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.
Seems the author does not know which way he is going with this article.
First he indicates that ACA is a failure for the insurance companies then later he says that insurance companies are using ACA to rape consumers.
Personally I don't see why insurance companies would be getting out of the ObamaCare exchanges if they were making a killing from the law.
Sure insurance companies are going to raise prices and cut money losing products to maintain profits and reduce cost when they are bleeding red ink.
Why suggest that they doing something immoral when they are raising prices when they are losing money and who else are they going to raise prices on other than patients? Patients are the customers.
The law drives what the insurance companies do. Attack those that pushed the ACA monster through congress not those that must now try to make a profit under it.
I guess attacking insurance companies is genetically programed in to those that write opinion pieces.
Seems the author does not know which way he is going with this article.
First he indicates that ACA is a failure for the insurance companies then later he says that insurance companies are using ACA to rape consumers.
That’s funny; I read it as saying all the business practices they can implement this year, including higher rates and deductibles, are not expected to keep them from losing megabucks and likely to drop out altogether next year. I thought the tone regarding insurance companies was rather neutral, considering they , or so it has been reported, signed on with Obama to push the legislation through.
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.