{"id":8153,"date":"2025-10-01T10:27:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T14:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=8153"},"modified":"2025-10-01T10:27:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T14:27:18","slug":"the-autumn-leaves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2025\/10\/01\/the-autumn-leaves\/","title":{"rendered":"The Autumn Leaves"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Insurance Season<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s October in Ohio.\u00a0\u00a0The burning bushes in front of the house are just starting to tint.\u00a0\u00a0Soon, they\u2019ll live up to their name, flaming red for the autumn season.\u00a0\u00a0The very first set of leaves are already on the lawn, but plenty still hold fast to the maple trees above.\u00a0\u00a0The mornings are actually cool, even sweatshirt cool, while the afternoons are still summer eighty degrees.\u00a0\u00a0Within a few weeks, that too will fade.\u00a0\u00a0Almost time to put the shorts away for next spring, and get used to \u201clong pants\u201d once again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

October is also \u201cinsurance season\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s the time when health insurance companies notify their customers what coverage will cost for next year.\u00a0\u00a0And while the season may be called \u201cfall\u201d, falling isn\u2019t likely to be reflected in the cost of coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look, I\u2019m old and retired.\u00a0\u00a0A major part of my insurance is covered by Medicare.\u00a0\u00a0But if you haven\u2019t had to navigate the \u201cMedicare\u201d world, there\u2019s two things you probably don\u2019t know.\u00a0\u00a0First, Medicare \u201cmajor medical\u201d, pays 80% of\u00a0\u00a0hospital costs. But the Medicare that pays part of regular doctor appointments, and vaccines, and \u201cequipment\u201d, is called Part B, and has a monthly bill.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019ve had Part B for four years, and already the cost has gone up 25%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rest, the 20% of costs, and drugs, and dental, and vision, requires a separate private supplemental insurance.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How High?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Like the leaves falling outside, the bills will arrive on the kitchen table here in Pataskala.\u00a0\u00a0Several of those bills will come from insurance companies.\u00a0\u00a0I don\u2019t dread the maple leaves on the lawn, or the Burning Bushes changing.\u00a0\u00a0But I do worry about what\u2019s coming in the mail:\u00a0\u00a0the increase in insurance costs.\u00a0\u00a0Even \u201cold folks\u201d like me, on Medicare, share the concern – how much of our income will have to go to pay insurance this year?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Medicare Part B 2026 cost is already out there:\u00a0\u00a0an 11% increase.\u00a0\u00a0What will happen with the supplemental insurance?\u00a0\u00a0We\u2019re holding our breath, but even the conservative estimates in the press call for at least a 6.5% increase.\u00a0\u00a0And for those Americans who get their insurance outside of their employer or the Medicare program?\u00a0\u00a0If they were able\u00a0\u00a0to take advantage of the Affordable Care Act, it\u2019s likely that their costs will jump as much as 75%.\u00a0\u00a0If they used to qualify for Medicaid, they may no longer even be eligible because of changes made by Congress.\u00a0\u00a0And, even if they do still qualify, they will find that Medicaid covers less, and costs more.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t know how your personal finances work, but a 75% jump in health insurance would be devastating to ours.\u00a0\u00a0Already, insurance is one of the \u201cbig three\u201d expenses\u00a0\u00a0along with mortgage and food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Driving Costs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s driving all these costs?   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

US Hospitals are the fourth most profitable industry in the country.\u00a0\u00a0Direct Insurance, including workman\u2019s compensation, is the eighth (IBIS<\/a>).\u00a0\u00a0So don\u2019t worry; folks are definitely making money on your healthcare.\u00a0\u00a0But there are other factors driving health care costs.\u00a0\u00a0There 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).\u00a0\u00a0And then, there\u2019s the cost of the uninsured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We live in the United States.\u00a0\u00a0At 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.\u00a0\u00a0When someone shows up unconscious from a fall, hospitals don\u2019t wait for a credit card.\u00a0\u00a0And until this year, the government helped cover the cost of the uninsured.\u00a0\u00a0But that was slashed in Mr. Trump\u2019s \u201cBig, Beautiful, Bill\u201d, to help pay for the $4 Trillion in tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hospitals will still treat the uninsured, and the cost of those treatments will be shared by everyone.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Everyone, that is, who pays for health insurance.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hold Your Breath<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s today\u2019s government shutdown all about?\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s about this:\u00a0\u00a0Democrats are trying to put some of the money back in healthcare spending, money that was taken out for the big tax cuts.\u00a0\u00a0Republicans want the tax cuts, and are perfectly content to have health care costs go up for the rest of us.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s not an \u201ceven trade\u201d; most folks taxes won\u2019t go down, but their insurance costs will certainly go up.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So as you sit at your kitchen table on this beautiful fall day \u2013 don\u2019t hold your breath for a lower insurance bill.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll end up in the hospital, and you might not be able to afford it!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Insurance Season It\u2019s October in Ohio.\u00a0\u00a0The burning bushes in front of the house are just starting to tint.\u00a0\u00a0Soon, they\u2019ll live up to their name, flaming red for the autumn season.\u00a0\u00a0The very first set of leaves are already on the lawn, but plenty still hold fast to the maple trees above.\u00a0\u00a0The mornings are actually cool, even … Continue reading “The Autumn Leaves”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Autumn Leaves : Our America - 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