Insurance Season
It’s October in Ohio. The burning bushes in front of the house are just starting to tint. Soon, they’ll live up to their name, flaming red for the autumn season. The very first set of leaves are already on the lawn, but plenty still hold fast to the maple trees above. The mornings are actually cool, even sweatshirt cool, while the afternoons are still summer eighty degrees. Within a few weeks, that too will fade. Almost time to put the shorts away for next spring, and get used to “long pants” once again.
October is also “insurance season”. It’s the time when health insurance companies notify their customers what coverage will cost for next year. And while the season may be called “fall”, falling isn’t likely to be reflected in the cost of coverage.
Look, I’m old and retired. A major part of my insurance is covered by Medicare. But if you haven’t had to navigate the “Medicare” world, there’s two things you probably don’t know. First, Medicare “major medical”, pays 80% of hospital costs. But the Medicare that pays part of regular doctor appointments, and vaccines, and “equipment”, is called Part B, and has a monthly bill. I’ve had Part B for four years, and already the cost has gone up 25%.
The rest, the 20% of costs, and drugs, and dental, and vision, requires a separate private supplemental insurance.
How High?
Like the leaves falling outside, the bills will arrive on the kitchen table here in Pataskala. Several of those bills will come from insurance companies. I don’t dread the maple leaves on the lawn, or the Burning Bushes changing. But I do worry about what’s coming in the mail: the increase in insurance costs. Even “old folks” like me, on Medicare, share the concern – how much of our income will have to go to pay insurance this year?
The Medicare Part B 2026 cost is already out there: an 11% increase. What will happen with the supplemental insurance? We’re holding our breath, but even the conservative estimates in the press call for at least a 6.5% increase. And for those Americans who get their insurance outside of their employer or the Medicare program? If they were able to take advantage of the Affordable Care Act, it’s likely that their costs will jump as much as 75%. If they used to qualify for Medicaid, they may no longer even be eligible because of changes made by Congress. And, even if they do still qualify, they will find that Medicaid covers less, and costs more.
I don’t know how your personal finances work, but a 75% jump in health insurance would be devastating to ours. Already, insurance is one of the “big three” expenses along with mortgage and food.
Driving Costs
What’s driving all these costs?
US Hospitals are the fourth most profitable industry in the country. Direct Insurance, including workman’s compensation, is the eighth (IBIS). So don’t worry; folks are definitely making money on your healthcare. But there are other factors driving health care costs. There are rising costs in everything, from the wages of health care workers to the costs of syringes (mostly made in China, and subject to increased tariffs). And then, there’s the cost of the uninsured.
We live in the United States. At least until now, we all agreed that if someone is sick and goes to the hospital, they ought to be treated, whether they can pay for it or not. When someone shows up unconscious from a fall, hospitals don’t wait for a credit card. And until this year, the government helped cover the cost of the uninsured. But that was slashed in Mr. Trump’s “Big, Beautiful, Bill”, to help pay for the $4 Trillion in tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy.
Hospitals will still treat the uninsured, and the cost of those treatments will be shared by everyone. Everyone, that is, who pays for health insurance.
Hold Your Breath
What’s today’s government shutdown all about? It’s about this: Democrats are trying to put some of the money back in healthcare spending, money that was taken out for the big tax cuts. Republicans want the tax cuts, and are perfectly content to have health care costs go up for the rest of us. It’s not an “even trade”; most folks taxes won’t go down, but their insurance costs will certainly go up.
So as you sit at your kitchen table on this beautiful fall day – don’t hold your breath for a lower insurance bill.
You’ll end up in the hospital, and you might not be able to afford it!!
