UnitedHealth loses $720 million offering plans under Obamacare, may withdraw next year

Washington Times ^ | January 19, 2016 | Tom Howell Jr.

[Zakeet]

The nation's largest insurer said it booked $720 million in losses last year by offering plans under Obamacare, and warned Tuesday that it might still withdraw altogether from the health law by next year.

UnitedHealth Group told investors that it expects more losses due to Obamacare in 2016, countering an otherwise upbeat earnings report for the company, and serving as a challenge to President Obama, who wants to leave the law on firmer footing.

The administration brushed off the news, saying other major insurers are sticking by the exchanges and that it is focused on the final two weeks of 2016 open enrollment.

[Zakeet]

[Fungi]

Why suffer more losses? Withdraw now—it only makes sense for your shareholders.

[dsrtsage]

Kwick!!!! Single payer will fix everything!!!

[Secret Agent Man]

But their corporate officers got hefty payouts to go along and support obamacare back in 08 and 09. So its all good. /sarc

[ChildOfThe60s]

Maybe United is angling for an industry bailout.

[RetiredTexasVet]

If you are under thirty you don’t have to be overly smart to realize that CommieCare is a form of economic rape.

[henkster]

I’m over 30 and I’m already paying over $1500 per month to United Health for me and Mrs. henkster.

[builder]

Bingo. Chumming for government bailout, corrections, whatever. Just begging for change basically for the b bargain with the devil they made. It’s all gonna crash on each player, one at a time.

[bkopto]

You lay down with the dogs and you get fleas. Single payer dead ahead. As planned.

[minnesota_bound]

Clinton has said that healthcare costs are the lowest in the past 50 years.

[builder]

Yes indeed.
Both leading Presidential candidates ( Sanders and Trump ) desire that.

[dragnet2]

We have stupid people running the country.

[Proud2BeRight]

Trump: “We must have universal healthcare.”
Sanders: “Medicare for all”

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Rinocare is working as designed.

[ldish]

losing money - no way - I am stuck with them - through aarp and cause my former employer kicked us off. with what they charge and high deductible levels, monthly prem high and high out of pocket levels, splitting the doc/hosp separate from meds no way they are losing - no way in hell!

cost me more than $5k a year more than when my former employer kept their end of the bargain. of course that was att....under the grand leadership of ceo Stevenson = sobs

[Grams A]

One of the large groups covered by UHC are the AARP’ers.

Interesting poll at this site. Did Obama get swindled in the Iran deal? 84 per cent say YES.

[Ken H]

It’s like I (and I’m sure others) said many years ago. If you think health care is broken and expensive now, just wait til fedgov fixes it and makes it free.

[Qiviut]

The one thing Congress did this year (and last) was made sure that the insurance companies WON'T get much of a bailout, only what is available in the risk pools (money the insurance companies contribute). HHS was going to hit the taxpayers up for the difference between what was in the risk pools to pay out & what the insurance companies actually asked for by moving money from other funds. Due to Congressional action, last year, the insurance companies got just short of 13% of what they asked for, not at all what they were expecting to get. IMO, this just about insures United will bail (I believe they were waiting to see if Congress cut off the gravy train yet again & they did) .... Humana is talking about bailing as well. HHS is lying their @sses off & trying to say 'move along, nothing to see here', but this is huge.

For some excellent reading on the subject:

UnitedHealth Group Losing Big Money and Threatening to Leave the Obamacare Exchanges--Because the Obamacare Insurance Business Model Does Not Work

What happened to risk corridor payments in 2015 - same will happen in 2016 because the same language was put in the budget that passed/Obama signed:

Rubio's provision to kill ObamaCare risk corridors stirs debate

Risk Corridors: Update An amendment to the 2015 federal budget continuing appropriation raises a question: Will insurers receive their full risk corridor payments for 2014?

In addition, the GAO found that HHS has the authority to use its regular operating funds to finance risk corridor payments should the amounts received under the program be less than the payments required to be made to in­surers. This authority was granted under the Program Management Appropriation for fis­cal year 2014 that allows transfers of money from the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund necessary to carry out the responsibili­ties of CMS.

The first risk corridor payments are not due until the 2015 fiscal year, however, so similar language was required in the 2015 appropria­tion bill. While the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015, which funded the government for the 2015 fiscal year, did give HHS the authority to collect user fees, an amendment was included that specifi­cally prohibited HHS from transferring mon­ey from either trust fund. The amendment did not eliminate the risk corridor program, nor did it prevent HHS from using payments re­ceived from insurers to pay out claims under the program (that is, user fees), but it effec­tively made the risk corridor program budget neutral unless HHS can find another source of funding. As a result, insurers expecting payments from HHS may not receive the full amount due.

Obamacare payment to insurers $2.5 billion less than expected

[Organic Panic]

But they can make up for it in volume

[Still Thinking]

Yeah, especially since the stuff that was broken about it was a direct result of government meddling in the first place.