Rising Cost Health Insurance

All the talk about passing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to help bring down the cost of health care and it seems to be moving in the opposite direction. Employers are becoming very uneasy with the substantial rise in health insurance premiums and are not sure how to handle this arising situation. Employees are becoming nervous because they are still unsure how much more they will be expected to pay out of pocket. There are a few changes that are coming down the road.
1. Higher health insurance deductibles
2. Health insurance benefits for retirees dwindling
3. Shrinking wellness programs
4. Increases in Medicare and Medicaid payroll deductions
5. Increase in medical prescriptions program
Employee payroll deductibles will be increasing beginning of January 1, 2011 to help offset the rising health insurance costs to employers. Many are estimating the increase to even low cost health insurance to rise as much as forty percent. There are many employers who are now considering reducing their employee ratio and forfeiting adding health insurance as part of the hiring practice.
Many employers and employees are receiving information packets for the annual health insurance policy for the coming year and finding they will be receiving less health coverage in exchange for the average monthly cost of health insurance doubling and in some cases tripling. The deductible per individual and per family is also increasing which will make it very difficult for anyone to have the opportunity to visit with a medical health care physician when in need.
In the beginning, there were many of the larger corporations who were willing to open wellness centers or expand the wellness centers already in existence. Under the current mood and with the new rules, laws, and regulations that are forthcoming, many have made the decision to forfeit the wellness health care center due to rising costs. Medicare, which is a low cost health insurance for senior citizens is also being drastically reduced by half a trillion dollars.
This will cause many citizens, not only the senior citizens in our population to take a closer look at the new health care reform that is quickly approaching. Many medical health care physicians are already making it known they will no longer be accepting new patients who are entering the Medicare system. Many employees who have pre-paid towards their COBRA health insurance coverage are finding this too will be discontinued for new employees entering into the workplace.