Under Obamacare, N.Y. Insurance Rates DROP 50%

[healthmyths]

Health Plan Cost for New Yorkers Set to Fall 50%


ndividuals buying health insurance on their own will see their premiums tumble next year in New York State as changes under the federal health care law take effect, state officials are to announce on Wednesday.


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/17/h...t-for-new-yorkers-set-to-fall-50.html?hp&_r=0


Republicans are talking to themselves!

And if you read more of the article...

“Where New York previously had a dizzying array of thousands upon thousands of plans, small businesses will now be able to truly comparison-shop for the best prices,” said Benjamin M. Lawsky, the state’s top financial regulator.

Officials at the state Department of Financial Services say they have approved 17 insurers to sell individual coverage through the New York exchange, including eight that are just entering the state’s commercial market.
Many of these are insurers specializing in Medicaid plans that cater to low-income individuals.

17 insurers versus thousands of plans BEFORE ACA!
How is that going to be more competitive???

 

[Edgetho]

In Florida, after Hurricane Andrew, dozens of BIG Insurance Companies up and left.

Wanted no part of any more Hurricanes. Only a handful of Companies with Allstate and State Farm being by FAR the biggest stayed.

In a lot of cases, there was no Homeowners Insurance to be had. Allstate and State Farm could only carry so much risk without risking going under.

Without the ability to buy Homeowners Insurance, guess what? You can't buy a Home.

And if you can't buy a Home, Housing Construction stops, When Housing Construction stops, everything stops.

And when Companies cancelled (technically, non-renewed) TENS OF THOUSANDS of existing Homeowners with Mortgages, Mortgage Companies and Banks were having serious Heart Attacks.

So the State of Florida started the FRPCJUA (now called Citizens Insurance) and the rates were LOW. Because of the reasons I stated earlier All incoming, no outgoing.

Thousands of people left perfectly good Companies and went to the State plan. TENS OF THOUSANDS actually.

Of course, because it was run by the State, they fucked it up and the rates quickly quadrupled. About a year. Maybe less.

Those people that left wanted to come back home to Mama.

Not gonna happen. The Companies didn't want them back.

But haven't you just said that almost ALL insuranse companies LEFT so people were left without ANY insuranse so Citizens was formed? So it is inevitable that if Citizens became a monopoly they will raise the premiums, but the reason is not that people left their insurances but that the insurance companies dumped them...

Can somebody translate that from dumbass to English for me?

 

[Troubled_CA]

Can anyone explain the mechanism which is supposed to make this happen?

Why would anyone even buy insurance if they aren't sick? 308 USD a month is still a huge sum. You could easily take care of routine check ups with that and then buy insurance if it seemed like the costs are going to sky rocket. (This kind of behavior would of course make insurance prices sky rocket).

Or are they just playing a trick on us? 1000 plan that covers everything vs. 300 plan that covers pretty much nothing?

Conservative intellect at it's finest!

Would you please tattoo DNR on your chest.
Then you can skip the insurance.

OR are you just a FREELOADER by nature?

 

[Darkwind]

Since the passage of Obamacare, rates have risen over 200%....now they come down 50%, that means they are still 100% higher then prior to Obamacare.

Does anyone actually stop to think anymore?

The article is also a cherry pick of data for political purposes.. Deliberately chosen to put the very best light on a very bad law....

Rates for SOME people go down 50%, and to think, this only cost the rest of us an addition 5%.......for a lousy 17k people.

Yeah young people. How do you like giving the selfish of New York a rate decrease?

 

[Edgetho]

Since the passage of Obamacare, rates have risen over 200%....now they come down 50%, that means they are still 100% higher then prior to Obamacare.

Does anyone actually stop to think anymore?

The article is also a cherry pick of data for political purposes.. Deliberately chosen to put the very best light on a very bad law....

Rates for SOME people go down 50%, and to think, this only cost the rest of us an addition 5%.......for a lousy 17k people.

Yeah young people. How do you like giving the selfish of New York a rate decrease?

Yeah, the article continuously conflates New York State and New York City to make their dubious point.

 

[Troubled_CA]

"California has unveiled prices that consumers will pay for a selection of health plans offered through the state under the Affordable Care Act, providing a glimpse into how health care reform may look as it is rolled out across the nation.

Under the federal health care reform law, people who do not get or cannot afford health insurance through their jobs can buy coverage through an exchange, at a group rate negotiated by state regulators.

The cost to a 40-year-old who needs coverage would vary from about $40 to $300 per month for a mid-level plan in California, depending on income. Some young adults, who are less expensive to cover, could pay nothing, depending on how much they earn.

The prices in California, along with those announced in Washington, Vermont and other states, show that premiums under "Obamacare" can be more affordable than had previously been thought. Consumer advocates welcomed the new exchange. "

California reveals prices for health insurance under Obamacare - NBC News.com

Reality is getting in the way of conservatives constant chant.

THE SKY IS FALLING!
THE SKY IS FALLING!
THE SKY IS FALLING!

 

[thereisnospoon]

"with federal subsidies"... which of course the cost of those is not disclosed.. and it has to be paid for by someone... but as long as it is not them, the leeches don't care

Hence the Left has embraced the concept of "free shit".

 

[thereisnospoon]

In Florida, after Hurricane Andrew, dozens of BIG Insurance Companies up and left.

Wanted no part of any more Hurricanes. Only a handful of Companies with Allstate and State Farm being by FAR the biggest stayed.

In a lot of cases, there was no Homeowners Insurance to be had. Allstate and State Farm could only carry so much risk without risking going under.

Without the ability to buy Homeowners Insurance, guess what? You can't buy a Home.

And if you can't buy a Home, Housing Construction stops, When Housing Construction stops, everything stops.

And when Companies cancelled (technically, non-renewed) TENS OF THOUSANDS of existing Homeowners with Mortgages, Mortgage Companies and Banks were having serious Heart Attacks.

So the State of Florida started the FRPCJUA (now called Citizens Insurance) and the rates were LOW. Because of the reasons I stated earlier All incoming, no outgoing.

Thousands of people left perfectly good Companies and went to the State plan. TENS OF THOUSANDS actually.

Of course, because it was run by the State, they fucked it up and the rates quickly quadrupled. About a year. Maybe less.

Those people that left wanted to come back home to Mama.

Not gonna happen. The Companies didn't want them back.

But haven't you just said that almost ALL insuranse companies LEFT so people were left without ANY insuranse so Citizens was formed? So it is inevitable that if Citizens became a monopoly they will raise the premiums, but the reason is not that people left their insurances but that the insurance companies dumped them...

Hey genius. Insurance companies measure risk through complex calculations and formulas.
For example, homeowners risk is determined by many factors. The list includes but limited to weather, crime rates, type of construction, age of the home, location, condition of the building and property.
The company then determines rates based on those and other factors.
If by chance an insurer determines it's exposure to risk is greater than the premiums it is able to collect, it will raise premiums. If the risk becomes so great as we saw during the 4 hurricane year in Florida, insurers will cease to write policies. And those with them will not be renewed.
Insurance is a business. And as with any other business the primary function of a business is to turn a profit.
If a State insurance board refuses to permit necessary increases or the premiums needed to offset the increased risk are not enough to cover the costs, the insurer must stop doing business in that state.
No was "dumped" by their insurer. The polices expired and the insurer simply chose to no longer do business with those homeowners.

 

[healthmyths]

"California has unveiled prices that consumers will pay for a selection of health plans offered through the state under the Affordable Care Act, providing a glimpse into how health care reform may look as it is rolled out across the nation.

Under the federal health care reform law, people who do not get or cannot afford health insurance through their jobs can buy coverage through an exchange, at a group rate negotiated by state regulators.

The cost to a 40-year-old who needs coverage would vary from about $40 to $300 per month for a mid-level plan in California, depending on income. Some young adults, who are less expensive to cover, could pay nothing, depending on how much they earn.

The prices in California, along with those announced in Washington, Vermont and other states, show that premiums under "Obamacare" can be more affordable than had previously been thought. Consumer advocates welcomed the new exchange. "

California reveals prices for health insurance under Obamacare - NBC News.com

Reality is getting in the way of conservatives constant chant.

THE SKY IS FALLING!
THE SKY IS FALLING!
THE SKY IS FALLING!

Reality:
Remember when Barack Obama stood before the American people and said “if you like your healthcare plan, you can keep your healthcare plan”? Well, like everything else that comes out of his mouth that was a lie.
Fifty-eight thousand Californians are about to learn that the hard way.

Apparently two of the companies that offer individual coverage in California have decided they are pulling out of the market next year, once the individual mandate takes effect.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

The nation’s largest health insurer, UnitedHealth Group Inc., is leaving California’s individual health insurance market, the second major company to exit in advance of major changes under the Affordable Care Act.

UnitedHealth said it had notified state regulators that it would leave the state’s individual market at year-end and force about 8,000 customers to find new coverage. Last month, Aetna Inc.,
the nation’s third-largest health insurer, made a similar move affecting about 50,000 existing policyholders.
Obamacare: Costing 58,000 Californians Their Health Insurance

The Obamacare is so absolutely stupid!
They lied about how many are really uninsured.. NOT 46 million but 4 million!
They lied “if you like your healthcare plan, you can keep your healthcare plan”
The above 58,000 people ARE NOT able to "keep their healthplan!"

 

[Edgetho]

The rates are going to start out cheap. It always happens that way. Always.

What they do in a year or two is anybody's guess.

But if you're guessing they'll go down, I got some Beach Front property in the Everglades for sale.

Cheap.

obama is playing politics with this like he does with everything else he does.

He cancelled/delayed the Employer Mandate for fear of the massive layoffs that would occur and is going ahead with the Individual Mandate because, since the first claim has yet to be filed, the rates will be very reasonable.

Political genius but incredibly dishonest.

But what else would you expect from a dimocrap?

When rates start to skyrocket (they will) and when Private Companies start to FLEE the exchanges (they will) people will cry for the gubmint to step in (they will)....

And turn it into a single-payor, socialist program (they will)

Then watch as your Mother or child die while waiting for a high demand operation but Billions are being spent on Mary to make sure her vagina is functioning properly and on Bruce for his sex-change operation.

While your Father or Mother die of Cancer.

I got Medicare and the VA. Couldn't care less what happens to you morons.

I just think it's funny watching you self-destruct.

You always do. And you always will.

 

[Gardener]

the more people who buy insurance the cheaper it will get

 

[Vox]

In Florida, after Hurricane Andrew, dozens of BIG Insurance Companies up and left.

Wanted no part of any more Hurricanes. Only a handful of Companies with Allstate and State Farm being by FAR the biggest stayed.

In a lot of cases, there was no Homeowners Insurance to be had. Allstate and State Farm could only carry so much risk without risking going under.

Without the ability to buy Homeowners Insurance, guess what? You can't buy a Home.

And if you can't buy a Home, Housing Construction stops, When Housing Construction stops, everything stops.

And when Companies cancelled (technically, non-renewed) TENS OF THOUSANDS of existing Homeowners with Mortgages, Mortgage Companies and Banks were having serious Heart Attacks.

So the State of Florida started the FRPCJUA (now called Citizens Insurance) and the rates were LOW. Because of the reasons I stated earlier All incoming, no outgoing.

Thousands of people left perfectly good Companies and went to the State plan. TENS OF THOUSANDS actually.

Of course, because it was run by the State, they fucked it up and the rates quickly quadrupled. About a year. Maybe less.

Those people that left wanted to come back home to Mama.

Not gonna happen. The Companies didn't want them back.

But haven't you just said that almost ALL insuranse companies LEFT so people were left without ANY insuranse so Citizens was formed? So it is inevitable that if Citizens became a monopoly they will raise the premiums, but the reason is not that people left their insurances but that the insurance companies dumped them...

Can somebody translate that from dumbass to English for me?

you dumbass, you just said that after Andrew people were left without insurance, because the companies left, so state insurance was created and then in the next few words you state that people LEFT the insurance companies themselves.

Stop LYING in two sentences apart.

 

[Vox]

In Florida, after Hurricane Andrew, dozens of BIG Insurance Companies up and left.

Wanted no part of any more Hurricanes. Only a handful of Companies with Allstate and State Farm being by FAR the biggest stayed.

In a lot of cases, there was no Homeowners Insurance to be had. Allstate and State Farm could only carry so much risk without risking going under.

Without the ability to buy Homeowners Insurance, guess what? You can't buy a Home.

And if you can't buy a Home, Housing Construction stops, When Housing Construction stops, everything stops.

And when Companies cancelled (technically, non-renewed) TENS OF THOUSANDS of existing Homeowners with Mortgages, Mortgage Companies and Banks were having serious Heart Attacks.

So the State of Florida started the FRPCJUA (now called Citizens Insurance) and the rates were LOW. Because of the reasons I stated earlier All incoming, no outgoing.

Thousands of people left perfectly good Companies and went to the State plan. TENS OF THOUSANDS actually.

Of course, because it was run by the State, they fucked it up and the rates quickly quadrupled. About a year. Maybe less.

Those people that left wanted to come back home to Mama.

Not gonna happen. The Companies didn't want them back.

But haven't you just said that almost ALL insuranse companies LEFT so people were left without ANY insuranse so Citizens was formed? So it is inevitable that if Citizens became a monopoly they will raise the premiums, but the reason is not that people left their insurances but that the insurance companies dumped them...

Hey genius. Insurance companies measure risk through complex calculations and formulas.
For example, homeowners risk is determined by many factors. The list includes but limited to weather, crime rates, type of construction, age of the home, location, condition of the building and property.
The company then determines rates based on those and other factors.
If by chance an insurer determines it's exposure to risk is greater than the premiums it is able to collect, it will raise premiums. If the risk becomes so great as we saw during the 4 hurricane year in Florida, insurers will cease to write policies. And those with them will not be renewed.
Insurance is a business. And as with any other business the primary function of a business is to turn a profit.
If a State insurance board refuses to permit necessary increases or the premiums needed to offset the increased risk are not enough to cover the costs, the insurer must stop doing business in that state.
No was "dumped" by their insurer. The polices expired and the insurer simply chose to no longer do business with those homeowners.

listen, dumbass, learn some reading comprehension first.
one can not state that insurance companies leave because of the fear of the hurricanes and in the next paragraph blame the people for that.

 

[Edgetho]

But haven't you just said that almost ALL insuranse companies LEFT so people were left without ANY insuranse so Citizens was formed? So it is inevitable that if Citizens became a monopoly they will raise the premiums, but the reason is not that people left their insurances but that the insurance companies dumped them...

Can somebody translate that from dumbass to English for me?

you dumbass, you just said that after Andrew people were left without insurance, because the companies left, so state insurance was created and then in the next few words you state that people LEFT the insurance companies themselves.

Stop LYING in two sentences apart.

Let's separate this into parts.....

Many Companies left the State completely. The ones that remained refused to take on any new Property Insurance -- Homeowners, Renters, Landlords, Condo....

So the State created its own Company called the Florida Residential Property and Casualty Joint Underwriting Association, or FRPCJUA.

There was a need for it among people who had no Insurance for a variety of reasons....

Their Company left the State, they got non-renewed in a massive re-underwriting, or they were buying a House and needed to get Insurance. You can't finance a house without Insurance. Not gonna happen.

At the same time, and this is totally separate, many customers that had State Farm, Allstate and one or two other Companies that stayed, became unhappy with the rate increases the Companies passed along and left.

During this period, the FRPCJUA was new, and their rates were low. We warned against the State making them too low, but they wouldn't listen.

So people who were with good PRIVATE Companies (Allstate, State Farm, etc) left them and went with the FRPCJUA to save a couple hundred bucks a year.

But the rates in the State program (the FRPCJUA) were artificially low. They had yet to pay the first claim.

And when the claims started coming in, the rates quadrupled. Bad. I'm talking going from $500 a year to $2,000 a year. Some people, mostly retired people, had to sell their homes because they couldn't afford the Insurance anymore.

Now, the people who VOLUNTARILY left the PRIVATE Companies wanted to come back, but we weren't taking on any new policies. In fact, we wanted to get rid of a lot of the ones they had.

In the Insurance Industry, you can't just sell, sell, sell. You have to be able to pay the claims.

You'not selling a tangible item, you're selling an assumption of risk with the promise of payment at such time as there is a loss.

Hurricane Andrew BANKRUPTED State Farm Fire and Casualty. It took one-third of Allstate's Net Worth and put several smaller Companies out of business.

I'm just saying that it's easy to have low rates when you start a new program because you have yet to pay the FIRST CLAIM. That takes no skill or underwriting, risk assessment or actuarial intelligence.

I'm just opining that people should be careful about leaving a strong PRIVATE Company for a gubmint-run Insurance program because... Gubmint is pretty stupid.

Ever seen some of the people that work for them?

 

[Vox]

I do not have to separate anything. It was YOU, who have stated in one sentence that insurances left after the hurricane Andrew and left thousands of people without insurance and banks were having heart attacks ( your direct words).

It was you, who stated that because of that the State Insurance was created to cover those who were left by insurance companies.

And then in two paragraphs lower you blame the people that they left the private insurers and converted to Citizens.

Either it is not what happened or you presented it in a sloppy way.

But that is YOUR OWN words and YOUR OWN way to present the story.

You can not blame anybody, but yourself.

=============================

On the part that a government monopoly will do whatever it wants with the rates - I do not disagree.

 

[Claudette]

The ACA is going to be anything but affordable.

The only winners will be those that the rest of us will be forced "subsidize."

 

[Darkwind]

The ACA is going to be anything but affordable.

The only winners will be those that the rest of us will be forced "subsidize."

Correction.

The only winners will be the politicians who will use the Obamacare cudgel in the same manner that they use the Social Security cudgel; as a stick of fear for those who have given up their personal responsibility of caring for themselves.

Now, the left will use Obamacare as a campaign cry that the big bad (insert evil person here) is going to take away your healthcare, so elect me and I'll be sure that the costs won't affect you! Though in the end, they will, as they always do.

 

[Edgetho]

I do not have to separate anything. It was YOU, who have stated in one sentence that insurances left after the hurricane Andrew and left thousands of people without insurance and banks were having heart attacks ( your direct words).

It was you, who stated that because of that the State Insurance was created to cover those who were left by insurance companies.

And then in two paragraphs lower you blame the people that they left the private insurers and converted to Citizens.

Either it is not what happened or you presented it in a sloppy way.

But that is YOUR OWN words and YOUR OWN way to present the story.

You can not blame anybody, but yourself.

=============================

On the part that a government monopoly will do whatever it wants with the rates - I do not disagree.

Like I said, explaining Relativity to 3rd Graders

 

[legaleagle_45]

Health Plan Cost for New Yorkers Set to Fall 50%


ndividuals buying health insurance on their own will see their premiums tumble next year in New York State as changes under the federal health care law take effect, state officials are to announce on Wednesday.


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/17/h...t-for-new-yorkers-set-to-fall-50.html?hp&_r=0


Republicans are talking to themselves!

If you read the article carefully, you would have found that the situation in NY is what is termed an "outlier" due to the oddities of NY health insurance law:

For years, New York has represented much that can go wrong with insurance markets. The state required insurers to cover everyone regardless of pre-existing conditions, but did not require everyone to purchase insurance — a feature of the new health care law — and did not offer generous subsidies so people could afford coverage.

With no ability to persuade the young and the healthy to buy policies, the state’s premiums have long been among the highest in the nation. “If there was any state that the A.C.A. could bring rates down, it was New York,” said Timothy Jost, a law professor at Washington and Lee University who closely follows the federal law.

The test is how other states without such high health insurance costs and odd laws will do... Certainly the exchanges should spur competition and drive down costs, but the requirement to accept persons with pre existing conditions will drive costs up... the net impact on most states will be key, not the net impact on states like NY.

 

[Avatar4321]

The new premium rates do not affect a majority of New Yorkers, who receive insurance through their employers, only those who must purchase it on their own. Because the cost of individual coverage has soared, only 17,000 New Yorkers currently buy insurance on their own. About 2.6 million are uninsured in New York State.

But some consumers may still find the prices and plans disappointing. Jerry Ball, 46, who owns a recycling business in Queens, said the cost of covering his family increased so rapidly in the last few years that he had to scale back their coverage. Still, he pays nearly $18,000 a year for a high-deductible policy for a family of three.

He said he would be reluctant to part ways with his insurer, Oxford, and was disappointed that even the least expensive Oxford plan being offered next year would cost about as much as he pays now.

Like most, I have a plan through my firm. Can you please contact them and let them know that Obama Tax is bringing down rates? Because mine went up 7% this year and is scheduled to go up 8% next year. I already pay around the same price as Mr. Ball for a monthly plan...for ONE.


Thanks in advance, sucker.

But none of those rate hikes had anything to do with the ACA. Your insurance company raised your rates, not the ACA.

They raised the rates because of Obamacare.

You see passing stupid laws have consequences that aren't pleasant for people.