532 replies to this topic

[Rogerdodger]

News this week was of another health-care exchange closing.

Behind the scenes:

 

MESS: Obama maneuvering to pay health insurers billions of dollars...

 

The Obama administration is maneuvering to pay health insurers billions of dollars the government owes under the Affordable Care Act, through a move that could circumvent Congress.

Many insurers are losing money on their new customers, who tend to be relatively sick and expensive to treat. As a result, some smaller plans have been driven out of business and a few major ones are defecting from exchanges for the coming year.

A settlement probably would rely on Treasury’s Judgment Fund, a 1950s creation that is allowed as much money as it needs to satisfy valid claims against the government. The fund’s website shows that it has been used for a few hundred claims against HHS in the past decade. Taken together, they amounted to about $18 million — a fraction of what the insurers are owed.

Edited by Rogerdodger, 30 September 2016 - 07:55 AM.

[Rogerdodger]

Time to open up the treasury to the flood of unworkable Obamacare mandates...just as planned!

 

Minnesota health insurance market in 'emergency situation'

 

Updated:Sep 30 2016 12:16PM CDT

 ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Minnesota's top health insurance regulator says the state's individual market is in "an emergency situation" amid big rate increases for next year.

Rate increases finalized this week range from a 50 percent average hike for HealthPartners plans to a 67 percent jump on average on UCare.

 

"Keep your plan, keep your doctor, save $2,500 a year."

Edited by Rogerdodger, 02 October 2016 - 12:22 PM.

[AChartist]

the speech writers

 

[Rogerdodger]

When your health care is "free" from the government bureaucrats, it can be very costly.

 

200 veterans die waiting for care as troubled Phoenix VA builds new backlog...

Edited by Rogerdodger, 04 October 2016 - 07:01 PM.

[Rogerdodger]

Too bad there are no truly free market medical options.

 

Democratic GOV TURNS: OBAMACARE NO LONGER AFFORDABLE...

 

Gov. Mark Dayton made the comments while addressing questions about Minnesota’s fragile health insurance market, where individual plans are facing double-digit increases after all insurers threatened to exit the market entirely in 2017. He’s the only Democratic governor to publicly suggest the law isn’t working as intended.

Few states have embraced the health care law more strongly than Minnesota under Dayton. Lawmakers created a state-run online market exchange for people who aren’t covered by employers or public programs to buy individual coverage. When those policies first went on sale in 2013, Dayton and state officials touted the lowest health insurance rates in the nation.

But after several years of steadily increasing premiums, top state regulators said this fall that Minnesota’s individual market is in “a state of emergency.”

 

Dayton’s comments follow former President Bill Clinton’s saying last week that the law was “the craziest thing in the world”

Edited by Rogerdodger, 12 October 2016 - 09:06 PM.

[Rogerdodger]

Nothing to see here. Move along.

 

1.4 Million in Obamacare to Lose Plans as Insurers Quit...

 

At least 1.4 million people in 32 states will lose the Obamacare plan they have now, according to state officials.

Sign-ups for Obamacare coverage begin next month. Fallout from the quitting insurers has emerged as the latest threat to the law, which is also a major focal point in the U.S. presidential election. While it’s not clear what all the consequences of the departing insurers will be, interviews with regulators and insurance customers suggest that plans will be fewer and more expensive, and may not include the same doctors and hospitals.It may also mean that instead of growing in 2017, Obamacare could shrink.

Edited by Rogerdodger, 14 October 2016 - 08:28 AM.

[Rogerdodger]

Free government healthcare often equals no care.

Just ask a US veteran... or UK mothers in labor

Soaring numbers of maternity units turn women in labour away

Soaring numbers of maternity units are turning mothers in labour away, with some closing their doors every week amid overcrowding, new figures show.

Statistics from the Royal College of Midwives reveal that the average unit temporarily closed on eight occasions last year – almost twice the figure from the previous year.

Overall, almost four in ten maternity units closed their doors last year – including one which did so 50 times. In total, there were 281 such closures last year, its report found.

Its report was based on a survey of heads of midwifery across the UK, with two in five warning of staff shortages.

Cathy Warwick, RCM chief executive, said it was “astonishing” that units were being forced to close so often, as they became overloaded. "We are seeing senior midwives describing services that are being battered by increasing demands, inadequate resources and staffing shortages," she said.

Edited by Rogerdodger, 19 October 2016 - 05:57 PM.

[dougie]

"Free government healthcare often equals no care"

Perhaps that explains much better health outcome; decreased iatrogenesis.

 

Lets face it, no care is free. What seems to work well is universal health coverage, generally of the single payer kind.

[Rogerdodger]

What seems to work well is universal health coverage, generally of the single payer kind.

See posts above about the lack of care in the UK and VA with government "single payer" health scams.

A free market is always best and most fair for all because "If you like your doctor, you CAN keep him." and " If you like your plan, you CAN keep it."

 

Obamacare Premiums Up 30% in TX, MS, KS; 50% in IL, AZ, PA; 93% in NM: When Does the Death Spiral Blow Up?

Obamacare premiums are skyrocketing out of sight. A jump of a mere 30% looks like a good deal compared to jumps of over 50% in six states, and 93% in New Mexico.

Congratulations are in order for those living in a handful of states whose premiums only rose 20%.

The Wall Street Journal reports Rate Increases for Health Plans Pose Serious Test for Obama's Signature Law

 

Approved Hikes

• Approved Hikes Just Under 20%: Colorado, Florida and Idaho
• Approved Hikes 20% to 29%: Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland
• Approved Hikes 30% to 49%: Alabama, Delaware, Hawaii, Kansas, Mississippi, Texas
• Approved Hikes 50% to 92%: Arizona, Illinois, Montana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee
• Approved hikes 93%: New Mexico

Edited by Rogerdodger, 21 October 2016 - 10:26 PM.

[dougie]

You are welcome to quote some random news stories.
Meanwhile I will stick with copious scientific evidence showing that our system is a failure: we pay way to much for way too little. No one is suggesting replicating England or the VA that I know of.

What seems to work well is universal health coverage, generally of the single payer kind.

See posts above about the lack of care in the UK and VA with government "single payer" health scams.
A free market is always best and most fair for all because "If you like your doctor, you CAN keep him." and " If you like your plan, you CAN keep it."
 
Obamacare Premiums Up 30% in TX, MS, KS; 50% in IL, AZ, PA; 93% in NM: When Does the Death Spiral Blow Up?
Obamacare premiums are skyrocketing out of sight. A jump of a mere 30% looks like a good deal compared to jumps of over 50% in six states, and 93% in New Mexico.
Congratulations are in order for those living in a handful of states whose premiums only rose 20%.
The Wall Street Journal reports Rate Increases for Health Plans Pose Serious Test for Obama's Signature Law
 
Approved Hikes

• Approved Hikes Just Under 20%: Colorado, Florida and Idaho
• Approved Hikes 20% to 29%: Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland
• Approved Hikes 30% to 49%: Alabama, Delaware, Hawaii, Kansas, Mississippi, Texas
• Approved Hikes 50% to 92%: Arizona, Illinois, Montana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee
• Approved hikes 93%: New Mexico