ObamaCare hits this week; reach for your wallet
ObamaCare will be back in the news this week, as some of the new coverage mandates begin to take effect.
Democrats who were hoping that seeing what’s in the bill would prompt voters to give them a boost will not be happy to see stories like this one appearing in the Hartford (Ct.) Courant:
The state’s largest health insurer was granted rate hikes Friday that will be well over 20 percent for some plans, drawing sharp criticism from the attorney general.
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Connecticut requested a wide range of premium increases, which will take effect Oct. 1, to cover the costs of new benefits required by federal health reform. Higher prices mostly affect new members shopping for a health plan on the individual market rather than people who have group plans through an employer or some other organization.
The Connecticut Department of Insurance approved Anthem’s request without changes, including a boost of as much as 22.9 percent just to comply with one provision: eliminating annual spending limits per customer. But it’s unclear how much more customers will pay because of the variety of plans and the complexity of other factors, such as a person’s age.
(snip)
All of Connecticut’s major health insurers filed proposed rate changes for new plans, or revised plans, to cover the new benefits. Besides Anthem, the only other health insurer that has been approved thus far was Aetna, which requested an average 24.7 percent increase over last year for small-group HMO plans. State regulators agreed to an average increase of 18 percent for all of Aetna’s small-group plans and 14.2 percent for large-group and middle-market plans.
People shopping for insurance on the individual market are, of course, the people who needed health reform the most. That doesn’t seem to be working out for them anywhere, which is no real surprise. (Btw, the attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, happens to be the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Connecticut.)
Closer to home, a writer at InsureBlog reports the following changes in the Georgia health-insurance market:
All but two health insurance companies have withdrawn from offering maternity benefits.
Only a handful of companies will still write “child only” health insurance plans.
As of this date, it is almost impossible to find a rate for children’s health insurance if they are under age 19 and you are looking for coverage to be effective on 9/23/10 or later.
Some companies have either withdrawn from offering major medical business or are dropping hints they will be out of that market in 18 months or less.
Many have already indicated higher premiums for the 4th quarter of 2010 and later, especially on children under age 19.
Companies are starting to push limited benefit plans as “more affordable” alternatives to true major medical insurance.
Several companies have introduced new plans with stripped down benefits in an attempt to make their product look more appealing.
Drug formulary’s are changing, so the drug that is covered under your plan now may not be covered in the future.
Doctor and hospital networks are shrinking in an effort to further control costs but also has the effect of limiting access to a wide range of medical providers.
One way to look at these changes is to view them, as numerous Democrats acknowledged during the ObamaCare debate, as the first step toward a single-payer health system.
Given that even Bill Clinton is now admitting that he was wrong during the debate to advise Democrats that the bill would be a political winner “the minute” it became law, I doubt this policy of willing a train wreck upon the health-insurance market will end up working — for patients or Democrats.
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158 comments Add your comment
barking frog
September 20th, 2010
5:24 pm
Just like seatbelts. It’s the Law.
WAW
September 20th, 2010
5:26 pm
As someone sent home from the hospital at the direction of an Insurance Co Clerk (against the orders of my Doctor), I can have no problem with non-profit insurance. I do have a problem with the Republican plan which consist of limiting the results of these “medical errors” to a few cents. Give them the phillip’s head, put them out of business, let them suffer. I’m biased though!
midtownguy
September 20th, 2010
5:30 pm
As an Atlanta/Fulton resident, when will I quit having to support Grady? When everyone has health insurance they will no long need my annual involuntary contribution. Right?
Shaquandralishanickra
September 20th, 2010
5:41 pm
The AJC, and all of its’ “Opionators” are the largest group of liberal, Caucasian hating pustules on the planet. I’m sorry that in spite of being born poor, white and from a broken family, I put myself thru school, started a successful business, put my 3 kids thru college and never asked the government for a damn thing. I know, I know, the only reason I was able to accomplish this is because I’m light skinned. Bull S…unshine!
Jeff
September 20th, 2010
5:43 pm
BW- car insurance is mandated because of what my car can do (damage) to your car. Collision i s the mandate.
Ayn Rant
September 20th, 2010
5:49 pm
Kyle, the health care insurers have been raising premiums since private health care insurance was invented. Medicare expenses are also rising. Why blame it on the “health care reform bill”?
Don’t you know that medical care costs rise because people who can afford medical care live longer and require more expensive treatments?
Anyone who would like to do their part to control the rise in medical costs should drop dead at 64 1/2!
Linda
September 20th, 2010
5:57 pm
Aquagirl @ 5:17, Actually it’s the Dems. who think the fed. govt. should be poking around in people’s bedrooms as well as every room in our homes. The Dems.’s cap & tax bill passed in the house requires an energy audit & an energy rating assessment before we can sell our houses. It has a labeling program that penalizes sellers for having older windows, original fixtures & dated appliances, which will devalue our houses.
Christians value life & believe it starts with conception. Liberals have many different definitions of life & some would even abort a baby up to the day before the due date.
Christians are the most charitable people in the world & have always cared for others. The govt. should provide for orphans, widows, veterans, the disabled, the elderly, the sick & for those with emergencies, up to a point. The progressives have perverted religion with social justice. They have further used economic justice & ecological justice to advance their socialist agenda. The fed. govt. is not a charity. Progressives use an aura of justice to get money, votes & dependency.
Jefferson
September 20th, 2010
5:58 pm
Pay the man, Martha we are going to die anyway.
No More Progressives!
September 20th, 2010
6:02 pm
Aquagirl
September 20th, 2010
1:58 pm
Let’s poll Americans who actually need/use health insurance (vs. non-users) and see how many of them want Obama’s proposed health care.
There is a huge difference between needing and using. Many who don’t need it use it incessantly.
No More Progressives!
September 20th, 2010
6:03 pm
Jeff
September 20th, 2010
5:43 pm
BW- car insurance is mandated because of what my car can do (damage) to your car.
I don’t have a car, Jeff.
No More Progressives!
September 20th, 2010
6:05 pm
Shaquandralishanickra
Great name.
Linda
September 20th, 2010
6:15 pm
Shaq…@ 5:41, Imagine also having polio as an infant, never walking a step in your life, not being able to attend school, being pulled around in a little red wagon by your siblings & toted by your friends, not being able to afford a wheelchair until you’re 40.
My father accomplished many of your same goals without any govt. assistance but at the same time never meeting anyone less deserving than himself.
snoqualmiefalls
September 20th, 2010
6:22 pm
I can certainly sympathize with ‘left wing’, however some of the comments against ‘left wing’ and his hardship just blow me away. Some folks say they just don’t want to pay to assist the poorer among us, it’s everyone out for themselves. OK folks, how about those hyways you drive on, only drivers pay to drive those roads? I don’t drive, why should I have to pay? How about inspection of food? Well, I grow my own, why should I have to pay for inspections? How about police? Never had a run in with the law, never been a victim of a crime… why should I have to pay for police protection? And on and on. We are all in this together folks, it’s time to have some collective responsibility instead of a cult of screaming ME ME’s.
saywhat?
September 20th, 2010
6:25 pm
Midtown guy- that is pretty much the gist of it, yes. I just read recently (I can’t remember where, or I would provide a link) that 60% of Grady patients have no insurance. It will help all hospital ERs all across the country, not just Grady. Emergency rooms always lose money because of the massive amounts of overhead required to keep them open and staffed with specialists, diagnostic services etc. 24/7.It doesn’t help when they are the uninsureds’ primary medical provider as well.
Linda
September 20th, 2010
6:43 pm
We already have a shortage of doctors & a HUGE shortage of doctors who will accept new Medicaid patients which most of these new insured patients will be. When they get sick & can’t see a doctor, they will go to the ER, just like they always have.
If you are self-employed or for any reason do not receive health care insurance from your employer, why would try to have health care insurance? Under this new plan, you can just call an insurance company & get coverage on the way to the emergency room & save thousands of dollars per year since pre-existing conditions are covered.
Aquagirl
September 20th, 2010
7:18 pm
Linda, Most people on the way to the ER aren’t too keen on chatting with insurance agents. Right now people show up and are covered by taxpayer dollars. Those thousands (and millions) come right out of our pockets, either in taxes or insurance premiums.
And that’s why in 2014 you’ll *have* to buy health insurance. Let’s face it, a hospital can not turn you away, so we already have socialized medicine. Everyone does have insurance. The question is only the payment mechanism.
Imma Lib
September 20th, 2010
7:59 pm
OOOh Kyle, you shush! You wingnuts, neo-cons, nazi, brown shirt, Tea-bagging, xenophobes, Islamaphobic, homophobobic, Repugs, and name callers are always saying things like “reach for your wallet”.
Don’t you unintelligent ones lnow it is FREE Healthcare for everyone! The guvmint pays for it!
Linda
September 20th, 2010
8:00 pm
Aquagirl @ 7:18, Most people who plan to take advantage (scam) of this pre-existing condition exemption (8 1/2 mt. pregnant mamas, patients diagnosed with all kinds of stuff) will have their ducks in a row & will be a phone call & a credit card charge away from having health insurance on their way to the hospital. The Dems. knew it would force the insurance companies out of business & that’s one of the reasons hc insurance is going up right now.
The only people who use the ER & are not covered by insurance are young people who think they are invincible, illegal aliens & poor people who have not applied for Medicaid or who are covered by Medicaid & can’t find a doctor. The number of people being treated in the ER will RISE.
The provision that requires the purchase of hc insurance is being challenged in court by 22 states. Even if the provision stands, the fine is cheaper than buying insurance. Scamming the system will continue.
Everyone does not have hc insurance, but everyone has hc. Fewer people will have insurance.
Imma Lib
September 20th, 2010
8:03 pm
Aquagirl
September 20th, 2010
7:18 pm
Aquagirl–you go! You tell that Linda the exact Section of the Constitution that says that a Citizen MUST buy anything the Imperial Government so dictates! Go ahead, tell Linda! Set her straight! She her where the US Constitution states that! That’ll show her.
Democrits
September 20th, 2010
8:15 pm
I think Aquagirl swallowed too much pool water and Left Wing needs to suck it up with the whole insurance thing. No one told you to be self-employed – that was your decision and your’s alone. Anybody with half a brain knows that going the self-employment route has always equaled higher premiums. It’s time to deal with the consequences of your actions, as you obviously didn’t think that healthcare was such a big deal if you decided to go out on your own instead of working for a company that has a benefits package. And, no one is required to take care of your child. YOU made the decision to have the child so you are responsible for taking care of it, even if it’s more expensive than the next door neighbor’s kid. Start taking reponsibility, people, instead of depending on others to take care of you – it makes you look like a bunch of slackers!
Tall
September 20th, 2010
8:18 pm
To “Ayn Rant”: I used to sell health insurance plans in New York City during the early 1980’s and made a good living at it. There were numerous underwriters competing for the business and they offered a variety of plans that were tailored to the needs of the clients. They also competed on price.
That all ended in the late 1980’s when “community rating” was legislated so insurance companies couldn’t decline HIV positive applicants. The number of companies willing to underwrite health insurance shrank to just one. Remember the “be careful what you wish for” admonition.
The free market works if you let it. You’ve gotten your wish, enjoy it.
Newt Gingrich
September 20th, 2010
8:21 pm
Hi, Im newt and Im a hypocryte. I have a hardon for getting Bill Clinton in trouble for cheating on his wife and being a preachy christian republican. But I too cheat on my exwife, thus making me a good for nothing christian. I am a smear merchant just like my cohorts. I have nothing to offer but insults. I dont have any solutions. Im also going to vote for Sarah Palin in 2012 becuase shes a quiter and I follower her on facebook. You know Why? Because Im a Good Christian. We to mix religion with politics becuase this country was not founded on relgious freedom. I am a fat white man and when I dont know what to do, I turn my head down and close my eyes as hard as they will close and I pray! I Pray so Hard! I cant tell you how HARD I PRAY! Jesus is my best friend and I love him. He is inside of me!
Linda
September 20th, 2010
8:35 pm
Imma Lib @ 7:59 & 8:03, You are funny! Of all the things the Dems/Libs/Progressives have done during these 20 mts. such as nationalizing/socializing Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac (the residential lending industry), 2 of our 3 auto manufacturers, the largest insurance company in the world (AIG), the student loan industry, the financial market, the credit card industry, our health care industry, etc., the worst thing they have done is divide our country. They have pitted the races, the earners, the parties, the illegals against the sovereign citizen movement, the peaceful Tea Party movement against the new Black Panther Party, SEIU, ACORN & Code Pink.
Old Man
September 20th, 2010
8:37 pm
Thanks, Kyle, for once again standing up for those glorious, uber-patriotic insurance giants who have created so many jobs and done such wonderful things for business and families.
FACT: Health insurance is the leading cause of consumer bankruptcy.
FACT: Three-quarters of those people had insurance.
http://www.pnhp.org/new_bankruptcy_study/Bankruptcy-2009.pdf
Republicans have never done a dang thing about health insurance, except make certain their constituents’ Viagra is paid for.
Imma Lib
September 20th, 2010
8:41 pm
Linda
Love your posts! I agree with you 100%. Right out of the Saul Alinsky “playbook”.
Imma Lib
September 20th, 2010
8:49 pm
Old Man
September 20th, 2010
8:37 pm
“Republicans have never done a dang thing about health insurance, except make certain their constituents’ Viagra is paid for.”
Dayum right, Old Man!! You just wait til the same people that run Amtrak, Medicare, The US Post Office, The DMV, and Social Security get complete control of 18% of the US economy!! The wonderful Federal Government will show em how to do things! Like those $400 hammers! They’ll see.
And besides…like Clark Howard says “It’s ALLLL FREE!!!!
Linda
September 20th, 2010
9:00 pm
Imma Lib @ 8:41, Did you know that Obama had the audacity to include Saul Alinsky’s book “Rules for Radicals” on the first page of his program for our public school system to recruit his private army to “build on the movement that elected Pres. Obama by empowering students across the country to help us bring about our agenda?”
It’s amazing that dimwit Dems. still believe that the economic stimulus bill had anything to do with stimulating our economy (which it didn’t), that the health care insurance bill had anything to do with health care, that the financial reform bill will do anything to prevent another financial crisis since it didn’t include Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (which are still pushing sub-prime loans), etc. The most amazing thing is that dimwit Dems. actually believe that man-made global warming exits, that our breath causes it & that politicians can control it.
Imma Lib
September 20th, 2010
9:11 pm
Yes Linda, and I still don’t understand how to “buy” Carbon “credits” for my “footprint”?
Or things such as $800K Taxpayer $$$’s for genital washing in Africa, turtle crossings in FLA…$$$$’s to study why pigs “stink”? I don’t have a PHD, but, I have a very good idea why pigs stink. Just more “vote buying” schemes. Incredible.
For years we heard the mantra—-”Bush’s tax cuts for the rich”..now..they say if they just do away with the Bush tax cuts “for the wealthy, it’s only 2% the Bush tax cuts”. HUH? So, 98% of the Bush tax cuts were NOT for the wealthy? Which is it?
Linda
September 20th, 2010
9:12 pm
Old Man @ 8:37, I double dog dare you to do a little research & tell all of us what the health care insurance companies’ profit margin was in ‘09, ‘08, ‘07, etc. Obama & the Dems have people (who don’t do their own research) believing it’s huge & unfair. It averaged from 3 to 5%. Would you feel comfortable trusting your health care to a company who had a cushion of that small amount?
Drifter
September 20th, 2010
9:15 pm
When will people stop taking everything they hear on talk radio as gospel? The truth is that we pay 50% more for health care than anyone else, we don’t cover everyone and we get poor results. I haven’t voted for a Democrat in 20 years, but at least they haven’t ignored the issue like the guys I used to vote for.
My health insurance premiums go up every year and they have for at least the past 15 years. That isn’t news to any of us who have to pay their own way.
Linda
September 20th, 2010
9:25 pm
Imma Lib @ 9:11, I have a bachelor of science degree from one of the major universities in the Southeastern US. Big deal!. It was my fifth grade science teacher who taught me about CO2 & it’s the Farmer’s Almanac that is the most predictable on climate/weather & what causes it.
I’m saving some of the blogs on global warming for my great grandchildren so that they can see how gullible Americans were in our age.
Imma Lib
September 20th, 2010
9:26 pm
Drifter
September 20th, 2010
9:15 pm
We have the best Healthcare in the world, too, Drifter. Name a place that has better healthcare.
Sure, our healthcare could use some improvements, but not this Bill.
Why is Healthcare the Federal Government’s responsibility? Where in the Constitution is healthcare for everyone a “right”?
My premiums have gone up every year, too. Same with my Auto and Homeowners. Can’t think of anything that costs have actually gone down.
Just because the Dems didn’t “ignore” it, doesn’t make it a great and wonderful thing…does it?
Imma Lib
September 20th, 2010
9:30 pm
Linda @ 9:25
Amen to that. I’m afraid our great grandchildren will look back and damn us for the debt we are leaving them, as well as the Global Warming…er…Climate Change scam.
Linda
September 20th, 2010
9:33 pm
Drifter @ 9:15, People don’t listen to talk radio unless they are driving. The US pays more for hc because we live longer & provide all the research & development for the world. My family pays for our own hc out of our pocket.
Linda
September 20th, 2010
9:46 pm
Imma Lib @ 9:30, Why is it that that the Dems/Libs/Progressives cite the unemployed, the illegal immigrants, the poor, etc. that are needy today & refuse to cite our grandchildren, great grandchildren & great grandchildren, the innocent, the unborn, who will be responsible for paying back this irresponsible spending in 2010? Who is more entitled?
Drifter
September 20th, 2010
9:48 pm
Linda, you must not read much. The United States is nowhere near the top in life expectancy. Don’t take my word for it…turn off the radio and google it. Insurance companies obviously have to make money. Ask UnitedHealth’s CEO William McGuire who has options presently worth more than $1.5 billion. Sure, that’s reasonable. How many people had to die for that. I have more respect for a mob hit man than I do a health insurance executive or even a doctor on their payroll. At least the mob hit man faces the person he’s killing.
Imma Lib. That’s too easy. France. They cover everyone. They pay much less and they get better results on virtually any measurable statistic.
Really people. Read a book or even do a little research on the internet. We could do a lot better. Sticking your head in the sand and pretending everything is fine isn’t working.
Drifter
September 20th, 2010
9:53 pm
And one more thing. Look back over the national debt and what has happened to it when the President was a Republican versus what happened when the President was a Democrat. The GOP doesn’t address the deficit…ever. Listen, I can’t vote for a Democrat. I just can’t. But I’m done making excuses for Republicans and ignoring facts. This country is in dire need of a third choice.
md
September 20th, 2010
10:09 pm
“We are all in this together folks, it’s time to have some collective responsibility instead of a cult of screaming ME ME’s.”
“Collective responsibility” is a 2 way street. Many of those that “need” assistance are in their position due to choices. At some point, actions do have consequences.
There is a difference between can’t and won’t, and the won’ts will always be won’ts if enabled. Sometimes the aid/help is the problem and not the cure.
md
September 20th, 2010
10:11 pm
“The United States is nowhere near the top in life expectancy.”
May help to compare apples to apples. The US is also the most obese country in the world due to poor choices and abundance of fast food and unhealthy lifestyles. No healthcare system in the world can counter that…………….
Linda
September 20th, 2010
10:15 pm
Drifter @ 9:48, I don’t engage with people who insult me & inaccurately accuse me of where I obtain my facts from. You are not civil & are typical of liberals who can’t present facts. Your actions are childish & include desperate tactics during this time that Dems. who voted for the health care bill are running from their vote.
Drifter
September 20th, 2010
10:31 pm
That’s very adult of you Linda. I remember when my daughter was 5 and when to her room and pouted when I caught her making up “facts”. I presented a number of facts and you can’t dispute any of them.
md, I would agree that it’s complicated. I was mainly just disputing Linda’s “fact” that we live longer. We don’t. But it’s not just life expectancy where our record is abysmal, it just about any measurable statistic you can find on health. My point is that we for what we’re paying, we should be covering everybody and getting the best results in the world.
Linda
September 20th, 2010
10:34 pm
Drifter @ 9:53, I was raised as a Dem. in a family & town that was Dem. I’m still a registered Dem, & I voted Dem. for yrs. The older I become, the more conservative I become. There’s plenty of blame to go around for what caused the financial crisis for both Dems. & Reps., but the first thing that occurred was the Dems. deciding that home ownership was a right, not just a privilege, & requiring Fannie Mae to reduce their strict underwriting standards for decades to make loans to low & moderate borrowers in the name of Affordable Housing. It started the tsunami & led to a world-wide recession.
barking frog
September 20th, 2010
10:51 pm
How did Sarah Palin go from US VP candidate to
Tea Party spokeswoman? Did the big boys kick her
out?
Linda
September 20th, 2010
10:55 pm
Drifter @ 10:31, When your daughter was 5, did you insult her & inaccurately accuse her & expect her to respect you, as you did me? Did you listen? Did you take the time to question the “facts” she presented as her opinions? Did you try to understand her side? Did you try to explain your side in a civil manner? Did you understand where she was coming from?
ODDOWL
September 21st, 2010
3:00 am
The Democrats should add a “public option” amendment to the National health insurance plan immediately.. A public option will put the brakes on insurance companies’ rate hikes and drive down the cost of health insurance premiums even further. Who blocked the public option ??? Ol’ Joe Lie-berman, the turncoat Senator from Conn. who was bribed and paid off by the insurance companies to block the public option. Most insurance companies’ headquarters are located in Conn. The Neo-Con Republican Tea party are vehemently anti health insurance. The Republicans opposition to social security back in the 30’s was even more vociferous. In ten years Americans will love Obamacare the same way they love social security, medicaid and medicare today. Many non-rich White Americans who vote Tea party Republican apparently are experiencing severe cases of A.D.D.. They crave going backwards instead of progressing foreward. Its time for them to wake up and smell the Black coffee !!!
Larry Major
September 21st, 2010
5:00 am
Yeah, and in North Carolina yesterday the same company got increases of 5.37% and 2.06% on their two main plans and announced $156 million in refunds caused by the new changes: “State Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin and BCBSNC’s chief executive officer Brad Wilson also announced Monday the state’s largest health insurer would be issuing nearly $156 million in one-time refunds to more than 215,000 customers because of the new health care reform law.”
Makes what happened in Connecticut seem almost atypical.
stands for decibels
September 21st, 2010
7:37 am
May help to compare apples to apples. The US is also the most obese country in the world due to poor choices and abundance of fast food and unhealthy lifestyles.
md, you make it sound as if obesity were all about individual choice. And really, it is not. It is also about zoning laws, suburban sprawl, school funding, mass transit, the housing market collapse, and a bunch of other things that are decidedly collective in nature, and which contribute to this problem.
I’m perfectly willing to accept that individuals have the power to change their dietary and exercise habits and become healthier human beings. Of course they can. At the end of the day, it’s just calories in v. calories out.
But Americans aren’t overweight to the degree that they are, simply because way way way more of them somehow decided to make lots of bad decisions. They had a lot of help, a lot of incentives, to not eat healthfully and to not walk or bike to school, work, and shopping.
The day that my friends on the right can grasp this fact of American life fully is the day that we make real progress as a nation battling this problem.
Fat Cats
September 21st, 2010
7:56 am
Obesity is cause by capitalism. Look at 90 percent of our McRestaurants. Fat Fair is the only course available to Americans. Yes, it’s a marketing miracle and isn’t McMadison Avenue filled with ad-wizards, (and apparently, witches).
No, it’s bounty what killed our best.
We need regulation to save us from ourselves. We are a mob-thinking herd. We’ve always been one stolen sacred cow away from a national Ox Bow Incident. That’s why the Founding Fathers writ what they writ: to put the yolk on unbridled capitalism.
Not Funny
September 21st, 2010
11:13 am
I heard yesterday of a little known provision in the “Health Care Bill” that will tax home sales beginning in 2011. Is this true? If so, that fact needs to be added to the long list of reasons to vote the current leaders out in November and beyond.
Jefferson Jackson
September 21st, 2010
11:44 am
Once again the Democrats prove that neither they nor any current political group have the health needs of the American people at heart. Once again we get screwed. Thanks so much Washington.