[smoothy]

There are 49 other states and several US territories that aren't part of Washington State.

[smoothy]

THe Huffington Post the ultra liberal ews outlet... even says costs will significanly rise for most.

Obamacare Will Cause Medical Claims Costs To Jump 32 Percent: Study

WASHINGTON (AP) — Insurance companies will have to pay out an average of 32 percent more for medical claims on individual health policies under President Barack Obama's overhaul, the nation's leading group of financial risk analysts has estimated.

That's likely to increase premiums for at least some Americans buying individual plans.

The report by the Society of Actuaries could turn into a big headache for the Obama administration at a time when many parts of the country remain skeptical about the Affordable Care Act.

While some states will see medical claims costs per person decline, the report concluded the overwhelming majority will see double-digit increases in their individual health insurance markets, where people purchase coverage directly from insurers.

The disparities are striking. By 2017, the estimated increase would be 62 percent for California, about 80 percent for Ohio, more than 20 percent for Florida and 67 percent for Maryland. Much of the reason for the higher claims costs is that sicker people are expected to join the pool, the report said.

The report did not make similar estimates for employer plans, the mainstay for workers and their families. That's because the primary impact of Obama's law is on people who don't have coverage through their jobs.

The administration questions the design of the study, saying it focused only on one piece of the puzzle and ignored cost relief strategies in the law such as tax credits to help people afford premiums and special payments to insurers who attract an outsize share of the sick. The study also doesn't take into account the potential price-cutting effect of competition in new state insurance markets that will go live on Oct. 1, administration officials said.




At a White House briefing on Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said some of what passes for health insurance today is so skimpy it can't be compared to the comprehensive coverage available under the law. "Some of these folks have very high catastrophic plans that don't pay for anything unless you get hit by a bus," she said. "They're really mortgage protection, not health insurance."

A prominent national expert, recently retired Medicare chief actuary Rick Foster, said the report does "a credible job" of estimating potential enrollment and costs under the law, "without trying to tilt the answers in any particular direction."

"Having said that," Foster added, "actuaries tend to be financially conservative, so the various assumptions might be more inclined to consider what might go wrong than to anticipate that everything will work beautifully." Actuaries use statistics and economic theory to make long-range cost projections for insurance and pension programs sponsored by businesses and government. The society is headquartered near Chicago.

Kristi Bohn, an actuary who worked on the study, acknowledged it did not attempt to estimate the effect of subsidies, insurer competition and other factors that could mitigate cost increases. She said the goal was to look at the underlying cost of medical care.

"Claims cost is the most important driver of health care premiums," she said.

"We don't see ourselves as a political organization," Bohn added. "We are trying to figure out what the situation at hand is."

On the plus side, the report found the law will cover more than 32 million currently uninsured Americans when fully phased in. And some states — including New York and Massachusetts — will see double-digit declines in costs for claims in the individual market.

Uncertainty over costs has been a major issue since the law passed three years ago, and remains so just months before a big push to cover the uninsured gets rolling Oct. 1. Middle-class households will be able to purchase subsidized private insurance in new marketplaces, while low-income people will be steered to Medicaid and other safety net programs. States are free to accept or reject a Medicaid expansion also offered under the law.

Obama has promised that the new law will bring costs down. That seems a stretch now. While the nation has been enjoying a lull in health care inflation the past few years, even some former administration advisers say a new round of cost-curbing legislation will be needed.

Bohn said the study overall presents a mixed picture.

Millions of now-uninsured people will be covered as the market for directly purchased insurance more than doubles with the help of government subsidies. The study found that market will grow to more than 25 million people. But costs will rise because spending on sicker people and other high-cost groups will overwhelm an influx of younger, healthier people into the program.

Some of the higher-cost cases will come from existing state high-risk insurance pools. Those people will now be able to get coverage in the individual insurance market, since insurance companies will no longer be able to turn them down. Other people will end up buying their own plans because their employers cancel coverage. While some of these individuals might save money for themselves, they will end up raising costs for others.

Part the reason for the wide disparities in the study is that states have different populations and insurance rules. In the relatively small number of states where insurers were already restricted from charging higher rates to older, sicker people, the cost impact is less.

"States are starting from different starting points, and they are all getting closer to one another," said Bohn.

The study also did not model the likely patchwork results from some states accepting the law's Medicaid expansion while others reject it. It presented estimates for two hypothetical scenarios in which all states either accept or reject the expansion.

Larry Levitt, an insurance expert with the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, reviewed the report and said the actuaries need to answer more questions.

"I'd generally characterize it as providing useful background information, but I don't think it's complete enough to be treated as a projection," Levitt said. The conclusion that employers with sicker workers would drop coverage is "speculative," he said.

Another caveat: The Society of Actuaries contracted Optum, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, to do the number-crunching that drives the report. United also owns the nation's largest health insurance company. Bohn said the study reflects the professional conclusions of the society, not Optum or its parent company.

[tomder55]

Hello again, Here are the Obamacare choices offered in MY state:


excon

Good thing you don't live in California
Second major health insurer pulls out of California market
The Slimes supports my case
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/he...anted=all&_r=0

[Wondergirl]

good thing you don't live in California
Second major health insurer pulls out of California market
the Slimes supports my case
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/he...anted=all&_r=0

They'll be back.

[tomder55]

The Treasury Inspector General has found that the IRS cannot account for $67 million of Obamacare funds.

According to the report: “Specifically, the IRS did not account for or attempt to quantify approximately $67 million [from the slush fund] of indirect ACA costs incurred for Fiscal Years 2010 through 2012.”

Americans for Tax Reform : IRS Watchdog: $67 Million Missing from Obamacare Slush Fund
The report also found other spending abuses, including using the money for travel that was unjustified.

[smoothy]

They'll be back.

That was Arnold - The Governator... not the insurance company.

[Wondergirl]

That was Arnold - The Governator......not the insurance company.

And they'll be kicking themselves too.

[smoothy]

The Treasury Inspector General has found that the IRS cannot account for $67 million of Obamacare funds.

Americans for Tax Reform : IRS Watchdog: $67 Million Missing from Obamacare Slush Fund
The report also found other spending abuses, including using the money for travel that was unjustified.

I'm surprised it's that little... someone in the IRS is off their game.

[smoothy]

And they'll be kicking themselves too.

You can't MAKE a business sell something at a loss if they don't want to... not in this country anyway.

[Wondergirl]

You can't MAKE a business sell something at a loss if they don't want to.... not in this country anyway.

Lots and lots of customers will be roaming around.

[smoothy]

Lots and lots of customers will be roaming around.

That remains to be seen.

But then places that operate like Payday loan places always swoop in to screw people when they are given half a chance.

[talaniman]

http://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-new...ease053-13.cfm

"One of the factors I believe contributed to this decision, even if the two companies are disinclined to acknowledge it, is the special tax break that California law gives to Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, which has allowed and continues to allow those two companies to avoid paying $100 million in state taxes a year," added Commissioner Jones. "Aetna and United Healthcare don't get the special tax break provided to Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and so they faced a major competitive disadvantage in California."

More from a link of Tom's link,

Aetna Health Insurance Rate Increases for Small Employers are Unreasonable

Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced today that the Department of Insurance has determined Aetna's most recent quarterly health insurance rate increase for small employers to be unreasonable.

Commissioner Jones requested that Aetna withdraw its April 1 health insurance rate increases for small employers after finding the proposed rates unreasonable. The Commissioner does not have the authority to reject excessive health insurance rate increases. Despite the request from the Department, Aetna has decided to implement the 1.8 percent average rate increases, which total an average 8 percent increase annually (with some receiving up to a 21.4 percent annual increase) and an average 30.3 percent increase over 24 months for small employers with Aetna's PPO health insurance policies. Aetna files rate increases quarterly on its small employer policies.

After a thorough review of Aetna's rate filing, the Department's actuaries found that Aetna made projections about medical cost increases that were not supported by Aetna's actual claims experience. The Department also determined that the Aetna subsidiary selling health insurance in California made a 27.7 percent profit in 2011, paid $1.7 billion in dividends to its parent company, is increasing rates in excess of the U.S. Bureau of Labor's medical cost inflation index, and with this most recent increase, Aetna is hitting its California small employer customers with an average increase of 30.3 percent over the last 24 months.

The right hollers Obama Care is a disaster, but it seems so is the business practice of the insurance companies. But I have been saying that for years, despite Tom wanting to go back to those good old days of insurance company gouging and extraction.

[smoothy]

Second major health insurer pulls out of California market



More from a link of Tom's link,

Aetna Health Insurance Rate Increases for Small Employers are Unreasonable



The right hollers Obama Care is a disaster, but it seems so is the business practice of the insurance companies. But I have been saying that for years, despite To wanting to go back to those good old days of insurance company gouging and extraction.

The insurance companies all look like a charity compaired to the gouging that takes place by the government.

[aliseaodo]

Here are the Obamacare choices offered in MY state:

I'm in 'region 2' (2014 health plans and rates) - which offers like 9 or 10 choices wow! - EXCEPT - for some reason my county has been excluded from all but two. Hmmm Great.

[tomder55]

You see... an insurance company decided to not participate in the charade in Kalifornia... and Tal blames it on the insurance company ,and not the mandates and the blatant crony favoritism that led to that decision.

Meanwhile... remember when the emperor said that if you like your plan and your doctor ,you can keep them ? Well Michelle Malkin has been posting the cancellation notices that have been 'tweeted' to her .
Hey, know what you get to 'keep' with Obamacare? Cancellation notices | Twitchy

[talaniman]

Never mind the right wing sound machine, we will see how the sign up goes the next 6 months.

[tomder55]

Professional Maintenance ,a janitorial company has cut jobs due to Obamacare... So the SEIU has gone on strike.
http://inthesetimes.com/working/entr...abor_contract/
Across the nation similar job reductions are happening... all related to the upcoming implementation of Obamacare (T- 3 Days ).

Last week at the AFL-CIO convention in Los Angeles , this was a major theme. A parade of union bosses took the podium to complain about Obamacare impacts . By voice affirmation ,the AFL-CIO voted to demand major changes in the law despite furious lobbying by the Obots to table the resolution.
White House calling union leaders ahead of vote on ObamaCare resolution - The Hill's Healthwatch
Prior to the law's passage, the emperor repeatedly promised it would not harm existing employer provided insurance.That was the big lie necessary to sell it to the nation.
Back then all the unions supported the plan. But as Madame Mimi warned... the bill had to be passed to find out what was in it. Of course back then ,the unions were all gung-ho in favor of the law . As AFT President Randi Weingarten said, “Congress and the White House have now given Americans what they need and deserve.” Well it isn't exacly what the nation needs . But for some like Weingarten ,it's certainly what they deserve. Oh that buyers remorse !

The resolution reads :
The ACA should be administered in a manner that preserves the high-quality health coverage multi-employer plans have provided to union families for decades and, if this is not possible, we will demand the ACA be amended by Congress.

Of course they also threw in their preferred remedy demanding a socialized ,single payer, universal ,nanny state run health care system. How that gets them to that goal of preserving their gold standard union plans is beyond me .

[NeedKarma]

socialized ,single payer, universal ,nanny state run health care system

You realize that you're the only industrialized country that doesn't have that, right? No matter how many pejoratives you attach to it most countries feel that universal health care is the way to go.

[tomder55]

Good for you and them... the entitlement state will collapse from the weight of the obligations shortly . I can't tell you when ;but I'm postitive our children will see it and bear the burden of repairing their birthright squandered by their parents .

[paraclete]

You realize that you're the only industrialized country that doesn't have that, right? No matter how many pejoratives you attach to it most countries feel that universal health care is the way to go.

There is a certain efficiency in a single payer system, but who needs efficiency when you can have freedom to pay more. You want to stop insurance companies gouging then you take insurance companies out of basic insurance, let them provide the top end and the extras. Everybody wins