Posted on 11/12/2013 7:01:51 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Amazing stuff via Mediaite. The “Keep Your Plan Act” is Fred Upton’s bill, which Jay Carney spent a few minutes attacking at today’s press briefing because it would make canceled plans available to all consumers, not just the ones who’d been enrolled in those plans before. That would be a disaster for the insurance industry. Healthy people would flee the new, more expensive plans for the resurrected cheaper ones, leaving no one in the new risk pool except sick people with very expensive treatments. That means either heavy losses for insurers, steep premium hikes next year to make up the difference, or some sort of federal bailout (congrats, red-state Democrats!) — or maybe a little of all three. You’ll have the same problem, though, albeit to a lesser extent, even if Upton’s bill is amended so that it applies only to people who’d been enrolled in a particular plan before it was cancelled. You can’t run a two-tiered healthy/sick insurance system. If the risk pools aren’t merged, replete with higher rates for the former, you can’t pay for the latter.
I understand why the GOP would back Upton’s bill. It’s a slam dunk politically, grinding Obama’s face in the consequences of his lie. This is the Democrats’ mess; Reid and the Senate can/will kill the bill if they like. I can’t understand why House Democrats, aware of the adverse selection problem that’s lurking here — and the political humiliation for the White House — would sign on, unless they’ve already reached a point of such pure terror over the “if you like your plan” backlash that they’re willing to kneecap ObamaCare six weeks out of the gate. Did they … not understand that millions of people were going to face cancellations and higher premiums under the law’s redistributive scheme? Of course they did. Steny Hoyer, number two in the Democratic caucus admitted it on October 29th. Fast forward two weeks and here’s where Hoyer is now:
“I don’t know what I’m gonna do on the Upton bill,” the Maryland Democrat said at a Tuesday briefing with reporters when discussing legislation sponsored by Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich.
Hoyer noted that he was “inclined not to be for the Upton bill at this time,” but he emphasized that he was “not closed to the option,” and would “reserve judgment” until he had seen the legislative text, which is reportedly undergoing some tweaks.
“I agree that people who purchased their policies prior to [the law's enactment date] ought to be able to keep their policies,” he said.
If he agrees that they should be able to keep their policies, why did he vote for ObamaCare? The whole point of the law is that healthy middle-class people shouldn’t be allowed to keep policies that have relatively low premiums. We need to gouge those suckers with higher premiums for new “comprehensive” plans so that we can pay for the preexisting conditions of the sick. It’s like voting for immigration reform and then feigning surprise in five years when the newly “secure” border hasn’t halted illegal immigration. It’s not supposed to do that. That’s something you tell the hoi polloi in order to give Congress enough cover to vote for it.
The vote on Upton’s bill is set for Friday, which, per CNN’s source on the Hill, means the White House has 48 hours or so to come up with its own proposal for letting people keep their plans — adverse selection problem or not — before Democrats head for the lifeboats. Greg Sargent claims that the Democratic leadership is now warning the rank and file that rich liberal donors won’t look kindly at them if they abandon The One on his big “accomplishment.” I’ll leave you with this, just to show that the fear isn’t limited to Dems in red states. After a million cancellations, even DiFi’s nervous:
Feinstein: "I have decided to cosponsor Senator Mary Landrieu’s (D-La.) legislation: Keeping the Affordable Care Act Promise Act."
CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO
That will cause absolute chaos in the insurance industry. They’ve cancelled contracts with hospitals, doctors etc etc. You can’t magically reconstruct the situation before this clusterf##k launched.
Hahaha! Hilarious!
This little hiatus due to the website disaster has offered a chance for more Americans every day to realize that this thing is not a health care plan, it’s a way for the government to horn in on everyone’s private life, while making them pay through the nose for the privilege. With the midterms coming up, not even the Democrats want to be associated with it. It’s the most epic screw-up in U.S. history, and I’m even seeing more and more formerly Kool-Aid drinking journalists just throwing up their hands.
It won’t work. Then they pivot and blame it all on the insurance companies.
RE: Obama will veto this if comes anywhere near him, meanwhile all these Democrats will get to boast about their “courage” in voting for this bill.
Not good enough. A veto can be overridden with 2/3 majority in each house. I’d like to see if Dems have the “courage” to override Obama’s veto.
This cracks the armor of the entire forced upgrade/mandate BS.
Never underestimate the republicans ability to flub this.
Saw a great analogy in an article, something like you may have to break a few eggs to make an omelet but just try and get the eggs back when it’s done.
Many of the poors, just want to collect their free money & benefits, and be left alone. They don’t want to hassle with providing a lot of information in trade for free healthcare. They already have it, in the form of going to ERs and urgent care clinics, etc.
When they realize the govt will use every piece of information to control their lives eventually, they’ll really be balking.
Yep, and in the end this assholes still voted for this mess and people will still keep getting dropped. They are in trouble, and oh well.
“Not good enough. A veto can be overridden with 2/3 majority in each house. I’d like to see if Dems have the “courage” to override Obama’s veto.”
Sorry, this bit of political theater is being staged only for the benefit of Democrats up for re-election next year. They’ll get to “bravely stand their ground”, and Obama’s veto will also stand.
I’ll quote Ben Franklin here:
“This will be the best security for maintaining our liberties. A nation of well-informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them cannot be enslaved.”
“There is no mention of how the risk corridor program will be funded if the amount that HHS must pay to insurers exceeds the amount HHS receives from insurers.”
What am I missing?
The Obamacare freelaoders have to pay a whole lot, or the paying insured have to pay a whole lot, or taxpayers have to ‘subsidize’ a whole lot.
I don’t see any other choices and the last is the only politically ciable one.
:) all talk,Dems will not vote for it.
You just nailed it.
This is just a feel good vote to help dems distance themselves from the very damage that they are inflicting.
Seriously, we knew Obamacare was going to stink. But did ANYONE think it was going to be of this magnitude and consequence so soon? I think we are witnessing the greatest debacle in American history, not just the failure of Obamacare but the public castration of Barack HUSSEIN Obama.
Basically, today’s worst-case scenario is that HealthCare.gov takes months to fix and the mandate is delayed until 2015, resulting in widespread adverse selection. Insurers wouldn’t recoup all losses, but the risk corridor program provides their bottom line with a substantial buffer. Importantly, it doesn’t need to be budget neutral; if the math demands it, the government can pay out more than it collects through the program. This could be expensive—the CBO scored the health law as though risk corridors were budget neutral—but it could also be offset by foregone subsidies.
Here’s the existing law’s BAILOUT formula for the insurance companies:
http://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/qhpriskcorridor_rwjf75568.png
un-freaking-believable.
But funds were never appropriated to make up the cosst if the ‘risk prevention corridors’ were not revenue neutral.
As far as I can see- and the law is difficult to understand (to say the least)- any funds to for the ‘corridor’ would have to be appropriated by congress.
Which the Dems would love to run on in 2014 and do when they’re put back in control of the House.
And at what price, if so?
Ours went up 20% last year and is scheduled to go up another 20% in 2014.
I don't see this ending well with out the total repeal of the "A"CA.
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