Obamacare is about to become a BIG campaign issue

I've posted a couple essays, here and here, about how Obamacare wasn't living up to what was promised.
However, today's news just elevated the issue from something of a general concern to something that will be hotly debate before the general election as an issue of immediate urgency.

Big health plans stung by losses in the first few years of the U.S. health law’s implementation are seeking hefty premium increases for individual plans sold through insurance exchanges in more than a dozen states.
The insurers’ proposed rates for individual coverage in states that have made their 2017 requests public largely bear out health plans’ grim predictions about their challenges under the health-care overhaul.
According to the insurers’ filings with regulators, large plans in states including New York, Pennsylvania and Georgia are seeking to raise rates by 20% or more.
In states such as Florida and Maryland, insurers are seeking to raise premiums by percentage averages that are markedly above 10%. Among those that have published so far, only in Vermont do big insurers’ requests fall below 10%.
Proposals still have to be approved by state regulators, and a full picture of final approved rates across the entire country likely won’t be known until shortly before HealthCare.gov and state equivalents reopen for the law’s fourth main enrollment window on Nov. 1.
Nonetheless, the proposed average increases that are available are a vivid indicator this year of how insurers are adapting to the 2010 Affordable Care Act’s transformation of the way health coverage is priced and sold in the U.S.

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Much of this dramatic rise in premiums next year will come from the expiration in 2017 of two federal programs that protect insurance companies, known as risk corridors and reinsurance.
Premium increases of 20-30% are no laughing matter.

“Americans will continue to have affordable coverage options in 2017,” said Kevin Counihan, the CEO of HealthCare.gov. “Proposed rates aren’t what most consumers actually pay. The vast majority of consumers qualify for tax credits that reduce the cost of coverage below the sticker price, and people can shop around and find coverage that fits their needs and budget.”

That's sort of the issue here. Instead of subsidizing people's health care, Obamacare is taxpayer subsidizing private health insurance.
I have no problem at all usiing taxpayer money to get people health care. My problem is using that money for private shareholder profits.
And doing this comes with all sorts of ugly conditions.

ObamaCare is also bringing out corporate America’s worst crony-capitalist impulses. The health-insurance lobby has teamed up with trial lawyers to sue the federal government—through individual lawsuits and a $5 billion class action—for not following through on a sweetheart bailout deal buried in the law. This provision of ObamaCare would have required taxpayers to bail out insurers for losing money on the health-care exchanges.

Rising premiums is one problem. Sky-high deductibles is another.

Not only are bronze deductibles rising as high as $7,150 in 2017, from a maximum of $6,850 this year, but silver deductibles of $6,000 or more are becoming commonplace. In fact, Centene (CNC), one of the most aggressive exchange competitors when it comes to pricing, is planning to roll out a new silver plan with a $7,050 deductible next year under the Ambetter name — to go along with the $6,500-deductible silver plan it’s already offering.

This enormous deductibles are beginning to negatively effect public opinion.

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Cassiodorus's picture

and Bernie Sanders mentioned it when I saw him in Riverside, California.

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"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

the final decision on insurance premiums for 2017 will be made.
If they are as bad as predicted, it could actually swing voting by a percentage or two in ways no polls could foresee.

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Haikukitty's picture

I swear. I'm one of those who doesn't qualify for subsidies. I don't mind paying my fair share, but for what I can get now, I have crappy coverage with a 5-6,000 deductible (before these new increases) for as much as I paid pre-ACA for the top of the BCBS plan with no deductible and 90% coverage.

I also had no problem with the mandatory insurance mandate when there was supposed to be AFFORDABLE health coverage available. It's kind of right in the name.

It's complete crap.

Yet, a public option is off the table? Why is that?

I just learned that Mexico has achieved complete coverage and has a public option. You can't fucking tell me we can't do it here.

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tapu dali's picture

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There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know.

detroitmechworks's picture

Except of course Rmoney, who came up with it.

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

Vicious venomous lambs. I remember reading diaries at GOS that predicted this back in 2010 (yeesh - originally said 2003 which is when I joined GOS). Obamacare does not bend the cost curve and gives everybody the same crappy high-deductible insurance. I have employer provided insurance and we now have the same high-deductible crap as everyone else.

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Democrats, we tried to warn you. How is that guilt and shame working out?

It'll go over like a lead balloon, but someone needs to show some reality to those people.

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tapu dali's picture

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There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know.

Just before the Great Purge, one of the arguments I heard from Hillary supports was that Bernie was critical of Obama. Yeah, so? Now they are all frothy about Hillary and the e-mails. None of them seem to be thinking rationally.

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Democrats, we tried to warn you. How is that guilt and shame working out?

WindDancer13's picture

Obamacare used to be Hillarycare, don't you think that should be made more readily known? = )

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

riverlover's picture

Premiums up, deductibles up, everyone will notice. And everyone will be angry. So yes, soon to be a discussion point. It all goes unaffordable with a new President. Or, don't get sick.

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Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.

Lily O Lady's picture

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"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

Haikukitty's picture

If I'm going to have no retirement income and not be able to afford health care to remain healthy enough to work forever, at least let me die with some dignity.

America!

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Lily O Lady's picture

retirement plan. I'll be delicious!

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"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

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Lily O Lady's picture

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"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

elenacarlena's picture

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Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.

but they still insist on undercutting everyone they can by shipping jobs out of this country.

If you can't pay for food, and gas, let alone a place to stay, then you definitely can't afford health insurance. And now that they have people locked in with a law requiring they purchase the product, they can hike the prices all they wish.

Single Payer - Off the Table
Impeachment of prior administration officials for Illegal wars - Off the table
Prosecution of those who caused the financial crisis - Off the table

Requiring citizens to buy a product that more and more can not afford - ALL GOOD!

Ladies and Gentlemen - your modern Democrats working for you!

Noticed that look in Obama's eyes. The tired one - the one that says he knows he caved on his morals and principles...

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snoopydawg's picture

passed was done by Pelosi? During the 06 elections she told us that if we put the Dems back in power they would roll back the Bush abuses.
But first impeachment was off the table and they were keeping their powder dry.
We kept waiting for them to use the powder, but they never did.
It could have come in handy during the health care debate, but instead they kept letting the GOP water it down in hopes for votes. Which they said that they wouldn't do anyway.
But they let the watered down bill pass and then gave it to Baucus and Liz fowler from WellPoint to write the final bill.
Meanwhile, Obama had been meeting with the insurance and pharmaceutical executives to see what they wanted in the bill.
What would happen if people stopped paying their premiums? Bring the whole damned thing down?
The tax wouldn't be as much as a years worth of premiums for the insurance that people aren't using anyway because of the high deductibles.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Pariah Dog's picture

for taking an almost instant dislike to Pelosi.

Wow, that felt good to finally say that out loud! Never dared to before.

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Meddle not in the affairs of Dragons - For thou art crunchy and good with ketchup

Wink's picture

than pre-ObamaCare - except it's more expensive. Insurance companies must love it.

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Haikukitty's picture

Getting rid of pre-existing conditions clauses is a big deal.

But that's about the only positive thing I can say about it.

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To everybody's head and saying, "By the fucking insurance!" - we get kids who can stay on until 26, no pre-existing conditions, routine health checks covered without deductible, maternity covered, birth control covered and prescriptions part of the plan.

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Democrats, we tried to warn you. How is that guilt and shame working out?

First they have to pay for insurance and then they have to pay for their medical care. A $7K deductible is not insurance. No doubt this will get media coverage even if Hillary lies and server don't.

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

Haikukitty's picture

and cost you maybe $100/month for emergency level coverage in case of a car accident or something. It's not insurance if you are paying out of pocket all year on top of paying $500-$900/month insurance premiums.

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Wink's picture

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

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Granma's picture

Humana is Walmart or owned by Walmart. There are a few people the ACA helps and the removal of pre-existing condition exclusions helped others. But basically it is more tax $ and our $ into the pockets of those least in need. Many people are less able to get needed medical care than before this law. Once you pay the premium, there is no money left to pay a deductible and see a Dr.

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Arrow's picture

I need to get off my ass and write how we all got screwed when health insurance went from 'Non-profit' to 'For-profit' at the behest of wall street.

A sad tale. I know where most of the bodies are buried.

My late father was in health insurance his entire career. Moving up the ranks in various Blue Cross plans. (Number 2 man at BC of west virginia, number 3 man at BC of Central PA) He ended his insurance career as deputy insurance commissioner for the state of PA(for health insurance regulation)(and a D).

After his retirement we would have long talks and he would vent on how Wall Street raped the Blues for their cash and income potential.

That 'Highmark' listing for PA is the former Blue Cross of Western PA where my dad worked for almost 15 years. (He used to say we "lived in 'non-profit splendor".)

A very sordid tale of betraying consumer's trust.
(Don't get me started on for-profit hospitals. Sad )

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I want a Pony!

NWIA's picture

Dumb, I know. I have great coverage through work. It was great before ACA and has been since...until now. Copays are increasing this year and then next as well. Deductibles and out of pocket are doubling immediately. In the middle of the year. We get to meet our max twice this year! Just ridiculous dealing with something both inhumane and irrational.

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I thought so too... but, premiums are up, and my deductible's now so high that I cannot access healthcare, so I'm paying a fortune for insurance that I cannot use. So BCBS clears about $8000 annually from me alone. I (and my employer) am directly subsidizing corporate excess and greed thanks to ACA.

Single-Payer is the only solution, and it's long, long overdue.

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Daenerys's picture

They can change the deductible on you whenever they want?! Jeez louise....

I can't use my insurance through work either. While the deductible is pretty low ($1500 I think), they don't cover my one insulin and they're idiots about glucose test strips. I have $111/month taken out of my paycheck for it, and I'm basically only using it for one $10 prescription that keeps me (relatively) sane. Bollocks.

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This shit is bananas.

... With HRC's full-throated defense of ACA (and Obama), this will stick to her hard.

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pfiore8's picture

comparing it to the embedded language in NAFTA and its Chapter 11... also pointed it to NYCEVE who, at one time, was covering this issue at TOP.

I posted it on FB several times, but nobody seemed to be alerted to it...

this:

"ObamaCare is also bringing out corporate America’s worst crony-capitalist impulses. The health-insurance lobby has teamed up with trial lawyers to sue the federal government—through individual lawsuits and a $5 billion class action—for not following through on a sweetheart bailout deal buried in the law. This provision of ObamaCare would have required taxpayers to bail out insurers for losing money on the health-care exchanges"

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“There are moments which are not calculable, and cannot be assessed in words; they live on in the solution of memory… ”
― Lawrence Durrell, "Justine"

Steven D's picture

except on a larger scale, and we all have seen how well Medicare D worked to increase drug costs for seniors.

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"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

pfiore8's picture

some crazy times we live in hey Steven?

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“There are moments which are not calculable, and cannot be assessed in words; they live on in the solution of memory… ”
― Lawrence Durrell, "Justine"

Steven D's picture

and that's just the small part of our crazy USA.

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"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

I should have read your comment before making mine!

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

pfiore8's picture

and feeling a bit buoyed that someone else thinks the same!

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“There are moments which are not calculable, and cannot be assessed in words; they live on in the solution of memory… ”
― Lawrence Durrell, "Justine"

I'm in NC and in the past two years my premium has increased 37%. It is now greater than my mortgage.

The CEO of BCBS NC had his compensation go up in the same time period by 35%.

I checked the exchanges and their is nothing cheaper and they have worse benefits.

I don't get why more Americans are not pissed off about this. With ACA forget trying to save for retirement.

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

is very similar to provisions in NAFTA and purportedly proposed in TPP: If businesses can prove that a law costs them money, or even projected profits, the government has to pay them off.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

link

Ohio’s InHealth Mutual co-op announced last week that it is going out of business, making it the 13th co-op to fail out of the 23 that were created under Obamacare.

The Ohio Department of Insurance asked to liquidate the company, saying that the company was in a “hazardous financial condition.” The co-op served nearly 22,000 consumers who now have 60 days to find another policy offered by another company on the federal exchange.
...
Ohio’s failed co-op is added to the list of 12 co-ops that have already failed in Arizona, Michigan, Utah, Kentucky, New York, Nevada, Louisiana, Oregon, Colorado, Tennessee, South Carolina, and a co-op that served both Iowa and Nebraska.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services chief operating officer Mandy Cohen told lawmakers in February that eight of the 11 remaining Obamacare co-ops in operation were selected for “corrective action plans” and “enhanced oversight.” She did not disclose which co-ops were placed on these plans.

A professor who specializes in economics and health insurance told lawmakers in March that closures of the remaining co-ops seem likely.

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