Your arthritis has nothing to do with the increases in your premium payments over the past 3 years. If the insurance companies increase rates, everybody that is on the health plan is affected by the increase. To lower your premium, you could talk to your insurance company about downgrading your coverage. However, you will most likely sacrifice benefits in echange for this. In Obama’s health insurance reform plans, there are premium increase limits that will be imposed on the insurance companies, but they aren’t likely to be decreased from where they currently are. - Monday, October 19, 2009 @ 10:57am

not in any way shape or form does it control costs. Individual health insurance plans are actually the most stable health insurance in cost. This is the reason why, When you have group coverage lets say with 20 employees for example, your rates are only being assessed amongst 20 people. Where as in comparison the indivdual plans lets say with united health one there are 100's of thousands of members that your rates are being assessed upon. Therefore your rate stays lower and more consistent. It is all about a simple risk assessment.

And as for the other individual carriers who raise rates whenever they have a chance they are just being greedy or are not running their businesses correctly.

Source: http://www.easytoinsureme.c...