Health insurance on this island

[leilanidude]

Although the goal is admirable, helping to find cures....... it places billions of taxpayer money in the hands of our giant pharmaceutical companies.

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Who else has been doing the research for cures?

[terracore]

Pharmaceutical companies don't research for cures, they research for treatments. Some of the most exciting "cure" research I've been reading about lately have been government funded research in the UK and China. No for-profit company is going to pour 10 billion dollars into finding a cure for anything. If their research cures everybody afflicted after recouping only 8 billion dollars, they have to jack the price of epi-pens (or whatever) up to make up the difference and are shamed in mainstream and social media.

[Seeb]

HMSA is the best coverage for the big island everyone takes it.

[Peter Easterling]

My wife says her renewal HMSA monthly premium is going from $660 to over $800! I certainly was mildly interested in you folks with short attention spans. I asked where you are getting your health insurance. imagtek decided to express his hatred and prejudice about Mexicans (thank you, Trump mouthpiece); others chatted about Obama and the pharmaceutical industry. So, evidently no one has health insurance from any outfit but HMSA. One last comment to imagtek: you may leave now. Shut the door quietly when you go to white man's land.

[Frank]

aarp-United Health care may be an option

[leilanidude]

imagtek decided to express his hatred and prejudice about Mexicans (thank you, Trump mouthpiece)

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imagetek didn't express hatred in his post? He just stated what is a known fact with how Mexicans (mostly the illegal ones) "get" healthcare. (He could have left out the term "Mexicans" though and substituted a broader term)

I once worked in a factory that hired dozens of illegals and none of them would take the health insurance even though 90% of the cost was paid by the employer. It frustrated the employer because with smaller numbers to have in the group plan, overall costs went up.

They simply went to the emergency room, which by law, has to treat them for free. You don't get anything special with method, just basic care to get you stabilized, etc.

My coverage is through United Health, through my current mainland employer. I am not sure I want to find out how well it works in Hawaii. Luckily, I have not had to use it.

[DTisme]

I'm 60 and with Kaiser. My Gold plan was going to go from $604 to $804 in 2017 so I opted for a Silver plan at $690. You'd have to check the plans. Kaiser site and healthcare.gov have all the info. I suggest going to Kaiser site and investigating. I had to make a spreadsheet bc comparing plans was comparing apples to oranges (percent vs. set amount in many categories).

Obviously if you qualify for a subsidy through fed site, that helps. But know this: if you DON'T enroll thru healthcare.gov and then make less at end of year than you thought, you cannot get that subsidy. If you enroll thru healthcare.gov and don't qualify for subsidy then at end of year find you do, you can correct when you do your taxes. You can't do this if you buy directly.

ps - I love Kaiser here. Lots of folks don't, but I have had really good care. Went thru 2 doctors outside of Kaiser when I was with HMSA, and wasn't happy. Now I'm assured someone will be there when I need them. Disadvantages of kaiser have been discussed in other threads. Like you have to fly to oahu for some things and that might not sit well with you.

pps - it doesn't matter your wife's state of health. Obamacare did away with turning down for preexisting conditions. Altho it DOES matter if she's a smoker. Higher rates apply.

edited for typos

[reni]

Peter writes,
"$660 per month seems a bit high."My wife says her renewal HMSA monthly premium is going from $660 to over $800! I certainly was mildly interested in you folks with short attention spans."
Aloha Peter,
I just qualified for Medicare so did not respond to your question on "where" I get my coverage , which is United Health Care now. I did respond to your statement of $660.00 being a bit high in the form of providing comparatives.
House has voted to take funds from Obamacare, another story I read says their premiums will increase by 25% next year. I mentioned our kid's...who have had their kids coverage jump to $600.00 a month . You've provided us with the H.M.S.A. rate increase of $660.00 to $800.00 per month for your wife and D.Tisme has shared his Kaiser rate increase from $604.00 a month to $804.00 a month. I think most of us can remember the posts of Kaiser dramatically increasing their rates on our Big Island Citizens on medicare.
Threads do get hijacked but the information you are seeking is still here! And hopefully the discussion is providing addl. info. to other readers as well.