Terminated workers are paying an average of $429 a month this year for individual HMO coverage, compared to $399 for the same coverage in 2009, according to a survey conducted by Aon Consulting. COBRA coverage for an entire family now costs an average of $1,251, up from $1,171 per month at this time last year. With COBRA costs on the rise and the average unemployment check totaling less than $300 a week, a growing number of jobless Americans are no longer able to afford their health insurance plans.
Families are having to choose between having health insurance or keeping a roof over their head and food on the table. A family who has a member with medical needs is between a rock and a hard place.
John Zern, executive vice president and Health & Benefits Practice director with Aon Consulting, said the costs of COBRA are rising because so many people are using the system.
In an effort to spread the misery around:
Current employees should also expect to see their plans become more expensive in the next couple of years as employers shift the costs over to them. The Aon survey found that 65 percent percent of employers plan to increase cost-sharing in 2011 for deductibles, co-pays and out-of-pocket maximums, and 57 percent of companies polled said they will ask employees to contribute more for the overall cost of health care next year.
Cross-posted at MainSt/workingamerica.org
1 comment:
The compounding problems facing us will I can only hope, force our elected officials to the realization that universal health care coverage will be cheaper in the long run and lead to a healthier nation. I can go and buy an automobile right now and know exactly what bells and whistles it has and exactly what I'm paying for. Not so with the way things are set up now. If I purchased any coverage from any corporation I would have no idea nor would they inform me what I'm paying for and how much procedures etc. cost. It's disgraceful how money and greed propel something like health. Google not too long ago refused ALL Canadian pharmacy ads online. Nothing underhanded here surely? A prescription I use for a .5 gram of ointment costs at Walmart almost $300. I get it from Canada for $45 incl. s&h. Disgraceful is too gentle a word.
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