Is Obamacare Becoming The "Doc Fix" Sequel? (Higher prices all around?)

In less than 7 weeks, President Obama’s signature legislation has lost a lot of momentum.

Republicans are gleefully revitalized in their efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) altogether. Likewise, Democrats are running for cover sensing a very different political landscape in 2014. That landscape is likely to see the President himself as (potentially) more of a liability than an asset. Others are more philosophical in their criticism saying President Obama has simply “lost his magic” (here).

In a blistering sequence of events, Healthcare.gov had major difficulties getting airborne, millions of health plans were cancelled and in an attempt to apologize for claims he made (that people could actually keep plans they liked), the President backed off from a key element of the ACA last week by “allowing” cancelled plans to be reinstated. If nothing else, it was among the shortest mea culpa and apology sequences I’ve ever seen at the Presidential level....

Under Obamacare the oldest sickest person cannot have a premium exceeding 300% of the youngest healthiest person. The insurance industry reports that on average they spend 600% more in health benefits for someone 60 than for someone 30.So that gives one some idea how much of a burden the young are taking on under O Care to subsidize the older. That is why cancelling plans of the younger was so important to herding them into the exchanges as soon as possible to subsidize with higher premiums the older sicker folks who would be the first to sign up. The insurance industry did project in 2010 for the administration that 40-67% of individual plans would be cancelled under the Ocare provisions when the exchange opened in 2013.The industry was right because close to 40% have been cancelled to date.These cancellations are necessary for O Care to work from a financial standpoint. The employer mandate which has been postponed because it would cause even more cancellations would further herd the younger healthier folks into the exchange at higher costs.But the Dems do not want to pay the political price for deceitfully proclaiming you get to keep your plan to get the bill passed in 2010.The Democrat insurance rhetorical equivalent of I did not have sex with that woman.

From the link: “...and new ACA plans may wind up being re-priced higher than originally advertised.”

How can it be mid November and the prices are not set in stone? If supposedly 106k people have enrolled in new plans, what price have they been quoted? An estimate?

Good point. I thought the only remaining pricing question for next year was for the old policies which the insurers hadn't priced for 2014 because they were to be cancelled.

The resurrection of old policies does effect the economics of the new ACA plans because it changes the mix of people signing up, and the insurance companies are limited in how the rates can vary by age and sex. But I would've thought the premium rates were already set, and any adverse economic effect was supposed to be covered by the federal risk corridor.

"Likewise, Democrats are running for cover sensing a very different political landscape in 2014. That landscape is likely to see the President himself as (potentially) more of a liability than an asset."

This is exhibit A in why we are being disserved by US journalism

It's like the scores of a football game.

I find the value of this type of jounralism worthless .

I piss on their sentences.

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