Recently, I was at a restaurant and ordered a salad.  Being Gluten-free, my options are generally limited.  $10 for a salad I could make at home for $3 was ok.  After all I was at the beach.

I asked to have some chicken added.  Informed they cannot do chicken, but they could do shrimp.

“How many would you like?”, Alex asked.

I could smell the ocean from where I sat. “Six is good”, I replied.

A few minutes later, Alex came back to the table, and said “Just wanted to give you the heads up that the shrimp are $3.50…..each”.

How does one keep a straight face with that sort of news?  Better yet, how does one not laugh hysterically?

How do I keep a straight face as my friends watch what I might say.

That’s the way I felt when I got home and opened my Blue Cross rate letter for 2016. They are careful not to place you current premium anywhere for the sake of comparison.

For the record, I have not made any progress towards my $5500 deductible for the current plan year-I have not been to the Doctor for any reasons.

That’s what makes it even more shocking.  My premium has gone from $273.31 to $497.01.

Yes, you read that correctly.

81.84%

Here’s a calculator you can use as well.  Depressing, isn’t it?

http://www.marshu.com/articles/calculate-percentage-increase-decrease-percent-calculator.php

Obamacare:  The Gift that keeps on taking.

We said this day would come.  We said rates would rise sharply. No one believed us.

And now here we are.

If you want to know what is killing this economy, look no further.

Blue Cross wants to collect nearly $2,111 from me for doing…..absolutely nothing.

Had Blue Cross been actually concerned about my health, they would have told me to sit down before opening that letter.

And if I were smart?

I’d still be at the beach. But I would get my own shrimp.

I am also changing to a Medical Cost Savings plan.

My monthly contributions will be LESS than the increase that BCBS is asking from me in 2016.

To be a bit more precise, it will be 40% less than what BCBS wants from me.

And my new deductible? $500.

With that kind of savings, I will be able to head to the beach sooner rather than later.

You should explore those sort of options as well.

After all, it is YOUR money.