Obamacare driving high insurance deductibles
Your healthcare is about to become a lot more expensive because of Obamacare. Ironically dubbed The Affordable Healthcare Act, Obama care will continue to drive deductibles up to compensate for layers of other mandated coverages.
For example, under Obamacare, consider the following out-of-pocket expenses: one X-ray: $50. One follow-up magnetic resonance imaging test: $766. Total bill for checking out that aching shoulder: $1,039 ? all payable in full by patient, thanks to greatly increased deductibles, according to a USA Today report published Sunday.
Over the next 18 months up to 50-percent of Americans with employer-provided insurance coverage will pay more for their healthcare as companies offer healthcare plans with higher deductibles, according to benefits consultants. Many patients who believed Obamacare would somehow benefit them through lower costs will experience ?sticker shock? as high deductibles leave them financially exposed.
"They have huge out-of-pocket costs before they get any insurance coverage, it's a real slap in the face," said Ron Pollack, the executive director of Families USA, a healthcare advocacy group.
Meanwhile, the cost of health insurance policies is increasing while those deductibles increase.
Studies show the sick and injured are three times more likely to not seek care than people on traditional pre-Obamacare plans that paid for doctor or emergency room visits with a low co-payment.
Nevertheless, the implementation of high-deductible plans is increasing rapidly largely due to Obama's healthcare reform that requires insurance plans to provide increased preventative coverage which is being paid for with higher deductibles.
According to USA Today, several industry ?surveys forecast a two-percentage-point increase in the number of companies offering only high-deductible plans in 2013 to about 19 percent, and a larger jump of anywhere from 5 to 25 percentage points in 2014.?
Currently, deductibles on high-deductible plans range from $1,250 for singles up to $12,500 for families. Once the threshold is reached, insured generally make co-insurance payments or pay a percentage of the doctor or hospital bill.
Source: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/335697
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