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Quote:Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC is expecting to lose more than $400 million on its first two years of Obamacare business. According to this morning’s News and Observer, “The dramatic deterioration in Blue Cross’ ACA business is causing increasing alarm among agents and public health officials.” In response to its bleak experience with the Obamacare exchange, the company has decided to eliminate sales commissions for agents, terminate advertising of Obamacare policies, and stop accepting applications on-line through a web link that provides insurance price quotes–all moves calculated to limited Obamacare enrollment....

...What makes this shocking is that BCBSNC is the state’s dominant insurer, covering 72% of the large group market. If a deep-pocketed insurer such as this cannot make a go of Obamacare, that does not bode well for many smaller carriers who do not have large profits on other lines of business with which to absorb whatever losses are generated by policies sold on the Obamacare exchanges. Indeed, part of the explanation for why over half of the Obamacare co-ops have already failed is that they lacked the deep pockets of the largest and most experienced insurers in the business.

The fact that one of the nation’s largest insurers, UnitedHealthcare also has raised doubts about its ability to carry plans on the healthcare law’s exchanges beyond 2016 makes clear that this problem is not unique to North Carolina...

...Obamacare losses were $123 million in 2014. Year-end final figures for 2015 may not be announced until late February. But the most recent news suggests they will be at least double the losses experienced in 2014 [1]. This mirrors the experience of UnitedHealth, which recently announced it expects to lose more than $500 million on the Obamacare exchanges in 2016 — after already losing $475 million in 2015.

Because of its enormous losses, BCBSNC was able to convince the state’s insurance commissioner to allow a 32.5% average increase in its rates for the 2016 Obamacare policies now being sold. It remains to be seen how effective this is in forestalling future losses. However, as shown below, it should be obvious that higher premiums is going to limit the willingness of at least some Obamacare plan members to secure or maintain their coverage...

...It’s critical to remember that the reinsurance and risk corridor subsidies to insurers were only temporary programs designed to terminate at the end of this year. In the meantime, various taxes on insurers are continuing to be phased in. As a consequence, University of Minnesota economist Stephen Parente has calculated that the cost of the least expensive policies on the Obamacare exchanges will more than triple in NC between 2016 and 2017!

That is, the average premium for Bronze policies with very narrow provider networks (to make them affordable) will climb from $1,777 in 2016 to $4,336 in 2017. The average premium for Bronze catastrophic policies (i.e., very high deductibles, again to make them affordable) will grow from $783 in 2016 to $2,929 in 2017.

Dr. Parente’s model shows that higher premiums are likely to result in a 2% decline in the number of people with non-group coverage in 2017 relative to 2016. The number of uninsured is likely to rise by 5%. This is not a temporary situation: nearly-identical numbers are projected in every year through 2024. In short, 2016 may well be the year of peak enrollment in Obamacare, with declining numbers going forward after this.

Obamacare Pummels BCBSNC

Looks like Obamacare begins to come unwound just as O leaves office.

(02-03-2016 10:45 AM)200yrs2late Wrote: [ -> ]...
Looks like Obamacare begins to come unwound just as O leaves office.

Nah...this is the time you need to watch the progressives. Remember, if the insurance companies aren't willing to do the job, then the government will need to step in...probably with a single payer system. This was the point of Obamacare. They knew it was unsustainable and that eventually single payer would need to be reintroduced.

This is what happens when an entity that doesn't need to adhere to a bottom line infiltrates those that do. It's never going to work. However, IMO, it was never intended to work.

(02-03-2016 10:49 AM)pharaoh0 Wrote: [ -> ]

(02-03-2016 10:45 AM)200yrs2late Wrote: [ -> ]...
Looks like Obamacare begins to come unwound just as O leaves office.

Nah...this is the time you need to watch the progressives. Remember, if the insurance companies aren't willing to do the job, then the government will need to step in...probably with a single payer system. This was the point of Obamacare. They knew it was unsustainable and that eventually single payer would need to be reintroduced.

Nailed it.

(02-03-2016 10:49 AM)pharaoh0 Wrote: [ -> ]

(02-03-2016 10:45 AM)200yrs2late Wrote: [ -> ]...
Looks like Obamacare begins to come unwound just as O leaves office.

Nah...this is the time you need to watch the progressives. Remember, if the insurance companies aren't willing to do the job, then the government will need to step in...probably with a single payer system. This was the point of Obamacare. They knew it was unsustainable and that eventually single payer would need to be reintroduced.

(02-03-2016 12:37 PM)Fo Shizzle Wrote: [ -> ]

(02-03-2016 10:49 AM)pharaoh0 Wrote: [ -> ]

(02-03-2016 10:45 AM)200yrs2late Wrote: [ -> ]...
Looks like Obamacare begins to come unwound just as O leaves office.

Nah...this is the time you need to watch the progressives. Remember, if the insurance companies aren't willing to do the job, then the government will need to step in...probably with a single payer system. This was the point of Obamacare. They knew it was unsustainable and that eventually single payer would need to be reintroduced.

This has been the plan all along. Implement something that will clearly fail. Then look around and say, "Wow, we already have all the pieces in place for single payer, that is the obvious solution."

(02-03-2016 10:45 AM)200yrs2late Wrote: [ -> ]

Quote:Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC is expecting to lose more than $400 million on its first two years of Obamacare business. According to this morning’s News and Observer, “The dramatic deterioration in Blue Cross’ ACA business is causing increasing alarm among agents and public health officials.” In response to its bleak experience with the Obamacare exchange, the company has decided to eliminate sales commissions for agents, terminate advertising of Obamacare policies, and stop accepting applications on-line through a web link that provides insurance price quotes–all moves calculated to limited Obamacare enrollment....

...What makes this shocking is that BCBSNC is the state’s dominant insurer, covering 72% of the large group market. If a deep-pocketed insurer such as this cannot make a go of Obamacare, that does not bode well for many smaller carriers who do not have large profits on other lines of business with which to absorb whatever losses are generated by policies sold on the Obamacare exchanges. Indeed, part of the explanation for why over half of the Obamacare co-ops have already failed is that they lacked the deep pockets of the largest and most experienced insurers in the business.

The fact that one of the nation’s largest insurers, UnitedHealthcare also has raised doubts about its ability to carry plans on the healthcare law’s exchanges beyond 2016 makes clear that this problem is not unique to North Carolina...

...Obamacare losses were $123 million in 2014. Year-end final figures for 2015 may not be announced until late February. But the most recent news suggests they will be at least double the losses experienced in 2014 [1]. This mirrors the experience of UnitedHealth, which recently announced it expects to lose more than $500 million on the Obamacare exchanges in 2016 — after already losing $475 million in 2015.

Because of its enormous losses, BCBSNC was able to convince the state’s insurance commissioner to allow a 32.5% average increase in its rates for the 2016 Obamacare policies now being sold. It remains to be seen how effective this is in forestalling future losses. However, as shown below, it should be obvious that higher premiums is going to limit the willingness of at least some Obamacare plan members to secure or maintain their coverage...

...It’s critical to remember that the reinsurance and risk corridor subsidies to insurers were only temporary programs designed to terminate at the end of this year. In the meantime, various taxes on insurers are continuing to be phased in. As a consequence, University of Minnesota economist Stephen Parente has calculated that the cost of the least expensive policies on the Obamacare exchanges will more than triple in NC between 2016 and 2017!

That is, the average premium for Bronze policies with very narrow provider networks (to make them affordable) will climb from $1,777 in 2016 to $4,336 in 2017. The average premium for Bronze catastrophic policies (i.e., very high deductibles, again to make them affordable) will grow from $783 in 2016 to $2,929 in 2017.

Dr. Parente’s model shows that higher premiums are likely to result in a 2% decline in the number of people with non-group coverage in 2017 relative to 2016. The number of uninsured is likely to rise by 5%. This is not a temporary situation: nearly-identical numbers are projected in every year through 2024. In short, 2016 may well be the year of peak enrollment in Obamacare, with declining numbers going forward after this.

Obamacare Pummels BCBSNC

Looks like Obamacare begins to come unwound just as O leaves office.

just like his ISIS policy, his foreign policy, his economic policies, his immigration policies . . . . & etc, & etc.

the next guy is going to get caught holding the bag for a ton of ****.

(02-03-2016 11:03 AM)VA49er Wrote: [ -> ]This is what happens when an entity that doesn't need to adhere to a bottom line infiltrates those that do. It's never going to work. However, IMO, it was never intended to work.

I agree. The program was designed to fail. The insurance companies will offer the network, the public will pay through taxes, and the government will play the enforcer.

(02-03-2016 01:30 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote: [ -> ]

(02-03-2016 12:37 PM)Fo Shizzle Wrote: [ -> ]

(02-03-2016 10:49 AM)pharaoh0 Wrote: [ -> ]

(02-03-2016 10:45 AM)200yrs2late Wrote: [ -> ]...
Looks like Obamacare begins to come unwound just as O leaves office.

Nah...this is the time you need to watch the progressives. Remember, if the insurance companies aren't willing to do the job, then the government will need to step in...probably with a single payer system. This was the point of Obamacare. They knew it was unsustainable and that eventually single payer would need to be reintroduced.

This has been the plan all along. Implement something that will clearly fail. Then look around and say, "Wow, we already have all the pieces in place for single payer, that is the obvious solution."

Been saying this since I showed up here.

This was all intentional, as it's design made clear.

It could never work, math, nor economics doesn't lie, even with pixie dust and unicorn horns.

Now, with the Boomers retiring and many of those war era Doc's bailing out cause of this, the scarcity begins. Lot's of people going into the "system" as older folks, and far fewer dropping 200 grand to chase a ghost.

This is gonna get ugly, especially for the folks that can't pay out of pocket, and quick.

Thanks for all that

Hopey-Changey!!!