healthy people dropping their insurance leaving only sick people forces their premiums to rise... it not rocket science
Posted on 03/06/2010 3:53:06 AM PST by reaganaut1
President Barack Obama attacked the country's biggest health insurers on Saturday for failing to give him a "straight answer" on why they were "arbitrarily and massively" hiking their premiums.
Obama's renewed criticism of insurers comes as he tries to rally support among Americans and lawmakers within his own Democratic Party for a final push to pass a bill reforming the troubled $2.5 trillion healthcare industry.
The president and his health secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, met the chief executives of four of the largest U.S. health insurance companies -- Aetna Inc, Cigna Corp, UnitedHealth Group Inc and WellPoint Inc -- at the White House this week.
"They couldn't give me a straight answer as to why they keep arbitrarily and massively raising premiums -- by as much as 60 percent in states like Illinois," Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address.
"If we do not act, they will continue to do this."
Insurers say they must raise rates to cover skyrocketing healthcare costs at a time when more people are dropping coverage because of financial hardship. Higher costs are then spread among a smaller pool of paying customers, they say.
Insurance companies have been a favorite target as Obama tries to convince Americans, who have mixed feelings about his planned healthcare overhaul, they will be better off if Congress passes his ambitious plan.
"The proposal we've put forward would end the worst practices of the insurance industry, lower costs for millions of Americans and give uninsured individuals and small business the same kind of choice of private health insurance that members of Congress get for themselves," Obama said.
The overhaul, designed to cut costs, regulate insurers and expand coverage to tens of millions of Americans, is Obama's signature domestic policy.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I wish just once someone had the gonads to say to him."OK, Barak, we'll give you straight answers on hiking premiums once you give us straight answers on hiking taxes".
Gay Kenyan Muslim Wants “Straight Answer” From Health Insurers
Our president is demanding answers from mean, evil, greedy, lying insurance companies and sending chills up the legs of socialists in the electorate.
It sounds like we’re on the cusp of wonderful change that will bring hope to the masses.
How wonderful it is to finally have someone wo will stand up to the capitalist pigs who have exploited the people and made their lives miserable.
/SARC/
IMHO
maybe he should ax them instead of ask...maybe they would understand eubonics better?
Kinda seems counterproductive if you need a bigger pool to be shutting off the tap?
A business model that was long ago advocated that health insurance shouldn't cover routine care. I wonder if some of these folks who dropped/lost coverage wouldn't consider a trimmed down health insurance model. Catastrophic coverage only.
Many times I have found that my doctors “cash” rate is comparable to some of the folks in the office co-pay.
If I were a health insurer, I would get my rate increases while I could. If Obamacare is going to mandate charging the same for everybody regardless of risk and accepting peole with pre-existing conditions, rates will have to be high.
Obama attacked the country’s biggest health insurers on Saturday for failing to give him a “straight answer”
Oh please, Obama you ignorant slut you have never given anyone a straight answer.
One of the reasons in CT is the state keeps requiring plans to cover more and more things. A few years back all children up to age 24-25 were included in the parents coverage rather than having to have a separate policy.
On the face of it the cost went up but the overall cost for the family went down for parents with adult kids while for parents w/o adult kids it went up.
But maybe because I work retail and our mark-ups are often higher...if we want to move a product though...we mark it down.
As conservatives we often say to increase the pool of taxpayer money...lower taxes, not raise them because raising does what to the business models? Raising rates is a circular crash for insurance companies. In these times rate increases cause more people to drop coverage...causing a smaller pool and then they rinse and repeat. They should be looking for ways to drop rates, like we look to drop taxes.
I've often felt that insurance is a bit of a socialist business model. EEEKKK! I got hammered a few months ago for that assertion, but really think about it. It takes money from the pool and redistributes it, so whoever is in the pool gets equal access to care?
What would happen and what would a truly capitalist health system look like? I don't think the answer is what we have now, nor do I believe it looks anything like what 0bamacare looks like.
There are a lot of things wrong with the system. And no one is talking about real answers...yet.
“You first.”
Thanks reaganaut1.
“And Obie disputes this fundamental law of markets, supply and demand???”
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Obamalamadingadonga understands as much about the fundamental law of markets as he does about picking cotton, he has zero practical experience with either.
It’s looking more and more like a VERY Dark Night indeed!!
Local governments have been dropping private insurance in mass in anticipation of the Federal government takeover of health care....so the pool of people paying in has become smaller.
Higher rates is self fulfilled prophecy by big government strong arming.
Maybe the insurance companies don't want the big government crooks to get the satisfaction of saying that they can manipulate them.
Hang on to your hats, this Chicago train may be a bumpy ride.
healthy people dropping their insurance leaving only sick people forces their premiums to rise... it not rocket science
I don’t know that he’s all that dumb. He can con people very easily with all this pretty words. Of course, his hard-core followers are “dumb as a stump.”
And it’s time for government to come up with a business model. Actually, they have one — spend like drunks and hit up the taxpayers for more money. But it’s not working, and sooner or later, government is going to go bankrupt.
From what I hear on Limbaugh insurance companies are not making outlandish profits. The are making 3-4-5% return on capital so I hear. Am I wrong here? I don’t even like insurance companies in general
If the Feds take it over they will introduce inefficiencies that will put on a drag of 10-20%
And Sociopath.
obamacare needs to be killed NOW, at least 1 house flipped in Nov, or we will be fighting this battle for 3 more years!
OBAMANOMICS—TRICKLE DOWN DESTRUCTION of the economy
Bambi doesn’t keep his promises...so buyer beware!
SET THEIR LOCAL AND DC LINES ON FIRE!
PLEASE ASK THEM TO REPEAL THE BIG NEW FEES in TRICARE for Life, the retired Military over 65 secondary health ins. which they passed in a DOD bill. They promised our Military these benefits, and our Military have earned them.
Sen Scott Brown’s number is 202-224-4543
Capitol Hill switchboard is 202-224-3121
Lots of local demwit phone numbers on this thread
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2408217/posts
Rename, repackage, rewrite it a tad smaller, and sell another pig in a poke. NO COLAs for granny, retired Military or retired fed employees. BIG NEW fees for Tricare for Life retired over 65 Military’s secondary health ins. (DOD bill already passed, delayed but goes into effect 2011 NEEDS TO BE REPEALED!
OBAMA’s WAR ON SENIORS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2433867/posts/
New Dem mantra: Woof, woof eat dog food granny....ala let them eat cake.
Obama says slight fix will extend Social Security, http://townhall.com/news/us/2010/02/19/obama_says_slight_fix_will_extend_social_security
Health Care Rationing for Seniors Another Problem in New Obama Plan http://www.lifenews.com/bio3058.html
Medicare tax may apply to investment income (ObamaCare tax hike)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2460988/posts
Obama: No reduced Medicare benefits in health care reform
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/28/obama.health.care/index.html
Will healthcare reform mean cuts in Medicare for seniors?
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2009/1017/will-healthcare-reform-mean-cuts-in-medicare-for-seniors
Health Reform’s Hidden Victims Young people and seniors would pay a high price for ObamaCare.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203517304574306303720472842.html
SOCIALIZED MED THREAD http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2464538/posts
MILITARY & Retired MILITARY
Veterans’ G.I. Bill benefits MIA
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2464680/posts
TRI CARE FOR LIFE This from a google search:
http://economicspolitics.blogspot.com/2009/05/tricare-for-life-is-obama-trying-to.html
This option would help reduce the costs of TFL, as well as costs for Medicare, by introducing minimum out-of pocket requirements for beneficiaries. Under this option, TFL would not cover any of the first $525 of an enrollee’s cost-sharing liabilities for calendar year 2011 and would limit coverage to 50 percent of the next $4,725 in Medicare cost sharing that the beneficiary incurred. (Because all further cost sharing would be covered by TFL, enrollees could not pay more than $2,888 in cost sharing in that year.) http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/99xx/doc9925/12-18-HealthOptions.pdf
Bill Would Restrict Veterans’ Health Care Options 11/06/09
Buyer and McKeon Offer Amendments to Protect Veterans and TRICARE Beneficiaries
Congress plans to block Tricare fee increases
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/10/military_tricarefees_blocked_100709w
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/10/military_tricarefees_blocked_100709w/
By Rick Maze - Staff writer, Oct 7, 2009
Tricare fee increases imposed last week by the Defense Department will be repealed by a provision of the compromise 2010 defense authorization bill unveiled Wednesday by House and Senate negotiators.
The fee increases were announced on Sept. 30 and took effect on Oct. 1, but the defense bill, HR 2647, includes a provision barring any fee increases until the start of fiscal 2011.
Retired Army Maj. Gen. Bill Matz, president of the National Association for Uniformed Services, said the announcement of fee increases was shocking considering that the Obama administration promised earlier this year to hold off on any new fee Tricare fee increases until fiscal 2011.
“President Obama and DoD assured NAUS and the entire military family earlier this year that there would rightly be no increases in any Tricare fees” in fiscal 2010, Matz said. “We took them at their word, and I can’t believe that a co-pay increase like this was allowed to go forward,” he added.
Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies
#
Health Reform 3.0 - Lipstick On A Pig
Friday, March 05, 2010 3:05:55 PM · 5 of 5
GailA to raptor22
OBAMANOMICS—TRICKLE DOWN DESTRUCTION of the economy
Bambi doesn’t keep his promises...so buyer beware!
SET THEIR LOCAL AND DC LINES ON FIRE!
PLEASE ASK THEM TO REPEAL THE BIG NEW FEES in TRICARE for Life, the retired Military over 65 secondary health ins. which they passed in a DOD bill. They promised our Military these benefits, and our Military have earned them.
Sen Scott Brown’s number is 202-224-4543
Capitol Hill switchboard is 202-224-3121
Lots of local demwit phone numbers on this thread
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2408217/posts
Rename, repackage, rewrite it a tad smaller, and sell another pig in a poke. NO COLAs for granny, retired Military or retired fed employees. BIG NEW fees for Tricare for Life retired over 65 Military’s secondary health ins. (DOD bill already passed, delayed but goes into effect 2011 NEEDS TO BE REPEALED!
OBAMA’s WAR ON SENIORS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2433867/posts/
New Dem mantra: Woof, woof eat dog food granny....ala let them eat cake.
Obama says slight fix will extend Social Security, http://townhall.com/news/us/2010/02/19/obama_says_slight_fix_will_extend_social_security
Health Care Rationing for Seniors Another Problem in New Obama Plan http://www.lifenews.com/bio3058.html
Medicare tax may apply to investment income (ObamaCare tax hike)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2460988/posts
Obama: No reduced Medicare benefits in health care reform
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/28/obama.health.care/index.html
Will healthcare reform mean cuts in Medicare for seniors?
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2009/1017/will-healthcare-reform-mean-cuts-in-medicare-for-seniors
Health Reform’s Hidden Victims Young people and seniors would pay a high price for ObamaCare.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203517304574306303720472842.html
SOCIALIZED MED THREAD http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2464538/posts
MILITARY & Retired MILITARY
Veterans’ G.I. Bill benefits MIA
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2464680/posts
TRI CARE FOR LIFE This from a google search:
http://economicspolitics.blogspot.com/2009/05/tricare-for-life-is-obama-trying-to.html
This option would help reduce the costs of TFL, as well as costs for Medicare, by introducing minimum out-of pocket requirements for beneficiaries. Under this option, TFL would not cover any of the first $525 of an enrollee’s cost-sharing liabilities for calendar year 2011 and would limit coverage to 50 percent of the next $4,725 in Medicare cost sharing that the beneficiary incurred. (Because all further cost sharing would be covered by TFL, enrollees could not pay more than $2,888 in cost sharing in that year.) http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/99xx/doc9925/12-18-HealthOptions.pdf
Bill Would Restrict Veterans’ Health Care Options 11/06/09
Buyer and McKeon Offer Amendments to Protect Veterans and TRICARE Beneficiaries
Congress plans to block Tricare fee increases
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/10/military_tricarefees_blocked_100709w
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/10/military_tricarefees_blocked_100709w/
By Rick Maze - Staff writer, Oct 7, 2009
Tricare fee increases imposed last week by the Defense Department will be repealed by a provision of the compromise 2010 defense authorization bill unveiled Wednesday by House and Senate negotiators.
The fee increases were announced on Sept. 30 and took effect on Oct. 1, but the defense bill, HR 2647, includes a provision barring any fee increases until the start of fiscal 2011.
Retired Army Maj. Gen. Bill Matz, president of the National Association for Uniformed Services, said the announcement of fee increases was shocking considering that the Obama administration promised earlier this year to hold off on any new fee Tricare fee increases until fiscal 2011.
“President Obama and DoD assured NAUS and the entire military family earlier this year that there would rightly be no increases in any Tricare fees” in fiscal 2010, Matz said. “We took them at their word, and I can’t believe that a co-pay increase like this was allowed to go forward,” he added.
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