Yeah, about that promise...

You know, this one:



Sitting down?

Good, because this is shocking (not):

"Due to changes for 2015 requiring H S A deductibles be a minimum of $2600/$5200 for embedded deductible plans, plans E51, E52, and E1 with copays are no longer eligible as an H S A plan. These plans will be removed from the quoting tool around 6/12. We have added E58, E59, and E5 with copays to replace those plans." [ed: from Anthem email]

Got that? Folks who were perfectly happy with their existing Health Savings Account compliant plans have just been forcibly moved into new ones with different (perhaps unwanted/unneeded) "benefits."

[Hat Tip: FoIB Beth D]

Centennial State HIX Hiccups

The latest news from Colorado reinforces the fact that state-run Exchanges are no panacea, either (as if further confirmation was needed - Aloha!):

"Colorado’s health exchange board today approved a final budget for the next fiscal year that requires aggressive sales growth and higher fees, but still doesn’t bring in enough cash."

Shorter: we're losing money hand-over-fist, but we'll make up for it in volume.

A big part of the problem is that a disproportionate population of folks are being added to the Medicaid rolls, which bring in zero premium dollars, and exacerbate an already-overwhelmed health care delivery system.

But they certainly have their priorities in order:

"Kevin Patterson, the new interim CEO, pledged that his primary goal is to improve customer service"

Yeah, because that's the most pressing issue.

Top. Men.

Fellow insurance agent John Luhman notes that a key problem (aside from, you know, customer service) is that the Exchange itself is plagued with technical problems. In response, the rocket surgeons tasked with maintaining it claim that "that’s the case about 10 percent of the time and they are trying to build a better shared IT system with state Medicaid officials."

"10%" Sure, sure.

But the best quote comes from board member Davis Fansler, who said he’s "concerned about the projected losses. There’s a gap here (between revenue and expenses) no matter how we slice it ... We’re ultimately going to have to take a look at what some ancillary revenues might be."

No kidding. And what are these "ancillary" revenues of which he speaks?

Good question.

ObamaTax Breakage

There's an old saying in retail: You break it, you bought it. One most often encounters this in, for example, fine china shops. Notice, though, the construction: if you break it, then you buy it.

On the other hand, I've never understood why, since no Republican voted for (or supported) the ACA, they are in any way obligated to offer any alternative. And yet, the press (and even members of the party) insist that there's some kind of obligation to "replace" it with some other (no doubt cobbled together) plan.

This is akin to saying "well, a rival of yours broke it, now you must pay for it."

Rubbish.

And it appears that I'm not alone in this calculation:

"No Republicans voted for Obamacare, so it’s not their problem to fix."

So opines David Harsanyi, writing at the National Review. David's expertise in this area goes back a long time, which adds credibility (as if it's needed) to his argument:

"Most [Republicans], in fact, cautioned that passing the largest health-care reform in American history — written by one party, jammed through using reconciliation, and haphazardly implemented — could be problematic as not only an ideological matter but a practical one. Now they have to act?"

Spot on.

Of course, we don't call it The Stupid Party© without reason, so expect to see a spate of articles like this one (from Employee Benefit Advisor):

"House Republicans [have] introduced a plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace key pieces of it with high-risk health pools and tax credits that benefit industry experts oppose, saying it would undermine the employer-sponsored health care system in place today."

Leaving for a moment the relative merits of such a plan (and I do, in fact, think it's worth consideration), there are a number of problems with the formulation:

First, as noted above, Republicans are not obligated to put forth any plan, let alone a "replacement" one. And second, why is it a given that "employer sponsored" health plans are the bee's knees? As we've previously blogged, employers don't tell us what groceries or house to buy: they pay us our wages and we're free to make our own choices. Why should health insurance be any different?

Obamacare Health Co-ops Circling the Drain

Health insurance co-ops are looking puny these days. Seems to be a rash of terminal losses accompanied by substantial rate increases.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana is asking regulators to approve an average increase of about 22 percent over the rates approved in 2015 for its individual plans. PacificSource is asking for an average 32 percent increase. The Montana Health Cooperative is requesting an average 34 percent increase. - KULR8

And then there is this earlier report from AM Best.

only one Co-op, Maine Community Health Options, reported both favorable underwriting and net income at $10.9 million. All other Co-ops reported both underwriting and net losses. 

Net losses through Sept. 30, 2014 ranged from $2.6 million for Montana Health Cooperative to a loss of $39.8 million at CoOportunity Health. The aggregated underwriting loss was $243.6 million at Sept. 30, compared with $72.3 million for the first quarter of 2014. 

Clear as mud

(via Twitter) Well. This clears that up. The Obamastration has released some 750 pages of emails and other doc's on Herr Gruber's role in drafting the ObamaTax.

Here's a sample for your edification:

In The Beginning

In the beginning, Obama begat Obamacare.

He looked out over the void in the market place and heard the voices of those who did not have health insurance.

And He said to Himself, this is not good.

There must be a way to insured these people without adding one dime to the deficit. They must have unfettered access to health insurance, regardless of any pre-existing conditions.

Further, they must have free annual exams and free birth control without adding one dime to the deficit.

So He made it so.

And out of Obamacare came health insurance co-ops funded with taxpayer dollars that did not add one dime to the deficit.

And all was well and good, until the co-ops could no longer pay their bills.

Farmer said the DOI had been monitoring SCHC's finances since its licensure in June 2012, but stepped up surveillance after concluding a financial examination on Oct. 31 which revealed SCHC was in a "financially impaired state" and unable to pay all their claims. - Greenville Online

But wait, there's more.

 it was determined that the two letters of credit SCHC held totaling $8 million - which were to be to be used in the event of insolvency to pay claims - were fraudulent.

And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

"Contractually, the employers are responsible, but they do not have enough money to pay the claims," 

Employers are liable.

This was a co-op. A MEWA. Not real insurance.

Just a pot of money.

"If this had been a traditional company, they would be covered by ... a guaranty fund. This is not covered by a guaranty fund."

Ponzi would be so proud.

And all this was accomplished without adding one dime to the deficit.

80% Failure

Say you had a company that sold a product every consumer was required to own. The first year you met or exceeded your sales goal, but then something happened.

80% of your customers failed to pay for their purchase.

Just 8,200, or 21 percent of individuals enrolled on Hawaii’s Obamacare exchange have paid for their health premiums this year, according to a report released this week.

The $205 million state exchange has failed to reach financial viability despite spending nearly $24,000 for each individual it enrolled in its first year of operations. The state needed at least 32,000 more enrollees, but this assumes that they actually pay their premiums. - ATR

$24,000 spent per enrollee.

80% fail to pay.

The net effect is, taxpayers spent close to $120,000 per NET enrollee.

Show of hands. Who says this is working?