Afforable Healthcare, large 2016 Rate hikes requested

[dwarthog]

It would seem it's not so affordable after all with rate increases of up to %50 being requested.

The lies continue to run deep with this debacle.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/04/us/health-insurance-companies-seek-big-rate-increases-for-2016.html

Lets see what the Dems leadership has to say about this program.

hV-05TLiiLU

[Tear Down This Wall]

The next president will ram through single payer, which is what they wanted in the first place. Single payer works like this:

One government agency collects all premiums for health care and distributes all payments.

So, we'll enjoy that someday soon. The costs will still increase because you can't lower premium when you take away the ability to underwrite risk. The underwriting element has already been taken away. And, predictably, costs have continued to rise.

[TheHumanAlphabet]

UK Health crisis, come on down... Long waits in unsanitary hospitals? come on down... Import of doctors from third world Islamic countries, come on down... Death panels setting requirements for health outcomes based on value to society and funding? come on down...

[Since71ASooner4Life]

the only thing "affordable" about this is if you are one of the recipients who had nothing before. The liberals can put lipstick on the pig, but this is just another of their many redistribution initiatives. You don't drive down costs by creating additional demand - costs go up. And that is why the stocks of healthcare related companies have been on a tear ever since this got momentum - with higher demand for their product, and the existing solvent customer base now paying for both themselves and the new recipients.

What will be funny as hell is when the community organizer goes on his next witch hunt and starts damning the medical industry for their inflated profits, and his sheep go bhaaaaaaaaa

[Serenity Now]

I think France is actually the good model of a single payer system.

I do love it when we roll out "death panels".

[REDREX]

I think France is actually the good model of a single payer system.

I do love it when we roll out "death panels".---Where is my $2500 per year reduction Barack promised ?----Did he lie?----Or is he just Clueless?

[TheHumanAlphabet]

what would you call a committee that states what type of medical intervention a person is entitled to or may be used, when one of the criteria is age, another is value to society? Like the UK Health Trusts?

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

There is no chance they'll ram through a true single payer. These insurance companies will spend 15 Billion or more in lobbying to keep it as it is. The other thing they will fight at all costs is a cap on the baseline expenses (which when I first read the bill was a glaring hole). Its like one of the requirements to run for Congress is not being able to do math

Congress Guy: Cap on health insurance profits of 20%. That will teach them.
Insurance Company: hmm, if a procedure is $20 we can make a max of $4, but if its $30 we can make a max of $6. SCORE.

Doctors/Hospitals have to love this.

[Tear Down This Wall]

There is no chance they'll ram through a true single payer. These insurance companies will spend 15 Billion or more in lobbying to keep it as it is. The other thing they will fight at all costs is a cap on the baseline expenses (which when I first read the bill was a glaring hole). Its like one of the requirements to run for Congress is not being able to do math

Congress Guy: Cap on health insurance profits of 20%. That will teach them.
Insurance Company: hmm, if a procedure is $20 we can make a max of $4, but if its $30 we can make a max of $6. SCORE.

Doctors/Hospitals have to love this.

You can only cap profits if there is a profit. Eliminating underwriting has made profit an afterthought.

The large health insurers, who won when ACA was passed then upheld by the Supreme Court, will eventually be swept aside. Politicians only understand one thing - reelection.

Once the premiums become too high, the politicians will accept the idea that it is the insurers' fault and force single-payer through, the same way they did with ACA.

It isn't hard to figure out. Just look at the way poor socialist countries treat private industry. It will be the same way here. In Venezuela, where idiocracy is most rampant these days with their bus driver/president, the government dictates what will be sold in grocery stores by threat of military and police action.

You think the same thing won't happen here? Watch. It's all economics. You can't change what happens naturally. The poor will always be jealous of the rich, and outnumber them during elections.

[Tear Down This Wall]

There is no chance they'll ram through a true single payer. These insurance companies will spend 15 Billion or more in lobbying to keep it as it is. The other thing they will fight at all costs is a cap on the baseline expenses (which when I first read the bill was a glaring hole). Its like one of the requirements to run for Congress is not being able to do math

Congress Guy: Cap on health insurance profits of 20%. That will teach them.
Insurance Company: hmm, if a procedure is $20 we can make a max of $4, but if its $30 we can make a max of $6. SCORE.

Doctors/Hospitals have to love this.

It's not that they can't do it; it's that they ignore the results when it disturbs their constituents.

[FaninAma]

You can only cap profits if there is a profit. Eliminating underwriting has made profit an afterthought.

The large health insurers, who won when ACA was passed then upheld by the Supreme Court, will eventually be swept aside. Politicians only understand one thing - reelection.

Once the premiums become too high, the politicians will accept the idea that it is the insurers' fault and force single-payer through, the same way they did with ACA.

It isn't hard to figure out. Just look at the way poor socialist countries treat private industry. It will be the same way here. In Venezuela, where idiocracy is most rampant these days with their bus driver/president, the government dictates what will be sold in grocery stores by threat of military and police action.

You think the same thing won't happen here? Watch. It's all economics. You can't change what happens naturally. The poor will always be jealous of the rich, and outnumber them during elections.

Agreed. The government will keep making the health insurance industry less and less profitable which will squeeze more and more of the companies out of the sector. Then they will proclaim a health coverage crisis and will come in and take over the benefits system. Already health insurance has the lowest profit margin of any insurance sector. Companies are already dropping out of the market. Expect the trend to accelerate. Single payer might not happen in the next 5 years, depending on how much of a disaster Obamacare is, but it will happen withing the next 8 years.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

You can only cap profits if there is a profit. Eliminating underwriting has made profit an afterthought.

The large health insurers, who won when ACA was passed then upheld by the Supreme Court, will eventually be swept aside. Politicians only understand one thing - reelection.

Once the premiums become too high, the politicians will accept the idea that it is the insurers' fault and force single-payer through, the same way they did with ACA.

It isn't hard to figure out. Just look at the way poor socialist countries treat private industry. It will be the same way here. In Venezuela, where idiocracy is most rampant these days with their bus driver/president, the government dictates what will be sold in grocery stores by threat of military and police action.

You think the same thing won't happen here? Watch. It's all economics. You can't change what happens naturally. The poor will always be jealous of the rich, and outnumber them during elections.

The only way this will get changed is if there is an election sweep similar to the democrats under Pelosi. And it HAS to be democrats, there is no way that republicans will go against big business on anything. So unless you think there is going to be a 50 seat swing in the next 8 years this is here to stay.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

Agreed. The government will keep making the health insurance industry less and less profitable which will squeeze more and more of the companies out of the sector. Then they will proclaim a health coverage crisis and will come in and take over the benefits system. Already health insurance has the lowest profit margin of any insurance sector. Companies are already dropping out of the market. Expect the trend to accelerate. Single payer might not happen in the next 5 years, depending on how much of a disaster Obamacare is, but it will happen withing the next 8 years.

I'll tell you what, we'll see how this works over the next 5 years. My feeling is that while their profit margin won't get any better, their sales and total profit is going to grow exponentially. This is the equivalent of $120/barrel oil for insurance companies.

[FaninAma]

I'll tell you what, we'll see how this works over the next 5 years. My feeling is that while their profit margin won't get any better, their sales and total profit is going to grow exponentially. This is the equivalent of $120/barrel oil for insurance companies.
In the short term the insurance companies will make a lot of money thanks to taxpayer subsidies, but eventually the the costs of covering sicker patients with expanded benefits will catch up to them especially when the government steps in to limit premium increases.