Posted on 02/06/2016 5:26:08 AM PST by Kaslin
When the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare, was enacted, Americans were promised a healthcare system in which insurance companies would be held accountable and patients would have access to affordable care. Six years later, however, the reality has proven to be quite different-a plan that was supposed to mend our nation's fractured healthcare system has driven up healthcare costs, decreased market competition, and ultimately harmed patients.
Last week, UnitedHealth--the nation's largest health insurer--announced that it expects to lose more than $500 million through plans they offered under the ACA in 2016. Just yesterday, Anthem came out with disappointing fourth quarter earnings as well, citing Obamacare plans. Despite an increase in enrollment, in November 2015 UnitedHealth officials were in talks of pulling out of the ACA exchanges in 2017, citing losses of over $425 million. As a result, UnitedHealth and other large insurers are narrowing networks and raising premiums to cut costs, gaining profits for themselves while hurting consumers.
Sadly, this is just one example of how Obamacare's burdensome regulations have resulted in disastrous consequences. Insurers, who are reporting millions in losses from their ACA plans, are merging to spread fixed costs over larger pools of patients. Between the mergers and the numerous state co-op failures (12 out of the 23 established under the ACA have shut down), competition in the health insurance marketplace has plummeted and costs for insurance continues to rise. In 2015, the average deductible for single coverage for the most common ACA plan (a silver plan) was $2,927 and $6,010 to cover a family. This year, premiums are projected to increase further and insurance companies are not making things easier on patients.
Consumers might see health insurance companies extending "proactive measures" to make up for their financial losses from the ACA exchanges, but these proactive strategies for insurers mean the reverse for patients and consumers. Simply put, insurance companies are narrowing their networks and increasing costs to discourage consumers to sign up for their plans. The intent of Obamacare was to hold insurance companies accountable, but it's done the opposite by allowing insurers to take advantage of this unworkable legislation and increase their profits at the expense of affordable care for patients.
With 42.3 million and 37.5 million members, respectively, UnitedHealth and Anthem's lowered earnings forecast pose a threat to the availability of affordable health plans. As Humana and Cigna, two other mega insurers, plan to release their earnings in early February, consumers should be prepared to start once again shopping around for their health insurance. On top of high out of pocket costs, increasing deductibles, and narrower networks, the ACA has handcuffed patients and has made health insurance simply unaffordable for American families.
Obamacare promised to make insurance affordable for all Americans, but instead the government intervention encouraged insurers to offer poor quality plans and allowed them to impose even higher costs on patients. Patients today are even more vulnerable than they were before. With the 2016 election in full swing, it's time to start thinking about how to repair the damage the insurance industry and misguided policies of the ACA have inflicted on consumers and ensure the health and wellbeing of American citizens in the future.
Actually, United was forced to drop it’s excellent Medicare Advantage plan and promote the ordinary Medicare insurance where is no chance of loss. AARP was their largest sales agent
My medical group dropped United because they couldn’t pay their bills.
The insurance companies are not making money - they’re losing their shirts. The risk corridor program was to stop that, but believe it or not, our enabling Congress actually did something about Obama trying to pay the insurance companies for their losses out of taxpayer funds rather than the risk corridor fund which was not enough to cover their losses. Last year the insurance companies got 13% of what they asked for. The same language was put in the budget again for this next year and the insurance companies will be eating major losses again ..... this is why they are getting out of the Obamacare plans because enrollment is 38% of the 75% participation they need to make the risk pools work.
Enrollment this year was horrible, regardless of what HHS via Burwell & Obama say (they say they “knocked the lights out” - outright lying). Thus the premiums are going up - the healthy & middle income families who simply cannot afford Obamacare, are not signing up despite the penalty. The business model for Obamacare does not work & it is crashing. Restricting the risk corridor payments to that fund (insurance companies making money pay in for those that don’t) and keeping taxpayers funds out of the “payoff” (which is what it is) is crashing Obamacare from the inside out along with the poor enrollment.
The individual and employer mandates are huge cash cows for the industry. I imagine every business in this country would clamor for a Federal law that required people and employers to buy the products they sell.
The downside is that insurers pretty much have to insure anyone who comes to the door. This is like requiring an auto insurance company to offer an "affordable" policy to someone with four DUI convictions and nine license suspensions on his record.
They provided the very valuable cover (as opposed to coverage) to allow the Obamists in the media to present it as a reasonable and workable plan. Fellow travelers at best, or those selling the rope to hang themselves at the worst.
Some states do have that. It is called Assigned Risk.
Like ALL services, the ‘quality’ one gets is (usually) correlated to the amount of $$ one spends.
Course, the govt has had their dirty, little, filthy, stinking hands in the perversion of the markets for so long now, nobody can 2+2 together to understand that INSURANCE != every splinter/sniffle/booboo. No SH!T, Sherlock, that the $$ has skyrocketd since this ‘cover EVERYTHING’ FUBAR went into (partial) effect.
Wait until it REALLY kicks in
bkmk
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