Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Obamacare Guru: Meh, America's Largest Insurer Abandoning the Exchanges isn't a 'Big Blow'
Townhall.com ^ | April 22, 2016 | Guy Benson

Posted on 04/22/2016 1:34:07 PM PDT by Kaslin

Give it time. This guy will eventually admit that the country's largest insurer pulling out of most Obamacare exchanges augurs poorly for the fiscal health of the law he championed -- just as he finally got around to conceding that the 'Affordable' Care Act isn't controlling costs.  Nothing to see here, MSNBC viewers (via the Free Beacon):

Obamacare architect Zeke Emanuel: UnitedHealth leaving exchanges isn't that big a deal

Emanuel claims that this story is overblown because UnitedHealth wasn't a major player in the exchanges.  They were enough of a player to lose over $1 billion in 2015 and 2016, and their concerns about the longer-term costs associated with unsustainable risk pools are supported by data and largely shared by other industry leaders.   Notice the dissent from the other doctor in the segment, who chimes in with this reality check: “What we know that’s happening with UnitedHealthCare is the same as the canary in the coal mine. This is the first of many insurers that will bail out of the exchanges. It’s already been stated by other insurers in their board meetings. Each insurer that is participating in the Affordable Care Act is losing money.”  Fewer carriers leads to fewer options, which leads to less accessible, more expensive care.  And speaking of affordability:

“I’ve been asked, what are the premiums going to look like? I don’t know, because it also varies by state, market, even within markets. But I think the overall trend is going to be higher than we saw previous years. That’s my big prediction,” she said in a recent interview with Morning Consult...In 2017, two of the three “risk mitigation” programs established under Obamacare will end. They are reinsurance, or payments to plans that enroll higher-cost individuals, and risk corridors that set an allowable range for losses and gains. The third “R,” risk adjustment that distributes funds from plans with low-risk enrollees to plans with higher risk, will continue...“Remember both risk corridor – i.e. there’s no cash there, that we’re aware of. So there won’t be any predictability after last year that there’ll be cash this year. Reinsurance is going away, this is the last year of the reinsurance,” Tavenner said. “So they’re going to have to price over, around, or at least take into account what’s going on with risk corridors and reinsurance. So that’s a trend in the wrong direction.

Those are the words of Marilyn Tavenner, Obama's former CMS chief and dutiful Obamacare cheerleader. These days, she's the president of a major insurance industry lobbying group who foresees a "trend in the wrong direction" that rates will climb "higher than we saw previous years." America's largest insurer is heading for the exits, and the industry is projecting higher costs for consumers next year -- with enrollments already down sharply, largely driven by sticker shock. Hillary Clinton, who is the original author of Obamacare, looks at all of this and declares, it's working:

Unpopular #Obamacare hiking rates, raising out-of-pocket costs, bending 'cost curve' up. Hillary: "It's working!" pic.twitter.com/3RKybGaVF4— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) December 3, 2015





TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government
KEYWORDS: 0bamacare; 2016election; abortion; deathpanels; deathspiral; election2016; guybenson; hillaryrottenclinton; obamacare; plannedparenthood; stemexpress; zekeemanuel; zerocare
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-31 last
To: Kaslin

This guy reminds me of the Black Knight...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKhEw7nD9C4


21 posted on 04/22/2016 2:17:43 PM PDT by Gen.Blather
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Sioux-san

Of course, the rules apply only to us little people, not The Ruling Class of elitist knotheads. Emmanuel will advantage himself with every available medical therapy to prolong his sad, disgusting life. There are levels of medical care for the wealthy that you & I don’t see — private jets & limos to the best doctors & hospitals, concierges to accompany the recipient from departure to return, no wait for any evaluation, test, or procedure. I know b/c my brother receives this kind of care. I don’t begrudge him; he can afford it and pays for a significant portion out of pocket.


22 posted on 04/22/2016 2:18:19 PM PDT by twister881
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

Of course it’s “working!” Isn’t the plan to kill off private insurance? Working like a charm, it is!


23 posted on 04/22/2016 2:21:21 PM PDT by NonValueAdded ("When judges act like whores, they can hardly expect to be treated like nuns.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

The real story is that the exchanges run by private insurors were never meant to succeed.

I saw a TV interview with Barney Frank right after Ocare passed and he said the private exchanges were just an interim structure. The real goal was to have them fail and go to a government controlled plan for everyone in the country.

Liberals keep obfuscating the goal with the arcane language of ‘single payer insurance’ which is a cloaked way of saying “National Health Insurance”, a government insurance plan like those of Europe.


24 posted on 04/22/2016 2:22:15 PM PDT by wildbill (If you check behind the shower curtain for a slasher, and find one.... what's your plan?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

This is the “death spiral” everyone with a lick of sense was warning about.


25 posted on 04/22/2016 2:23:51 PM PDT by thoughtomator
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

My policy’s premiums doubling in the two years after the enactment of obamacare was a pretty big blow.

The obama administration has utterly f***ed up everything it’s touched.


26 posted on 04/22/2016 2:27:08 PM PDT by Jack Hammer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

I got notice today that United Health Care is pulling out of some States, Utah isn’t on the list yet, but expect it to be...


27 posted on 04/22/2016 2:43:43 PM PDT by HarleyLady27 ('THE FORCE AWAKENS!!!' Trump; Trump; Trump; Trump; 100%)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

Crooked liar... just like all the rest of the democrats...

http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/government-politics/article_771db279-34d6-5a3d-9557-a417a8afb212.html

McAuliffe restores voting rights for 206K ex-felons; GOP calls it move to boost Clinton


28 posted on 04/22/2016 8:21:26 PM PDT by GOPJ (If GOPe rules are rigged to steal votes from citizens it's time to walk away...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

Folks like this have staked so much on Obamacare, it’ll take something major for them to admit it’s not working.

And then they’ll call for more government controls as a solution.


29 posted on 04/23/2016 3:06:28 AM PDT by RWB Patriot ("My ability is a value that must be earned and I don't recognize anyone's need as a claim on me.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: RWB Patriot
And then they’ll call for more government controls as a solution.

When will they get it in their heads that more government control will not help?

30 posted on 04/23/2016 4:18:58 AM PDT by Kaslin (He needed the ignorant to reelect him. He got them and now we have to pay the consequences)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

Check your premises.

Is their goal truly to help? Or are they simply after control? Only one of those goals makes their actions logical.


31 posted on 04/23/2016 5:27:25 AM PDT by RWB Patriot ("My ability is a value that must be earned and I don't recognize anyone's need as a claim on me.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-31 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson