Ezra Klein points out that according to the new Rasmussen poll, 80 percent of Americans claim to be satisfied with their current health insurance. That's up from 70 percent earlier in the year.
But Simon Johnson and James Kwak wrote in the Washington Post that many of these people have no fricking clue how good or awful their health insurance really is:
...until you have a serious illness, the kind where your plan's limits and exclusions may kick in, how do you know if your health coverage is any good?
And Digby quoted the following rundown of expensive and shitty policies that are about to get a whole lot shittier and expensive:
Among this year's large rate increases on the individual market:
• Anthem Blue Cross in California has notified about 80% of its 800,000 individual policyholders of double-digit increases, many above 30%. Spokesman Ben Singer says rising medical costs are prompting the increases.
• Blue Cross of Michigan is seeking state approval for a 56% increase in individual premiums. Spokesman Andy Hetzel says the company needs to offset losses stemming from state rules making it the sole insurer required to take all applicants.
• Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oregon will raise rates for approximately 10,000 Washington state customers by 27.1% on March 1.
Another Washington insurer, LifeWise, raised rates 17.6% on Jan. 1, according to the Office of the Insurance Commissioner in Washington state.
By comparison, group health insurance premiums paid by employers rose about 5% in 2008, says a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Some insurers say increases this year for individual policies aren't out of the ordinary. Aetna, for example, says individual policy increases nationwide range from 8% to 22%
Good luck with that, town hall wingnuts. Yep. While these crazies are wasting their time and embarrassing themselves by repeating outlandish lies in public, their beloved health insurance providers are about to royally screw them. One way or another.
Best. Health. Insurance. Ever.