Health insurance sticker shock
21 01 08 - 11:17
Chamber of Commerce member's insurance premium leaps by 25%
By HOWARD FRANK
Pocono Record Writer
January 21, 2008
A local businessman's health insurance bill is making him sick.
Alan Rosenblum owns The Frame Factory, a custom picture framing shop on North Ninth Street. He has framed things like a bottle of Dom Perignon and was even once asked to frame an old pair of tattered, mismatched argyle socks from the mom of a soon-to-be groom.
As a member of the Pocono Mountains Chamber of Commerce, he joined their Chamber Choice health insurance plan. Chamber Choice provides Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans for small businesses through local chambers.
"All the chambers of commerce in the state are supposedly part of this plan. One of the advantages of the plan was the power of being part of a large group of people buying insurance from a company," Rosenblum said.
He did some comparison shopping three years ago for himself and his 16-year-old daughter. "The chamber's insurance was less expensive," he said.
Last year, his insurance premium was $479.84 a month. That was up 4 percent from the previous year, which, according to Rosenblum, was a reasonable increase.
But Rosenblum's monthly premium jumped by $115.73 a month to $572.72, a 25 percent increase.
With business tight, he won't pass the increased cost of insurance onto his customers. He'll have to absorb it himself. But it won't be easy.
"I'm a single parent trying to make ends meet," Rosenblum said.
He called Chamber Choice. "They said, 'We saw the increase and we complained and there's nothing we can do about it and if you want to keep it you have to pay. If you think you can do better, you can go somewhere else.' That bothered me," Rosenblum said.
Robert Phillips, president and CEO of the Pocono Mountain Chamber of Commerce, said that in some years, the premiums go up more than others. "It's a sign of the times. There might be 25 percent increases in some years and four or five in others. In the past, some members got 30 or 35 percent increases. Some people have had decreases in their premiums," he said.
But Phillips said it was the first he heard about a 25 percent increase for a member this year.
Rosenblum admits the alternatives aren't likely to be better. "It's probably going to be higher if I go out myself. But being the best deal around doesn't justify a 25 percent increase," he said.