Defending Obamacare - or Not

[Winter_123]

Lot of entertainment value in listening to the libs on NPR trying to explain why we are having another fierce round of rate increases. Yeh, I know all the reasons or most of them anyway and 2014 blah, blah, blah. Problem is they sold the bill by leading people to believe that life would get better right off, maybe not dramatically but at least in the right direction while waiting for the full bill to kick in and where they did not understand it, Pelosi assured them that if you passed the bill and read it everything looks good down in the bowels of the bill.

Yeh, the pubs can't wait to run on health reform in 2012 but they will need to get up pretty early in the morning to get ahead of Hillary in doing so. Be a good time for Obama to be in Europe picking up an award for something or to be appointed as the UN High Commissioner for Intergalactic Esteem Building or something definitely post-American, consistent with his world view.

Change you can believe in.

 

[somarco]

Obummer campaigned in all 57 states on many promised changes including $2,000 or 3000%, whichever is greater. He also promised to spread the wealth around and seems to be doing a good job of that by making wealth and jobs go poof.

Create of save 1 million jobs. Hmmmm, seems to have missed the mark on that one.

In spite of what was promised, it is interesting that 90% of blacks still support PresBO. That one is a bit puzzling since many of them have lost homes and jobs.

Few would argue he over-promised and has definitely under-delivered. It's almost as if, the closer he got to election day he thought he was invincible, or perhaps even noble. Of course none of that carried over to his acceptance speech for the nomination.

I noticed John Daly had some of the same props when Barry visited the Daly show. A bit surprised he appeared on the show without TOTUS.

 

[Winter_123]

In spite of what was promised, it is interesting that 90% of blacks still support PresBO..

True. Problem is that "support" does not necessarily equate to showing up at the polls. Without doubt Obama would get their vote if they showed up and without doubt when they are home not-fired-up-and-not-ready-to-go he is still their man. Obama wants their vote though not their love.

 

[somarco]

Many will not show up next Tuesday since his name is not on the ballot.

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

But many will for free food and/or gift cards.

 

[Winter_123]

But many will for free food and/or gift cards.

Some of us take the free food and then vote for someone else.

Just like in college one night when it was twenty below zero and I was in town and way to sauced to drive back to campus. I called the police and told them I was too sauced to drive and asked them if I could get a lift back to campus.. They came by in an SUV (toasty in there) and drove me right to the door. We passed my buddies who were walking back and had decided to brave the elements. Frig that.

I didnt have a car and I had walked to the bar, but that is beside the point. The point is: FREE STUFF IS GOOD!

 

[AllenChicago]

The MLR totally takes away the Dem's "Greedy Insurance Companies" argument. Why would insurance companies raise premiums by 30% knowing that they'd have to go through the time, cost and trouble to refund it back to the policyholders? When premiums increase, it is because medical care costs are still increasing. There's no other way to view it now.

BTW, I wonder if HHS will decide if refunding premium overages is on the Admin, or the Medical side of the MLR equation? With margins so tight, the additional reporting requirements and all the admin costs associated with refunding of premiums would cause a lot of companies to simply leave the business, rather than adhere to the dictatorship/mafia strong-arming. That is, if the refunding process is designated an Admin costs along with marketing.
-A.C.

 

[Winter_123]

The MLR totally takes away the Dem's "Greedy Insurance Companies" argument.
-A.C.

In theory. In practice, the feds (just as in many states, mine included) will move away from an mlr model and simply start sitting as commie tribunals that know how much profit a company should be making. Thus if you stay within the mlr rules but are still making a profit (or more than what they have deemed the "right" amount for you then you can expect the mlr to be adjusted or some other rationale to come into play.

In the State of Maine (as one example) Anthem met the mlr requirements but suddenly decided that Anthems parent company was making more than they "should" nationwide without regard to financials within the state so the denied the request. (note to those who follow this stuff in detail, Maine just got a partial rate increase which is the outcome of the court challenge for the rate increase for the year before last. The most recent episode is still in the courts as all rate increases will be until the feds just take over the process.

There are carriers out there that think that all they have to do is play by the mlr data and they are all set. Havent even begun yet. Only Washington D.C. knows what the right premium should be.

And in fairness, both Hillary and Obama said in their campaigns that if they were elected the feds would tell the insurance companies what the premiums should be. Not the other way around. People listened to them and said "I think I will vote for them."

Change you can believe in.

Frigging rising costs with fed capping of rates is just a bomb that is going to explode long before 2014.

 

[somarco]

Only Washington D.C. knows what the right premium should be.

And that is kept in a hermetically sealed Mason jar on Funk and Wagnalls porch . . .

 

[AllenChicago]

More news hot off the press about some of the latest (unintended?) consequences of Obamacare.

More Details Of The Health Law Revealed As Implementation Unfolds - Kaiser Health News

The more stories like these that reach mainstream press before November 2nd, the better!

-AC