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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (161829)	11/2/2013 4:12:16 PM
From: tonto	2 Recommendations Recommended By locogringo TideGlider Respond to of 224750

INVESTING \| 11/02/2013 @ 3:39PM \|246 views ObamaCare Will Raise Average Health Insurance Premiums by 32% for 21 Million People Comment Now Follow Comments 8 50 1 0 0 In my search for the truth about how much ObamaCare will increase how many Americans’ health insurance premiums I came upon a frightening map of the United States(see below) that projected what the percentage hikes would be state by state. The projections, prepared by the Society of Actuaries in March, 2013 predicted some pretty outrageous premium increases in the likes of California,62%, Alabama, 60%, Texas, 34% and Arizona 41%. Only in New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey would the premiums decline slightly. Maybe the computer models used by the Society of Actuaries are just plumb ridiculous and wrong. I printed out the actuarial study entitled ” Cost of the Future Newly Insured Under the Affordable Care Act(ACA) and I learned that the Actuaries predict “ ACA-driven changes in individual market composition of the individual health care market could drive up underlying claims costs by an average of 32% nationally by 2017.” Moreover the projections showed double-digit increase in 42 of 50 states over the next 4 years. These projected increases, which you won’t hear the White House mentioning, are due to “the fact that premiums are driven primarily by the underlying cost of medical care and not health plans administrative costs and profits.” In general, the states expected to have large jumps in the premium now have “low current individual costs and those having high current individual costs: will show decreases. Seer how murky and complicated this all is. No wonder there is widespread dissension about the new plan, because, let’s face it, the Obama White House never truly prepared the population for the gritty truth. My housekeeper told me this week she had just received a letter from her insurer canceling her policy and raising her premium far more than she could ever have dreamed. This shock to the pocketbook of the working class individual could not be a worse outcome for ObamaCare. These dunning letters, together with he easier to understand cuts in food stamps that are coming, sabotage what Obama set out to do in restoring the economy. The individual holder of health insurance and the uninsured individual, who were supposed to be the Americans most in need, face a discouraging prospect. If they are NOT in a group insurance plan where the cost is spread among many, they are getting hurt by ObamaCare. I can only conclude that the unexpected ramification of ObamaCare is that some tens of millions may find ObamaCare unaffordable rather than affordable. At least, that’s how it looks, short of getting enlightened about the prospects. I can tell you this; a leading Senator who was opposed to the Obama-designed health bill came to see me in late 2009 to disclose that he had just been to the White House to tell the President he could NOT vote for this bill. This Senator wanted the bill rewritten in committee; otherwise, he was going to vote against it. It was, he told me, a blatant sell-out to the giant healthy insurance companies. ( See my Forbes piece Only the Health Insurance Giants and Their Shareholders Profited from ObamaCare) Obama told the Senator his administration needed a legislative victory badly, and he did not want to wait to rewrite the bill. So, the health insurance giants, Aetna AET -0.14%, Cigna CI +1.82%, United Health Group, and Wellpoint raised their premiums over the past 4 years without any interference, and one upshot is that many individuals face the probability of much more costly health insurance. They will benefit from the requirement that 80% of the premiums must be spent on their medical costs. We are in flux about the cost of health care.

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (161829)	11/2/2013 4:36:16 PM
From: locogringo	3 Recommendations Recommended By Honey_Bee John TideGlider Respond to of 224750

Republicans in Virginia will be shutout of all five statewide offices (governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and two US Senators) for the first time since the Nixon Administation. Nancy Pelosi will be speaker of the house in 2010. (kenny_the_pathologic_liar) John Edwards will be the next President. (kenny_the_pathologic_liar) If you like your insurance and your doctor, you can keep both. (obama_the_pathologic_liar) My ideas do not increase the deficit. (obama_the_pathologic_liar) Obama Has Presided Over 5 of 6 Largest Deficits in U.S. History - See more at: cnsnews.com

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (161829)	11/2/2013 5:28:13 PM
From: lorne	2 Recommendations Recommended By John locogringo Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 224750

Kenny...Getting close.. Health care law to cancel 150,000 Ore. plans Credit: Evan Sernoffsky, KGW.com staff by Associated Press Posted on October 30, 2013 kgw.com PORTLAND -- Officials said about 150,000 Oregonians enrolled in individual health care plans will see their plans canceled by the end of the year because they don't provide the minimum level of coverage required under the new health care law. State Insurance Division spokeswoman Cheryl Martinis said Wednesday that those facing cancellations could see a break in coverage if they don't enroll in a new plan on the state's problem-plagued online exchange by Dec. 15. A month in, the state has not enrolled a single person. It has received 4,260 paper applications and its website still can't tell people what subsidies they are eligible for. Though Cover Oregon officials said they're working to resolve the problems, they declined to name a date when they expect the website will be functional and they could not explain how they plan to enroll thousands of people within a short time span. While Oregon has an estimated 600,000 uninsured, the situation is most dire for about 11,000 Oregonians who are part of the state's high-risk insurance pool - a program for those rejected by private insurance carriers because of pre-existing conditions such as cancer, diabetes, or severe heart conditions. Complete Coverage: Health Care Reform These sickest of residents will see the state's insurance pool dissolve by year's end, because denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions is no longer allowed under the Affordable Care Act. If they don't meet a Dec. 15 deadline to enroll, they will find themselves without health insurance on Jan. 1. "When you're chronically ill, you have medical needs, you have a lot of specialists you need to go to on a regular basis. In our case, it could be tragic if we miss the Dec. 15 deadline," said Lake Oswego resident Cynthia Johnson, 57, a breast cancer survivor who also has chronic fatigue syndrome and is insured through the pool. Concerns are mounting that some of the most vulnerable Oregonians may face a break in coverage if they don't enroll within the next month and a half. This week, the Obama administration granted a six-week extension for Americans to sign up for coverage and avoid the tax penalties. And although open enrollment lasts until March 31, anyone who wants their new insurance to start Jan. 1 must abide by the Dec. 15 deadline. For now, trained insurance agents and application assisters at government and nonprofit organizations are helping people with the paper application process. Oregon Medical Insurance Pool administrator Don Myron said the program is working with Cover Oregon on how to speed up enrollment for its members. Mailing them hard copies of the application and offering more help with filling them out may be another option, Myron said. But some of those insured through the pool may be too sick to open mail or to realize they must meet a deadline, Johnson said. They also will need more time to review their options - many will be shopping for insurance for the first time in years. Johnson, who works as a part-time self-employed consultant, said she hasn't filled out an application yet, because she's waiting until Cover Oregon's online glitches are fixed. "It's exciting to be able to finally get insurance," Johnson said. "I have faith that Cover Oregon will figure out how to enroll us."