cdaniel

Carole, I have the same insurance you do. They started me out at $147+ just for myself in March, '98. In less than two years, they've raised my rates to $207. I've been through this repeatedly where I am able to find affordable health insurance and within 3 years they've raised my rates to the point where I feel it's unreasonable and I want to get out. My take on it is that companies get into health insurance, harvest the market, and then raise rates so high you can't afford it in the hopes that you will leave because they've now made their money. If in fact, these increases are based on true increases in medical costs, which is what they say...then why am I able to find the same coverage for $147 now that I found in 1990? And, my policy increase is about 41% in the last 19 months. Are medical costs actually increasing at that rate? I doubt it.

I did find in my residence state of Florida that there are laws that offer some protection to the business owner. In order to qualify, I have to show proof of being in business...tax return and/or business bank account. I'm not quite sure if the extra protection is simply that they can't cancel me as easily or that it also protects some from rate increases. But, it might be worth looking into.

Sorry for the wordiness, but this is a real beef of mine.