Obambicare is working

by Hellsangel Fri Aug 05, 2016 9:13 am

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-02/aetna-s-obamacare-reversal-is-latest-blow-to-u-s-health-law

by Hellsangel Tue Aug 16, 2016 9:37 am

http://money.cnn.com/2016/08/15/news/economy/aetna-obamacare/index.html

Large insurers aren't the only ones running into trouble. More than half of the co-op insurers, created and funded by the health reform law, have failed. This means consumers in a growing number of areas have only one or two insurers to pick from.

by MaxEntropy_Man Tue Aug 16, 2016 10:09 am

i have not read the details, but it seems that the states where the healthcare law is working well are states that have accepted ~~medicare~~ medicaid expansion. there are GOP governors who decided to cut their noses to spite their faces and rejected ~~medicare~~ medicaid expansion. they are probably the states where the big insurance companies are backing off. will be interesting to read a properly done non-partisan analysis.

by Idéfix Tue Aug 16, 2016 1:57 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:i have not read the details, but it seems that the states where the healthcare law is working well are states that have accepted ~~medicare~~ medicaid expansion. there are GOP governors who decided to cut their noses to spite their faces and rejected ~~medicare~~ medicaid expansion. they are probably the states where the big insurance companies are backing off. will be interesting to read a properly done non-partisan analysis.

Aetna had plans to continue offering these plans, and they were telling the Street that they expect to break even on them this year. But they changed strategy after the DOJ threw a spanner in the works for their proposed acquisition of Humana.

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/08/16/why-aetna-is-pulling-back-big-time-from-obamacare-markets-now.html

Last week, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren suggested that Aetna's recent statement that it would evaluate its ACA involvement may have been prompted by the U.S. Department of Justice's move to block a proposed merger between Aetna and Humana.

"Aetna says this change of tone about the Affordable Care Act has nothing to do with the merger — but some analysts have suggested that Aetna might 'use its future participation in the exchanges in bargaining over its purchase of Humana,'" Warren said.

by MaxEntropy_Man Tue Aug 16, 2016 2:04 pm

Idéfix wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:i have not read the details, but it seems that the states where the healthcare law is working well are states that have accepted ~~medicare~~ medicaid expansion. there are GOP governors who decided to cut their noses to spite their faces and rejected ~~medicare~~ medicaid expansion. they are probably the states where the big insurance companies are backing off. will be interesting to read a properly done non-partisan analysis.
Aetna had plans to continue offering these plans, and they were telling the Street that they expect to break even on them this year. But they changed strategy after the DOJ threw a spanner in the works for their proposed acquisition of Humana.

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/08/16/why-aetna-is-pulling-back-big-time-from-obamacare-markets-now.html

Last week, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren suggested that Aetna's recent statement that it would evaluate its ACA involvement may have been prompted by the U.S. Department of Justice's move to block a proposed merger between Aetna and Humana.

"Aetna says this change of tone about the Affordable Care Act has nothing to do with the merger — but some analysts have suggested that Aetna might 'use its future participation in the exchanges in bargaining over its purchase of Humana,'" Warren said.

ah ok. just playing hardball with the government. can't blame them alone. the whole system needs to change from the grounds up.

by Idéfix Tue Aug 16, 2016 2:43 pm

From the original Bloomberg article HA posted...

Aetna’s move today was somewhat unexpected, as the insurer had submitted plans to regulators to enter five new states next year, and told investors in April that it was on track to break even this year on plans sold under the ACA.

[Aetna CEO] Bertolini said big changes are needed to make the exchanges viable. Risk adjustment, a mechanism that transfers funds from insurers with healthier clients to those with sick ones, “doesn’t work,” he said. Rather than transferring money among insurers, the law should be changed to subsidize insurers with government funds, Bertolini said.

“It needs to be a non-zero sum pool in order to fix it,” Bertolini said. Right now, insurers “that are less worse off pay for those that are worse worse off.”

HHS has proposed changes to the risk-adjustment mechanism to make it more accurate. Those include accounting for prescription drug claims and the extra costs of people who sign up for ACA plans for only part of the year.

by Idéfix Wed Aug 17, 2016 9:28 am

Here is evidence that Aetna wrote to DoJ explicitly threatening to withdraw from the Obamacare exchanges if their proposed deal with Humana is blocked!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/aetna-obamacare-pullout-humana-merger_us_57b3d747e4b04ff883996a13?section=&

If the deal were challenged and/or blocked we would need to take immediate actions to mitigate public exchange and ACA small group losses. Specifically, if the DOJ sues to enjoin the transaction, we will immediately take action to reduce our 2017 exchange footprint .... instead of expanding to 20 states next year, we would reduce our presence to no more than 10 states .… it is very likely that we would need to leave the public exchange business entirely and plan for additional business efficiencies should our deal ultimately be blocked. By contrast, if the deal proceeds without the diverted time and energy associated with litigation, we would explore how to devote a portion of the additional synergies ... to supporting even more public exchange coverage over the next few years.

by Hellsangel Wed Aug 17, 2016 9:29 am

http://money.cnn.com/2016/08/17/news/economy/obamacare-insurers/index.html

Those who've signed up for coverage are sicker and costlier than expected, while too many healthier Americans are opting to pay a penalty rather than a premium. That's prompting many insurers to raise their rates by double-digit percentages for 2017 or minimize their presence on the market.

by Idéfix Wed Aug 17, 2016 9:34 am

Hellsangel wrote:http://money.cnn.com/2016/08/17/news/economy/obamacare-insurers/index.html

Those who've signed up for coverage are sicker and costlier than expected, while too many healthier Americans are opting to pay a penalty rather than a premium. That's prompting many insurers to raise their rates by double-digit percentages for 2017 or minimize their presence on the market.

Thanks for sharing. From the article:

The high-profile insurers' actions*, however, mask the fact that Obamacare is working for many people and has become a vital part of the health care landscape. More than 11 million Americans are covered by Obamacare policies, with 85% of them receiving federal subsidies that blunt the impact of premium hikes. That's sent the uninsured rate down to a record low 9.1%.

Also, some insurers are turning profits on the exchanges and expanding into new Obamacare markets. This is particularly true of companies that entered the individual market after specializing in providing Medicaid benefits to low-income Americans.

The turmoil is not unexpected, experts say. It's crucial that both the government and insurers take steps to stabilize the program, but Obamacare is not doomed, they say.

* We know Aetna's action had a lot to do with not getting what they want from the DoJ, rather than economic viability of the exchanges -- see Aetna CEO's letter above.

by Hellsangel Wed Aug 17, 2016 10:04 am

Free market. If not Arena, someone else will step in. Don't worry. Obambicare is working so well.

by MaxEntropy_Man Wed Aug 17, 2016 10:07 am

Hellsangel wrote:Free market. If not Arena, someone else will step in. Don't worry. Obambicare is working so well.

remember the reference point -- the state prior to obamacare; not utopia.
oh and what exactly is drumpf's plan to improve healthcare again?

by Hellsangel Wed Aug 17, 2016 4:17 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
Hellsangel wrote:Free market. If not Arena, someone else will step in. Don't worry. Obambicare is working so well.

remember the reference point -- the state prior to obamacare; not utopia.
oh and what exactly is drumpf's plan to improve healthcare again?

Obambi the Wonder should call Aetna's bluff and threaten to replace Obambicare with a single payer system. That'll teach them insurance companies.

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