State Spotlight: Kansas Rate Hikes — Daily Rise: Friday, August 12

State Spotlight: Kansas Rate Hikes

Government workers in Kansas are getting a small taste of what it’s like to participate in the individual health exchange.

The Topeka Capital-Journal shares news that thousands of state government employees in Kansas will see their share of health insurance premiums increase next year.

Rates for individuals and employee-and-children plans are expected to increase 9 percent. Those workers are fortunate compared to those enrolled in a family plan, which will go up 30 percent.

“Health care costs and insurance premiums continue to increase across the nation,” says Cassie Sparks, a spokeswoman for the state’s health agency. “The Kansas Health Care Commission looked at state plan utilization and trends to determine the necessary plan and contribution adjustments necessary for both the employer and the employee.”

Whether enrolled in individual insurance or through an employer, patients across the country are suffering with these massive insurance rate hikes. Every time you read a story on insurance rate hikes think just remember that these same companies are posting record profits and routinely force patients to fail first.

White House 2016: Hillary on Drug Costs

Will Hillary Clinton’s plan reduce drug costs? Health care economist and Townhall columnist Devon Herrick doesn’t think so.

Herrick argues that, right now, most patients pay little for their prescription drugs —  with more than 75 percent of prescriptions costing patients $10 or less. Clinton’s plan would cap prescription drug co-pays at no more than $250 per month. In other words, many patients wouldn’t benefit from the plan.

“Because of their value, prescriptions are dispensed in generic form nearly 90 percent of the time,” Herrick writes at Townhall.com. “Rising drug costs are now a political issue because the number of diseases and conditions that can be treated using drug therapy has grown tremendously over the past 25 years.”