Obamacare - AKA Walking Dead Update...largest provider UnitedHealthcare thinking of dropping out.

[maxparrish]

Were Obamacare a normal creature of grand legislative hubris, poor design and really bad law, it would have died long ago. But the zombie still walks the land - to be repeatedly saved by Justice Roberts legal black arts in "SCOTUSCARE readings" and the many Dr. Frankenstein's of HHS that, when all else fails, simply rewrite's the law at will.

The benefit is, of course, is that it serves as a constant reminder of one of the largest failures in American social policy since...well, since ever. And like the series the walking dead, the formalistic suspense delivers plenty of suspense and gore...even it was predictable.

The latest is:

arguably the worst news for the program since the healthcare.gov debacle: UnitedHealthcare, the nation's largest insurer, announced that it might quit ObamaCare's exchanges next year. Should UnitedHealthcare act on this threat, there may not be enough (red) tape in the desk drawer of even future President Hillary Clinton to put the ObamaCare Humpty Dumpty back together again.

United announced during an investor briefing Thursday that it was expecting a whopping $425 million hit on its earnings this year, primarily due to mounting losses on its ObamaCare exchange business. "We cannot sustain these losses," United CEO Stephen Hensley declared. "We can't really subsidize a marketplace that doesn't appear at the moment to be sustaining itself."

...

For-profit companies that have shareholders breathing down their necks don't have much latitude to absorb losses. But even companies that don't face similar profit-maximizing pressures can't escape the basic dilemma confronting the industry. For example, state filings of the non-profit Blue Cross Blue Shield show that the company barely broke even in the first half of 2015. In Texas last year, BCBS collected $2.1 billion in premiums and paid out $2.5 billion in claims. If ObamaCare's condition worsens, such companies will have to scale back their participation too.

And ObamaCare's condition will worsen. Why? Because not only are far fewer patients enrolling in the exchanges than projected, but those signing up are too old or sick for anything resembling a balanced risk pool. ...

Even the administration has admitted that ObamaCare enrollment has essentially flatlined, with only 1.3 million new members expected to buy coverage next year, compared to the 8 million projected when the law was passed. This means that overall enrollment by 2016 will be somewhere between 9.4 million and 11.4 million. That's half — half — of the 21 million initially predicted. So much for universal coverage!

In theory, the risk reinsurance pool will end in 2017, the failed demographics, and the death spiral will end this mess. However, I fully expect the HHS to find some way to illegally subsidize the industry with billions to keep the comedy alive. So it goes on...

http://theweek.com/articles/589920/quiet-unraveling-obamacare

 

[untermensche]

So a corporation makes a decision and we are supposed to do what?

Get our knees and worship the wisdom of corporate decisions?

 

[Trausti]

I don't see how the ACA can survive the next administration, Democrat or Republican. It was truly horrible legislation, which with its higher deductibles and higher premiums makes health insurance completely worthless for the private payer. Gruber's "stupid" Americans may still champion the monstrosity, but to the rest of us this abscess needs to be popped.

 

[untermensche]

So all those so concerned about our crappy corporate dominated health insurance system are all for the system with the greatest efficiency?

Medicare.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

So all those so concerned about our crappy corporate dominated health insurance system are all for the system with the greatest efficiency?

Medicare.

Well, they can force Hillary's hand and get her to implement a real UHC. It's what she's always wanted anyways.

 

[untermensche]

So all those so concerned about our crappy corporate dominated health insurance system are all for the system with the greatest efficiency?

Medicare.

Well, they can force Hillary's hand and get her to implement a real UHC. It's what she's always wanted anyways.

Hillary's plan was some convoluted monstrosity.

She never endorsed Medicare for all when she had the power to do it.

Only Bernie of all the candidates endorses Medicare for all.

The only one who will work for the working man and woman and not corporate executives.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Ya, but Bernie isn't going to be elected President. Hillary is. Everyone is somewhat underwhelmed by that, but it's a thing that's going to happen, so that's that.

She's the one who'll have the power to do something so hopefully she'll do the right ... Ok, I just heard myself there. Never mind.

 

[untermensche]

Ya, but Bernie isn't going to be elected President. Hillary is. Everyone is somewhat underwhelmed by that, but it's a thing that's going to happen, so that's that.

She's the one who'll have the power to do something so hopefully she'll do the right ... Ok, I just heard myself there. Never mind.

Who knows what will happen.

Things change once votes start getting counted.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Ya, but Bernie isn't going to be elected President. Hillary is. Everyone is somewhat underwhelmed by that, but it's a thing that's going to happen, so that's that.

She's the one who'll have the power to do something so hopefully she'll do the right ... Ok, I just heard myself there. Never mind.

Who knows what will happen.

Things change once votes start getting counted.

Ya, some things. Not the Hillary Clinton becoming your next President kind of things, though. That's what I'm saying.

 

[untermensche]

Who knows what will happen.

Things change once votes start getting counted.

Ya, some things. Not the Hillary Clinton becoming your next President kind of things, though. That's what I'm saying.

People make all kinds of predictions.

Most are wrong.

 

[bilby]

So a corporation makes a decision and we are supposed to do what?

Get our knees and worship the wisdom of corporate decisions?

Not at all. According to the OP, a corporation is THINKING OF making a decision. Indeed, the article quoted in the OP explicitly calls this a "threat". In the opinion of the OP, this should be sufficient for us to get our knees and worship the wisdom of corporations.

Because standing up to those who make threats would be un-American. Apparently. Unless they are Muslims.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

SPOILER ALERT:

Show

United Healthcare didn't really die.

The producers tricked you.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

Paul Krugman:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/23/o...heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region&_r=0

 

[SimpleDon]

Max has presented us with what, approximately two dozen threads predicting the collapse of the ACA, Obamacare? And all have come to a total of nothing.

This seems to be something that Max is wishing for rather than something that he can demonstrate with these many threads.

Obamacare is a monstrous piece of legislation. It had to be because past Republican administrations have attempted to use the regulation writing authority granted in other pieces of long standing legislation that they don't like to rewrite the legislation after the fact.

Obamacare is a good idea, providing health care for all, carried out in the worse way possible, relying on the inefficient and expensive, for profit health insurance companies to provide it. An idea dreamed up by the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation. Of course it is a bad idea, considering its source.

 

[RavenSky]

Max has presented us with what, approximately two dozen threads predicting the collapse of the ACA, Obamacare? And all have come to a total of nothing.

This seems to be something that Max is wishing for rather than something that he can demonstrate with these many threads.

Obamacare is a monstrous piece of legislation. It had to be because past Republican administrations have attempted to use the regulation writing authority granted in other pieces of long standing legislation that they don't like to rewrite the legislation after the fact.

Obamacare is a good idea, providing health care for all, carried out in the worse way possible, relying on the inefficient and expensive, for profit health insurance companies to provide it. An idea dreamed up by the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation. Of course it is a bad idea, considering its source.

^^^ all of that

The reality is that Obamacare is an imperfect system, but it’s workable — and it’s working.

As untermensche said, if they don't like ACA (a CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN plan), then they can vote in UHC via Medicare for all. Until then, they can kiss my ass or pay for my daughter's health care out of their own fucking pockets.

 

[dismal]

If Obamacare is a conservative republican plan I guess that explains why it is working so well.

And here to stay.

Sorry universal healthcare fans. Obama screwed you big time.

 

[untermensche]

If Obamacare is a conservative republican plan I guess that explains why it is working so well.

And here to stay.

Sorry universal healthcare fans. Obama screwed you big time.

Yes, the evil Obama even controls the future.

 

[Nice Squirrel]

UnitedHealth is about astronomical profits, always has been. That is why they are not allowed to offer insurance in the state they are headquartered in.

Actually that is wrong. They choose not to offer insurance because we are a non-profit state.

 

[maxparrish]

Max has presented us with what, approximately two dozen threads predicting the collapse of the ACA, Obamacare? And all have come to a total of nothing.

This seems to be something that Max is wishing for rather than something that he can demonstrate with these many threads.

Obamacare is a monstrous piece of legislation...

Obamacare is a good idea, providing health care for all, carried out in the worse way possible, relying on the inefficient and expensive, for profit health insurance companies to provide it. An idea dreamed up by the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation. Of course it is a bad idea, considering its source.

There is a yawning chasm between what I have mused, and what you think I have predicted...even wider that Obamacare's promises/predictions and its actual results. Nope, I have not predicted its 'collapse', but I did predict its programmatic blunder and failures (which is an entirely different set of benchmarks). Moreover, while many aspects of ACA are clearly illegal, I have never predicted it would (would not) be overturned by the Supreme Court (I was well aware of the Court's political aims often being more important than the law).

So to assume that Obamacare will collapse is to assume that those who manage the program are moored to the actual approved law. However, it is now clear that neither HHS nor the Supremes are going to let that trifle endanger their pet. Hence, I fully expect HHS to illegally funnel billions to the insurance companies (or waive many service or co-payment limits) to keep the dead walking.

No one is going to dissuade the emperor from parading his birthday suit, but we can delight in making fun of his delusions of fashion. No?

Such as:

In October 15, the Obama administration significantly downgraded its estimate of how many people will enroll in exchange plans next year. The administration now expects only 10 million exchange enrollees at the end of 2016. Charles Gaba, a statistical expert who closely tracks Affordable Care Act (ACA) enrollment and who made fairly accurate projections for 2014 and 2015, is somewhat more optimistic. He projects enrollment at 12.2 million people by the end of next year.

These low estimates should rock the health policy community. The Congressional Budget Office only four months ago projected there would be 20 million exchange enrollees next year. This CBO estimate was 3 million people fewer than its estimate issued just after the 2012 Supreme Court case that preserved the law and 1 million fewer than its March 2010 estimate, produced days before the law was passed by the House of Representatives.

CBO’s early projection of 2016 exchange enrollment was actually lower than predictions by other experts who modeled the ACA. The table below shows 2010 projections for 2016 from the RAND Corporation, the Office of the Chief Actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Urban Institute.

What fun building the welfare state, no?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapot...ining-plummeting-obamacare-enrollment-part-i/

 

[GenesisNemesis]

Max has presented us with what, approximately two dozen threads predicting the collapse of the ACA, Obamacare? And all have come to a total of nothing.

This seems to be something that Max is wishing for rather than something that he can demonstrate with these many threads.

Obamacare is a monstrous piece of legislation. It had to be because past Republican administrations have attempted to use the regulation writing authority granted in other pieces of long standing legislation that they don't like to rewrite the legislation after the fact.

Obamacare is a good idea, providing health care for all, carried out in the worse way possible, relying on the inefficient and expensive, for profit health insurance companies to provide it. An idea dreamed up by the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation. Of course it is a bad idea, considering its source.

All Max does is attempt to predict the collapse of things. He's a fearmonger.