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Obama Tells Insurer Not to Raise Rates
Neal's Nuze ^ | 11/22/2011 | Neal Boortz

Posted on 11/22/2011 7:41:43 AM PST by Marathoner

This is a prime example of what is outrageously wrong with government interference in the private economy. We now have the White House telling a private insurance company that it should not raise its rates. Pennsylvania-based Everence Insurance, a Mennonite insurer, says it needs to raise its rates by an average of 11.6% in the small-group market. We can assume that they arrived at this figure based on legitimate economic and financial research and number-crunching .. after all, what business really WANTS to raise its rates on its customers by any significant amount.

So because this company wants to raise its rates by over ten percent, it is required under ObamaCare that they submit a rate review to the federal government! This insurance company submits its review to the Obama administration, and what’s the Obama response? The rate increase is unreasonable and it should be repealed. Why? Well because we don’t like your numbers .. Kathleen Sebelius says, “This sends a message to insurers around the country that the days of unchecked, double-digit increases are over.” Apparently the market is no longer a suitable “check” on insurance companies. Hence the need for the imperial federal government to step in and regulate.

At the end of the day, the federal government cannot flat-out reject any rate increases … yet. But if companies like this Everence proceed with their plan to raise rates by 11.6%, they are required to “justify” this publically on healthcare.gov.

This is the world according to Barack Obama: a command economy. Businesses will be privately owned but regulated by the government. In case you’re interested … a private economy regulated and managed by the government is defined as a Fascist economy. Under fascism the government will decide how to run your businesses, because, after all, the federal government truly knows best. America’s greatness comes from government.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: atlasshrugged; boortz; healthcare; obama; socialism
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How much longer can we put up with this crap?
1 posted on 11/22/2011 7:41:45 AM PST by Marathoner
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To: Marathoner
I HOPE THE INSURER REPLIED APPROPRIATELY

fubo

2 posted on 11/22/2011 7:43:02 AM PST by Mr. K (Physically unable to proofreed <--- oops, see?)
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To: Marathoner

The government has no business in business.........


3 posted on 11/22/2011 7:45:00 AM PST by Red Badger (Obama's number one economics advisor must be a Magic Eight Ball.................)
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To: Marathoner

Some of these companies need to grow a pair and go on national tv and tell obama to kiss their A$$.


4 posted on 11/22/2011 7:46:20 AM PST by swampfox101
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To: Red Badger

We need Separation of Business and State.


5 posted on 11/22/2011 7:46:23 AM PST by dfwgator (I stand with Herman Cain.)
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To: Marathoner

And that will work as well as when he told businesses to hire the unemployed...


6 posted on 11/22/2011 7:47:05 AM PST by apillar
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To: apillar

And when banks were told to give loans to people who couldn’t pay.


7 posted on 11/22/2011 7:49:06 AM PST by Eric in the Ozarks
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To: Marathoner

a command and control economy,

where the comrade in wa wa d.c.

controls decision making.


8 posted on 11/22/2011 7:49:44 AM PST by ken21
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To: Marathoner

Our business Insurance man was here yesterday talking about Obamacare. One of the mandates was for Insurance companies to make their operating costs less than 20% I believe it was. How do you think they do that? He said his commissions were cut in HALF. I don’t think I could take a cut in pay like that.


9 posted on 11/22/2011 7:56:17 AM PST by happilymarriedmom
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To: Marathoner

He can tell an insurer not to raise rates, but we can’t tell Congress not to raise taxes?

FUBO.


10 posted on 11/22/2011 7:56:38 AM PST by DuncanWaring (The Lord uses the good ones; the bad ones use the Lord.)
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To: Marathoner

Under Obamacare they are mandating that companies insure for pre existing conditions. This is like the government telling a fire insurance company they have to sell fire insurance on burning buildings. The only way companies could do such a thing is if they radically increase rates.

Obamacare does other stuff like mandate free birth control. This puts additional costs on the insurer.

The bottom line is that all of this wrecks commercial health insurance in America. By design.

The federal government has no business being in the insurance business. Take “flood insurance” for example. It is only sold by the federal government because no sensible insurer would take a risk where you will have a claim. It is a joke. Federal flood insurance is backed by the US Treasury. Which means that everyone that has the so-called flood insurance is having their “premium” subsidized by every American taxpayer. The program loses money constantly and has to go to Congress to get more money to pay claims. This means that a family with a house on a mountain in the desert pays by taxation for so-called insurance on a house on the water in Texas that will eventually flood.

Insanity.....


11 posted on 11/22/2011 7:56:40 AM PST by isthisnickcool (Sharia? No thanks.)
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To: Marathoner; All

None dare call this interference what it is: FASCISM!


12 posted on 11/22/2011 7:58:58 AM PST by TexasRepublic (Socialism is the gospel of envy and the religion of thieves)
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To: Marathoner

Making the insurer “an offer they can’t refuse.” Or, to borrow a term from another ganster movie “Goodfellas”, it’s a “bust-out.”

Pretty soon insurers will just get out of underwriting healthcare policies all-together. And that would suit the dear-leader just fine.


13 posted on 11/22/2011 7:59:32 AM PST by Tallguy (You can safely ignore anything that precedes the word "But"...)
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To: Marathoner
The sooner he drives all the insurance companies out of business the sooner the Commies get their sacred "single-payer" CommieCare.
14 posted on 11/22/2011 8:01:15 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum ("The very idea of a community organizer is to stir up a mob for some political purpose." Ann Coulter)
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To: isthisnickcool

Take “flood insurance” for example. It is only sold by the federal government because no sensible insurer would take a risk where you will have a claim.”

In fact it was the insurance companies that foisted this “insurance” onto the fed government by their cronies in the Congress.


15 posted on 11/22/2011 8:06:24 AM PST by Mouton (Voting is an opiate of the electorate. Nothing changes no matter who wins..)
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To: dfwgator
Separation of Business and State

That is a GREAT slogan, and as such, stolen as my new tagline.

16 posted on 11/22/2011 8:13:24 AM PST by kevkrom (Separation of Business and State)
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To: Marathoner

Maybe I can get him to negotiate a price on a new car for me.
“My client would like that car for $5,000, and if you don’t sell it for that, we’ll find an endangered species in your showroom.”


17 posted on 11/22/2011 8:15:03 AM PST by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: Marathoner

Maybe I can get him to negotiate a price on a new car for me.
“My client would like that car for $5,000, and if you don’t sell it for that, we’ll find an endangered species in your showroom.”


18 posted on 11/22/2011 8:15:48 AM PST by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: Marathoner

What our King says you do!!!!!


19 posted on 11/22/2011 8:18:21 AM PST by Logical me
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To: swampfox101
Some of these companies need to grow a pair and go on national tv and tell obama to kiss their A$$.

With our current dictator they are afraid to. And the MSM would never let them broadcast.

20 posted on 11/22/2011 8:21:11 AM PST by Logical me
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