Posted on 12/11/2014 3:33:46 AM PST by tobyhill
The health insurance industry is firing back at Republicans' decision to cut government payments that could help plans struggling under the healthcare law.
America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) blasted legislation changing ObamaCare's "risk corridors" program and predicted that it would raise healthcare costs for families.
"American budgets are already strained by healthcare costs, and this change will lead to higher premiums for consumers and make it more difficult to achieve affordability," said Clare Krusing, AHIP spokeswoman.
"Our focus should be on changes to the law that will lower costs — like repealing the health insurance tax — not those that drive premiums higher."
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
American budgets are already strained by taxes and an over active government.
What’s funny is these are the same insurers that went along with Obamacare.
Now they’re whining they’re not getting a bailout. Sucks to be them.
Any law taking us away from the free market creates winners and losers. The winners become a powerful constituent lobby to keep and “improve” the status quo. That is the danger of legislation. A law soon reaches a tipping point where it can’t be undone because the weight of the winners is too great to overcome. The ACA has created this constituency but the losers out-weigh and may out-vote the winners. Social Security is the most pernicious example I can think of as a law so far past the tipping point that it may consume both winners and losers.
Social Security is a valid premise that secured bipartisan support.
Its a self-insurance scheme.
On the other hand, Obamacare doesn’t actually insure people at all. It received only Democratic party-line support.
It was more than just going along. They were lobbying/leading the charge.
The only group involved in health care that didn't have a hand in designing this fiasco was consumers (patients).
“Its a self-insurance scheme.”
It was sold as a trust fund. It was until Johnson unified the budget and stole the fund for his big war and social programs. As it started out giving money to people who had never contributed it never lived up to the insurance or trust fund model. It was just socialism in a nice bipartisan wrapper. The lack of bipartisan support is the nail that will doom (hopefully) Obamacare.
These crooks were cheerleaders for passing obamacare. They act like they care about healthcare costs for families.
Just as well since few can afford their crappy product.
"I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further."
These insurance companies got into bed with the government thinking they were being guaranteed huge profits in perpetuity on the backs of the American Taxpayer.
Bad assumption.
“The only group involved in health care that didn’t have a hand in designing this fiasco was consumers (patients). “
I’m not sure the average doctors taking care of average Americans were involved either. The physician community was represented by Zeke Emanuel, the AMA (to which most doctors do not belong), and some MD’s from elite medical schools who likely rarely see a patient.
My primary physician, and the specialists who care for me, hate the ACA.
Yepper -they were promised a wide open spigot from the gravy boat and expect to get their welfare benefits like everyone else that depends on the government for their livelihood...
No, it’s GREAT to be them. Their path is greased and their downside is largely contained, at least until the entire system collapses.
Bump
If doctors still support the individual mandate, this represents a fundamental problem because the mandate widens the gap between health care delivery and free market forces. It doesn't make health care more responsive to free market forces.
It does seem that the primary care specialty organizations had input into the ACA. If your primary care physician belongs to the American Academy of Family Physicians, or some similar organization, you might ask why she voted for the people who represented her organization and supported Obamacare.
Hey, you dance with the Devil and eventually he sticks a pitchfork in your ass. No sympathy here.
Seems to me like the Whiny bitch doesn't like the tables being turned on them. Any chance they will second guess their negotiating with the Devil to screw over the Public? Nah...
“It does seem that the primary care specialty organizations had input into the ACA.”
Organizations representing professionals, industries, and causes tend to be run by professional administrators and lobbyists. These people have their own networks and buddy system. Unlike Hillary in the 1990’s who tried to ram healthcare through, Obama and his fellow community organizers spent their first year getting the “club” on board through bribes and peer pressure.
Ultimately paid bureaucrats and lobbyists, like most humans involved in management, manage their careers first and job responsibilities second. John Smith may head the American Academy of Family Physicians today and two years from now he may be looking for a job heading up the AARP or the Sierra Club. Very few ambitious people seeking to better themselves in a profession will fight against the tidal wave when it begins to rise. The average physician is too busy seeing patients to get into the details of health care policy. No doubt the professional administrators running their professional organizations gave them the soundbites explaining the ACA was better for them than alternatives.
You know, I've thought about this, and my only conclusion was that these big pharma execs pushing big government, was that their own stock options would benefit from new purchases, before the dog starting biting and squeezing the pricing on drugs. By that time, those specific executives would have cashed out and been long gone, while the consumers, industry and research all would be getting screwed forever more.
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