Forcing Arizona health insurance companies to cover the pill and abortifacients under their preventive medicine benefits opens the door to other, or all, medications needing to be provided at no cost to the policyholder. Of course there is a cost, maybe not in co-pays, but certainly in premiums. It is a classic case of where does it end?

There is nothing free about having to pay the up front costs of the pill and other medications by Arizona health insurance companies, especially considering the cost of sterilization operations. “Revenue neutral,” does not mean it’s free, there is still the cost of paying the doctor for the prescription, the pharmacy for providing it, and the drug maker for manufacturing it. Health insurance companies cannot promise to pay these costs with imaginary future savings. What they can do, and will, is raise premiums to pay these up front costs.

Many large employers in Arizona are self insured, hiring health insurance companies such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona as their Third Party Administrator. These large employers will assume the total cost of this mandate, and it is unlikely they will see a penny in savings down the road. With employee turnover what it is, and a 25 year window to have a baby on average, the possibility of the employer to save premium down the road goes out the other window.

So why such a huge increase in cost, which of course will raise future health insurance premiums that much higher? According to the Obama administration the majority of the increase is due to, “newly signed legislation,” and, “technical changes in Treasury assumptions.” What? Huh? Really? These assumption changes are going to raise everyone’s collective health insurance premium by $111,000,000,000, the least they could do is speak English when telling such lies about the real cost of medical insurance.

We are not to worry though, President Obama states that we will still save money overall once everything is in place. Miraculously we are going to save money on health insurance by spending a lot more money. Where have I heard this before? Oh yea, unemployment insurance payments are good for the economy, abortion pills save health insurance companies money, billion dollar stimulus spending sprees create lot’s of jobs, and the list goes on.

The argument for mandated contraception coverage, and especially emergency contraception pills such as Ella, (a pill causing the abortion of the baby, a.k.a. the, “Morning After Pill,”) goes something like this… if everyone has access to, “free,” contraception medication, the need for abortions will decrease, something we can all agree is a good thing. Planned Parenthood and others also say that Arizona health insurance companies will ultimately save money by not having to pay for unwanted pregnancies, the cost of delivering a baby much more than a few pills.

These arguments for mandated contraception coverage by health insurance companies in Arizona and elsewhere make complete sense. There’s just one problem though… well, actually, there’s twenty-three problems. Twenty-three separate studies, many conducted by supporters of such coverage by Arizona health insurance companies, concluded that there is no direct correlation between increased access to emergency contraception medication and a reduction in unwanted pregnancies or abortions.

Enter the, “Reproductive Parity Act,” recently passed by a Washington state board, a first in the country. The law basically forces health insurance companies doing business in that state to cover abortions at ANY point in a pregnancy. The Huffington Post, Planned Parenthood, and others have called this new law, “ground breaking.” I’ll say. Somehow we have gotten to the point where killing is the equivalent to healing. If you are a health insurance company in Washington you are now to treat abortion the same way as the birth of a child. Up is down, and down is up it seems.

The majority of Americans believe in the right to life, are against abortions, and certainly don’t want to be forced to pay for them, or added as one more federal mandate on their health insurance policy. Yet here we are, the beginning push toward the right to end an innocent life hours before birth.

For the next two years it is projected that economic growth will slow from two percent this year to one percent next year. One must keep in mind that these are the government’s projections, not from a Republican think-tank or one of the right leaning publications on television or print. Arizona employer’s are preparing for the worst, yet hoping for the best of course. With profit margin’s at their lowest point ever, any increase in Arizona health insurance premiums will surely put many companies in the poor house at worst, and the remaining employers simply not hiring at best. With unemployment projected to be 8.9% by the end of the year, and 9.3% by next year, it becomes painfully obvious that something must be done, and quickly. Anything short of a complete turnover of the Obamacare law by the Supreme Court this June will only exacerbate the problem. Unfortunately for Arizona Medicare and Medicaid participants, along with everyone else in the nation, a complete reversal of the law is unlikely, leaving more questions than answers, and sky high premiums continuing their upward charge.

The CBO also estimates that due to Obamacare, enrollment in Medicaid and other health insurance policies such as Arizona’s AHCCCS program will explode come 2014, adding trillions of dollars to the debt load Arizona and the nation already carry.

It is important to note that the CBO report projects lower deficits in the coming years based on increased tax revenue and lower reimbursement rates for physicians. The fact that these cuts in health insurance reimbursement rates have never happened in the past, or will ever take place in the near future should be made clear, the, “Doc Fix,” popping up every few months to continue payments at their current levels. As for the tax revenue increase, it should also be noted that neither the president or Congress supports letting the Bush tax cuts expire, as the CBO calculated into their findings. The report, calculating that a 30% cut in pay to doctors will take place this year, (again, this will never happen,) still concludes that the economy is going to get worse before it gets better. With the rosiest of numbers to work with, (by law the CBO must use figures based on current law such as the Bush tax cuts set to expire,) the CBO has told us in the strongest possible terms that those in Arizona and everywhere else in this country are in for a world of hurt, as if things were not bad enough already.

Arizona health insurance policy holder’s must prepare for the worst and hope for the best, just like Arizona employer’s offering group health insurance policies to their employee’s. Raise those deductibles, enroll in Health Savings Account qualified plans, (HSA,) and shop for the Arizona health insurance company that offers the best negotiated rates for medical services for their members…that company being a non-profit named Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona.

These CO-OP’S are to be funded by the federal government to the tune of six billion dollars in the beginning, a seed for socialized medicine throughout the country. Republicans sliced two billion from the program recently, announcing that without such funding these CO-OP’s were DOA. Dead they are not, the government announcing the other day that they sent out nearly a billion dollars to eight states to get these competition killers going. During the next year the Medicare administrators will spend many billions more setting up CO-OP’S throughout the country. State exchanges, federally monitored, yet called, “marketplace,” health insurance policies, who knew. If this administration doesn’t like certain connotations, “socialized medicine,” invokes, simply change the name to something that’s more appealing like, “marketplace,” based products.

Donate to Obama and receive a waiver. Member of a union, you too need not buy Arizona health insurance or a group health insurance policy like all those for-profit, greedy corporations. Talk about a rigged system, skewering the for-profit health insurance companies, and you the tax-payer, once again. But not to worry, President Obama assures us that there are many safety measures in place to make sure these billions of dollars of tax-payer dollars invested in the CO-OP’S are safe and sound. Like Solyndra, you can rest assured that at the first sign of trouble this administration will double down. Fortunately, the administration has already removed any future surprises of CO-OP bankruptcies by announcing up front that forty percent of them will fail. That’s right folks, betting big with your money comes naturally to our Chicago Politician In Chief, never mind a near 50/50 chance of failure.

Guess who recently received over three hundred million dollars for their CO-OP? Sara Horowitz is her name, someone Obama has worked with in the past. She has spent her adult life working toward socialized medicine for the country. She runs the CO-OP named, “Freelancers Union.” Flush with new money she hopes to snag a couple of hundred thousand more New Yorkers into her, “social-purpose company.” Unfortunately for the existing clients of the Freelancers Union, being a member of this CO-OP has resulted in higher premiums, horrible customer service, and a reduction in group health insurance benefits compared to group health insurance carriers not part of a CO-OP.

Another winner of millions in tax-payer dollars is an organization founded by Saul Alinsky, author of, “Rules for Radicals.” Common Ground Healthcare Cooperative in Wisconsin has so far received nearly sixty million dollars. Common Ground Healthcare Cooperative in Wisconsin is an affiliate of Industrial Areas Foundation, founder Alinsky. And where did Industrial Areas Foundation get their money? From none other than Gregory Galluzzo, Obama’s friend, and someone he regularly met with. Thank goodness Obamacare was passed so that we could see what’s in it.

Instead of the projected $13,000 in claims per policy holder this year, it is now projected that each of the enrolled will use nearly $29,000 in medical services. This figure, interestingly enough, is double the amount most states spent on similar high-risk pools that they have been running for many years. Those enrolled in the Obama high-risk pool health insurance program have eight times as many in-patient stays and three times as many ER visits than the average person.

Due to the six month period a person must be uninsured before qualifying for the high risk pool health insurance program, (and be denied by a private health insurance carrier,) many institutions predicted that patients would simply wait for care during this time, obtaining medical attention and filing claims immediately once enrolled. Another factor causing the large cost increase is the fact that the average policy holder is over the age of 45. The program now has nearly 50,000 individuals with serious pre-existing conditions enrolled, a number that had been predicted to be nearly 400,000 by this time. The first year of the program ended with roughly 9,000 enrolled, primarily due to very high premium rates. The federal government slashed prices by 40% to increase enrollment, yet the number of insured are still much less than expected, making it that much more difficult to spread the risk and keep premiums and costs affordable.

Some health insurance companies, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona as an example, allow you to apply for free when completing and submitting your application online, otherwise a $20.00 application fee likely applies. Keep in mind that the premiums quoted on most insurer’s websites are the, “preferred,” rates, the lowest rates offered to the healthiest among us. Depending on health status, applicants can have rate-ups anywhere between 10% and 80%, and even declined coverage if too many pre-existing conditions are present.

Like any other purchase, price should only be one of several factors when deciding which company is best. One must also consider company reputation, number of complaints with the Arizona Department of Insurance, amount of business done in the state, how long have they done business in the state, how deductibles are calculated and credited within each company, the discounted amount for in network services, (the, “allowed amounts,”) size of network, and the list goes on. Not knowing any one of these factors can lead to thousands of additional dollars being spent on medical care, expenses one may have believed to be covered by the Arizona health insurance company but are not.

Thankfully the health insurance shopper need not be an expert in the field, a trustworthy broker can easily generate a number of quotes for you, answering all of your questions, and making suggestions as well. Arizona health insurance brokers do not charge an additional fee for their services, you pay the same price whether dealing directly with the insurer or with a broker.

But why the dramatic increase in mental disability claims, and the corresponding increase in Medicare enrollment for those under the age of 65? As President Clinton was apt to say, “It’s the economy stupid.” As the long-term unemployed run out of benefits, they are turning to other safety nets to continue receiving money to survive in these tough times. Unlike unemployment benefits that have a limited benefit period, mental health disability benefits are usually for life, a cost the American taxpayer now must pay to the tune of $200,000,000,000 a year! 10.5 million disability checks now go out each month, a record number. Adding to this gloomy situation is the fact that these unemployed individuals are no longer included in the national unemployment figures, giving the general public false hope that the economy is getting better.

Medicare’s disability fund is projected to run out of money in six years, though this may happen much more quickly if the upward trend of applicants continues at it’s current pace. It is estimated that 25% of those awarded disability benefits through Medicare are the long-term unemployed that have run out of unemployment insurance.

Another question that remains unanswered is why there are no longer any Arizona health insurance companies offering Medicare supplement policies to those under the age of 65. An educated guess would be that these insurers are concerned with the affects of, “adverse selection.” If Medicare disability benefits for those with mental issues are the easiest to qualify for, and 25% of the newly enrolled are those that have been unemployed for over 99 weeks or more, the chances of these individuals filing claims on a long-term, consistent basis will rise exponentially.

The disabled have also been affected. For those under the age of 65, disabled, and having Medicare A&B, there is no longer any Arizona health insurance companies offering Medicare supplement coverage for these individuals. Their only choice now is Medicare Complete type plans which typically have a limited list of physicians to choose from, a local service area, and many other restrictions not found in true supplement plans.

For adults 18-64, higher premiums every few months has now become the norm. For over thirty years Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona limited their rate increases on individual products to once a year. This was standard practice with all carriers. Now Arizona health insurance companies must re-evaluate their premiums every few months due to a continual stream of new mandates being issued from the Health and Human Services department. The latest mandate requires all insurers to pay the total bill for contraceptives. “Free,” contraceptives have a price, and all part of quarterly rate increases. As they say, if you thought Arizona health insurance was expensive now, just wait until it’s free.

Most in the Arizona health insurance business are anxiously awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision on Obamacare, as are millions of small business owners across the country. The law must be thrown out in it’s entirety. As time goes by insurers and their policy holder’s are learning just how seriously flawed this law is, and how expensive. Employers of all sizes are sitting on the sidelines, not investing in their businesses and hiring additional help until they have a clear picture of what their tax and insurance liabilities will be for the next few years. Until a firm dollar amount can be tied to the true cost per employee with Arizona health insurance, and other costs associated with hiring, it should be of no surprise that the Arizona economy, and that of the nation’s, will remain stagnant.