Obama Plans To Bail Out Insurance Companies

[Stephanie]

Now how do you like being told you were lied to again and that OscamCare was meant to fail SO they could dupe you into, single payer

Is this Obama government ever HONEST? it's sickening how much they lie right TO YOUR FACE

fall for it again at all our Peril

 

[boedicca]

Some people just like being lied to so they can avoid taking responsibility for their own lives.

 

[Sallow]

Having worked thousands of litigation cases for the insurance industry for 35 years I have seen first hand the massive inefficiencies in having the health "care" system in America use insurance as the vehicle for payment of health "care" services.
Massive amount of wasted resources on the 1000+ different insurance companies administering different sets of forms, policies, rules and policies. All health care businesses have to employ people just to keep track of the paperwork.
And the end cost is three times more than what other countries pay for their HEALTH CARE.
Now our disease care is the finest in the world. It should be as most all doctors now are specialists.
And as a nation we now spend 56% of ALL health care dollars in America on disease care.
And growing.
To treat 4% of the population.
And shrinking.
Group health insurance and all blank check health care along with the train wreck of Medicare has ruined American health care.
Go to a system like Germany. Single payer and hey, if you do not like it, BUY YOUR OWN which is also available as private insurance in Germany.
Everyone should be responsible for their OWN HEALTH CARE.

I agree with your diagnosis, but not the cure.

Here's what we should do:

- Decouple catastrophic health insurance (real insurance) from routine care (which is really just prepaid health services).
- Break the link between employment and health care by making health insurance and expenses individual tax deductions; what is now spent by companies can be added to the cash comp of employees, who then choose how to spend their funds (which removes the middleman dollar siphon which shield individuals from the cost of the services they consume).
- Eliminate state barriers to health care competition.
- Malpractice tort reform ala Texas which remove the excessive Lawyer Tax on the system.


Personally, I'd prefer to have a catastrophic policy and a separate concierge service for routine care.

None of that would do anything to make sure everyone is covered.

What it would do? Is create huge health care insurance monopolies free from liability.

 

[Gadawg73]

Having worked thousands of litigation cases for the insurance industry for 35 years I have seen first hand the massive inefficiencies in having the health "care" system in America use insurance as the vehicle for payment of health "care" services.
Massive amount of wasted resources on the 1000+ different insurance companies administering different sets of forms, policies, rules and policies. All health care businesses have to employ people just to keep track of the paperwork.
And the end cost is three times more than what other countries pay for their HEALTH CARE.
Now our disease care is the finest in the world. It should be as most all doctors now are specialists.
And as a nation we now spend 56% of ALL health care dollars in America on disease care.
And growing.
To treat 4% of the population.
And shrinking.
Group health insurance and all blank check health care along with the train wreck of Medicare has ruined American health care.
Go to a system like Germany. Single payer and hey, if you do not like it, BUY YOUR OWN which is also available as private insurance in Germany.
Everyone should be responsible for their OWN HEALTH CARE.

I agree with your diagnosis, but not the cure.

Here's what we should do:

- Decouple catastrophic health insurance (real insurance) from routine care (which is really just prepaid health services).
- Break the link between employment and health care by making health insurance and expenses individual tax deductions; what is now spent by companies can be added to the cash comp of employees, who then choose how to spend their funds (which removes the middleman dollar siphon which shield individuals from the cost of the services they consume).
- Eliminate state barriers to health care competition.
- Malpractice tort reform ala Texas which remove the excessive Lawyer Tax on the system.


Personally, I'd prefer to have a catastrophic policy and a separate concierge service for routine care.

Tort reform is a joke. As it is now it is extremely difficult to win a med/mal case against a doctor. Myth is there are many frivolous law suits. Nonsense, it costs a lawyer his own money about 150K to bring a med/mal case. What lawyer risks 150K LOST on a frivolous case? Does not happen. And you have to have a team of doctors to state there was negligence under the standard of care. Very hard to do. And why should we give doctors immunity for their negligence? What other profession gets that? All that does is lower the standard of care. States that pass "tort reform" are bought by the insurance industry.
Catastrophic strategies listed above I agree with most all of your ideas. That solves many problems. Routine care? Should ALL be paid for by the consumer, NOT INSURANCE.
Eliminating state barriers will do a lot for competition but many of those gains will be lost with the increased amount of different sets of paperwork for each additional carrier in that state.
Could not agree more with the breaking the link between employment and health care. That is the biggest problem we have.

 

[NYcarbineer]

Is health care really affordable when the rates are held artificially low because the government borrows $Billions in order to bail out the Insurance Companies? Given the inflationary and economic growth impacts, the resulting flattening/decline of inflation adjusted middle class incomes makes this health care increasingly expensive.

Hopenchange!

There is also a profit limit built into what the companies in the exchanges can make.

Since the government isn't actually bailing out the insurance companies yet,

calm down.

On the bright side, they can use the profit they made on the bank bailout.

 

[boedicca]

Is health care really affordable when the rates are held artificially low because the government borrows $Billions in order to bail out the Insurance Companies? Given the inflationary and economic growth impacts, the resulting flattening/decline of inflation adjusted middle class incomes makes this health care increasingly expensive.

Hopenchange!

There is also a profit limit built into what the companies in the exchanges can make.

Since the government isn't actually bailing out the insurance companies yet,

calm down.

On the bright side, they can use the profit they made on the bank bailout.

Profit limit? It's a profit guarantee based on %. That's an incentive to continue to grow the cost structure and push up premiums.

 

[DiamondDave]

Just a matter of time now. The people will cry out for singler payer health care.

Well.. except for the vast numbers who don't want government in health care

 

[GHook93]

I mean who didn't see this coming. However, I think Obama isn't going to bail them out. I think he will eventually withhold the funds since Obaminationcare by design wanted the health insurance industry to collapse. That way he would say we have no other choice by single payer!

 

[boedicca]

Oh, he'll bail them out all right.

This is why we are seeing some "premiums won't rise much" next year meme testing.

All Obama cares about is that he get through the rest of his term before this thing falls apart - so umpty umpteen billions of slush fund money will be promised to Big Insurance Cronies.

 

[LordBrownTrout]

The Progs goal all along has been to turn us into Serfs of The State.

Those of us who work are already tax serfs; and those with lots of debt are debt serfs to the Big Government Crony banksters. And now, with healthcare, we are being turned into body serfs.

You guys look remarkably silly when you go on about serfs of slaves of the state.

It shows you have no real clue about what you are talking about.

Slaves had no rights and no benefits. They worked their asses off until they dropped. That was basically it. They lived and died at the whim of their owners.

Serfs were slightly better off in that they might be able to leave the land they tilled for their "master", and might was the operative word here. They too had no benefits.

Having a government that actually does stuff, like make sure we get health care, housing and education are BENEFITS. By the way, no one owns you and you can leave the country if you don't like it. That's the huge difference.

Yeah, they do stuff alright. Inefficient stuff.

 

[boedicca]

Medieval Serfs revolted when the Lords' takings exceeded 30%.

We now have marginal rates well above 50%.

 

[Zander]

Just a matter of time now. The people will cry out for singler payer health care.

Nope. They'll cry for freedom to choose. The VA is a perfect example of why single payer will never happen in the US.

 

[Spoonman]

 

[natstew]

Most of us have likely seen the signs in retail stores "It you break it, you own it", so there is some logic to Obama maneuvering to bail out the Insurance Companies he has "broken" with his economically illiterate and liberty destroying ObamaCare...BUT...he's going to use OUR MONEY to do it.

Yet more Obama Big Government Cronyism.

The Obama administration has quietly adjusted key provisions of its signature healthcare law to potentially make billions of additional taxpayer dollars available to the insurance industry if companies providing coverage through the Affordable Care Act lose money.

The move was buried in hundreds of pages of new regulations issued late last week. It comes as part of an intensive administration effort to hold down premium increases for next year, a top priority for the White House as the rates will be announced ahead of this fall's congressional elections.

Administration officials for months have denied charges by opponents that they plan a "bailout" for insurance companies providing coverage under the healthcare law.

They continue to argue that most insurers shouldn't need to substantially increase premiums because safeguards in the healthcare law will protect them over the next several years.

But the change in regulations essentially provides insurers with another backup: If they keep rate increases modest over the next couple of years but lose money, the administration will tap federal funds as needed to cover shortfalls....

Federal funds earmarked to offset Affordable Care Act insurer losses*-*Los Angeles Times

Is health care really affordable when the rates are held artificially low because the government borrows $Billions in order to bail out the Insurance Companies? Given the inflationary and economic growth impacts, the resulting flattening/decline of inflation adjusted middle class incomes makes this health care increasingly expensive.

Hopenchange!

INFLAtION - That's the monster the media is ignoring. It's the most hideous kind of tax. It causes hunger and suffering to the very people the Democrats claim to be for.
I live on a fixed income and was doing okay until Obama's inflation has priced a comfortable living out of my reach. Been to the supermarket lately? Prices have skyrocketed since Obama's been in office. I'm no Bush lover either, the Bush's are not Conservatives.
This is not the Country I spent 4 years six months serving in the late sixties.
If I could push a button and nuke Washington, it'd be done already!!

 

[natstew]

Are people really this dumb? They will get it from us twx payors either coming or going whether it be through premium increases or some other hidden form of taxation.

TAXATION? Hell, they don't even pretend to pay for their spending anymore. The "ONE" says it, so it must come to pass, like he's, 'Ramses The Great', or something!

 

[Siete]

and all this time people have been saying he was a socialist and now he sides with pay for profit businesses .. ???

 

[natstew]

Folks:
I understand how frustrated people are about the federal government bailing out private companies.
The ACA, however, is unique in that insurers must take on all comers, regardless of health, within the open enrollment period.
People who are diagnosed with cancer, say in Sept., need to wait for only a few months until coverage must be offered - in full, no riders, no limits, etc.
Three others and I recently applied to the Texas Department of Insurance for a license for a life and health insurer.
We will be offering a unique product, a patented design in which we worked with Milliman, a well-respected actuarial firm for three years, to craft the details.
The plan will be initially offered to self-funded employers of 200 or more employees.
We are deathly afriid of entering the exchanges, with all the potential adverse selection that can occur.
Working with employers, and assuming more of their risk, gradually, over time, is much more palatable for us and will be extremely effective for employers who want to exit the insurance business, albeit more gradually than through the private exchanges. A bit more patience can result in premium savings up to 80% from today's premiums, even including medical inflation.
Don Levit,CLU,ChFC

They'll find a way to outlaw you!

 

[boedicca]

Now that's a real Stinkburger Meanwich!

 

[boedicca]

and all this time people have been saying he was a socialist and now he sides with pay for profit businesses .. ???

Big Government benefiting Big Government Cronies is completely consistent with a Socialist mindset, bub.

 

[Stephanie]

As the grounds for "improving" the broken system in its entirety.

By sweeping in the whole healthcare system that, with a small example in the VA, is proven to be broken? And they think they can sell that by so doing, making it better when you increase its size much more than 10 fold? Anyone with any sense will see the faulty reasoning of that.

The mess at the VA is just a Pilot Program - Preview of Coming ObamaCare Attractions.

yep, death panels are in our future
what a guy that Obama is eh?
the new Democrat motto; Just let em die waiting who cares