Obamacare Co-Ops Are Underwater And Sinking Fast

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

S&P writes: “All but one of the [23] co-ops included in our study reported negative net income through the first three quarters of 2014. … Most co-ops’ weak operating performance is a result of high medical claims trend and not enough scale to offset administrative costs. … In fact, nine of the co-ops (including CoOportunity Health) reported a MLR [i.e., medical loss ratio; the claims compared to premiums] of 100% or more through September 2014.”

The Wall Street Journal reported in January, “Iowa’s insurance regulator plans to shut down insurer CoOportunity Health, marking the first failure of one of the nonprofit cooperatives created under the Affordable Care Act. … CoOportunity had been seen as one of the most successful coops in terms of enrollment volume, but according to the Iowa regulator, the insurer’s large pool of sign-ups created financial pressures as their health-care costs outran its funds.”

So the president who never ran a company, especially a health care company, and his left-wing enablers decided to prove that providing affordable health insurance was easy once you took the profits out and put in the bureaucrats. Thanks to him and Democrats, consumers are paying much more for health insurance and taxpayers are paying much more for all of Obama’s mistakes. Hubris has a price, but he won’t pay it—we will.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillmatthews/2015/02/13/busted-obamacare-co-ops-are-underwater-and-sinking-fast/2/

Don't worry. Obama will try and throw more money at the problem.

[luckytxn 2,264]

He already did. Starting this year I now pay 50.00 more a week and the largest increase yet under this Socialist scum shake down.

Don't worry. Obama will try and throw more money at the problem.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

You fellas haven't actually perused the S&P Assessment that ####### Amey's lackey cherry-picked for Forbes, have you?

They start off by making this statement:

Being a consumer operated and oriented health insurance plan (co-op) can be like learning to ride a bike without training wheels. A few falls and bruises along the way are inevitable. The solvency of co-ops in the U.S. has come to the forefront with the current liquidation of Iowa-domiciled co-op, CoOportunity Health.

and conclude

Most co-ops had adequate or strong liquidity as of the end of third-quarter 2014, except for five that had a liquidity ratio of less than 1.2x, demonstrating potential liquidity weakness.

...

Not all co-ops will go the way of CoOportunity Health. As indicated in our analysis, some may have capital or liquidity issues, but most seem to have adequate liquidity at least to survive the near term.We view the barriers to entry in the health insurance sector to be significant. Regulatory restrictions, scale requirement, and actuarial and pricing expertise make it harder for new entrants to challenge the legacy financially stable insurers. Keeping pricing low may help co-ops gain scale and perhaps even disrupt the market in the near term, but in the longer term after two of the 3Rs (permanent risk adjustment, temporary risk corridor, and temporary reinsurance) are no longer available to subsidize performance, the market will likely transition to rational pricing. At that time, it is likely that some of co-ops will continue to struggle against the more-entrenched players unless the co-ops can build positive brand recognition, contract well-negotiated provider networks, and gain financial stability.

ACA or not, many start-ups end up failing. Happens every day. It did so before Obama and will continue to be the case after he leaves office.

Edited February 14, 2015 by Mr. Big Dog

[Ban Hammer 13,332]

Don't worry. Obama will try and throw more money at the problem.

i'm sure he has plenty of execs from solyndra that can turn it around

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Obama and the Democrats want the Co-Ops to fail. Obamacare is designed to fail yet the foot is already in the door for government mandated healthcare. Making sure the non-profits would fail was the only way to get the insurance companies to play along, well that, having a captive customer base, and having the US Treasury indemnify them from loss. Of course, how the Democrats maneuver from failure to single payer healthcare is a mystery to everybody except Hillary, but I am sure she will let us know once she becomes President. However, no one as yet has shown how providing more required "free services" will eventually reduce both exploding healthcare costs and increasing premiums, since employees are being asked to pay for more and more in regards to both, with smaller employer contributions and larger co-pays and higher annual deductions. Good thing Obama is stepping in with all that free money for folks that wouldn't be able to afford the premiums on their own.

Edited February 14, 2015 by I AM NOT THAT GUY

[luckytxn 2,264]

Single payer was and is the goal. Obamacare was just to fill the trough so all the piggies could eat their fill. I am expecting it to be the Republicans that bring in single payer and of course they will say that it is the only way to get rid of Obamacare debacle and make it fair for everyone. Intelligent people knew that the Feds wanted to control one fifth of the American economy. That is a lot of power to have for bureaucrats.

Expect to continue seeing consolidations of the medical industry and their merging of the medical insurance industry. Complete control of the populace is the goal of both major parties.

Obama and the Democrats want the Co-Ops to fail. Obamacare is designed to fail yet the foot is already in the door for government mandated healthcare. Making sure the non-profits would fail was the only way to get the insurance companies to play along, well that, having a captive customer base, and having the US Treasury indemnify them from loss. Of course, how the Democrats maneuver from failure to single payer healthcare is a mystery to everybody except Hillary, but I am sure she will let us know once she becomes President. However, no one as yet has shown how providing more required "free services" will eventually reduce both exploding healthcare costs and increasing premiums, since employees are being asked to pay for more and more in regards to both, with smaller employer contributions and larger co-pays and higher annual deductions. Good thing Obama is stepping in with all that free money for folks that wouldn't be able to afford the premiums on their own.

[lostinblue 1,989]

Single payer was and is the goal. Obamacare was just to fill the trough so all the piggies could eat their fill. I am expecting it to be the Republicans that bring in single payer and of course they will say that it is the only way to get rid of Obamacare debacle and make it fair for everyone. Intelligent people knew that the Feds wanted to control one fifth of the American economy. That is a lot of power to have for bureaucrats.

Expect to continue seeing consolidations of the medical industry and their merging of the medical insurance industry. Complete control of the populace is the goal of both major parties.

Intelligent people knew that the Feds wanted to control one fifth of the American economy. That is a lot of power to have for bureaucrats

A friend of mine is going to a new doctor after a move. One of the questions on a form was if she was a gun owner . Have to keep the data base going .

[spookyturtle 9,465]

Intelligent people knew that the Feds wanted to control one fifth of the American economy. That is a lot of power to have for bureaucrats

A friend of mine is going to a new doctor after a move. One of the questions on a form was if she was a gun owner . Have to keep the data base going .

I call bs.

[Dakine10 5,452]

Intelligent people knew that the Feds wanted to control one fifth of the American economy. That is a lot of power to have for bureaucrats

A friend of mine is going to a new doctor after a move. One of the questions on a form was if she was a gun owner . Have to keep the data base going .

Other questions were probably if he smokes, and how much exercise he gets. They sometimes ask if you've traveled to an area where Ebola is endemic or if you currently have flu like symptoms. Doctors want to know about risky habits and conditions their patients have. It's not a conspiracy.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

Other questions were probably if he smokes, and how much exercise he gets. They sometimes ask if you've traveled to an area where Ebola is endemic or if you currently have flu like symptoms. Doctors want to know about risky habits and conditions their patients have. It's not a conspiracy.

I still don't believe the gun question.

[Dakine10 5,452]

Single payer was and is the goal. Obamacare was just to fill the trough so all the piggies could eat their fill. I am expecting it to be the Republicans that bring in single payer and of course they will say that it is the only way to get rid of Obamacare debacle and make it fair for everyone. Intelligent people knew that the Feds wanted to control one fifth of the American economy. That is a lot of power to have for bureaucrats.

Expect to continue seeing consolidations of the medical industry and their merging of the medical insurance industry. Complete control of the populace is the goal of both major parties.

Both parties caved in to the insurance lobby and took the public option off the table. The co-ops were a bipartisan compromise as well. I'm not sure it's going to be that straight forward to get to single payer when the insurance companies are raking in record profits. The insurance companies will throw every last penny into making sure they keep their share of this pie.

I still don't believe the gun question.

You haven't switched doctors in a while?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I still don't believe the gun question.

It's true. Unless you live in the gunshine state where doctors are now by law prohibited from asking that question.

[ready4ONE 5,400]

To the bunker men! The horror... The horror. ..

[sara..... 371]

Im thinking the reason the question about the gun is asked because the dr wants to know if a mental patient or if his patient turns out to be mental has a gun...........

sara

[spookyturtle 9,465]

It's true. Unless you live in the gunshine state where doctors are now by law prohibited from asking that question.

No way. They don't ask if you snowmobile, play hockey, sky dive etc. I wouldn't answer the gun questio, it has nothing to do with my health.