UnitedHealth Quitting Obamacare Markets in Georgia, Arkansas

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg

April 8, 2016 — 2:12 PM EDT Updated on April 8, 2016 — 2:46 PM EDT

UnitedHealth Group Inc., the largest U.S. health insurer, has decided to call it quits in two state Obamacare markets, in the latest challenge to President Barack Obama’s health-care overhaul.

The insurer won’t sell plans for next year in Georgia and Arkansas, according to state insurance regulators. Tyler Mason, a UnitedHealth spokesman, confirmed the exits and declined to say whether the company would drop out of additional states.

Many insurers have found it difficult to turn a profit in the new markets created by the Affordable Care Act, where individuals turned out to be more costly to care for than the companies expected. UnitedHealth and Aetna Inc. both posted losses from the policies last year, as did big Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in states like North Carolina.

UnitedHealth began warning in November that it might exit Obamacare markets as it racked up losses. In December, the company said it should have stayed out of the individual exchanges for longer.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-08/unitedhealth-quitting-obamacare-markets-in-georgia-arkansas

[virtualobserver]

1. Perhaps medicare for all might be an option?

[turbinetree]

2. Many insurers have found it difficult to turn a profit..............

This is why this country should move into the twenty-first century, health should not be predicated based on greed.


http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2015/oct/us-health-care-from-a-global-perspective

http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/payer-issues/25-things-to-know-about-unitedhealthcare.html

http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/54-statistics-on-hospital-medicare-margins-from-2007-2012.html



Honk--------------------for a political revolution Bernie 2016

[valerief]

3. Fuck insurers. Single payer now!!!!

[Xolodno]

4. Heh...the Insurance Company may want Single Payer...

...as well.

One of the GOP's ridiculous arguments about "allowing" health insurers to cross state lines is that, in some markets, it can only support one health insurer (due to a less that healthy average population, attitudes about health care, etc.), so that idea is DOA. And a single payer system would be much more economically sound while the insurers merely get paid a nominal fee for delivery, processing, etc. like government flood insurance, the CEA, etc.

In healthier populace markets, they don't want single payer as they can make a higher profit.

So naturally they want the best of both worlds. But know the writing is on the wall and realize their function will be less about managing reserves, rates and market segmentation to being facilitators and trying to find niche markets for health care.

[HuckleB]

5. United sucks, period.

Repeated requests for "pre-authorization" for generic medications, usually things that people have been on for years.

Dump the for profit scumbags now!

[PersonNumber503602]

6. They are upset because they can't dig through people's past looking for any reason

to drop coverage of newly diagnosed cancer patients.

[NickB79]

7. Not surprising. The southern states are some of the most unhealthy in the nation

Arkansas ranks near the top for obesity rates: http://www.eatthis.com/most-and-least-obese-states-in-america-ranked

But fuck it, let's keep subsidizing farmers to grow shitty food instead of healthy food.