This is the first installment in a four-part series. <\/p>\n
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- A new era in health care is upon us, and Denise Atkinson is a little nervous about how its all going to turn out. <\/p>\n
Going to the doctor used to be simpler for Atkinson, a resident of Williamstown, N.J., and the mother of two small children. She and her husbandboth in their 30swould see premiums taken out of their checks, and dole out an occasional copay for a doctor visit. <\/p>\n
Those days are gone. Atkinson now has some skin in the game: The Cigna Corp. CI, +0.51% policy the family gets through her husbands job has a $3,600 annual deductible. She says thats ultimately a cheaper alternative, because the premiums are smaller, but now theres a more direct financial connection between her and her medical care. <\/p>\n
Financial decision-making and planning around health care now permeates all facets of her life, even factoring into the decision of whether to have a third child. If her pregnancy should start toward the end of one year and conclude the next, for example, her pregnancy alone could cost her $7,200two years worth of the deductible. Its the kind of awareness she didnt have before. <\/p>\n
You pay for every little thing that happens. Where it used to be that on an HMO plan, you had an [emergency room] visit, and youd kick in $100 for your ER visit and you didnt know all the behind-the-scenes costs, Atkinson said. And now, youre getting hit with all of it. <\/p>\n
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Your fathers health-care system is dissipating. Soaring costs are forcing an increasing number of workers throughout the U.S. to adopt a consumer mentality when it comes to medical treatment. Planning for health-care expenses in much the same vein as setting aside money for vacations is becoming more acceptable, and more necessary. <\/p>\n
But are Americans ready to do that, and do consumers like Atkinson have the tools they need? As the country enters its second year under the Affordable Care Act, debates about the triumphs and failures of Obamacare have dominated the public discussion of health care. But growing ranks of doctors, economists and health-industry analysts agree that those debates tend to ignore a much more serious challenge: The systems inability to get medical costs under control. <\/p>\n
In this four-part series, MarketWatch looks at the continuing strugglea losing battle so farwith the medical inflation that continues to outpace the rest of the economy and threatens to consume the lions share of U.S. spending. And well examine the ways that those spiraling costs create ever-growing challenges even for relatively affluent consumers. <\/p>\n
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Here is the original post:<\/p>\n
Health Exchange: Why your medical bills will just keep growing<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This is the first installment in a four-part series. LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- A new era in health care is upon us, and Denise Atkinson is a little nervous about how its all going to turn out. Continue reading