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By Don Potter
I am covered by Medicare and also purchase supplemental health insurance, along with prescription coverage, from one of the nation's better known providers. Recently a letter arrived at my home stating there would be no increase in premiums for the Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) coverage during 2010. However, the next day I received the invoice for the prescription plan; there was no notice just a bill representing an increase for the third year in a row.
Pre-boomers, particularly those of us living in high-cost areas like Southern California, are concerned about the cost of insurance. So, I did some research and crunched the numbers to see how bad things really were. Before going back in time, let's look at how rates for supplemental coverage from my insurance provider continue to climb for those born between 1930 and 1945 as we age. After moving from the attained age of 65 to 69 into the 70 to 74 group, there is a 35.3% hike in premiums. Another bump of 19.9% occurs for individuals between the ages of 75-79; but the actual dollar increase is about the same, since the base is higher. This means there is a difference of 74.5% between what older pre-boomers pay versus the younger ones.
My four-year rate analysis includes the period from 2007 through the announced premiums for 2010. The numbers behind the numbers tell a rather sad story. Take my prescription plan. The increase from 2007 to 2008 was 25.2%, 2008 to 2009 another 14.2% and 2009 to 2010 up 13.3%. This results in my prescription drug insurance coverage costing 68.4% more than it did in 2007. That's more difficult to swallow than some of the pills I take. Ah premium health insurance...
