Health Insurers Warn on Premiums

[dkf]

Health insurers are privately warning brokers that premiums for many individuals and small businesses could increase sharply next year because of the health-care overhaul law, with the nation's biggest firm projecting that rates could more than double for some consumers buying their own plans.

The projections, made in sessions with brokers and agents, provide some of the most concrete evidence yet of how much insurance companies might increase prices when major provisions of the law kick in next year—a subject of rigorous debate.

The projected increases are at odds with what the Obama Administration says consumers should be expecting overall in terms of cost. The Department of Health and Human Services says that the law will "make health-care coverage more affordable and accessible," pointing to a 2009 analysis by the Congressional Budget Office that says average individual premiums, on an apples-to-apples basis, would be lower.

The gulf between the pricing talk from some insurers and the government projections suggests how complicated the law's effects will be. Carriers will be filing proposed prices with regulators over the next few months.

http://m.us.wsj.com/articles/a/SB10001424127887324557804578374761054496682?mg=reno64-wsj

[msongs]

1. sounds kinda like a conspiracy to fix prices does it not? some well placed threats from the Feds

may be in order...

[HereSince1628]

2. I suspect that number could be correct for new policies for now uninsured with existing conditions

It wasn't clever to create a legislate a mandate with no cap to prices, but it will be what it will be.

[ProSense]

3. Health Insurers Threaten To Increase Premiums, Even As Profits Soar

Health Insurers Threaten To Increase Premiums, Even As Profits Soar

By Igor Volsky

Some of the nation’s largest health insurance companies are warning investors that they’ll raise insurance premiums by as much as 116 percent next year, as the coverage expansion provisions in the Affordable Care Act go into effect and millions of uninsured Americans begin purchasing coverage.

The threats of premium increases come as the industry is experiencing record profits and are part of a well-coordinated publicity campaign to alarm Americans about the cost of coverage, while downplaying mechanisms in the law that will cushion them from rate shock. The effort comes as insurers seek more favorable regulatory changes that would, in part, allow companies to charge older people more for coverage.

United Health Group Inc., Aetna, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield are ringing the alarm, attributing the possible cost increases to general health care inflation as well as provisions in the health care law, which require insurers to offer more comprehensive coverage, particularly in the individual health care market, and limit the companies’ ability to set premiums based on beneficiaries’ health care histories, age, or sex.

<...>

Insurers have long complained that the law’s more rigorous standards would raise prices, although since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, national health expenditures have decreased and insurers in the individual market have followed the trend, posting fewer double digit increases. Sudden rate hikes were considered the norm before the law went into effect and applicants were regularly denied coverage or priced out of it altogether. Insurance commissioners have also begun reviewing rates more carefully and insurers have had to spend 80 cents out of every premium dollar on health benefits, rather than administrative overhead.

- more -

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/03/22/1761011/health-insurers-threaten-to-increase-premiums-even-as-profits-soar/

Health insurers are full of shit, and there are other mechanisms that will keep them in check.

Seniors saved over $6 billion on prescription drugs as a result of the health care law
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2013pres/03/20130321a.html

April 2012: $1 Billion In Rebates Coming Under ‘Obamacare’
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002613579

[dkf]

5. The problem with setting a profit margin is increasing the costs increases the profit.

So the way to get record profits is to let costs increase. Sad but true.

[ProSense]

8. You clearly

"So the way to get record profits is to let costs increase. Sad but true."

...don't understand the purpose of the MLR or rate reviews.

Sec. Kathleen Sebelius

Holding Insurance Companies Accountable for High Premium Increases

The Affordable Care Act prohibits some of the worst insurance industry practices that have kept affordable health coverage out of reach for millions of Americans. It provides families and individuals with new protections against discriminatory rates due to pre-existing conditions, holds insurance companies accountable for how they spend your premium dollars, and prevents insurance companies from raising your insurance premium rates without accountability or transparency.

For more than a decade before the Affordable Care Act health insurance premiums had risen rapidly, straining the pocketbooks of American families and businesses. Oftentimes, insurance companies were able to raise rates without explanation to consumers or public justification of their actions.



The Affordable Care Act brought an unprecedented level of scrutiny and transparency to health insurance rate increases by requiring insurance companies in every state to publicly justify their actions if they want to raise rates by 10% or more. Insurance companies are required to provide easy to understand information to their customers about their reasons for significant rate increases, and any unreasonable rate increases are posted online.

And it's working.

A new report released today shows that the health care law is helping to moderate premium hikes. Since this rule was implemented, the number of requests for insurance premium increases of 10% or more has dropped dramatically, from 75% to 14%. The average premium increase for all rates in 2012 was 30% below what it was in 2010. And available data suggest that this slowdown in rate increases has continued into 2013.

- more -

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sec-kathleen-sebelius/holding-insurance-compani_b_2742501.html

Rules finalized for the good stuff in Obamacare
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022415967

[dkf]

15. Costs are rising...could it be because there is no longer an incentive to keep them down?

Why not be transparent if you can point to providers asking for more $?

Now the insurers are aligned with the providers.

[ProSense]

18. Wait

"Costs are rising...could it be because there is no longer an incentive to keep them down?"

...what the hell are you talking about? Cost were rising before the health care law. It's like you ignored the information.

What was the "incentive to keep them down" when they skyrocketed over the last two decades?

[dkf]

21. That is supposed to be part of the role of insurers, to negotiate prices with providers.

It is theoretical that if they were good negotiators they could keep costs down and pocket part of the extra. But now the margin is set, so what is the incentive to bring down costs? Moreover the government has set the margin for everyone so bargaining down the levels only decreases your revenues.

[ProSense]

22. That makes no sense.

"That is supposed to be part of the role of insurers, to negotiate prices with providers.

It is theoretical that if they were good negotiators they could keep costs down and pocket part of the extra. But now the margin is set, so what is the incentive to bring down costs? Moreover the government has set the margin for everyone so bargaining down the levels only decreases your revenues."

You're citing a theory that has completely failed as the reality is that health care cost have skyrocketed along with the number of people uninsured and denied coverage.

You're simply making a bullshit argument the status quo was better. That's utter bullshit.

[dkf]

23. They made a bad system worse because they land up incentivizing the wrong thing.

And letting costs explode while providing subsidies will only drive this country into debt at a faster pace, endangering all the other things we expect like medicare and a decent safety net and investments like education, research and infrastructure.

And they didn't provide a public option which could have added true competition. It's just crazy.

[ProSense]

27. Nonsense.

"They made a bad system worse because they land up incentivizing the wrong thing."

You're using health insurers' propaganda to argue against a vastly improve situation in terms of cost, care and the number of people insured.

Because you evidently need the facts in your face at all time:

Sec. Kathleen Sebelius

Holding Insurance Companies Accountable for High Premium Increases

The Affordable Care Act prohibits some of the worst insurance industry practices that have kept affordable health coverage out of reach for millions of Americans. It provides families and individuals with new protections against discriminatory rates due to pre-existing conditions, holds insurance companies accountable for how they spend your premium dollars, and prevents insurance companies from raising your insurance premium rates without accountability or transparency.

For more than a decade before the Affordable Care Act health insurance premiums had risen rapidly, straining the pocketbooks of American families and businesses. Oftentimes, insurance companies were able to raise rates without explanation to consumers or public justification of their actions.



The Affordable Care Act brought an unprecedented level of scrutiny and transparency to health insurance rate increases by requiring insurance companies in every state to publicly justify their actions if they want to raise rates by 10% or more. Insurance companies are required to provide easy to understand information to their customers about their reasons for significant rate increases, and any unreasonable rate increases are posted online.

And it's working.

A new report released today shows that the health care law is helping to moderate premium hikes. Since this rule was implemented, the number of requests for insurance premium increases of 10% or more has dropped dramatically, from 75% to 14%. The average premium increase for all rates in 2012 was 30% below what it was in 2010. And available data suggest that this slowdown in rate increases has continued into 2013.

- more -

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sec-kathleen-sebelius/holding-insurance-compani_b_2742501.html

Rules finalized for the good stuff in Obamacare
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022415967

[dkf]

29. Well we will see what happens to premiums and if things will be as rosy as you have promised.

I'm not hopeful. I admire your steadfastness and loyalty though. I don't know how you do it.

[ProSense]

31. Oh please,

"Well we will see what happens to premiums and if things will be as rosy as you have promised.

I'm not hopeful. I admire your steadfastness and loyalty though. I don't know how you do it. "

...what's going to happen is the insurance companies are going to have to come to grips with extinction. If your goal is this:

I at least wanted a public option at a minimum.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2554309

...you'd welcome their demise.

Wendell Potter Agrees: Big-Profit Health Insurance Almost Dead
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002390746

Obamacare is Single Payer with a time delay
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022553442

[dkf]

33. I'm not even for medicare for all because that isn't enough of a change.

The whole thing needs an overhaul. When can we be Canada?

[ProSense]

35. So

"I'm not even for medicare for all because that isn't enough of a change.

The whole thing needs an overhaul. When can we be Canada?"

...you oppose Medicare for all, but want to be Canada, and you're arguing that the status quo was better than the law that significantly improved the situation?

There is something wrong there.

[dkf]

36. Well if you are going to use all your political capital you might as well improve things.

Then at least you look moderately competent.

But accelerating down the road to health care hell is not optimum and does not earn anyone's trust.

[ProSense]

38. I suppose

"Well if you are going to use all your political capital you might as well improve things."

...you have no idea that Medicare is similar to Canada's health system? The fact that you're against Medicare while hyping the status quo isn't surprising.

[Igel]

42. The ACA was probably part of it.

But leaving out a major factor lets the intentionally misleading claim that the ACA was the entire cause of the decrease in companies seeking higher rates stand.

It's good to make things as simple as possible. It's bad to make them simpler than possible. In this case, they use classic post-hoc reasoning. X happened, then Y happened, so therefore X must be responsible.

The ACA passed and scrutiny was imposed. The number of those seeking large rate increases decreased. Therefore ...

This morning I used the bathroom. Moments later the Sun rose. Therefore ...

[The Magistrate]

4. So The Companies Will Put Themselves Out Of Business, Ma'am

They will price themselves out of reach of their customer base. Over the long haul, this would be a good thing; for-profit health insurance is a parasitic enterprise.

[dkf]

6. So people go without healthcare and get taxed?

Yeah that will work well.

I always thought this wouldn't work...the system needs a complete overhaul and the ACA is a wasted effort. Government should be trying to prove its competence so that people feel that it can take on the sole role of providing healthcare. I don't think this furthers that goal as everyone will wonder why it went wrong.

[The Magistrate]

7. The Long-Term Goal, Ma'am, is To Break the Private Insurance Companies

If they choose to co-operate by gouging and shrinking their customer base, so that pressure grows for a single-payer system, while it becomes impossible to pretend with a straight face the private companies can be part of a solution, so much the better.

[dkf]

10. So why pass anything? Was it to accelerate costs faster?

What's the point then?

[The Magistrate]

16. At This Point, Ma'am, This Is Just Gougers Making Noise

You have no idea whether they are being honest, and given the low ethical standard of the trade, the probability is that they are lying. What is most likely going on is an effort to 'work the refs', to pitch things so high that the regulators will feel pressured to give them something. It is standard negotiating technique, when someone is playing their corner hard: you start with outrageous and exaggerated demands --- who knows, you just might get them --- and even if you do not, you can present anything less as a gracious concession on your part your opponent may feel obliged to match.

Private insurance is the problem, and really cannot be any part of the solution. It, by its very nature, inflates prices and restricts access, necessarily producing higher costs and more adverse outcomes. Anything which operates to drive these facts home to the people at large is, in the long run, to the good. Lenin was quite right that a capitalist will sell you the rope to hang him, and these companies are acting here in a self-destructive manner. Good.

[dkf]

17. Yet the Government mandates we buy this product. Argh

I at least wanted a public option at a minimum. If they wanted it to get so expensive we would all scream I don't like that because people suffer as others mess with us. Not cool.

[The Magistrate]

28. The People Who Own The Legislature, Ma'am, Want Something Else

There are enough ignorant fools to back them at the polls as well, unfortunately.

Everyone buying private insurance has, or at least in theory ought to have, many of the benefits of a single-payer arrangement, by spreading the risk over the largest possible pool. This is what a single-payer arrangement does, it spreads the risk over the pool of all persons who pay taxes to the nation's government. This should reduce the costs to each individual participating in the system.

Leading problems with our private 'system' are that many people do not purchase insurance, though some of them still get injured or ill, and that the insurance industry extracts a rent from the monies passing through its hands which brings no benefit in health outcomes to anyone. When persons who do not have insurance or much money need care, usually in crisis ( which is more expensive ), the costs of their care are spread out over the bills of other patients. The insurance companies routinely attempt to disallow claims, in effect simply pocketing premiums, which not only harms people, but again, drives up costs for every patient.

[dkf]

30. Well if they meant for healthcare to take over our pocketbooks then they should be happy.

When Michael Dukakis went on and on about healthcare I was so bored...little did I know he was trying to fix our future.

[bluedigger]

9. Jump. you fuckers, jump.

We do not need you and would be better off without you.

[Skip Intro]

11. We'll see soon enough. If it's a big clusterf**k, costlier to most,

non-participant fines enforced, and only marginally helpful to the uninsured, Dems will pay at the polls in 14 and 16. (If it is a great success, and the economy is just a bit better, we might run the table.)

Being uninsured, I hope it works, but I've been seeing reports recently that say it will be a disaster, hurting many.

We'll see soon enough.

[doc03]

12. For what it's worth I start Medicare next month and was told by an

agent from Humana that the premiums for Part C Medicare Advantage will have a big
increase next year. They also think many of the smaller companies will just drop their
Medicare Advantage coverage because of the cuts in the HCR law.

[Ruby the Liberal]

13. As planned.

They are paving the way to Single Payer.

Hopefully, few need to die/go bankrupt before it gets through the skulls of the collective conscious to get there.

[dkf]

19. That's pretty cynical.

I don't think people confronting these prices will be as sanguine as you are.

[Ruby the Liberal]

39. What can I say - I am a liberal

I have watched for WAY too many years that it takes a total breakdown some times to do what is right. Hopefully, few lives are lost before the "Keep The Gub'mint Out Of Medicare" teahadist sect dies off and sanity restores to the thinking people of this nation (and those who are elected to represent them).

You are free to hitch your wagon to whomever you choose, as always.

[Gravitycollapse]

14. Every single Health Insurance executive can kiss my lilly white ass.

[Nye Bevan]

20. I wonder what it's like to go to work every day

knowing that your annual bonus is proportional to how much health care you deny to sick people.

Banksters catch a lot of flak here. But arguably, health insurance executives are worse.

[Horse with no Name]

24. Interesting. I posted a letter from my insurer

and was basically called a liar.

[ProSense]

32. The health insurance companies are the liars.

I'm surprised you don't agree. They've been lying throughout this entire process.

[dkf]

34. What did it say?

Link?

[Horse with no Name]

37. First of all...our premiums doubled this year

The letter said it was because of the ACA.

Then it also went on to say that our policy was "grandfathered" and the preventative portions of the ACA would not apply to us. So, basically we were hit with double premiums and no access to the "free" preventative benefits ie colonoscopys, mammograms, medication.
It was ridiculous. I was piled on by the faithful. I deleted the entire ridiculous thing and blocked the assholes so I didn't have to run across them in the future.
I copied the letter verbatim. Why would I lie?

[dkf]

43. Wow.

A crappy situation compounded by a crappy piling on. I don't understand the denial that goes on sometimes.

I'm so sorry.

[Horse with no Name]

44. Yeah and the thing is

that I support the ACA,lol. I just don't think it is fair that they are allowed to do that.
Of course it IS possible that the insurance company (BCBS) is lying about why the premiums are going up because last year was the first year in a long time that our rates didn't increase.
And it IS possible that they are attempting to stretch the law to include themselves into one of the grandfathered policies.
I do NOT have the capacity to shop around and select our policy--that is done in another state by people I have never met.
BUT the bottom line is...there is nothing I can do about any of these things. I do not have a team of lawyers to fight it. I have to take what is told to me in a letter that was sent.

[Zax2me]

25. Of course premiums are going to go up.

When the health care plan was sold as 'lowering costs' who believed that?!
As far as the HC companies - the plan by design pinches them. Wants them to raise prices out of range which gets more Americans on the govt plan.
Otherwise the govt plan will die.
It won't.
They can print money.
Private health care companies cannot.
The loudest protests (sensible ones) raising concern about Obama's plan came from right here on this site. These voices will be roven right in the short and long run.

[Zorra]

26. Let's get universal public healthcare done and force these killers

to find employment that is genuinely beneficial to society.

[Thinkingabout]

40. The US has a health care cost problem, too many fingers in a pie which does not

Provide any health care. The average cost in the US is around $7800 per person per year, much more than in other countries. Why? Close friends who live elsewhere and maintains international health insurance are advised if in the US and experience a medical emergency to get the emergency taken care of and elected or further healthcare to seek treatment elsewhere because of US health care cost. It doesn't make sense we are paying much higher prescription cost than we would pay in countries for the same prescription. We are being railroaded by insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies. It might be time for an uprising.

[Dawson Leery]

41. kick