ObamaCare #Winning

It will come as no surprise to those who've been paying attention that the (Un)Affordable Care Act has been an unmitigated disaster. But it may surprise some to learn of the scope of said disaster:

"While clear evidence that the law was expanding coverage, the soaring enrollment numbers have created a fiscal nightmare for insurers which, in turn, has serious consequences for customers."

I might take issue with the assertion that more folks are insured since the train-wreck passed, but that's for another post. The key is the make-up of those newly-insured:

"A majority of new enrollees are considered high risk, meaning insurers will have to spend more money on people in poor health and requiring expensive  care."

This just makes sense, since when one is in dire need of health care it's human nature to seek out ways to help pay for that care. The problem is that there's no truly effective way to cushion that by enticing healthy folks to play along, except to keep moving inexorably toward a nationalized, government-run system (aka Single Payer).

Which works out so well.

MVNHS© Update

It's been a while since we've checked in with those fun-loving rascals running the Much Vaunted National Health Service©. Last time we checked, those silly pranksters were busy ignoring the desperate pleas of a woman left to die by her "caregivers."

But that was then, and this is now, and they've moved on to much more productive things.

Such as denying necessary (if not urgent) surgeries, including hip replacements and cataract procedures. It's not they're they're being intentionally negligent, it's just that - get this - they've run out of money.

Hunh.

If you're a government-run health care system and you go broke, that's a problem, no?

But no worry, it'll never happen here.

But it's not just "routine" procedures getting tanked, ER's are taking hits, too:

"Shortage in emergency doctors leading to A&E crisis ... We have reached a crisis point"

So say the folks in charge of United Lincolnshire Hospitals.

Oh, those rascally nationalized health "care" schemes.

[[Hat Tip: FoIB Holly R]

So Much Stupid: A Love Story

One of the most significant problems with ObamaCare is that, at its heart, it's not really 'insurance.' The definition of insurance is that it's a method for assessing, and then minimizing, the pain of risk. And yet, the Rocket Surgeons in DC© who designed it managed to remove all but one risk factor (tobacco use). Couple that with the fact that folks with subsidies aren't even paying their own premiums (a necessary pre-condition of "spreading the risk") and, well, you can begin to appreciate the scope of the problem.

But it gets worse: plans also include any number of so-called "first dollar" benefits: services and products that are paid for regardless of whether one has met the out-of-pocket limit (thus "free"). These include, for example, mammograms and birth control convenience items, pap smears and the like.

Notice, though, that there is not one single male-oriented bennie to be found. Zip, zero, nada.

And yet the Top Brains at The Commonwealth Fund have the audacity to claim that ObamaCare hasn't really been that great for women:

"[G]aps in women’s health coverage persist. Insurers often exclude health services that women are likely to need."

Right.

Here's my favorite:

"Six types of services are frequently excluded from insurance coverage: treatment of conditions resulting from noncovered services"

Are you kidding me?!

What part of "noncovered services" do you not understand. Of course noncovered services aren't ... covered.

And the rest of this drivel goes on in similar vein.

My friend and colleague David W offered this assessment:

"Start with the idea of "insurance" is to pay for everything. That's not insurance, that's an entitlement or a prepaid health plan[ed: as noted above]. Move on to what that costs, when insurance is already too expensive and going up, and when you move to specifics, note that 5 of the 6 "uncovered" procedures were covered by 80% of the plans, and 6th by 60% of plans. Finally, consider "choice" vs "control" and understand that, at its core, this is a pathetic attempt to force other people to pay for services that they want - they just don't want to pay for them."

Indeed.

About that end game

Shot:

Chaser:

Single-Payer Healthcare System Projected to Send Colorado Off a Financial Cliff 

[Hat Tip: FoIB Holly R]

Arizona Central Strikes Out

How can Arizona Central newspaper, part of USA Today, call themselves journalists? Their #Obamacare fluff piece alerts the readers that premiums will rise as health insurance carriers leave the Arizona market.

Five insurance companies that had offered coverage in the Affordable Care Act marketplace have told state regulators that they will opt out or scale back coverage when the next open season for Affordable Care Act coverage begins Nov. 1. 

There will still be coverage, but with fewer providers, experts say costs will likely go up “much higher in 2017 than they had in the past couple of years.”- AZ Central

Costs will likely go up.

No kidding.

They even have the gall to reference a report that has nothing to do with reality in Arizona.

A national estimate by the Kaiser Family Foundation predicts that premiums for one of the lower-costs plans could rise as much as 9 percent next year, compared to 2 percent this year. In Arizona, those higher premiums could hit more than 100,000 people.

Nine percent? How about 19% to 122%?

Rates filed with the Arizona Dept of Insurance have been reviewed and (presumably) approved. Note that some of the "final" rates are higher than the carriers requested.

Click to view report.

How do you like those apples?

Shame on you Arizona Central. You should have your press pass revoked.

And now for something completely different: Gaming edition

Our friends at Fat Dragon Games have partnered with Bundle of Holding to offer some incredible discounts on industry-leading FDG terrain sets! Part of your payment will be donated to Doctors Without Borders as well, so get some awesome terrain for your game at an amazingly low price, and help a wonderful charity, too!

Death of a Salesman

After more than 40 years in the health insurance industry, I never thought this day would come. The advice offered based on years of experience and hearing almost everything under the sun from (literally) thousands of clients is now going silent.

#Obamacare has replaced insurance agents with "navigators" who have been given a week of training, mostly on how to use their computer to find health insurance plans and rates. These reps are nothing more than faceless voices at the other end of an 800 number.

Because they are unlicensed, and nameless, they are not accountable for the advice they give.

Got a problem? Who did you talk to? Tamika? Tamika who?

It really doesn't matter because whoever you talked to before, and the one you are talking to now, really doesn't care about your problem. Why? Because there is no accountability.

Mary Jennings is (was) a health insurance broker in Connecticut. Mary is 29 and has held an insurance license for 2 years. She is approved to help people find health insurance on the Connecticut insurance exchange, Access Health CT.

Her two year career is about to end, thanks to Obamacare.

Jennings is one of more than 250 brokers certified to help customers navigate the state exchange, Access Health CT, and find the plan that best fits their needs. But next year, she said, she won’t be helping customers anymore if the health insurers on the exchange decide to eliminate the already-low commissions they pay to brokers like her. 

As state regulators consider rate proposals for next year, both of the carriers set to remain on Connecticut's exchange – Anthem and ConnectiCare – could eliminate their commissions for brokers in 2017, creating uncertainty as brokers and customers plan for the coming year. Anthem said earlier this year it would eliminate broker commissions while ConnectiCare has yet to decide. - CT Mirror

Connecticut is not the only state where agent commissions have been cut to zero. Carriers have been decreasing commissions for the last 3 years with major cuts in the last 18 months.

Most of the health insurance agents I know have completely left the insurance business or shifted to other areas like Medicare. Working with folks age 65 and up who are entering Medicare is where my focus has been since 2011. Two years ago I completely abandoned the under 65 health insurance market and suggested my clients get used to dealing with healthcare.gov.

No one is happy with that decision but for me, health insurance is not a hobby. It is my paycheck.

According to the CT Mirror article, 40% of those who bought health insurance on the CT exchange did so with the help of agents.

What happens in 2017 when there are no agents to offer advice and guidance? No doubt they will still buy insurance if for no other reason than the fact the government has told them they must buy insurance or else .....

But who will they turn to when they have a complaint or question? Will Tamika still be there or will they talk to someone who was asking if you want fries with your order the week before?

Obamacare has brought about the death of a salesman and that is truly a loss that cannot be replaced.