Seventh year in row of double-digit medical insurance increases

According to an article in the Sunday Boston Globe, 2007 will be the seventh consecutive year of double-digit hikes by the four major Massachusetts health insurers:

Medical insurance hikes loom in Mass

Brian Pagliaro , vice president of sales for Tufts Health Plan, said, ``All things being equal, everything we paid $1 for last year costs $1.10 now."

Since I have my own health insurance, I have seen this first hand. When I received my HMO renewal packet in August, I was greeted with a 12% increase in insurance premiums ( Another Painful HMO Premium Increase). Unless some major health care reform happens soon, I can assure you that a variant of this article will be written one year from now.