Obamacare Premiums Are Being Raised By

[lame54]

People Trump wants to give huge tax breaks to

[Cracklin Charlie]

1. Excellent point!

Short and sweet.

I think it needs a big kick!

[Skink]

2. Maybe he'll levy huge taxes on them like he is treatening Ford with

Yeah no.

[frazzled]

3. And by the states

One thing that is not being discussed sufficiently is that the states have to approve premium hikes for the insurers operating in their marketplace. Not that some are to be blamed: when some of the big insurers pull out, it leaves the states little choice but to comply with the demands of the few remaining choices.

[guillaumeb]

4. Obamacare Premiums Are Being Raised By

very profitable insurance companies that are doing this to reward their stockholders.

[Thav]

5. not to mention some have decided not to provide insurance

with no consequences. But if I decide to not participate, I get whacked with fees.

[guillaumeb]

8. All pointing to the obvious solution of removing insurance companies from this equation.

Most other countries solved this years ago.

[WillowTree]

7. Premiums are being raised to cover the increased cost of claims.

Remember, insurers are required to pay out at least 80% of the premium dollars that they collect in claims. All overhead and profit must come out of the remaining 20%.

They can't just raise premiums to whatever they want them to be.

[guillaumeb]

9. But that 20% is a huge amount of money that does nothing

to treat people. SO if that 20% could be reduced to the 4-5% that Medicare uses, that savings would reduce costs. Plus pharmaceutical costs bear no relationship to actual cost of medication.

[Hoyt]

6. I'm for Public Option, but if ACA is so profitable, why are insurers dropping out, co-ops goin broke

not-for profits not doing well, etc.

In 2017, Medicare's "uncapped" Part B Premium will also increase over 20%. Healthcare is expensive. We can blame insurance companies, but with the ACA loss ratio cap, they probably only account for 6 - 8% of our health care costs. CEO salaries are absurd, but if you paid them minimum wage, it wouldn't make $5 difference in the premium.

And, believe it or not, insurance companies actually negotiate drug and provider prices better than Medicare.

Point is, just getting rid of insurance companies is not going to change the situation significantly. It's one step, but really only a minor part of the problem. Heck, even Medicare relies on insurance companies to administer the program, pay claims, answer questions, deal with beneficiaries, monitor doctors and hospitals, etc.