By Aimee Pontier, Editor
Critics of Obamacare have long predicted that it would fail, and it looks like they were right.
Major flaws in the health care plan have resulted in huge losses for insurers, and now they’re demanding the payments they were promised — and it’s going to cost tax payers billions.
President Barack Obama’s administration has failed to repay considerable losses to private health insurers, and at least three major providers have brought a lawsuit against the federal government.
Their claim dates back to the passing of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, when Obama persuaded insurers’ to support the new health law by easing any worries about unpredictability with the risk-corridor program.
In this program, which expires at the end of 2016, excess profits earned by successful companies would be distributed to the insurers who suffered massive losses.
It sounds like a great plan – in theory – until you take into consideration all of the other complications of Obamacare.
In a study published by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University in 2014, researchers found that the medical claims of individual qualified health plans (QHP’s) consumed 110 percent of the premiums, resulting in major losses for insurers.
And things haven’t improved since the 2014 analysis. According to a McKinsey report, insurer’s losses may have more than doubled in 2015.
Insurers are seeking massive premium hikes for 2017, some as high as 65 percent, suggesting that the losses aren’t projected to lessen anytime soon.
Obama thought he had accounted for these losses by enforcing tax penalties on those who refused to enroll and granting government subsidies in multiple forms: for millions who bought individual QHP’s, corporate subsidies and reinsurance subsidies. Reinsurance subsidies were intended to cover major medical bills of those with individual QHP’s.
But these people were in poorer health than anticipated, with individual QHP’s averaging 24 percent more medical claims per enrollee than for group QHP’s.
Once the government realized the subsidies would not cover the losses, it looked to the risk corridor program, but the profits on individual Obamacare health plans were not nearly enough to cover the losses suffered by others.
When Obama realized he didn’t have the money to pay back what was promised to the insurers, he attempted to grab the billions of dollars needed right from taxpayers’ pockets.
Congress pushed back, and the lawsuits followed.
On May 3rd, Iowa Insurance Commissioner Nick Gehart filed a lawsuit on behalf of failed insurer CoOpportunity Health Inc.
On May 17th, Highmark Inc. sued the federal government seeking $223 million in payments.
On June 2nd, Blue Cross Blue Shield sued for $129 million in unpaid payments.
The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service doesn’t have much faith in the Obama administration following through with the payments, citing legal precedents to prove that the lawsuits will fail. In a report prepared for Senator Marco Rubio, the CRS concluded “any payment to satisfy a judgement secured by plaintiffs seeking recovery of amounts owed under risk-corridors programs would need to wait until such funds were made available by Congress.”
Nicholas Bagley, a professor of law at University of Michigan Law School who follows the federal health law, said, “The federal government obliged itself to make these risk corridor payments, and the federal government recognizes that it’s obliged to make the payments.”
And it’s going to come right out of tax payers pockets.
— Aimee Pontier is an Editor of The Horn News
Obamacare is a communist waste that the taxes go higher and higher—-no limit
Not just taxes. The deductibles tripled for many this last Month. My sister was one of them it happened to Her deductible went from 500 to 1500. That is on her alone.
My deductible went from 1000 to 2500 and I’m told it will go up again in 2017. What was once a pretty good plan is now terrible. I am healthy thank God but this is outrageous. Every medical expense I have has to be 100% paid by me until that deductible is met. Insane thanks DemonRats!
Screw the insurance rip off companies. They are a business like any other and should take their losses just like they take their profits.
When the USA had a strong President named Roland Reagan, he said, “If your think that Medicare is expensive just wait and see how much it is going to cost when it is FREE”. And so it have proved to be. There are no free lunches for anyone in the USA except for Democrat politicians.
It was predicted that the ACA would not be feasible. Now the proof is in the pudding.
All the money due from the lawsuits should be paid by those politicians including Obo out of their pockets for passing it without reading it and debating on it first. LETS PUT LAWSUITS AGAINST THOSE POLITICIANS. WE CANNOT SUE THE GOVERNMENT BUT WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO SUE THEM ASSHOLES!!!!!!!!!
A-men to that!
We the People taxpayers should file a suit against taking taxpapers money to pay for Obamacare lawsuits if it it is going to happen. Obama is good at raising money – $1 billion for his library. He certainly can raise money to pay off those insurers lawsuits himself. He should take responsibity for his own decision, not to mention he can afford to pay $22,000/mo rent in a $5-$6 million worth of house after White House.
The American people should do a class action suit with millions of Americans as claimants. Some lawyers will do it free if they lose and get paid if they win.
That’s one of the best plans that will never happen because of course the elite will find a technicality to keep from being sued but I love the idea
DID YOU THINK YOU WOULD GET SOMETHING GOOD FROM THE WORST POTUS EVER, NOT SO. HE WILL LEAVE NO LEGACY, JUST FAILED POLICYS, PHONEY PROGRAMS, AND PLENTY OF LIES.
Don’t forget a HUGE insurmountable debt.
What a clown he is. Why isn’t the DOJ or the pussies in Congress doing anything against him or the Clintons. So much corruption. It is time to FIRE ALL OF GOVERNMENT workers and start from the beginning, just like they did in 1776.
You are so right about all of that. Starting with President Trump!
REALLY!!!! You do not know what you are talking about! I bet you voted for OBAMA and will know vote for Hillary!!! (hillary and obama are one and the same!!
Chicago politics at the national level!!!!
God Bless America and Donald Trump!!!!!!! ????????
Obamacare, like much of the Obama agenda, was based on a lot of optimistic assumptions which had no basis in reality. Healthy people with no assets or net worth would rather to pay the penalty than get stuck with expensive insurance payments. If they get sick they will go onto Medicaid and let the taxpayers foot the bill for all their medical costs.
Obamacare is a massive government bureaucracy which has failed to make health care affordable. This failed program has made health care more expensive for everyone.
Justin W-
i warned people repeatedly about it’s complete Unconstitutionality long before it was voted in.
Once it was passed, i did my best to repeat that warning, and encouraged massive civil disobedience in the form of a) refusing to sign up and b) refusing to pay any “penalty” assessed, again based in it’s complete Unconstitutionality. Then SCOTUS “ruled” that D’OweBamacare was “legal as a tax.” Oh, yeah?
Well, for any who have the slightest knowledge of the Constitution, there was your legal out. ONLY the House may introduce “bills for revenue,” aka taxes.
The Senate introduced D’OweBamacare.
If any doubt, first search the Constitution and Amendments for any HINT that Americans can be required to purchase anything at any time from anyone for any reason. You won’t find it.
Second, look for the word “health” in any form. You won’t find THAT, either. If you say “general welfare” clause, that applied only to the States themselves, for only the States ratified the Constitution. The general government was only meant to have jurisdiction over living individuals in specific, named instances like interstate flight to avoid prosecution.
Now, read the Preamble to the Bill of Rights, then the Ninth and Tenth Amendments. Only an extremely or willfully ignorant dullard could then conclude that the General government agents could do whatever the hell they want; those 3 in conjunction should have made it clear to anyone who can READ that unless a power has been named and SPECIFICALLY DELEGATED, it does not exist for general gov’t actors, though individual STATES may choose to exercise a power with the consent of their constituent populations.
But as usual, the D’OweBama maladministration counted on Constitutional ignorance amongst the populace, and again were not disappointed. Few cared, for example, to get the Constitutional definition of “natural born,” so much so that D’OweBama was elected TWICE – well, that, and the refusal by competent authority to investigate and overturn results of fraudulently obtained votes.
Mr. Constitutionalist, ironically one man you profess to hate the most was the loudest voice against ObamaCare. Yes, Senator Cruz. Actually, Mr. Cruz probably agrees with you on at least 90% of your views on the US Constitution. But Mama was on the wrong side of a line at the wrong time.
And just think. O’Bama put the I R S in charge of collections on “Affordable Health Care” which opened up a whole new “Pandorahs Box” for the taxpayers in addition to income taxes, making the I R S accessories to “robbery” of the taxpayers
moneys as premiums continue to skyrocket with NO relief in sight. Now the Insurance companies are complaining they never got paid. Somebody has been making $$$Millions off of O’Bummers’ Protection Racket. No wonder it is about to collapse. Then
what will the poor citizens do when the I R S comes calling for more money you don’t have?
Go rally infront of your politicians home this weekend and make it known that they suck in what they do and you want Obama impeached NOW>
I wonder what kind of profit taking the Clintons and Obamas made on this Obamacare stuff?
Wake up STUPID! Onamacare was nothing more than an attemp to “spread the wealth” with healthcare for all the social program participants. Who’d you think was going to pay for it? Obama, Clinton or other left wing assholes? Nope! YOU! Wake up soon America before its too late. “Trump 2016”.
Trump is in favor of a single-payer healthcare system–namely the US government. Why do you think that that will be any better that ObummerCare? It is another socialist move.
Gee who could have seen this coming??? Anybody with a brain!!! That leaves LIBERALS out of course!!!!
It was obvious to anyone with common sense and a little knowledge of basic mathematics that Obamacare would fail. Obama lied to everyone including healthcare providers and they were gullible (or greedy) enough to buy into it. Now it’s failing as it was actually intended to from the beginning. The ultimate goal is to force us into a socialized, single payer, national healthcare system. That idea will also fail because even the useful idiots we sent to Washington to represent us are finally waking up or at least realizing that they will be committing political suicide if they vote for any such plan. Solution: Just let the free market operate in the healthcare industry and encourage competition with a tax deductible high risk pool that providers would all contribute to. That high risk pool would be used to cover pre-existing conditions and lifesaving procedures to ensure that no one dies for lack of available healthcare. The problem from the government’s standpoint is that such a system cuts the government out of the equation and therefore lessens it’s ability to control the population by controlling the healthcare system.
Your solution is an excellent one. Send it to your representatives in Congress.
The real take away from this is that $chitlery has VOWED to expand on these failed policies!!!!
Go ahead people vote foe CLINTON WHO SAYS SHE WILL FOLLOW IN Obama’s footsteps.
What is of great concern is the astounding numbers of people in this country that actually like what Obama is doing. Somehow they don’t seem to connect it to their loss of freedoms of speech, religion and much more. My sense is that Progressives (Socialists) have been corrupting our society and educational systems since Woodrow Wilson, until the present day when people actually believe that Socialism is preferable to free market Capitalism and a Republic form of government. In truth, the Republic form of government they have been exposed to for decades is one that has been distorted and corrupted by Socialism and thinking that represents our Republic. We have not had a truly free market system for almost 100 years. So I can almost understand how they could be confused. Especially when we have had an opposition party, the Republicans, that are at least as corrupt as the Socialists and Communists. In a national election, I fear that there are so many of these Socialistic minded people now in our country that I’m not sure we will see freedom again for at least a generation. I fear for my children.
Actually what happened in 1913 was Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve granting complete power over our economy & government to a handful of very rich men. Wilson himself said he inadvertently destroyed our great industrial nation by signing that bill & further said ours was no longer a government by the people or for the people, but ruled & controlled by these wealthy men. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln & others warned that giving big banks power over our economy would lead to the destruction of America. Just Google “what Presidents said about banks. You’ll see it all there. BTW, our government started spending more than what it takes in in 1970. This country is in trouble.
So much anger about what the POTUS has done. But. He could not have done any of it with the blatant complicity of Congress. Corrupt from top to bottom. Clean sweep. Flush ALL of them out.
Shaespeare said, “If you would have a revolution, first kill all the lawyers.” Ever notice that most career politicians are lawyers?
that should have read, ‘without’ the complicity
Excellent comment Jake. I agree. However, I’m now afraid we will never be able to go back to our basic constitutionally guaranteed freedoms. It seems almost irreversible now; just like this global warming “irreversible greenhouse effect” horse crap that your local shallow thinking liberal minded socialist democrat likes to spout. There’s just too many people taking the “freebies” the government is handing out at such a soul sucking cost…
The new President can legally wipe out Obamacare and every other Executive Order signed into law–Obamacare,
Amnesty , Immmigration etc, are not legal since they were not Congress approved, but if Hilary or Sanders get elected , they will not remove them. If we are to return to our freedoms, vote for Mr, Trump!!
Any outcome other than lies, corruption, bad decision making and outright treasonous actions shouldn’t surprise any of us and those that voted for him or will vote for Hillary the “Hun” wouldn’t understand anyway – idiots that they are.
This post may not have anything to do with this article but is being included to inform people of how they are being used by the current Government Administration of Barack Obama supported by Hillary Clinton.
I think all people should read the item below and in particular if you are an Obama or Clinton supporter.
After you read this ask yourself if you are a Useful Idiot and are being manipulated by these people
who will lead you to your own destruction. If the answer is YES its not too late to change.
Beware the Useful Idiots
submitted by Garret Geer
Recall that Hillary did her college thesis on his writings and Obama writes about him in his books.
Saul Alinsky died about 43 years ago, but his writings influenced those in political control of our nation today.
Died: June 12, 1972, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Education: University of Chicago
Spouse: Irene Alinsky
Books: Rules for Radicals, Reveille for Radicals
Anyone out there think that this stuff isn’t happening today in the U.S.?
All eight rules are currently in play.
How to create a social state by Saul Alinsky:
There are eight levels of control that must be obtained before you are able to create a social state. The first is the most important.
1) Healthcare – Control healthcare and you control the people.
2) Poverty – Increase the Poverty level as high as possible; poor people are easier to control and will not fight back if you are providing everything for them to live.
3) Debt – Increase the debt to an unsustainable level. That way you are able to increase taxes, and this will produce more poverty.
4) Gun Control– Remove the ability to defend themselves from the government. That way you are able to create a police state.
5) Welfare – Take control of every aspect of their lives (Food, Housing, and Income).
6) Education – Take control of what people read and listen to – take control of what children learn in school.
7) Religion – Remove the belief in the God from the government and schools.
8) Class Warfare – Divide the people into the wealthy and the poor. This will cause more discontent, and it will be easier to take (tax) the wealthy with the support of the poor.
Does any of this sound like what is happening to the United States?
Alinsky merely simplified Vladimir Lenin’s original scheme for world conquest by communism, under Russian rule. Stalin described his converts as “Useful Idiots.”
The Useful Idiots have destroyed every nation in which they have seized power and control. It is presently happening at an alarming rate in the U.S.
“It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.”
Everyone who opposes Obama and Clinton should write to our Muslim Terrorist President and Attorney General on their respective websites and tell them it is time to stop protecting Hillary Clinton and indict her for the criminal she is. Enough of this cover up and stalling and subverting the laws of the land. Either obey your oaths or resign immediately.
Also, I would encourage everyone who is comfortable with doing so to purchase as many firearms and ammunition as they can afford to not only protect themselves from criminals and terrorists but from our Government as well. Buy yourself a semi automatic handgun and rifle at a minimum and get prepared to defend yourself.
dprato—Thank you for leaving this document here for all to read and be informed ! I really appreciate it!!!!!!!! It is the truth.
It looks to me as tho it has been a formula that has been used in the schools and in the land for quite some time.
This is just another one of good deals Obama has gotten the tax payers into. We all thought that the Solar panel business was bad at a $ 500 million, and never did a stick of business. Obama said he would vouch for that business as well. It seems to me that it should illegal for him to guaranty payment to insurers with tax payer dollars, and the people that have to make payment are usually the ones who had noting to do with this Obamacare fiasco. I believe that Obama should have to pay. The IRS can do to him what it does to millions of tax paying citizens, and that is just take it. Obama and his commie buddies in congress made this bullshit up as they went, and we are now being told that we have to pay? It is things like this that make a lot of good citizens say they are not going to just keep getting kicked in the teeth. Obama has run up a deficit that will take generations to pay back. The terrible this is that we as tax payers have nothing to show for it. I is time to hang up Obama by his balls. I forgot he doesn’t have any.
Pelosi and Obama have given us much to hope for. Among those things is the death of the (un) Affordable Healthcare Act. People have had their insurance premiums more than doubled or even tripled.
We paid enough and it’s time to get rid of America’s major problem named Obummer. No taxes to save his A**.
Obamacare is NOT poorly designed!
It was designed to destroy the middle class of America, by forcing middle class Americans to cover the medical expenses of all Muslims, who are not required to pay into Obamacare, but who get all their healthcare free.
The massive importation of Muslims and their incredibly high birthrate of Muslims, and the relatively low birthrate of the mostly non-Muslim American middle class will cause the non_Muslims to pay higher and higher Obamacare costs, until they have nothing left to pay. Then the Feds will confiscate whatever they do have left (homes, cars) and sell those to the highest bidders, with the proceeds going to the Muslims (after the politicians take a cut for themselves).
I would say Obamacare was brilliantly designed – for its intended use.