Healthcare.gov can't calculate subsidies, so will pay insurance companies whatever they ask for

American Thinker ^ | 12/04/2013 | Thomas Lifson

[SeekAndFind]

The federal government is dumping the consequences of its Obamacare website failures onto the private sector health insurance companies. The private sector is now expected to scramble and under severe time pressure do what the feds couldn't in the three-plus years. Unable to calculate what subsidies should be for lower-income insurance buyers, it is asking insurers to estimate the subsidies, and it will cut a check to them for whatever they ask for. Roberta Rampton and Caroline Humer of Reuters write:

President Barack Obama's administration has found a short-term fix to pay insurance companies for plans selected on HealthCare.gov, the not-yet-complete government website used to shop for insurance required under Obama's healthcare program.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has not yet finished building the part of the website that would transfer billions of dollars in subsidies for plan premiums and cost-sharing payments to insurance companies. (snip)

The administration is planning a "workaround" for payments, said Daniel Durham, vice president for policy and regulatory affairs at America's Health Insurance Plans.

Health plans will estimate how much they are owed, and submit that estimate to the government. Once the system is built, the government and insurers can reconcile the payments made with the plan data to "true up" payments, he said.

"The intent is to make sure plans get paid on time, which is a good thing," Durham told Reuters.

The fix puts an additional "burden" on insurance companies, already taxed by having to double-check faulty enrollment data from the HealthCare.gov system.

Now, companies need to quickly put together financial management systems to make the payment estimates, so they can be paid beginning in January, he said.

[Jim Robinson]

No end to Obama’s lunacy.

[bkepley]

That’s OK later they will be accused of fraud and be-headed.

[Personal Responsibility]

I keep checking to see if this is the Onion but no....it’s reality.

@John - enjoy

[duckman]

IMO,zerocare is an IT contractors dream job. Assuming the contractor does what he is told he could make a life time career of this contract.

[grania]

The insurance companies could've ended this lunacy before it began. Instead, they figured ways to skim profits from subsidies and premiums, and have thwarted their US Senators from getting rid of it. Now, it's the feds and the insurance companies working together to save Obamacare.

And the politicians enable them. Disgusting.

[Revel]

And my first question is:

What does the law say about who will calculate the subsidies. And is Obama once again ignoring the law?

[Buckeye McFrog]

yeah, well, the joke will be on them because if this thing is not killed we ARE headed towards single payer

[Navy Patriot]

The insurance companies will sell Obama’s Rats the rope they will hang them with, willingly or not.

[Fresh Wind]

What could possibly go wrong?