Obamacare will lower your premiums! Wait, oops...

Health Insurance companies are now requesting that premiums be raised across the board for individual health insurance plans in 2016, due to the increasing cost of medical care:

Fox News Article

Higher-than-expected costs were the main reason behind the hike sought by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, which was allowed to impose a 13.5 percent increase for this year. The insurer cited the costs of emergency room use, heart and cancer treatments and the cost of specialty drugs treating hepatitis C in its rate justification filed with federal regulators.

Insurers will spend the next several weeks talking to regulators about their premiums before rates are finalized later this summer. The companies will have better data to back up their request for hikes, but that might mean little if they are negotiating with a regulator determined to hold down prices, said Dave Axene of the Society of Actuaries.

This is a direct contradiction to the "facts" presented by Obama right before passing Obamacare into law. He said that increased competition would reduce premiums for everyone, and that in order to help Obamacare stay on budget, they would find ways to make medical care more cost-effective and efficient.

Obamacare Facts

ObamaCare Insurance premiums are a sore subject with many readers; however, ObamaCare insurance premium increases are a response to the protections contained within the law, such as the mandate for insurers to cover people with pre-existing conditions. Other parts of the law like the rate review provision and the creation of the health insurance marketplace help to reduce premium costs.

Obamacare makes medicine more efficient?

These bundled payments reflect the known costs of meeting people’s needs in particular regions and circumstances, but they’re only part of the new payment model. If an ACO can achieve good outcomes more efficiently than expected—by coordinating care, eliminating waste or preventing costly complications—the organization gets to keep a share of the savings.

So what happened? I thought Obamacare was going to be a socialist utopia of medicine. Everyone gets covered, premiums are reduced for everyone, and medicine becomes cheaper everywhere? Somehow we ended up with the complete opposite - millions are not covered and have to pay fines because of the mandate, medicine is more expensive than ever, and premiums keep rising.

I want my old fashioned free market capitalist medicine back. No more mandates, no more guaranteed coverage, no more fines. Before Obamacare I agree not everyone could afford insurance and I suppose that was bad, but it was still much better than what we have now.

Obamacare is wholly the democrats mess and I hope it goes down in history not as the ACA (and I refuse to call it that), but with the worst president in all of history's name attached to it... forever. I can only hope we get a republican president next who will repeal this mess and try to undo some of the damage Obama has done during his 2 terms - but I think we are already doomed to decades of consequences.

a reply to: peskyhumans

This is a direct contradiction to the "facts" presented by Obama right before passing Obamacare into law. He said that increased competition would reduce premiums for everyone, and that in order to help Obamacare stay on budget, they would find ways to make medical care more cost-effective and efficient.

Ah no..that would have only happened had there been actual competition, like a state or fed sponsored plan for the insurance companies to compete with.

So what happened? I thought Obamacare was going to be a socialist utopia of medicine. Everyone gets covered, premiums are reduced for everyone, and medicine becomes cheaper everywhere? Somehow we ended up with the complete opposite - millions are not covered and have to pay fines because of the mandate, medicine is more expensive than ever, and premiums keep rising.

That's because the public option was stripped from the bill or any discussions about the bill.

Effectively what Obamacare turned out to be, was a giant hand out to the insurance companies, without any framework that forces them to level the playing field in costs or quality of service.

Which I imagine, is just what they wanted anyway.

~Tenth

Of course they're raising the cost, now.
that's how extortion at a government level works.

First mandate an expense, then raise the cost of that expense.

say it with me now,
extortion

Well... I'm boned.

originally posted by: lordcomac


say it with me now,
extortion

Extortion...

a reply to: peskyhumans

I want my old fashioned free market capitalist medicine back. No more mandates, no more guaranteed coverage, no more fines. Before Obamacare I agree not everyone could afford insurance and I suppose that was bad, but it was still much better than what we have now.

You still have that. If you had medical insurance you didn't have to sign up for the ACA. So you could still enjoy paying for years for insurance and then have the insurance company drop your policy whenever and for whatever reason they wanted. That way you could enjoy the death panels the insurance companies had that the people said nothing about but they whine about the panels that doesn't exist in the ACA.

Every time the government comes in to fix something, you know what the outcome will be. It is sad really because people cannot afford insurance, but they cannot afford the fine to not have it either. In the meantime the insurance companies are laughing all the way to the bank.

a reply to: lordcomac

Of course they're raising the cost, now. that's how extortion at a government level works.

Sorry but the government isn't the one raising your premiums the insurance company is they are one jacking up the rates. Anyone that knows anything about capitalism knew this was going to happen. When you give a company a license to steal they are going to take as much as they can why else do you think the insurance companies push for the ACA to go through.

a reply to: peskyhumans

This was always the plan.

Make insurance mandatory.

Insurance companies raise rates because it is now mandatory.

People cannot afford it, so government steps in and creates Single-Payer, thus bringing in government-run, government-controlled, socialized medicine.

In the end, governments will either bail out insurance companies or simply take over the market thus dictating and controlling healthcare in the US.

Imagine TSA now running your healthcare.

a reply to: beezzer

People cannot afford it, so government steps in and creates Single-Payer, thus bringing in government-run, government-controlled, socialized medicine.

Which is exactly what should have happened in the first place, and would have avoided a lot of these issues. There's a reason pretty much every other industrialized nation on the planet has a National Health Care system.

It's not like the US doesn't have the money to pay for it. Pretty sure you could take it all out of the defense budget with minimal disruptions.

~Tenth

a reply to: peskyhumans

This is why I hate the way our medical insurance is set up--I haven't been to the ER since I was a kid, I don't have Hep C, and I'm not undergoing or needing any heart or cancer treatment, yet if I lived in NC, I'd be paying extra for all the people that do.

If I didn't have kids, I'd be living off of my VA medical insurance (which is just as inefficient for the average taxpayer), for sure, regardless of all the horror stories. I'd just be smart enough to save up money in case I needed to seek second opinions and then pay cash for them.

At least, that's my theory.

a reply to: tothetenthpower

Sure, if you like that sort of thing.

I'm just someone who has a problem with government dictating what I can eat, drink, smoke as it pertains to my health.

Others are sure okay with that level of scrutiny.

a reply to: beezzer

I'm just someone who has a problem with government dictating what I can eat, drink, smoke as it pertains to my health.

Funny cause my Government has controlled Health Care for pretty much my whole life, and they've never ONCE denied me medical services based on my eating, smoking or drinking habits. Nor to any of my children, or my friends or family.

My husband, being a doctor has also never refused to treat a patient based on anything in their personal lives, or personal choices.

~Tenth

a reply to: tothetenthpower

I never said they would refuse treatment.

But they will be in charge of your "health". Remember all the past stories from "government" studies that showed that prostate exams, breast exams are unnecessary for the most part?

How about a government that dictates what your treatment should be (based upon your lifestyle choices) rather than you getting to dictate your healthcare options.

Again, like so many other topics, I am growing weary of trying to convince people that this is a bad thing.

Embrace government control into your life. On a personal level, I will fight it tooth and nail.

But it's probably a lost cause, to be frank. Too many people don't want the responsibility that comes with freedom.

They'd rather have someone else or something else dictate what is best for them.

Are people serious, the price of healtcare goes up, wow who would of know that

a reply to: tothetenthpower

Your husband is a doctor.

So he should be able to tell you that medicare now scales payments based (in part) on the number of x-rays you receive.

Take too many pictures, and a hospital gets less money. The government (through payment) is trying to engineer how a doctor may diagnose a patients injury.

a reply to: beezzer

How about a government that dictates what your treatment should be (based upon your lifestyle choices) rather than you getting to dictate your healthcare options.

They don't. You choose your treatment based a variety of options and the availability of those treatments in your area.

But they will be in charge of your "health". Remember all the past stories from "government" studies that showed that prostate exams, breast exams are unnecessary for the most part?

They don't require any kind of testing on a routine basis. People get their yearly physicals, but there's no requirements.

Embrace government control into your life. On a personal level, I will fight it tooth and nail.

But they aren't controlling anything. If I don't like the treatment options in Canada, I am free to pursue other avenues. In some cases, the Canadian Gov will even pay for services rendered in a different country.

But it's probably a lost cause, to be frank. Too many people don't want the responsibility that comes with freedom.

They'd rather have someone else or something else dictate what is best for them.

What does this have to do with freedom? Or dictating what's best?

Nobody does that here. That I know of anyway, we are just as free to make our own decisions as your current system is.

It's actually more freedom if you think about it, cause I can make dumb decision and still be treated with the same dignity and respect as the person who just had an accident.

The only difference between my doctor and yours is that I won't go bankrupt if I see mine more than a few times a year. I would have LESS freedom if we lived in a capitalist Health Care environment. My son's medications alone cost tens of thousands of dollars a year. There's no way I could afford that, even with my good retirement and my husbands practice.

You might be having a hard time convincing people this is a bad thing, because in the end, it's not. And now we can prove it.

Cause you tried capitalism, that failed miserably, you tried a 'hybrid' system if you can call it that, and that's failed even more miserably than the previous.

There's only one option left... It's just too bad America is 50+ years late coming up with that answer.

~Tenth

a reply to: beezzer

So he should be able to tell you that medicare now scales payments based (in part) on the number of x-rays you receive.

Not here in Canada.

Take too many pictures, and a hospital gets less money. The government (through payment) is trying to engineer how a doctor may diagnose a patients injury.

Not at all. Doctors are paid on a Enumeration System mostly.

www.nbms.nb.ca...

Office Visit- $ 43.50
Delivering a Baby- $ 555.00
Newborn Infant Care- $ 90.00
Nursing Home Visit- $ 60.00
Rabies Injection- $ 12.00
Appendectomy $ 381.00
Tonsillectomy - Under 16 years - $132.08

The average salary of a doctor here is about 250K before taxes. And as you can see from the last chart on that page, doctors are not the primary cost of the budget.

~Tenth

a reply to: tothetenthpower

You are missing the point with your silly facts , common sense, and insight of the real problems .


The point is who cares what the real problem is, what is important is to blame the other team and do chest bumps like we have been vindicated. This has worked so well for us in the last several decades in getting things fixed

Mission accomplished , Republican drones. Job well done !!!



/sarcasm

If only each drone party cheerleader would hold their own team to the same standards as the opposing team, we actually might have a chance to fix things.

Regardless if Obama was elected or the originator of OBAMCARE himself Mitt Romney, insurance cost were to go up.

That is what happens when you have the healthcare Oligopoly drafting and creating laws in this country and our Republican and Democrats officials robosign them.

However, I'm sure just like history has shown us, once the Republicans get in they will significantly shrink gov't , cut taxes, and fix healthcare and all our other ills. Oh wait, I can't seem to find that history book?

We jus tfinished our "open enrollment" here at work. Its disgusting, the cost went up all around, vision, dental and medical, the providers went down, the benefits went down, the co-pays went up. I am so sick and tired of the corruption in this country, so sick and tired of insurance companies controlling what we can or can't do. Tried to get approved for an mri on my knee last year, doctors orders. Insurance denied it, saying I needed an x-ray, then 6 months of PT, then maybe an MRI. My doctor basically had to call and go through an appeal process explaining hey, he is the dr here, and it is medically necessary. I threatened to just go to the ER and force them to pay for it that way.

Fricken scam is all it is anymore.