So today we received our renewal packets for our health insurance for 2012.

After the large increase in premiums last year I figured that we’d only see a slight to no increase in premiums this year, since we were told that the large increase last year was because of the “uncertainty of how Obamacare would play out”. This was a literal quote from the person who handles our insurance plans.

Boy was I naive apparently.

To maintain the same amount of coverage for me, my wife, and my two kids it would cost me an additional $75 a pay period. This averages out to about an extra $160 a month over a 12 month period.

I’ve come to now realize that if I keep this plan, my health insurance will now account for 30% of my gross income. Because of the astronomical cost of my plan, I literally pay no taxes because my AGI is $10,000+ lower because of pre-tax health insurance costs.

I won’t even get into the In-Network deductible which prevents me from getting my cPAP machine for Sleep Apnea because I’d have to meet the deductible BEFORE the machine would be covered. While the machine IS less than my deductible, it is still more than I can afford to shell out.

So now I have to make a decision: drop my coverage down to the next tier which will increase my Co-pays, In and Out of Network deductibles (a $6000 increase by the way between plans), and pay less for premiums. Or I keep the plan I’m on now, still not be covered for medically necessary items, and pay more money than I can afford to save $10 in Copays.

Great.

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