Blue Cross Blue Shield getting crushed by Obamacare

[SP33Demon]

No wonder my premiums went up so much this year. And mine is partly paid for by my employer. Ugh.

http://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/obamacare-now-has-blue-cross-singing-the-blues/

3/01/2016 5:35 PM EST

Health Care: The insurance industry must be kicking itself for backing ObamaCare. Several have since posted big losses and it looks like Blue Cross Blue Shield got the losing end of the stick, too.

Fitch Ratings looked at nearly three dozen BCBS companies and found that 23 saw a decline in earnings that totaled $1.9 billion in the first nine months of last year, while 16 had net losses.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan lost $622 million from January through September last year. Blue Cross plans in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Montana lost $442 billion. And those in Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia lost $266 million.

The reason is ObamaCare.

Or as Fitch puts it: “Cost and utilization trends from state insurance exchanges from the Affordable Care Act have been higher than anticipated and are the primary drivers of declining earnings.”

This is a big deal, given that Blue Cross plans are often the largest provider of individual insurance policies in any given market. The Blue Cross plan in Michigan has more than a third of the exchange market, in Delaware it’s more than 80%, and it is almost 90% in North Carolina.

Given their size, these insurers should have had the broadest and most stable insurance pools in ObamaCare. What they found instead was that the young and healthy are avoiding ObamaCare’s overpriced insurance. If the Blues are struggling, how likely is it that the smaller insurers can succeed?

Many of the Blues sharply increased premiums this year, which Fitch says should improve earnings. Plus, the administration is planning to dole out $7.7 billion in “transitional reinsurance” money, which it hopes will keep insurers in the ObamaCare game at least one more year. They also backpedaled on requiring insurers to have a reasonable network of providers in their plans out of fear that those rules would only fuel more premium inflation.

The law isn’t getting any more popular with the public, either. An AP poll found that just 26% say they support the law, vs. 42% who oppose it. And a separate survey by NPR and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that while 15% say the law directly benefited them, 25% said it hurt them.

ACA is further eroding the middle class. Fuck obamacare, they need to neuter this legislation to where it's not killing us with double digit premium jumps. I'm not a human cash register, FFS. Anyone else with BCBS getting killed this year on premiums?

 

[bradly1101]

The insurance companies are an unneeded burden on costs, choice, and outcomes. Their relevance is showing.

 

[feralkid]

Ginormous Insurance Company losing money?

Boo-hoo.

 

[Subyman]

Good. Assholes raised my rates through the roof for my old ACA plan through them. I went with United this year and saved a ton plus kept my doctor. It was like they didn't even want my business.

 

[UglyCasanova]

Lots of hate against insurance companies, and I get the frustration, but a healthy insurance industry is vital for our society. People need a way to insure themselves and their assets, and the insurance companies have to have a way to assign and price risk.

Was the health insurance industry screwed up before the ACA? Absolutely. But the blame rests at all of our feet, not just greedy Wall Street. For instance why do we insist that our employers (who have absolutely nothing to do with our health insurance, nor do they specialize in health insurance unless you happen to work in the industry) provide our coverage? It makes no sense.

 

[feralkid]

Lots of hate against insurance companies, and I get the frustration, but a healthy insurance industry is vital for our society. People need a way to insure themselves and their assets, and the insurance companies have to have a way to assign and price risk.

Was the health insurance industry screwed up before the ACA? Absolutely. But the blame rests at all of our feet, not just greedy Wall Street. For instance why do we insist that our employers (who have absolutely nothing to do with our health insurance, nor do they specialize in health insurance unless you happen to work in the industry) provide our coverage? It makes no sense.

Best argument for single-payer.

 

[SP33Demon]

Good. Assholes raised my rates through the roof for my old ACA plan through them. I went with United this year and saved a ton plus kept my doctor. It was like they didn't even want my business.

You may have to leave United in 2017, they're getting crushed as well. How did you "save a ton" when they also raised premiums? *cough cough*

UnitedHealth, which sat out the first year of Obamacare in 2014, said it is not looking to grow its exchange business. Instead, it has increased prices, eliminated marketing and commissions and withdrawn its top-tier products. In an effort to stem the losses, it is also working more closely with providers and enrollees to manage their illnesses and care.

UnitedHealth warned in November that it might pull out of the Obamacare exchanges altogether in 2017, citing higher-than-expected claims. In particular, it blamed the large number of members signing up outside the open enrollment period who were using a lot of medical services.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/19/news/economy/unitedhealth-obamacare/

 

[theeedude]

Such concern for insurance company profits. Touching.

 

[UglyCasanova]

Such concern for insurance company profits. Touching.

I hate to tell you but they don't insure risks out of the goodness of their hearts. Do you get up each morning and go do pro bono work all day? Why not?

 

[SP33Demon]

Such concern for insurance company profits. Touching.

Wrong, concern for my own money is more like it. They're probably going to pull out of the exchanges in the next few years and cut their losses. Obamacare is like herpes - it felt good when it was passed but now you just realized you caught an STD the day afterward.

 

[Slew Foot]

Bullshit they're losing money. They just rolled the CEOs 20 Ferraris into the business expense category and crying like assholes.

 

[MagickMan]

The Regressive Left is so incredibly out of touch, the responses from them in this thread are hilarious (if pathetic). :\

 

[theeedude]

Wrong, concern for my own money is more like it. They're probably going to pull out of the exchanges in the next few years and cut their losses. Obamacare is like herpes - it felt good when it was passed but now you just realized you caught an STD the day afterward.

OK, then we'll do universal single payer. But until then, I think private insurers should be given one last chance to make it work. They fought the public option, let them insure everyone.

 

[lopri]

This is what I do not get. The Duck supporters complaining about the ACA and then turning around to compliment the "Something Great™" the Duck will replace it with, which allegedly will "take care of everybody."

 

[Jaskalas]

Obamacare is to collapse the market and force you to face the obvious.
You cannot maintain current policy... and you cannot go back.
The only way forward is single payer. Is it not?

 

[trenchfoot]

From what I understand, it's the Insurance Companies that wrote the ACA to begin with. So now who's to blame?

 

[SP33Demon]

Why can't you go back? People will be happy to not be forced into paying a fine.

 

[alcoholbob]

Obamacare is to collapse the market and force you to face the obvious.
You cannot maintain current policy... and you cannot go back.
The only way forward is single payer. Is it not?

I do believe the immortal Milton Friedman once said you cannot have open borders and a welfare state. Single payer is nothing more than a short term band-aid either; it will ultimately collapse due to insolvency.

 

[Pulsar]

Was the health insurance industry screwed up before the ACA? Absolutely. But the blame rests at all of our feet, not just greedy Wall Street. For instance why do we insist that our employers (who have absolutely nothing to do with our health insurance, nor do they specialize in health insurance unless you happen to work in the industry) provide our coverage? It makes no sense.

So what's your connection with the insurance industry?

The blame rests at our feet? Not a chance. We don't make goverment policy. Insurance lobbyists have far more power that 'we the people'. "We" don't insist on squat with our companies. In the case of Unions, it gets negotiated. In the case of salaried it's a competitive benefit to lure quality workers. The consumers don't create the product that is offered to us.... that's just plain ridiculous.

Insurance companies are bloated monsters who have intentionally made it insanely difficult for Americans to understand (and afford) their policies, much less use them. They've over-complicated them. It's to the point where my DOCTOR'S office has a sign hanging on the wall stating they can no longer read and understand different policies because they are too complicated.

On top of that, the insurance companies have conspired WITH the doctors and medical organizations to price-fix and force people into taking insurance. Otherwise a person gets charged actual money for that $40,000 a day hospital room rather than the price the insurance company actually pays.

Your comments don't even come close to passing the smell test. Insurance is supposed to be for catastrophic events, but the greedy fuckers have made themselves indispensable because of their close ties and lobbying to both the medical facilities and government. Now they're finally getting a good fucking because people can't afford to pay their doctor, their doctor's receptionist, their doctor's lawyer, their insurance rep, their insurance rep's boss, and his boss, and every other fucking intermediary in between.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

ACA is further eroding the middle class. Fuck obamacare, they need to neuter this legislation to where it's not killing us with double digit premium jumps. I'm not a human cash register, FFS. Anyone else with BCBS getting killed this year on premiums?

You're not a human cash register... Are you saying that you would prefer a less expensive health care system, like the European style socialized systems? (100% coverage for a much smaller percentage of GDP)

 

[WhipperSnapper]

The Regressive Left is so incredibly out of touch, the responses from them in this thread are hilarious (if pathetic). :\

Elaborate? What's your solution to the nation's health care problem?

 

[JEDIYoda]

You're not a human cash register... Are you saying that you would prefer a less expensive health care system, like the European style socialized systems? (100% coverage for a much smaller percentage of GDP)

you have no clue...

 

[MagickMan]

Elaborate? What's your solution to the nation's health care problem?

Eliminate state restrictions, allowing all insurance companies to compete with each other, and open up Medicare to include everyone living at or below the poverty level.

 

[shortylickens]

Best argument for single-payer.

Government run anything is the best argument for NOT single-payer.

 

[shortylickens]

Elaborate? What's your solution to the nation's health care problem?

Break up the government backed monopoly the AMA has.