health care.
Step Number Two:   Start paying cash for your doctor visits.

The best way to buy anything is to buy it direct.  We buy our cars, food, and just about everything else directly so why should Medical Care be any different?  Because we have been told for more than 50 years that we have to have medical insurance to get medical care.  Number one, this is a lie; if you need medical care and go to the emergency room, they have to treat you to the best of their ability, regardless of your ability to pay.  I am not saying this is what you should do if you can pay but I am saying that you do not have to have insurance to get medical care.

A medical care delivery system is not medical care.  We don’t buy car insurance to cover the cost of gas, oil changes, tires, and the minor repairs.  We buy it to pay for the major problems, i.e., if we have a wreck.  Yet we buy health care insurance so we can go to a doctor’s office and pay a $25 to $35 co-pay and pay hundreds of dollars a month for this privilege.  Does this make sense to you?  It doesn’t to me! 

I know you are asking, “How can I pay cash to go to the doctor when an office visit might cost $110 to $140 for a visit?”  You don’t have to do that either.  You can negotiate with your doctor for a discounted cash rate or you can become a member in a PPO directly.  Remember, insurance companies have been using PPO Rates for 50 years or more, so why should you not be able to do the same thing?  I am not talking about a medical discount program, I am talking about a true Medical Savings program.  One such program is Direct Concepts Healthcare  which puts you into two of the largest PPO’s in the country;  PHCS and Galaxy Networks.  This includes Doctors, Hospitals, and all the service’s, i.e., labs, x-ray’s, MRI’s, etc.  It also has a prescription discount program that will save you 10% to 80%.  It also includes Dental, Vision, and Alternative Health Care, plus more.  All for $88 per month, per family, with no restrictions for pre-existing conditions.  There is also an Rx program for FDA approved, name brand Prescriptions, based on family income for $20 per month, per prescription.  This is a separate program and you do not have to be in the $88 program to join it.


By paying the PPO rate, you are getting the same rate that the insurance companies pay the doctor; the difference is the doctor gets the full  PPO payment at the time of your visit.  He doesn’t have to file insurance papers and wait to get his money from the insurance company. Which, by the way, will be the PPO Allowable, not his cash price. And you are not paying an insurance company hundreds of dollars a month.  It also gives you and your Doctor control over your treatment without the government or insurance company telling him what treatments he can and can’t give you or your family.

It is up to YOU to decide if you are going to control your health care are let the government, Insurance companies, or someone else decide your health care future.

Stay tuned for the next update.  I hope I am helping you to become informed  about what is going on in the Health care industry and a way to protect you and your family.  Be sure to sign up to get regular updates by Subscribing via email on the right hand side of our blog.

Small Business Being Buried Alive by Health Care Cost

I wrote a blog post yesterday about the Kaiser Foundation report of 2010 Employer Health Benefits, health care cost to business's both small and large.  My post today is mainly to the small business owner's out there are the self employed, who are now having to decide if they can continue to provide health Care insurance plans for there employee's or their own family's.

The answer is YES you can by making the right choices.  As I quoted from the Kaiser report health insurance cost have risen by 114% since 2000 and are predicated to continue to rise.  Why is this happening, at such a high rate?  Obamacare!!! is the biggest reason, but cost have been going up at a much faster rate than inflation for several years.  With the new  rules and mandates with Obamacare upon us now the rates will just get higher.  I know that I am not telling you anything new but you need to think about it now.

There is a solution to this problem.  You must take control of your health care and quite letting the insurance companies and the government control it for you.  There is a company called Direct Concepts Healthcare that is a  free market answer to this growing problem.

JE Health Care Solutions is an independent rep. for Direct Concepts Healthcare and we will be glad to talk with you to discuss anyway that we can help you and your employee's to get quality health care they and you deserve at a very affordable rate.  This program is designed to take the insurance companies and the government out from between you and your Doctor, so you are in control of your health care.

I am very excited to be able to offer you this program because it has been a life saver to wife and I.  For further information just click on the contact us button on the right hand side to your screen and enter your information and we will get back with you ASAP.

Employer Health Benefits Report by the Kaiser Foundation

The following is a summary of the Kaiser Foundation 2010 report that shows the average cost of employer sponsored insurance programs in the US.  for a copy of the complete report click here

The jest of the report is that Health Care Insurance continues to rise at an alarming rate.  Since 2000 the average cost of family coverage have increased 114%.  It also shows a 147% increase in employee contribution. I expect it to rise another 10 to 20% or more in 2011.  This is the problem with the health care delivery.  This is employer sponsored programs, and does not include individual programs.  So what does this tell us, it tell's us we need to find an alternative way to protect our family's.

Another words you are going to be paying an average out of your salary of $3997.00 a year or $333.00 a month so you can pay a co-pay of  $25 to $35 to see a doctor. If you have the Direct Concepts Healthcare program you would pay $88.00 per month plus $60 to $70 for the office visit for a total of $158.00 for that month as compared to paying $368.00 with your insurance plan.  Could you use an extra $200.00 a month of expendable income.  You could take $100.00 of that and put it into a savings account each month and have that for when you do need to go to the doctor.  and still have an extra $100.00 dollars per month in your pocket.

I hope what I having been writing about in my blog these last few week is starting to make sense to everyone.  Sometimes I feel like John the Baptist felt, a voice crying out in the wilderness.  But I am so passionate about this that I will keep truing to help people understand what is going on with our health care in this Country.

HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS AND WORKER CONTRIBUTIONS
The average annual premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance in 2010 are $5,049 for single coverage and $13,770 for family coverage. Compared to 2009, premiums for single coverage are 5% higher ($4,824) and premiums for family coverage are 3% higher ($13,375). Since 2000, average premiums for family coverage have increased 114% (Exhibit A). Average premiums for family coverage are lower for workers in small firms (3–199 workers) than for workers in large firms (200 or more workers) ($13,250 vs. $14,038). Average premiums for high-deductible health plans with a savings option (HDHP/SOs) are lower than the overall average for all plan types for both single and family coverage (Exhibit B).
For PPOs, the most common plan type, the average family premium topped $14,000 annually in 2010.
As a result of factors such as benefit differences and geographical cost differences, there is significant variation around the average annual premium. Twenty percent of covered workers are in plans with an annual total premium for family coverage of at least $16,524 (120% of the average premium), while 19% of covered workers are in plans where the family premium is less than $11,016 (80% of the average premium) (Exhibit C).
In 2010, covered workers contributed a greater share of the total premium, a notable change from the steady share workers have paid on average over the last decade. Covered workers on average contribute 19% of the total premium for single coverage (up from 17% in 2009) and 30% for family coverage (up from 27% in 2009). As with total premiums, the premium shares contributed by workers vary considerably around these averages. For single coverage, 28% of workers pay more than 25% of the total premium while 16% make no contribution.
Fifty-one percent of workers with family coverage pay more than 25% of the total premium; only 5% make no contribution (Exhibit D).
 
Looking at dollar amounts, the average annual worker contributions are $899 for single coverage and $3,997 for family coverage, up from $779 and $3,515 respectively in 2009.

2. Workers in small firms (3–199 workers) contribute about the same amount for single coverage as workers in large firms (200 or more workers) ($865 vs. $917), but they contribute significantly more for family coverage ($4,665 vs. $3,652).

WHY I WRITE THIS BLOG

When I started this blog I wanted to use it to educate people about their family Heath Care.  I wanted to offer information that will teach as many people as possible about the problems, we, as Americans, face with the existing health care industry, as well as provide some possible solutions to the problems.  I don’t have all the answers but I am trying to give you, my readers, some ideas that will help you take back control of your family’s health care needs.

I have just added two new posts that I thought would be interesting reading for you.

How Health Reform Affects Current and Future Retirees | Publications | National Center for Policy Analysis | NCPA

 

Medicaid Doesn't Provide Quality Care

I remember when Lyndon Johnson pushed through Medicaid and Medicare  my mother, who was an RN, said that this was the beginning of the destruction of the health care system in America.  Now, some 50 years later, her predication has come true.   Any time the government gets involved in something like this, it ends up being a failure.  We are now seeing reports out of Washington today of how bad the problem is.

Now we have Obamacare, the complete takeover by the government of our health care.  They think your family’s medical care should be based on what they think is right instead of those decisions being made between you and your doctor.  I, for one, don’t believe this is the way the system should work.  However, it is our fault that we have allowed this to happen.  We have for many years been lead to believe that someone else is responsible for paying our health care; our employer, the government, or some combination of the two.  Well guess what?   This is not true!  The insurance companies, AMA, AARP, and government have done a great job of indoctrinating the doctors to believe this is the way it is supposed to be.  Now a lot of doctors are starting to realize the problems with this concept.  

We all need to take a hard look at how we view our family’s health care.  I have 4 questions you need to ask yourself to start the process of taking back control of your healthcare.

1:  Why do we need health insurance?

 Two Primary Reasons:

1)     To make the “Big Things” Affordable

2)     To Secure Access to Quality Healthcare

2:   Who is Ultimately Responsible for Securing Quality Healthcare for you & your Family?

            

            YOU ARE

3:    What are the top two Obstacles to Securing Quality Healthcare in America today?

1)    SKYROCKETING COSTS

2)    PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS

4:    What is the Most Cost-Effective way to buy anything (food, cars, building supplies, etc.)?

          DIRECT

Once you apply these questions and answers to your health care, you have taken the first steps toward taking back control of your health care.

The next step is to become educated on how the health care delivery system works.  A good place to start is at Care Liberty.  Here you will find a lot of information about the health care industry.  Dennis Rowley has spent the last several years researching the industry and how it works against you.  Also, please come back often to my blog because I will continue to add posts and links with more information on how to protect you and your family’s health care and get the best care possible.

Dennis just wrote a new article that I think you will find very interesting.

Also my latest 2 articles:   

Health Care, Emotion or Logic

Health Care, Emotion or Logic? Part 2 The Solution

Taking Back Control of Your Health Care: Part Two

Taking Back Control of Your Health Care: Part Two

Taking Back Control of Your Health Care | Bizcovering

Taking Back Control of Your Health Care | Bizcovering

DENNIS ROWLEY STORY

In my last blog I quoted from an article by Dennis Rowley.  I thought I would tell you a little about Dennis, and why I chose to put this article on my blog. I will be putting more of his articles on my blog in the coming days so stay tuned. Dennis has spent many years studying our health care delivery system and is now using that knowledge to educate the every day person.  He has found some shocking information about the system we live under here in the United States.  Don't get me wrong he is not pushing for a government run system, but teaching people how to take control of their Health Care. I am going to help Dennis spread the Knowledge and put you and your Doctor in charge of your health care, which is the way it should be.  Check out Dennis blog for more great articles.

Here is Dennis’s Story as told by him:

My story: "Nancy Merrick Rowley died September 14, 1988. The death certificate read cancer, but I found out a few years after her death that she was one of the millions who have died from a health care delivery system that rations health care.

As I stood in the elevator that day, dumbstruck, after hearing that news, I wondered what my options could be. As I saw it then and as I see it now I had three options;

1. Do nothing, let it drop and move on.
2. Sue one or more of her doctors.
3. Learn as much as I could to see that such a barbaric practice is stopped.

After my years of studying the system, it is apparent to me that I chose the only option that would not continue to contribute to a system that is broken beyond repair. The problem with this system is that it was set up under faulty logic, continues to operate in that same sphere and has continued to grow in its dysfunction. A system that is set up under the guise of redistribution will continue to swell until it threatens to capsize our entire country from its sheer top-heaviness." ​

Dennis Rowley is President and CEO of Care Liberty (www.careliberty or my blog www.careliberty.word​press.com)

a company proudly operating in the free market and devoted to cleaning up the country's health care system one individual - one doctor at a time.