Higher and Higher

One of my colleagues was complaining about the cost of his health insurance. As a consultant he is responsible for his own insurance. His Provider is Harvard Pilgrim. Since Harvard Pilgrim is a not-for-profit company it is still is one of cheapest providers of health insurance in Massachusetts. As of December 1 the cost for his insurance rose $50 to $425 per month. He is single, under 30 and healthy.

This prompted me to do some research. The Kaiser Family Foundation has a fantastic website that is a wealth of information. A report released in August 2004 indicated the average cost for a single 30 year old living in New England is $254 and $425 for a family. Given this I called Tufts and Blue Cross Blue Shield indicating I was a 30 year old consultant with a wife and 2 children. I asked for quotes as an individual and for a family. The individual cost for Blue Cross Blue Shield was $469 and for a family $989. Tufts was $501 and $1021. I believe the KFF numbers were from 2002; talk about a price hike!

I had no idea how much people who don’t have group coverage are paying, I knew it was a lot but not a mortgage or car payment. I have a feeling once the government implements tort reform legislation it will do nothing to minimize these annual increases.