Plans in my area were not affordable?

It’s fair to say that I’m not a huge fan of spending money. Don’t get me wrong, I love the feeling of splurging on a fancy meal or treating myself to a new pair of shoes every now and then, but when it comes to something like healthcare, I’d much rather keep my hard-earned cash in my pocket.

Unfortunately, that hasn’t been an option lately. As someone who works freelance and doesn’t have access to employer-based insurance coverage, finding affordable health insurance has always been something of a challenge for me. Recently though, things have gotten even harder thanks in part to rising costs and dwindling options where I live.

The Problem

Let me start by saying this: shopping for health insurance is brutal. There are so many different plans out there with varying levels of coverage and rates that trying to compare them all feels like a full-time job unto itself.

Even with all those variables in play though, you’d think that if you live in an area with robust competition among insurers that you’d be able to at least find something reasonable priced. Unfortunately for me (and likely others), that hasn’t really been the case lately.

A Snapshot

Here are just a few examples:

  • One insurer had only two plans available where I lived: one was over $600/month with extremely high deductibles while the other offered no copayments but charged almost $800/month.
  • Another insurer also had two options – one costing nearly as much as rent each month ($1K+) with super high deductibles or another plan starting at $500+ per month which barely covered any real medical benefits whatsoever!
  • Good luck getting basic answers without signing up first! Many sites didn’t show prices unless we entered our personal information including names, addresses etc., violating privacy protections!

I could go on about their absurd pricing structures — really, I could — but the fact remains that for many people, finding a health plan that provides decent coverage isn’t just difficult; it’s practically impossible. Especially in today’s world where more and more folks are working as independent contractors without access to group or employer-sponsored coverage.

Time for a Change

Look, I get it — healthcare is complicated. There are so many factors at play that contribute to the rising costs of medical care and insurance coverage alike. Nevertheless, it shouldn’t be this hard.

Surely insurers can see how their customers (looking at you blue cross) might want plans with lower premiums and reasonable deductibles/copays? Unexpected underwriting expenses such as 2018 risk charges show only signs of leveling out [^1]. No matter what though, it remains your responsibility as an informed consumer/player in negotiations between Insurers and Politicians!

All of which brings me back to my point: something has got to give when it comes to affordable health insurance options. It is time for us citizens us [^2] who bread/ butter industries like Big Pharma-who last year made nearly $30B adjusting prices despite our national crisis [^3]-to demand change!

The Silver Lining

As annoying as all this may sound though there is some good news (yes really). With so much competition among providers touting big pharma propaganda, expect changes soon!. While they certainly still aren’t cheap enough yet nonetheless we have started seeing creative new approaches emerge on part of small cooperative groups amongst alternative-medical practitioners offering communal wellness hub services instead 🙂

These collaborative efforts represent exciting possibilities moving forward– encouraging tie ins with yoga classes/kids camps outside traditional hospital settings etc..- even if they won’t solve everything overnight.

Sadly things aren’t going away anytime soon…There will always remain those three or four insured companies serving huge numbers over large geographic areas able throw their weight around despite existing regulations. Nationwide single-payer, Medicare for All programs may get there someday… but until then we’re stuck dealing with the hand that we were dealt.

Conclusion

In summary, health insurance plans in many areas are becoming increasingly expensive — often prohibitively so. While a solution to this problem isn’t easy or clear-cut (someone actually started forecasting in blog posts [^4]), steps towards progress and solutions through local regulation might be possible!

There is some hope though as new collaborative coalitions of healthcare “outsiders” have emerged which offer alternative models of ‘health centers’ and integrated care spaces[^5]. Consumers should still strive to do their homework when it comes time for enrolling especially trying out small/boutique insurers like Oscar Health Insurance or reading up helpful resources such as the National Association by Refer Team Appraisals however!

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