To add to the generic benefit issue, your premiums, if paid through a company are set for the entire year, if paid individually, I believe it's a year, but only if you continue to pay as agreed. If you fail to do that then they can terminate your benefits and you have to re-submit again. Your drug benefits CANNOT just change willy nilly as the program options change, you are locked in, so if your copay changed, A) you either went through renewal with your company and they felt the need to save money by not having benefits as rich, or B) you personally renewed your individual plan and that was the benefit available to you. BCBS did this twice, once for almost a whole year, saved millions for customers and got a whole lot of folks taking generic medications over the more costly ones. Just to clarify, generic doesn't mean "cheap" it means it's a medication that went off patent, the company chose not to renew or they came up with a more costly drug to get folks to take for their issues.

"What people fail to see is Blue Cross is the cronies are scared they will no longer stick people with $1000/mo premiums and pay no taxes on their profit." To Swinter: You need to have your facts correct before you spout off. Contrary to what you say here, BCBS DOES pay taxes. Taxes paid annually: $173.8 million Economic impact of payroll and benefits: $334.5 million

I hope the promised "Govt Option" drives a stake through its heart.

BCBS may have offered free Generic drugs for 6 months but as soon as they did my non-generic Rx's increased by $5...Even my pharmacist said that they were just off-setting the costs of giving free generics...

You can paint as rosy a picture as you like and there is PLENTY of blame to be spread throughout the entire health care industry but companies like BCBS are leading us all down a perilous financial path. I suppose that's why 61% of all bankruptcies can now be attributed to outstanding medical debts.

I personally watched as my grandfather was forced to mortgage the home he built with his own hands 3x's to help pay for my Grandmother's medical care. Just 1 of 22 medications she was on cost $750 a month and that was 15 years ago!

The system is completely and utterly broken and one has to conclude that since BCBS is one of the last Companies standing that they at a minimum helped to significantly contribute to this debacle...

Baloney - one of the biggest causes of high healthcare prices are the uninsured. Hospitals must absorb the cost and it's passed on to those with insurance.

What people fail to see is Blue Cross is the cronies are scared they will no longer stick people with $1000/mo premiums and pay no taxes on their profit.

And spare me the scare tactics on "socialized medicine." Even in Europe and Canada, those who do not want to participate in the NHS, still carry health insurance so they do not have to wait and go to any doctor they wish. NHS is a safety net for those who The reason GOPers and BCBS never mention this fact is the government keeps insurance companies from sticking it to th people like BCBS - and BCBS makes a lot of GOP $$ contributions plus a free ride on the taxpayer.

And yes I've used NHS in the UK, Germany and Canada. Beats America's non-care hands down.