Healthcare Premiums Soar

[Marener]

Universities and insurance companies. Duh.

And how are insurance companies driving up costs exactly?

 

[Marener]

Obamacare is doing exactly what it was intended to do, including the unaffordable premiums.
It's why the Bill never had any republican's backing it. Some might call it a democrat trap.
The democrats wouldn't allow an actual 'competitive free market' solution.

We missed an opportunity to shift from employer based insurance where other people make the choices for you into a full individual market where people get to chose their own insurer and plans.

The ACA marketplace is pretty free market.

 

[JLW]

Obamacare is doing exactly what it was intended to do, including the unaffordable premiums.
It's why the Bill never had any republican's backing it. Some might call it a democrat trap.
The democrats wouldn't allow an actual 'competitive free market' solution.

Funny thing is, the ACA was modeled on a Republican plan.

 

[SweetTea]

And how are insurance companies driving up costs exactly?

You can follow the increases all the way down to the hospitals or even big pharma. The government blank check theory still applies.

 

[Marener]

You can follow the increases all the way down to the hospitals or even big pharma. The government blank check theory still applies.

You don’t think that insurers negotiate with hospitals and drug companies?

 

[SweetTea]

You don’t think that insurers negotiate with hospitals and drug companies?

Of course they do, but again, what does that have to do with the fact that if the government subsidizes the services and products provided, they both have incentive to charge more.

 

[Meister]

Of course they do, but again, what does that have to do with the fact that if the government subsidizes the services and products provided, they both have incentive to charge more.

Yup, just like everything the government touches, prices soar.

 

[Marener]

Of course they do, but again, what does that have to do with the fact that if the government subsidizes the services and products provided, they both have incentive to charge more.

Everyone who provides a product or service is always incentivized to charge more.

The insurers are incentivized to keep costs down because a plan with a lower premium will be more attractive to those on the marketplace.

 

[SweetTea]

Everyone who provides a product or service is always incentivized to charge more.

Yes, if the increase in price doesn’t drive away customers. If the increase is subsidized by the federal government, they won’t lose customers so they will raise prices.

The insurers are incentivized to keep costs down because a plan with a lower premium will be more attractive to those on the marketplace.

The Democrats want enhanced subsidies for the ACA to remain intact. See above.

 

[Hellbilly]

That's because someone else is picking up the tab.

The government.

 

[Marener]

Yes, if the increase in price doesn’t drive away customers. If the increase is subsidized by the federal government, they won’t lose customers so they will raise prices.

Not exactly. The subsidies are complex but cleverly designed. The amount of subsidy you get is determined by two factors, the benchmark silver plan cost and your income. It’s set at that amount and doesn’t change. If a person chooses a less costly plan than the benchmark, then their portion of the premium goes down. Subsidies don’t increase if you choose a more expensive plan.

So there still is plenty of market forces incentivizing people to choose a cheaper plan, which incentivizes insurance companies to constrain costs.

The Democrats want enhanced subsidies for the ACA to remain intact. See above.

Yes. There are some tweaks they can and should make to the subsidies, but going back to the old system isn’t a great idea.

 

[Cougarbear]

It is the same reason that college tuition has skyrocketed. If the government agrees, unequivocally, to give loans or to subsidize services provided by for-profit colleges/companies, the prices rise as these companies see that has a blank check of sorts.

That’s right. What the bold print giveth the fine print taketh away. Same with all welfare. Including welfare driving fathers out of their homes and keeping recipients in chains of welfare slavery and all for votes of Democrats. Blacks on welfare are slaves to their taskmaster politicians.

 

[Lisa558]

We missed an opportunity to shift from employer based insurance where other people make the choices for you into a full individual market where people get to chose their own insurer and plans.

The ACA marketplace is pretty free market.

We HAD a full individual market where people could pick their own insurers and plans - and it cost less. That’s because government wasn’t subsidizing people’s premiums.

But Obamacare wiped that out. Individual plans disappeared.

You leftists are so clueless it’s exasperating to try to educate you.

 

[Lisa558]

That’s right. What the bold print giveth the fine print taketh away. Same with all welfare. Including welfare driving fathers out of their homes and keeping recipients in chains of welfare slavery and all for votes of Democrats. Blacks on welfare are slaves to their taskmaster politicians.

Even worse…..welfare recipients, with their children about to
age to the point where Mama needs to get a job, have another illegitimate baby to keep the gravy train rolling.

 

[SweetTea]

We HAD a full individual market where people could pick their own insurers and plans - and it cost less. That’s because government wasn’t subsidizing people’s premiums.

But Obamacare wiped that out. Individual plans disappeared.

You leftists are so clueless it’s exasperating to try to educate you.

A bleeding heart deprives blood to the brain.

 

[Marener]

We HAD a full individual market where people could pick their own insurers and plans - and it cost less. That’s because government wasn’t subsidizing people’s premiums.

But Obamacare wiped that out. Individual plans disappeared.

You leftists are so clueless it’s exasperating to try to educate you.

This is not factually correct.

Individual plans are on the marketplace. Obviously. They pick their insurers and plans on the marketplace.

The problems with the old system were legion, which is why so many people were uninsured before the ACA. The reason it cost less is because insurance companies were able to exclude those with medical conditions, cap total benefits, and a lot of other things that ultimately hurt people who needed healthcare.

 

[pknopp]

Because when health expenses are paid by insurance, which in turn is subsidized by the government, costs skyrocket. Why? Because they can get away with it!

Health expenses NOT covered by insurance are held down in price because the providers know people will have to pay for it.

Do you leftists really have such a limited understanding of basic economics? I learned this concept in high school.

The non insured have it so lucky with their cheap cancer treatments.

 

[Meathead]

I think you should call your nurse for your meds.

I think you should get a job and stop mooching.

 

[Lisa558]

The non insured have it so lucky with their cheap cancer treatments.

I never said go without completely. A catastrophic care plan WOULD have taken care of that - but Obamacare wiped them out.

 

[Lisa558]

This is not factually correct.

Individual plans are on the marketplace. Obviously. They pick their insurers and plans on the marketplace.

The problems with the old system were legion, which is why so many people were uninsured before the ACA. The reason it cost less is because insurance companies were able to exclude those with medical conditions, cap total benefits, and a lot of other things that ultimately hurt people who needed healthcare.

And the problems with Obamacare are legion. It made health insurance so expensive that even the middle class can’t afford it and needs government assistance.

Again, this was Obama’s sneaky goal.