Insurance Increase/How to Cancel

[AlexfromLA]

You are 100% correct. But that is Argentina. Have you read it's history ?Inflation is crazy here and cyclical. It's part of the package. I'm not saying you don't have a point, all i'm saying is, it could be worse. It's 15-20% in the USA because the prices are already FOUR TIMES what they are here. People can complain all they want, i'm just injecting a little perspective, however unwanted it might be.

Ever been to a dentist here ? Have you compared the prices with the USA ? It's ridiculously cheap, RIDICULOUSLY.

I think the prices will eventually get as high as they are in the US, so enjoy it while you can.

I'm a glass half full kinda guy. I can see most of the people on here are not.

My bad. I gotta start complaining more, maybe i'll have a better time.

Mira, having health care costs double in 18 months is outrageous. We're not talking about 15% a year. We're talking 100%. Again, since Jan '09, my costs have gone from about 340 a month to 650 a month. That's for a single person, in good health. That's a huge increase.

Yes, I will be looking at other plans and yes, I am lucky enough to have options and be able to afford it but it's quite frightening to see that kind of increase.

 

[tez]

Just as a side note, I have had OSDE for nearly two years now and my prices have only gone up from 210 to 260, and that was soon after I signed up and they alerted me to the impending increase when I signed up. I am under 25 until this July which is why it is so considerably cheaper, but once my birthday comes around it will only go up 100 pesos. I quite like OSDE, the only thing they don't cover that was upsetting to me are contact lenses, but I don't know if any health insurance covers that.

 

[citygirl]

Alex..sigh.. I feel like I have the same discussion all the time. I don't bitch about Argentina all the time. I run a business here, there are many things I appreciate here and yes, I am quite aware of the history of Argentina. I also have lived here for the past few years and have seen first hand the increases and how they affect people.

PS - The prices aren't 4x more if you stop thinking in dollars. Sure, healthcare is a lot cheaper here. So are salaries. So net/net - you probably pay an equal percentage in healthcare costs. (If you are fortunate enough to have a salary in dollars, congrats. Those that do are lucky and yes, it alleviates a bit of the pain.) But if you are earning in local wages - the increases in prices are astonishing - and painful.

Anyway, the point of this thread was to let people know about the mandatory increases in insurance and ask about canceling insurance and I have received that info. Thanks All.

 

[Ashley]

This is Argentina, complaining will get you nowhere. But I understand some people need to do it. It's called catharsis.

I'm from the US, I would be paying 3-4 times as much as I do here for the same plan. Rate increases in California are going up 14% - 20% this year alone. I am not Argentinian, I am American and yet I still get to take advantage of their great level of medical care for a fourth of what I would be paying in my home country. So no, I won't complain.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/30/BARI1E7JK7.DTL

If your plan gets too expensive for you or you are unhappy with the care, switch providers. That's capitalism.

Btw. Health care in Argentina is free as well. The locals here who " earn in pesos ", and can't afford private insurance, use it. But I don't think most expats would use the public health care system, hence the premium.

Complaining might get you nowhere...but switching providers will. I think that's what the OP was talking about. It's not a glass half-full or glass half-empty situation. If you earn in pesos (which a lot of us do...not just locals!) 100% inflation on health insurance is extortionate... If you're down here earning/living on dollars, of course it's still cheap compared to the US, but a lot of us are not! People aren't just complaining to complain...Having your health insurance increase by 100% makes you a lot poorer at the end of the month. If we were living in the US (and therefore earning in dollars) while a 14% increase would surely hit us hard, it wouldn't be as bad as a 100% increase on our peso salaries!