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Americans losing confidence in health insurance

2006 has been a year of frustration for American health care consumers as health care coverage insurance costs surged higher this year. According to the annual Health Confidence Survey, which was released today by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 52% or more than half of those surveyed were dissatisfied with the cost of health insurance, a sharp increase from last year's results.

By Michael Dorausch, D.C.
planetc1.com staff writer

2006 has been a year of frustration for American health care consumers as health care coverage insurance costs surged higher this year. According to the annual Health Confidence Survey, which was released today by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 52% or more than half of those surveyed were dissatisfied with the cost of health insurance, a sharp increase from last year’s results.

According to the survey, the majority of consumers said that their health care premiums, deductibles and co-payments had gone up last year. Among those who said their costs had risen, more than 50% said they were saving less as a result. That has affected retirement plans, 401(k) plans, and created difficulty for some to pay for basic necessities such as housing and food.

Of those that participated in the survey, the majority polled would rather see employer-sponsored health insurance rather than receive an additional $6,700 in pay raise. That was the average cost of employer-provided coverage in 2004. The average is now $7,100 per employee and growing.

Is anyone conducting an Insurance Companies are a Ripoff survey? Most consumers probably do not realize that increased health-care coverage costs do not equal increased health care reimbursements to providers.

In my experience, a typical consumer wants to add chiropractic care to an insurance plan so they contact their HR department or insurance broker for more information. They are told the good news, they can get 12 visits of chiropractic care added to their plan for that calendar year, and it will only cost them $40-$70 per month additional. They show up in a local chiropractic office insurance card in hand, and would like to use one or all of those 12 visits they have paid into insurance for. Most, have a deductible, some as much as $4000. For those of you not in the know, that means you’ll be spending $4000 out of pocket (of your OWN money) before those 12 golden visits from the insurance company kick in.

OK, let’s say the deductible is only $250, or even better, there is no deductible. Yahoo, there’s no deductible, but there’s still a co-pay, and that payment may range from $10-$40 depending on the insurance plan. The chiropractors fee-for-service for a typical visit (adjustment of the spine only) is an estimated $60. In a best case scenario, our consumer is paying at least $10 (at time of service) for that visit, plus a monthly premium that is sucked from their paycheck and funneled into the insurance company piggy bank.

Deal or no big deal? The consumer wants their chiropractic care, they paid into the plan, they make a co-pay, cover their deductible, and the insurance company pays the doctor the balance. Ho Ho Ho, have I got some property to sell you. What the insurance company is NOT telling you is that they don’t pay $60 for the visit. They determine, based on their own standards, what they will pay, and that may be anywhere from zero dollars to around 34 bucks. If you’re beginning to think someone is making money off of this scam you are correct! Open the case, another big-money jackpot for the middleman, better known as American health care insurance coverage.

Have a healthy day! (it will save you money)

planetc1.com-news @ 7:24 pm | Article ID: 1161840289

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