ObamaCare Flow Chart –Conservative Political Cartoons Daily
(LA Times) Health insurance giant Anthem Blue Cross has now joined a growing list of other health insurance providers announcing last Friday, that it will not participate in California’s small business ObamaCare/Covered California Exchange.
Former DNC Chief Tweets Health Ins Premium Hike –Expose The Media
(KQED Public Radio) One would think there is an election coming up, judging by the way political ads are airing, California Political News reports that beginning in August, the State of California will spend waste $37 Million of taxpayers dollars to promote ObamaCare.
ObamaCare’s ‘Covered California’ ads will not tell you about doctor shortages, the long waiting lines, bureaucrats running death panels, nor will they tell the public that individuals will pay up to 146% more for their health insurance.
Whatever happened with transparency and full disclosure?
Related: Gov Jerry Brown Signs Transparency Law for Colleges
(LA Times) United Health, the nations largest health insurer and the second major health insurance provider has decided to leave the individual insurance market in California at the end of the year affecting some 8,000 customers, ahead of the ObamaCare mandated insurance exchange roll-out.
On the 31 May I wrote here despite the grandiose promises made by “Covered California” that ObamaCare will reduce premiums, health insurance premiums are expected to increase 64 to 146%
Related: Dem’s Attempt to Suppress Confusion & Hide ObamaCare Cost
(Forbes) Last week the State of California–Covered California claimed that its version of ObamaCare health insurance exchange will actually reduce premiums:
“The rates submitted to ‘Covered California’ for the 2014 individual market ranged from two percent above to 29 percent below the 2013 average premium…This is a home run for consumers in every region of California…will benefit all Californians by making healthcare affordable, ” said Peter V. Lee, Executive Director, Covered California.
The data however that Lee released tells a different story–ObamaCare will in-fact increase individual market premiums in California by as much as 146%
These findings are in line to what were first being reported in January, when a survey was published by American Action Forum of major health insurers, representing a vast majority of covered individuals in the United States, illustrating that sticker shock in healthcare premiums await the relatively young and healthy in both the small and individual markets–the survey found that cost of premiums for this group will increase by 169% next year.
One of the most serious flaws with ObamaCare is the blizzard of new regulations and mandates that drive up the cost of insurance for people who buy it on their own–this problem will be especially acute when the law’s main provisions kick-in on the 01 January, 2014 leading many to worry about health insurance ‘rate shock.’
Earlier this week I wrote here that 3 major health insurance providers have decided to set out of ‘Covered California’ which should be a red flag to consumers in one of the largest markets in the nation of inherent problems with how ObamaCare will function.
Related: ObamaCare’s California ‘Home Run’ is Actually a Total Whiff
ObamaCare –Image Courtesy: Barracuda Brigade
(Catholic Online) ObamaCare is scheduled to go into effect in 6 months–the key provision of the Obama Administration, the package is intended to mandate that individuals carry health insurance and require that health-benefit providers are spending at least 80% of premiums collected on health care for their insureds.
However in the State of California, three major health insurance providers (United Health Group, CIGNA & AETNA) are setting out of the state’s health insurance exchange. Why would these major insurance carriers decide to opt out of one of the largest insurance markets in the nation if there isn’t any inherent problems with how ObamaCare functions?
What do they know that you don’t?
The Motley Fool points out that the most optimistic scenario calls for around 5 million people to purchase health insurance through the California/ObamaCare Exchange–the flood of new insureds would enable those insurance carriers participating in the exchange to make money on higher volume while offering insurance at lower rates–Capitalism at its finest right?
A gloomier and more likely scenario is that a much lower number of people will purchase insurance through the exchange, possibly causing the insurance carriers participating to lose money because they based their rates on overly rosy assumptions.
While we won’t know which scenario will unfold for a while there are some cost comparisons to keep in mind. An individual may be able to purchase insurance through Kaiser for as little as $82 a month–but the state has an estimated 7 million people without health insurance. Even with subsidies, a 21 year old (who decides to opt out of her/his parents health insurance plan) making $35,000 annually will have to pay about $64 a month for the least expensive ObamaCare plan–around 2.6 Million residents will likely qualify for some level of federal subsidies, leaving around 4.5 Million currently uninsured with no financial subsidies–ObamaCare advocates believe these people will now run out and buy health insurance.
Riiight…
The other cost to keep in mind is $95 that is the penalty tax (for the entire year) that a person must pay to the IRS if she/he doesn’t buy health insurance. Will individuals pay $82 a month now for health insurance or will they go with the much cheaper penalty tax?
One other major fact to always keep in mind, under ObamaCare’s own rules, health insurance carriers can no longer decline to insure someone for pre-existing health conditions. How many young and healthy Americans will decide to decline purchasing health insurance now, pay the $95 annual penalty tax and only decide to go out and purchase a policy of health insurance when necessary?
While United Health, CIGNA & AETNA combined only represent about 7% of the total health insurance market, the message that these insurers are sending to California is much more important–these companies are still very skeptical as to how things are going to play out with the ObamaCare exchanges.
The State of California may offer a wealth of possibilities but its simply not worth the price of admission based on United Health’s decision to opt out of the ObamaCare exchange–a lack of large national insurance presence in California is only bound to increase mounting skepticism over how effective the exchange will ultimately be in manufacturing competition among insurers.
In return of a lack of of recognizable insurance names could diminish consumer interest in researching the health plans, which will defeat the entire purpose of setting up the ObamaCare exchanges.
Stop & Spell –Image Courtesy: Teachers Paradise
(FOX Nation) The Obama Administration believes that Americans are just so stupid (except when Democrat/Progressives want you to vote for them) that Health & Human Services (HHS) Secy Kathleen Sebelius announced yesterday that HHS will spend waste $150 Million of the taxpayers money to teach people how to enroll in ObamaCare.
How many weeks of White House tours would that $150 Million have paid for, after them so called apocalyptic sequester spending cuts went into effect that Obama claimed would slowly cripple federal agencies and result in mass employment casualties?
Train Wreck –Image: Net Right Daily
(CNS) Support for ObamaCare has hit the lowest level since the President’s chief legislative accomplishment was enacted into law by a Democrat controlled Congress during Obama’s first term.
Overall just 35% have a favorable view of ObamaCare according to a Kaiser Health Tracking Poll taken this month.
Democrats Raid $716 Billion from Medicare to Fund ObamaCare
(Washington Times) After Democrats raided $716 Billion from Medicare to pay for ObamaCare it turns out that Republicans and Conservatives were correct, President Obama’s signature legislative achievement is seriously underfunded and not deficit neutral as Americans were told.
President Obama’s budget blueprint that came out late this week, seeks $440 Million in new funding to bolster the Internal Revenue Service which is to enforce ObamaCare’s individual mandate and set up insurance exchanges, together with an additional $1.5 Billion for the Dept of Health & Human Services (HHS) to run the federally run ObamaCare exchanges.
HHS Secy Kathleen Sebelius who acknowledged this week that ObamaCare is more complicated than expected now is saying that Congress ‘must approve’ these new funds to operate the health care exchanges–good luck with that happening.
Related: Medicare Cost Increases to Hit Middle Class
ObamaCare Has Southern California Health Officials Scrambling
Surprise! ObamaCare Subsidies Will Cost 65% More Than Estimated
(Washington Times) Democrat Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, a leading force in the creation of ObamaCare now says that President Obama’s chief legislative achievement is at risk of failing under its own regulatory weight and that its becoming too complicated to properly implement.
On the 12 March, I wrote here that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Tweeted out a picture of 828 pages of new ObamaCare regulations in one day–there are nearly 20,000 pages and their just getting started.
Related: HHS Sebelius: ObamaCare More Complicated Than Anticipated
Gov Bobby Jindal on ObamaCare –Tweet Courtesy: Chicks On The Right
President Obama: Maybe You’re “Better Off” Taking Painkillers and Foregoing Surgery –Real Clear Politics