ObamaCare is entering its dreaded ‘death spiral’

New York Post ^ | 10/20/2015 | By Betsy McCaughey

[SeekAndFind]

ObamaCare is heading toward a death spiral.

The Obama administration is having trouble selling insurance plans to healthy people. That’s a big problem: When the young and healthy don’t enroll, premiums have to be hiked to cover the costs of older, sicker people, discouraging even more young people from signing up.

Last Thursday, the administration predicted enrollment for 2016 will be less than half what the Congressional Budget Office predicted in March.

Despite subsidies to help with premiums and out-of-pocket costs, most of the uninsured who are eligible for ObamaCare are saying “no thanks.” Only one in seven is expected to sign up. That’s despite a hefty increase in the financial penalty next year for not having insurance.

The president sees the writing on the wall. You won’t be seeing the customary nationwide TV campaign to encourage sign-ups, as there were in previous years. Remember the young guy in plaid pajamas — “Pajama Boy,” to conservatives — well, he won’t be back this winter.

Bad enough that healthy people aren’t buying. Worse is that the administration is spending billions of your tax dollars covering up the problem, paying insurers to keep offering the plans, even though they’re losing their shirts. But facts are facts — and there’s no hiding these.

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell predicts ObamaCare enrollment will inch up by 1 million or so, to 10 million people — half what the CBO forecasted. Open enrollment for the coming year, which begins Nov. 1, “is going to be a challenge,” she said.

David Wichmann, UnitedHealth Group’s president, announced higher premiums last week because enrollees will “require more medical services than original expectations.”

[HOYA97]

premiums have to be hiked

The dirty little secret is that not only do health insurance premiums go up but so do Home Insurance Premiums, Auto Insurance Premiums, Liability Insurance Premimus...etc.

[SeekAndFind]

Yep, but for retirees dependent on social security, no cost of living increases because the GOVERNMENT tells us there is NO INFLATION !!

[dsrtsage]

Impossible. It is all free

[rjsimmon]

Since I don’t do Obamacare, I am unaware of the mechanics for sign-up. Is there a window with which you must purchase a policy or can it be at any time during the year? If the latter, what is to prevent people from signing up Dec 30/31 and then cancelling the policy Jan 1/2 in order to avoid IRS penalty?

[Liz]

Pelosi was orgasmic at the O/Care signing. Ut, oh. Harry's hands are not visible.

The Obamacare atrocity was a cunning vehicle for
consolidating Dummycrat power. Dems cashed-in bigtime.

(A) Michelle's buddy---botched the billion dollar web site rollout---still doesn't work.

(B) Harry Reid's $4 billion "accidental" payment to Landrieu is a clue to how the straight party-line vote got this atrocity passed.

(C) A multi-billion dollar slush fund---the Untraceable $8 Billion ObamaCare PR Budget---truly govt fraud at its finest.

Egged on by Pelosi, no one in Congress told Americans about Section 4002---which mandates an $8B untraceable fund to "promote" Obamacare (apparently b/c Boobamba had so little confidence in his signature legislation).

In 2010 Taxpayers are extorted $500 million, in 2011, $750 million, 2012, $1 billion, 2013, $1.25 billion, 2014, $1.5 billion and in 2015 and on, $2 billion........

....the reasons for all those O/Care delays, fixits, exemptions, waivers, extensions, etc, are becoming crystal clear.

[ctdonath2]

Dreaded? Nope. Planned. When it crashes, the “only solution” is single payer. As intended.

[repentant_pundit]

death spiral

OK but what makes anyone think, with America $18 trillion dollars in the hole and falling, that the "leaders" in DC who created this mess will suddenly become eager to fix anything budget-wise ?

To them, debts and deficits, red as they may be, are nothing more than images on a page

.

[Bryanw92]

>>ObamaCare is heading toward a death spiral.

Its not a death spiral. It is the well-engineered transition to the next phase—full socialized medicine.

They’ll say, “We tried the free market. We tried the managed market. The only thing that can work is single payer.”

EVERY person who voted for Obama is an ENEMY of freedom and should be treated as such. If they are friends, get rid of them. If they are family, shun them. If they are employees, fire them.

[butlerweave]

Impossible. It is all free

Except the Fines that double every year ,if Obama stays another 4 years he’ll own everyone and everything

[Bryanw92]

>>Yep, but for retirees dependent on social security, no cost of living increases because the GOVERNMENT tells us there is NO INFLATION !!

When the gummint is your sugar daddy, it owns you.

[Ouchthatonehurt]

"Last Thursday, the administration predicted enrollment for 2016 will be less than half what the Congressional Budget Office predicted in March.

Set up for, "2016 enrollments exceeded expectations"

[DungeonMaster]

Death spiral doesn’t apply to government programs.

[11th Commandment]

Another problem is that ObamaCare allowed children to age 26 to be their parents plans. This demographic is least likely (except pregnancy) to access health care. But instead of subsidizing sick, freeloaders and the elderly, they remain on their parents affordable plan.

[cuban leaf]

My wife and I are 61 and very healthy. We cancelled health insurance on Jan 1 2014. Civil disobedience. We’ve saved about $22k in premiums on insurance with such high deductibles as to be essentially worthless. And when we DO need treatment (twice), we get massive discounts because we’re not involving insurance red tape. My wife’s eye exam and contacts came to over $400. “Oh, your paying with VISA? How about $106?”

Friends have saved thousands by simply paying out of pocket. The whole health insurance thing is a sham. All of it.

[wbarmy]

However, the various liberal websites are crowing how there are less uninsured people than before the ACAA and that costs aren’t going up as fast as they were.

See, it worked.

[I am Richard Brandon]

"the GOVERNMENT tells us there is NO INFLATION !!"

Hello Mr Orwell, you can come out from behind that curtain now. How many Freepers have decided NOT to contact their Rep about this because all Reps are bought and paid for?

[speedracerx]

Meanwhile, on 10/12/2015 the President signed into law HR1624 which was drafted by Democrats, supported by Republicans in the House and Senate, and redefined a small employer as being 1 to 50. This changes ACA and prevents the expansion into the 51-100 sized employers for 1/1/2016.

Hear anything about this in the news anyplace???
See anything in your local paper?
The D’s admitted that ACA places too big of burden to employers.

[MUDDOG]

signing up Dec 30/31 and then cancelling the policy Jan 1/2 in order to avoid IRS penalty?

The IRS form where you calculate the penalty is done on a month-by-month basis.

[ryan71]

“The president sees the writing on the wall.”
Laughable. He neither sees nor reads.