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In June, 2012, the United States Supreme Court announced their decision that the Affordable Healthcare Act, nicknamed “ObamaCare,” was, in fact constitutional. It should come as no surprise that roughly half the people waiting for the decision were overjoyed by that verdict, while the other half were extremely displeased. What everyone had in common, however, was the concern that the implementation of the Act would actually make health insurance more expensive for middle-class Americans.

Here’s the reality: with or without the 2012 healthcare reform legislation, the cost of healthcare is rising, and has been rising for decades. A study released in May, 2012 says that for the first time ever, the average annual cost of insurance will top $20,000. The exact number is $20, 728, and it’s $1,335 more a year than the average cost was last year.

That’s a scary number, but it’s important to remember that most of that money does not come from out-of-pocket expenses. Instead, the average family of four on a “preferred provider organization” insurance plan (that’s when you work with a network of doctors and hospitals, but they’re not technically a coordinated HMO) will pay $5,114 in premiums (via payroll deduction for most people), and $3,470 in co-payments for doctor visits, drug prescriptions, and other out-of-pocket costs (like the patient portions of some lab tests). The rest of that $20, 728 ($12,144) is what is generally picked up by employers as part of company health plans.

What’s causing the higher cost of health care insurance? Most experts pin it on the cost of providing care at all. Is “ObamaCare” the culprit? Not really. The same report, which was issued by a company called Milliman, which consults with corporations about their benefit plans, says that the health care reform act passed in 2010 has had only a “limited effect” on the cost of health care, and also points out that, “The rate of increase is not as high as in the past but total dollar increase was still a record.”

The Milliman report also says that the amount of the increase, “…overshadows any relief consumers might derive from the slowing percentage increase.”

So, what was the increase exactly? Milliman’s numbers say that the cost of family health care grew by 6.9 percent from last year to this year, which is slower than the growth in previous years, but not slow enough to allow families to compensate for the higher cost.

In addition, Milliman says that the two biggest components of a modern family’s health care expenses will be physician services (which is increasing to an annual cost of $6,647) and hospital stays (rising to $6,531).

Finally, Milliman’s report reminds us that these projected numbers are also averages. Cities like New York and Miami are likely to have higher costs – about 20% over the national average – while Atlanta, Phoenix, and Seattle are likely to be the only major cities where the average is below the $20,000 threshold.

The bottom line? President Obama’s health care legislation doesn’t go into full effect until 2014, but so far the effect has been a slower rate of cost increases, though health care costs are still rising.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court heard testimony for and against the continued existence of the two-year-old health care reform law that was passed by the Obama administration. Currently, the Court is in closed-door deliberations, with a decision expected in June, while pundits from all political persuasions trade speculations about what the verdict will be, and what might happen in either scenario (some say that a ruling that the law is unconstitutional will actually be WORSE for the Republican party).

Meanwhile, insurance industry leaders believe that no matter what the courts say about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, at least some parts of the legislation will remain in force, if for no other reason than the passage of the act in the first place has pushed the insurance industry into a period of change.

According to Ronald Swinford, president and CEO of the Lehigh (PA) Valley Health Network, that’s because there are some benefits of health care reform that even people like him want to keep.

Swinford is not alone in his opinion, either. Stuart H. Fine, CEO of Grand View Hospital believes that even if the biggest point of contention, the mandate that everyone must purchase some kind of coverage, is struck down, there are other sections of the reform law that will either remain in effect or be reinstated by future congressional voting no matter what the ruling.

Both men were interviewed recently by the Lehigh Valley Morning Call, to talk about health care reform, and the legality thereof, and both pointed out that until there is a ruling, the Act remains in force, and industry leaders are behooved to work toward compliance.

Among some of the reform requirements being implemented, which Fine referred to as a “grand, complicated and in many ways undefined experiment,” are payment reforms for Medicare and Medicaid, the creation of insurance exchanges where consumers without access to corporate benefits can purchase coverage, and the tactic of larger companies absorbing private practices in order to provide better coordination of care (they say) as well as the development of secure electronic medical records systems.

Swinford, specifically, told the Morning Call that he believes evolution away from the existing fee-for-service health care model and toward one that puts a premium on quality care and ensures that providers are paid for actual value is likely to continue. Also weighing in was Sally Gammon, president and CEO of the Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network said she things the law has forced more cooperation and resulted in more integration of care levels, away from separately-licensed inpatient rehab facilities and long-term acute care providers to a continuing care program, which will result in a streamlines system that ultimately provides better care with fewer errors and gaps.

If this sounds like a sunny picture of the change wrought by health care reform legislation, consider that there are also some aspects of it that health care execs do not like. Swinford observed that very few hospitals are truly on-board with the use of accountable care organizations (a payment/delivery system that the law pushes for), while almost all industry leaders feel that things are far too nebulous and complex. Overall, the people who do the day-to-day administration of health care feel that reforms should simplify processes, rather than make insurance law even murkier, but, Swinford added, the worst outcome would be a law weakened so much it would do nothing.

“Insurance rates are going up,” may be one of the most frequently-uttered phrase around office water coolers this month, coming in slightly after the previous weekend’s football scores, and talk of the most recent X Factor elimination. But are insurance rates really on the rise, and if they are, just how scary will the numbers look in 2012?

Let’s look at each of the three major types of insurance – auto, health, and home – in order.

Auto Insurance

Auto insurance generally has the most variance in rates, because so much of it is dependent on the number of drivers in a geographic area, as well as the average driving conditions. Every car insurer in a given state files their rate change requests separately, and then the state insurance commissioner’s office (or equivalent agency) approves or denies the requests.

For 2012, ICBC and Farmers are among those companies asking for rate increases in many states, including Colorado and Texas, but motorists in Massachusetts may see lower rates, now that the regulation against credit scoring in the auto insurance pricing process there has become an actual law.

During 2011, the trend was either very slow increases, or actual decreases in auto insurance rates, and there is no reason that this trend would not continue.

The best way to reduce the impact of any increased cost to your auto insurance, say the experts, is to ask for discounts if you don’t want to change your coverage, and shop online for a new policy if you do.

Health Insurance

Ever since the Health Care Reform Act was passed, people across the country have been concerned about an increase in health care costs. While it’s true that some corporations are changing their benefits packages to remove vision care (and similar options) from standard benefits, the cost increase to companies is actually the smallest it’s been in years – a mere 5.4% for those companies undertaking cost-cutting methods, and 7.1% for those that are not. Over the past two years, the average increase has been 9%.

However, it’s unlikely that most of those corporations will pass that lower increase to their employees, and workers in middle and lower salary ranges may soon see the increase in their benefits increasing at a greater pace than their wages will.

To help offset higher health insurance rates, industry analysts recommend Health Savings Accounts and wellness care, as well as only purchasing those types of coverage you actually need.

Homeowners Insurance

Hurricane Irene devastated much of the Eastern Seaboard this summer, and the mid-Atlantic states also saw a severe blizzard in October. Oklahoma is suffering from unexpected earthquake damage, and insurers in the southern coastal states, especially Florida and the Carolinas are reducing their exposure by non-renewing policies in beachfront areas, but how does all this impact the cost of homeowners insurance?

According to the Christian Science Monitor, we should expect higher homeowners insurance rates nearly everywhere. Indeed, State Farm has already filed for rate hikes in Texas, while Homewise has divested its interests in Florida.

Special Coverages

While not much is being said about special types of insurance, like flood and earthquake protection, the widespread flooding over the last two or three years and the high rate of earthquakes in places where they’re not expected to occur (Oklahoma, Virginia) may point to increased rates for these types of policies as well.

For every type of insurance, we recommend comparison shopping, buying online, bundling home and auto, and asking for any discounts that are available.

Says the Monitor: “Insurance companies’ profits this year are expected to be modest relative to the money they hold in reserve or investment accounts. They must invest safely, to protect against short-term swings in the financial markets. That limits their investment returns. To boost revenue, they must raise prices.”

Not so very long ago, conventional health insurance wouldn’t cover acupuncture, acupressure, or even normal chiropractic care. Today, all of those procedures, especially chiropractic treatment, are usually covered, but you might have to fight for the coverage. Here are a few things you should know about using your health insurance for chiropractic care.

Before You Go

• If your need for chiropractic care is related to an injury at work or a car accident, you should see if worker’s compensation insurance or your car insurance will cover you, before you file a claim against your health insurance. In the case of an auto accident, if the other driver is at fault, your care may be covered by their auto insurance.
• If your health insurance is with an HMO (health maintenance organization) or PPO (preferred provider organization) you’ll probably have to see an in-network chiropractor in order to get the maximum coverage from your health insurer. Even if you go out of network, you will probably need a referral from your primary care physician before your health insurance will cover your treatment. As well, you’re likely to be limited to a certain number of visits.

Once You’re There

• Be sure you give a complete medical history at the chiropractor’s office, and answer their questionnaire’s honestly. When it comes to this kind of treatment, what the practitioner doesn’t know can hurt you. This is especially important if you have had prior injuries.
• Even if you have excellent health insurance, chiropractic care can be expensive. Always be certain to get a written treatment plan and a detailed estimate, and run it by your primary care physician if you have any concerns.
• Ask questions. If an adjustment seems dangerous or a procedure is unfamiliar, ask the chiropractor to explain it so that you understand exactly what they’re doing.
• Speak Up. If something hurts more than you think it should, tell the chiropractor. They’re not telepathic.

If Your Health Insurance Doesn’t Cover Chiropractors

If your insurance plan doesn’t cover chiropractors, there are still a few options if you really need that kind of care. If your primary physician agrees that you need chiropractic treatment, the two of you can work together to make your insurance company cover your treatment. Generally this will require a lot of paperwork – documenting injuries, writing letters, etc.

If you don’t have that kind of time (or patience) you can pay for chiropractic with either a health care specific credit card, like G.E. Capital’s “Care Credit” which gives you interest-free payments for the first six to twelve months, or with a flexible spending account through your employer. You’re still paying for your treatment, but at least you won’t be breaking the bank to get the care you need.

Chiropractic care is becoming increasingly mainstream. If your current insurer doesn’t cover it, switching plans may be an option as well.

One of the most popular tips for saving money on auto insurance is to shop for it online, but how many people actually follow this advice? According to the recently released results of the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 U.S. Insurance Shopping Study, for the first time ever, more new auto insurance purchasers at least started the process online than those who followed more traditional, offline, methods of shopping.

The study, now in its fifth year, looks at the shopping and buying patterns and satisfaction of people who are recent buyers of car insurance. Specifically, three different factors are examined, and ranked in order of importance: distribution channel, policy offerings, and price, and the results are interesting:

Distribution channel results show that an insurer’s website now accounts for more than a quarter of the importance result, coming in second only to the presence of a local agent. As well, over half of all insurance shoppers, or 54%, said they got their quotes online. This demonstrates that websites have become the dominant source of leads for the auto insurance industry.

In fact, according to Jeremy Bowler, senior director of global insurance practice at J.D. Power, “While nearly one-half of all accepted Web quotes are closed by either an agent or call center representative, customers are clearly more often looking to insurers’ sites or third-party sites in the early stages of the shopping process, and this behavior is blurring the lines of how we traditionally think about the discrete sales channels.”

The shopping study also found that policy churn – the rate of customers’ switching companies – has increased in the last two years, and is now at a level unseen since 2008. This is caused, in part, by a combination of factors, including the fact that 33% of insurance shoppers now engage in serious comparison shopping, as opposed to only 30% last year, and 27% in 2009. As well, among those consumers who said they had shopped for insurance in 2011, forty percent switched to a new provider. Last year, that number was only thirty-three percent.

Bowler elaborated, “In 2010, the insurance industry spent $5 billion on marketing and advertising, with the top four companies alone spending more than $2.6 billion. As a result, the rate of shopping has increased significantly year over year, as has the policy defection rate. A majority of the customers shopping for a new insurer are doing so either because of a life event that has changed their insurance needs, or because they are looking for a better deal. However, no group is more interested in switching than customers who are displeased with the service provided by their incumbent insurance company.”

So which insurance companies got the best ratings from this year’s survey? At the top, with a score of 864 out of a possible 1,000 points is American Family Insurance, which scored particularly highly in the areas of policy offerings and distribution channel factors. The other two thirds of the top three were Auto-Owners Insurance (860/1,000) and Erie Insurance (857/1,000)

The responses for the 2011 U.S. Insurance Shopping Study were provided by more than 15,500 customers who requested auto insurance quotes from at least one company during the last twelve months. More than 75,500 unique insurer evaluations were provided, and the actual study was fielded during the months of March and April, 2011.