How High Will Your Health Insurance Premiums Go In 2015?

[Valin]

[Valin]

Obamacare @obamacare Follow


In the best and worst of times, you're covered.




12:09 PM - 23 May 2014


Except when you're not

Laura Krantz @krantzlm Follow


I just found out that @C4HCO cancelled both my dental and my health insurance. No idea why.




5:03 PM - 27 Feb 2015

Laura Krantz, a former NPR editor & producer, is a Scripps Fellow in environmental journalism at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Late last week, she discovered to her dismay that Colorado’s Obamacare Health Insurance Exchange, Connect for Health Colorado, had inexplicably canceled her health and dental insurance.

H/T [url=http://twitchy.com/2015/03/03/i-am-going-to-stab-a-bitch-liberal-journalist-discovers-the-joys-of-obamacareTwichy


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[Geee]

The Damaging Effects of Obamacare

 

 

http://dailysignal.com/2015/03/04/damaging-effects-obamacare/

[Geee]

Shock Poll: Half The Uninsured Want ObamaCare Repealed

 

Health Care: ObamaCare was supposed to be a gift to the uninsured. Maybe someone should have checked with them first. A new poll finds the uninsured hate ObamaCare more than any other group.

The Economist/YouGov poll asked the public a series of questions about ObamaCare, and then broke down the findings based on their insurance status.

As with many other polls, this one finds widespread disapproval of the law. Fully 43% say it's a failure, compared with just 25% who think it has been a success. Nearly one in five say it's been "a complete failure."

Almost half (48%) think the law has pushed insurance prices up, compared with 16% who say ObamaCare has reduced the rate of premium growth. (So much for "bending the cost curve down.")

 

http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-obama-care/030515-742251-uninsured-hate-obamacare-more-than-public-at-large.htm

[Draggingtree]

[Casino67]

What is the personal experience of the members on this site? Or is that too personal?

 

I pay zero for the VA medical, which I am perfectly satisfied with. I do have to pay $9.00 copay for meds.

[Geee]

ObamaCare Premiums Jumped 23% This Year -- After Subsidies

 

President Obama has talked a lot in recent months about how health care inflation has moderated in recent years, and he always manages to credit ObamaCare for the result.

 

But there is rampant inflation in one part of the health care system, and ironically enough it involves ObamaCare premiums.

According to official government data, the average premium paid by those signing up through the federal Healthcare.gov site this year was $101 a month, after factoring in the subsidies.

 

Last year, however, the average premium, net of subsidies, was $82.

 

 

That's a 23% increase.

http://news.investors.com/blogs-capital-hill/031715-743926-obama-premiums-climbed-23-percent-on-average.htm

[Geee]

California Points To ObamaCare's Grim Future

 

Health Reform: Back in 2013, ObamaCare supporters couldn't talk enough about how California was a showcase for how the law would succeed. Isn't it funny that nobody is making such claims any more?

 

Wrote a few months into ObamaCare's first open enrollment period that "What we have in California, then, is a proof of concept. Yes, ObamaCare is workable — in fact, done right, it works just fine."

 

It turns out that California is a proof of concept, but not in the way Krugman thought.

 

As Californians are discovering to their dismay, their state's ObamaCare program is a nightmare of technological glitches, bureaucratic ineptitude and overpriced plans that under-deliver care.

 

http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/042115-748892-california-obamacare-exchange-suffers-big-problems.htm

[Valin]

When the Doctors Bid on Your Business

Apr. 22 2015

 

Imagine a health care system in which economic power lay with the consumer instead of the producer. Earlier this week, the LA Times profiled Medibid, a service that lets patients receive bids from doctors for the medical work they need done. For a yearly fee, patients can log on to the site, enter their needs, and see what the cheapest rate for the procedure(s) is. Medibid seems to be pretty small-scale currently, but it’s not the only service out there trying to change how medical shopping works:

 

(Snip)

 

As more tech companies turn their attention to health care, we’re likely to see several startups like this come and go—some may stick, others may fade. But however all these companies shake-out, the need they’re aiming to meet—an improved health care experience that gives more power to consumers—is very real and pressing. The sooner new approaches like this take off, the better, and cheaper, the U.S. health care system will become.

[Geee]

Two in three Obamacare beneficiaries had to repay subsidies

 

Photo - Nearly two in three Americans who bought subsidized health insurance on the Obamacare exchanges this year had to pay some of the federal dollars back. (Getty Images)

Nearly two in three Americans who bought subsidized health insurance on the Obamacare exchanges...

Nearly two in three Americans who bought subsidized health insurance on the Obamacare exchanges this year had to pay some of the federal dollars back, according to new data from H&R Block.

That's because they presumably collected more federal aid than their income qualified them for. In that case, consumers must either pay some of it back or — in most cases — the IRS will subtract it from their tax refund.

Policymakers have expressed concern that low-income people could struggle with paying back the subsidies — or suffer if their tax refunds are greatly reduced because of overpayments.

The average amount consumers owed back to the government was $729, cutting their potential tax refunds by almost one-third, said the tax preparation company.

On the flip side, one in four Obamacare recipients collected fewer subsidies than their income qualified them for. Those consumers saw their tax refunds boosted by an average of $425.

 

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/two-in-three-obamacare-beneficiaries-had-to-repay-subsidies/article/2563701

[Valin]

Two in three Obamacare beneficiaries had to repay subsidies

 

Photo - Nearly two in three Americans who bought subsidized health insurance on the Obamacare exchanges this year had to pay some of the federal dollars back. (Getty Images)

Nearly two in three Americans who bought subsidized health insurance on the Obamacare exchanges...

 

 

I don't believe it! The next thing they'll try and tell us is premiums are going up!

[Valin]

How is the doctor-patient relationship changing? Its going electronic.

Suzanne Allard Levingston

April 27 2015

 

Thanks to technology, Gary Sullivan enjoys a new kind of relationship with his doctor. If he wakes up with a routine health question, the 73-year-old retired engineer simply taps out a secure message into his doctors electronic health records system. His Kaiser Permanente physician will answer later that day, sparing Sullivan a visit to the clinic near his Littleton, Colo., home and giving his doctor time to see those with more urgent needs.

 

Once you took medical questions directly to your doctor, who advised, tested and treated you. Today, not only are we turning to the Internet for everyday medical information, were also generating our own health data: using a smartphone, for example, to investigate a childs ear pain or monitor blood pressure. Were learning from our peers online how to cope and find new treatments. Our doctors can keep our records electronically, accessible to us through a patient portal. Some of us can make video visits with doctors, who can offer diagnoses and treatment plans via computer or smartphone.

 

[Theres lots of health-care technology out there. How do you choose?]

 

With all these advances, a traditional paternalism in medicine is changing, too.

 

Theres no question that technology is shifting the doctor-patient relationship, said pediatrician Wendy Sue Swanson, executive director of digital health at Seattle Childrens Hospital.

 

(Snip)

[Valin]

ER Use Grows Despite Rosy ACA Predicitions
May 4 2015

Visits to the emergency room are growing—despite expectations from Affordable Care Act supporters that the law would decrease ER use. The WSJ reports:

A survey of 2,098 emergency-room doctors conducted in March showed about three-quarters said visits had risen since January 2014. That was a significant uptick from a year earlier, when less than half of doctors surveyed reported an increase. The survey by the American College of Emergency Physicians is scheduled to be published Monday […]

“There was a grand theory the law would reduce ER visits,” said Dr. Howard Mell, a spokesman for ACEP. “Well, guess what, it hasn’t happened. Visits are going up despite the ACA, and in a lot of cases because of it.”

(Snip)

 

The debate over how to fix the ACA and, more importantly, what else needs to be done so we don’t get bankrupted by rising health care costs hasn’t really begun. It’s a debate the country desperately needs.

[Geee]

After Expanding Under Obamacare, This 123-Year-Old Insurance Company Is Closing Its Doors

 

After expanding to do business on the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges last year, a Wisconsin-based health insurance company founded in 1892 has announced it will close its doors.

 

Assurant Inc. announced last week one of its subsidiaries, Assurant Health, an insurance company, will either be sold or shuttered after losing tens of millions of dollars this year. The decision comes 18 months after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and industry watchers argue Assurant Health’s end can be attributed to the new health care law.

 

“The health and employee benefits business segments possess differentiated capabilities in their respective markets, but we do not believe they can meet our return targets at the pace we require,” Alan Colberg, president of Assurant Inc., said in a statement. “While this is a difficult decision, we believe they would be strong assets for new owners that are focused more exclusively on health care and employee benefits.”

 

In a letter to its shareholders, Assurant Health said it lost money because of a reduction in recoveries under Obamacare’s risk mitigation programs and increased claims on the health care law’s 2015 policies.

http://dailysignal.com/2015/05/04/after-expanding-under-obamacare-this-123-year-old-insurance-company-is-closing-its-doors/

[Geee]

500 groups urge repeal of ObamaCare cost-cutting panel

 

Over 500 organizations are calling on Congress to repeal a Medicare cost-cutting board that is part of ObamaCare.

 

The panel at issue is called the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), and is charged with coming up with ways to cut Medicare spending if it rises above a certain threshold.

The board has not been set up yet, and has faced strong opposition from Republicans who say it will hurt seniors’ access to care. Opponents of the healthcare law condemned the IPAB as a "death panel" during the congressional debate over the law.

 

The 500 groups (which include multiple chapters of the same organization), are largely healthcare providers, and are worried about cuts in payments under the board.

 

The letter to Congress argues that because the board must achieve savings in a one-year timeframe, it will simply cut payments to providers rather than make long-term changes to make the program more efficient.

 

http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/241042-500-groups-urge-repeal-of-obamacare-cost-cutting-panel

[Geee]

Did 17 Million Actually Gain Coverage Under ObamaCare?

 

Earlier this week, there were lots of cheery news stories about a RAND Corporation study that found nearly 17 million uninsured had gained coverage because of ObamaCare.

 

But if you actually read the report, you realize that the findings are far less definitive or as upbeat as the headlines suggest.

 

First, the study itself admits that there's a big margin of error in its numbers. The authors themselves caution about "an important limitation of these data" because "our survey had a low cumulative response rate."

 

Later in the paper, you find out what "low" means. "The cumulative response rate among all people invited to participate in the panel was 9%."

 

But it's only in the paper's appendix that you see just how big the resulting margin of error is. There you find that the number of uninsured gaining coverage because of ObamaCare could be a low as 5.2 million or as high as 28.6 million, a range that makes the number they chose to publish look more like a guess than a hard fact.

 

Second, even if you accept the RAND numbers at face value, the report shows that just 4.1 million of those uninsured gained coverage through an ObamaCare exchange.

 

In contrast, 9.6 million of the previously uninsured gained coverage at work.

 

http://news.investors.com/blogs-capital-hill/050815-751784-17-million-uninsured-gained-coverage-under-obamacare.htm

[Valin]

Did 17 Million Actually Gain Coverage Under ObamaCare?

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy8AOwT9-aA

[Geee]

Politically Connected Obamacare Website Company Suddenly Quits

 

QSSI, the politically-connected information technology firm that rescued the problem-plagued Healthcare.gov website unexpectedly announced Thursday that it is stepping down as prime manager.

 

The surprise departure of QSSI, the Columbia, Md.-based subsidiary of the IT health firm Optum and the health insurance giant United Healthcare Group, will raise new doubts about the future viability of President Obama’s signature program, Obamacare.

 

Three IT companies will have managed Healthcare.gov in its brief two-year history once QSSI is replaced.

 

http://dailycaller.com/2015/05/14/politically-connected-obamacare-website-company-suddenly-quits/

[Geee]

Hawaii Says Aloha To Its $205 Million ObamaCare Exchange

 

 

 

 

fter taking $205 million in federal grants to build its own ObamaCare exchange, Hawaii is making plans to shut it down before the next open enrollment.

The exchange, called Hawaii Health Connector, never had much of a chance. In addition to its huge startup costs, its operating costs were far too high, given that only a little more than 12,000 people are enrolled. The federal government had been warning of a takeover if it couldn't figure out how to become self-sufficient.

"Now that it is clear that the state will not provide sufficient support for the Hawaii Health Connector's operations through fiscal year 2016 (ending June 30, 2016), the Connector can no longer operate in a manner that would cause it to incur additional debts or other obligations for which it is unable to pay," officials said on all health insurance customers across the state, while also boosting the fee charged on customers who buy from the exchange from 1.4% to as high as 4.5%.

http://news.investors.com/blogs-capital-hill/051415-752770-hawaii-is-latest-to-have-obamacare-exchange-collapse.htm

[Geee]

Obamacare Exchanges on Life Support - Michele Malkin

 

At a recent White House science fair celebrating inventors, a Girl Scout who helped design a Lego-powered page-turning device asked President Obama what he had ever thought up or prototyped. Stumbling for an answer, he replied:

 

"I came up with things like, you know, health care."

 

Ah, yes. "Health care." Remember when the president's signature Obamacare health insurance exchanges were going to be the greatest thing since sliced bread, the remote control, jogger strollers, Siri, the Keurig coffee maker, driverless cars and Legos all rolled into one?

 

The miraculous, efficient, cost-saving, innovative 21st-century government-run "marketplaces" were supposed to put the "affordable" in Obama's Affordable Care Act. Know-it-all bureaucrats were going to show private companies how to set up better websites (gigglesnort), implement better marketing and outreach (guffaw), provide superior customer service (belly laugh), and eliminate waste, fraud and abuse (LOLOLOL).

 

You will be shocked beyond belief, I'm sure, to learn that Obamacare exchanges across the country are instead bleeding money, seeking more taxpayer bailouts and turning everything they touch to chicken poop.

 

Wait, that's not fair to chicken poop, which can at least be composted.

 

http://townhall.com/columnists/michellemalkin/2015/05/15/obamacare-exchanges-on-life-support-n1999097

[clearvision]

Hawaii Says Aloha To Its $205 Million ObamaCare Exchange

 

 

 

 

fter taking $205 million in federal grants to build its own ObamaCare exchange, Hawaii is making plans to shut it down before the next open enrollment.

The exchange, called Hawaii Health Connector, never had much of a chance. In addition to its huge startup costs, its operating costs were far too high, given that only a little more than 12,000 people are enrolled. The federal government had been warning of a takeover if it couldn't figure out how to become self-sufficient.

"Now that it is clear that the state will not provide sufficient support for the Hawaii Health Connector's operations through fiscal year 2016 (ending June 30, 2016), the Connector can no longer operate in a manner that would cause it to incur additional debts or other obligations for which it is unable to pay," officials said on all health insurance customers across the state, while also boosting the fee charged on customers who buy from the exchange from 1.4% to as high as 4.5%.

http://news.investors.com/blogs-capital-hill/051415-752770-hawaii-is-latest-to-have-obamacare-exchange-collapse.htm

 

 

Was about to post this. So it is a $200M exchange but they get a $1B "match" from the US government?

[Geee]

 

Hawaii Says Aloha To Its $205 Million ObamaCare Exchange

 

 

 

 

fter taking $205 million in federal grants to build its own ObamaCare exchange, Hawaii is making plans to shut it down before the next open enrollment.

The exchange, called Hawaii Health Connector, never had much of a chance. In addition to its huge startup costs, its operating costs were far too high, given that only a little more than 12,000 people are enrolled. The federal government had been warning of a takeover if it couldn't figure out how to become self-sufficient.

"Now that it is clear that the state will not provide sufficient support for the Hawaii Health Connector's operations through fiscal year 2016 (ending June 30, 2016), the Connector can no longer operate in a manner that would cause it to incur additional debts or other obligations for which it is unable to pay," officials said on all health insurance customers across the state, while also boosting the fee charged on customers who buy from the exchange from 1.4% to as high as 4.5%.

http://news.investors.com/blogs-capital-hill/051415-752770-hawaii-is-latest-to-have-obamacare-exchange-collapse.htm

 

 

Was about to post this. So it is a $200M exchange but they get a $1B "match" from the US government?

 

So where did the rest go? Good question. Did you ever wonder if all the corruption was taken out of government - how much more money we ALL would have. It's every day - drip, drip, drip till one of these days we are all going to drown!!!

[Geee]

Obamacare Updates: Tale of Fail from Coast to Coast

 

It's time now for your monthly reminder that Obamacare neither "working in the real world," "proving its critics wrong," nor "blowing away expectations:"

 

Colorado (higher taxes): "The Connect for Health Colorado board of directors voted unanimously Thursday to raise the fees it charges on health insurance policies to bolster its finances as federal grants run out later this year. The state health insurance exchange raised the fee on 2016 plans purchased through its marketplace from the current 1.4 percent of premiums to 3.5 percent, the same rate charged on the federal exchange...Although insurance carriers pay the fees to the exchange, they acknowledge fees are passed on to consumers in one form or another...The fee increases are projected to help bring revenues to about $40 million in fiscal year 2015-16. It would cover operational expenses, but not capital costs, such as improving the computer system…"

 

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2015/05/18/obamacare-update-failing-across-america-n2000268

[Valin]

Obamacare Updates: Tale of Fail from Coast to Coast

 

It's time now for your monthly reminder that Obamacare neither "working in the real world," "proving its critics wrong," nor "blowing away expectations:"

 

 

Oh If Only Someone Had Warned Us That This Would Happen!

 

 

There was a guy who called into Bill Bennett this morning, who actually tried to say Obamacare was wonderful, and the answer to a maidens prayer. Which only goes to conclusively prove one thing...there are a lot of really stupid people out there.

[Geee]

 

Obamacare Updates: Tale of Fail from Coast to Coast

 

It's time now for your monthly reminder that Obamacare neither "working in the real world," "proving its critics wrong," nor "blowing away expectations:"

 

 

Oh If Only Someone Had Warned Us That This Would Happen!

 

 

There was a guy who called into Bill Bennett this morning, who actually tried to say Obamacare was wonderful, and the answer to a maidens prayer. Which only goes to conclusively prove one thing...there are a lot of really stupid people out there.

 

And some of them are related to me