Posted on 12/22/2013 9:22:15 AM PST by Sub-Driver
Krauthammer: Insurance Companies Ruined By ObamaCare Will Need a Bailout Next Year By Noel Sheppard Created 12/22/2013 - 12:00pm
Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer made a dire prediction Sunday.
Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Krauthammer said that all the exemptions the President has given to ObamaCare will ruin insurance companies thereby necessitating the White House to ask for a huge government bailout of these companies next year that Republicans in Congress should prevent (video follows with transcript and commentary):
CHRIS WALLACE, HOST: I want to go back to this point that George was talking about, because the President in his news conference Friday said that none of these problems get to the core of ObamaCare - you can argue whether that’s true or not, but that’s what he said - and that 85 percent of Americans that benefited from the benefits that you get under ObamaCare. Charles, your reaction to that, and is it possible that for all of the problems so far that they can get this worked out, and as we get – just to pick a month at random – by next November, most people are saying, “You know what, ObamaCare’s okay?”
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: It’s possible, it’s highly unlikely. One of the things that he did, one of the reasons that this strikes at the heart of ObamaCare is that what he has done is to take away the financial structure underneath it. The reason the insurers are apoplectic about what just happened is because he has now told a whole class of people, “You don't have to be in the exchanges.” And these are people that are probably the healthier and the younger ones who are going to be outside of the exchanges. Which means that the cost to insurers of people left in the exchanges is going to be exorbitant. And there’s also no way he’s going to be able to hold the line on this because of the unfairness.
If you're exempting people who didn’t have, who had insurance and were cancelled, and you’re exempting them from the fine and the requirement of getting insurance, there’s no way you can require, fine people who didn’t have insurance in the past. So you’re going to have an abolition of the individual mandate. You’ve already abolished or postponed the employer mandate.
The insurers understand that they are going to be ruined. And what’s going to happen as a result of this? There’s only one way out: a huge government bailout of the insurers waiting at the end of next year, and that’s an issue that Republicans ought to focus on right now. It's the only way that ObamaCare’ll survive, and it ought to be stopped before it happens. It ought to be, Congress ought to say, “No bailout,” particularly because this isn’t a natural disaster, it's a manmade disaster.
I'm not sure I agree with Krauthammer on this one.
It seems far likelier that the overwhelming majority of ObamaCare enrollees are for Medicaid. The early numbers show upwards of 80 percent of applicants are qualifying for such assistance.
As a result, the burden will initially be on the federal government, but will be transferred to the states with the passage of time.
Contrary to what the liberal media have claimed concerning this issue, that's why so many of the states opted not to take federal funds for Medicaid expansion under ObamaCare because they knew that assistance was temporary and that they'd eventually be responsible for financing healthcare for these added recipients.
As such, the additional cost to insurance companies though large may not be so burdensome that they need a bailout to survive.
What seems more likely is that they'll just raise premiums on all of their policyholders thereby completely destroying the whole premise of ObamaCare.
Whatever the case, it seems almost a metaphysical certitude that the train wreck called the Affordable Care Act will continue to worsen after the New Year, and there's nothing the President can do about it.
Stay tuned.
Sue the feds for tortious interference with multiple contracts
Except they are guaranteed a bail-out by the law itself. The federal government is bound to cover 80% of any losses the insurance companies might experience in a given "risk pool".
Obamacare/insurance has nothing to do with care or health.
Good catch. You are correct that the bailout is already codified into the law itself.
And all this because people were afraid to be labled as racist.
Why bail them out? They sold their souls to the facist Obama admin. They deserve nothing from us taxpayers and Obama deserves impeachment.
This is just not acceptable for America. Time to stand up in protest.
So it seems no one should buy insurance since there is no penalty. Just buy it when you get sick. That is what will bankrupt the insurers.
The basis for a bailout should already be in place... recall that $700 Billion switcheroo from Medicare to Medicaid?
hopefully, there are enough insurers that don’t go bankrupt to avoid single-payer
The whole thing is unconstitutional, despite John Roberts. That us fact.
How can the same Democrats who are willing to cut Veterans’ benefits to keep the U.S. debt from increasing, be willing now to send billions of dollars to health-insurance companies to bail them out?
The only solution to the ObamaCare disaster is repeal.
Maybe the Democrats would be more willing to agree to end ObamaCare if its repeal were presented in euphemisms with proven appeal to Democrats — for example, the ‘’Affordable Care Euthanasia Act,’’ or, if the repeal was presented in the first three months of 2014, ‘’The Affordable Care First-Trimester Termination Act.’’
Mega dittos on that!
And of course there is also the stupid idea that if it comes from the government it's free.
Wake up Krauthammer! The insurance companies were told long ago that they would be “covered” financially for any unforeseen “costs” that may arise from ObamaCare. They are in bed with Obama on this every bit as much as the media is. For them to say anything else is pure theater.
ObamaCare should have been tested on politicians before being released to the general population.
Screw 'em.
I think Harry Reid was a test case.
Rush Limbaugh called this years ago
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