Halt In Subsidies For Health Insurers Expected To Drive Up Costs For Middle Class

[smilesammich 10,727]

awesome.

 

Quote

Insurance companies still have to give the discounts to low-income customers. So if the government doesn't reimburse the insurers, they'll make up the money by charging higher premiums for coverage.

The subsidy cut was the second swipe the White House took at the Affordable Care Act insurance markets Thursday in what many critics say is a deliberate campaign to destabilize them in hopes of forcing Congress to repeal the law.

"Ending the CSR payments is another sign that President Trump is doing what he can to undermine the stability of the individual market under the ACA," wrote Tim Jost, professor emeritus of law at Washington and Lee University who contributes to the Health Affairs blog.

The decision will most directly affect middle-class families who buy their own without financial help from the government. Consumers who earn more than 400 percent of the federal poverty level — an individual with income of about $48,000 or a family of four that makes more than $98,400 — will likely see their costs for coverage rise next year by an average of about 20 percent nationwide.

People with lower incomes will be unaffected since the ACA provides government subsidies that ensure their out-of-pocket insurance costs remain stable. So when premiums rise, the subsidies rise in tandem.

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/10/13/557541856/halt-in-subsidies-for-health-insurers-expected-to-drive-up-costs-for-middle-clas

[bcking 3,157]

Of course it will. The subsidies are still required by the ACA. By halting the support to insurance companies to cover the subsidies, it falls to the insurance companies. Since they are in this for the money, they aren't going to just "absorb" that cost. They will pass it on to the consumer. 

 

While this may "force action", he is essentially messing with middle class families in the interim. How long will it take to repeal the ACA? The longer it takes, the more the people who have to absorb this extra burden will suffer. 

 

At that point it would be false to blame it on Congress for not repealing the ACA sooner. It falls to Trump who knew that would be the outcome when he made this order. 

[bcking 3,157]

Not only will it cost middle class families more money, it may also cost the Federal Government more money to pull out of the subsidies.

 

http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/13/news/economy/trump-obamacare-subsidies/index.html

 

"The skyrocketing premiums will also hit taxpayers. Trump's move will actually cost the federal government an estimated $7.2 billion more next year because it will have to shell out more in premium subsidies to cover these higher rates, according to an Urban Institute analysis."

[CaliCat 3,957]

1 minute ago, bcking said:

Not only will it cost middle class families more money, it may also cost the Federal Government more money to pull out of the subsidies.

 

http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/13/news/economy/trump-obamacare-subsidies/index.html

 

"The skyrocketing premiums will also hit taxpayers. Trump's move will actually cost the federal government an estimated $7.2 billion more next year because it will have to shell out more in premium subsidies to cover these higher rates, according to an Urban Institute analysis."

 

 

A small sacrifice demanded by the Supreme Leader, to appease his spiteful nature. So long as his millionaire friends can get a tax break, no worker should be left unburdened. 

 

[eieio 1,594]

So the costs might rise 20% next year....vs at least 40% if Trump did nothing. 

 

More fake news

[bcking 3,157]

20 minutes ago, eieio said:

So the costs might rise 20% next year....vs at least 40% if Trump did nothing. 

 

More fake news

Provide evidence please?

 

All Trump did was remove a government subsidy to the insurance companies. Whatever premium increases they were planning, they will need to increase even more (if they did not already preplan for this to occur).

 

A large portion of the premium hikes from many companies for 2018 were because they were predicting Trump would do this, and had to respond accordingly. Now the rest need to scramble to either increase more, or they may pull out because Trump is forced them out.

 

I realize that for Trump, and similar people who have difficulty with multi-step analysis, this may ultimately end up looking like it is all "The ACA's fault". The reality is the decision Trump makes has consequences for the insurance companies, which then in turn have consequences for the insured (primarily middle income families). For Trump, and people like him, that many steps is too difficult to grasp so it is easy to say "Look the premiums are going up! It's the ACA's fault!". In reality, the premium increases are due to Trump removing the subsidy. It really isn't that hard to follow it.

[CaliCat 3,957]

Just now, bcking said:

Provide evidence please?

 

All Trump did was remove a government subsidy to the insurance companies. Whatever premium increases they were planning, they will need to increase even more (if they did not already preplan for this to occur).

 

A large portion of the premium hikes from many companies for 2018 were because they were predicting Trump would do this, and had to respond accordingly. Now the rest need to scramble to either increase more, or they may pull out because Trump is forced them out.

 

I realize that for Trump, and similar people who have difficulty with multi-step analysis, this may ultimately end up looking like it is all "The ACA's fault". The reality is the decision Trump makes has consequences for the insurance companies, which then in turn have consequences for the insured (primarily middle income families). For Trump, and people like him, that many steps is too difficult to grasp so it is easy to say "Look the premiums are going up! It's the ACA's fault!". In reality, the premium increases are due to Trump removing the subsidy. It really isn't that hard to follow it.

 

LOL. All the evidence you need is the word of Supreme Leader. His is inspired by the divine, and His word stands on its own. No earthly evidence is required. 

[jg121783 3,915]

Obama signs horrible legislation and it's all Trump's fault when it crashes and burns.

[bcking 3,157]

Just now, jg121783 said:

Obama signs horrible legislation and it's all Trump's fault when it crashes and burns.

It's not all Trump's fault.

 

What is Trump's fault is insurance companies increasing their premiums after Trump signed an executive order to end subsidies to those insurance companies.

 

What is Trump's fault is families losing their health insurance due to the above problem.

 

What will be Trump's fault is if he allows insurance companies the ability to offer cheaper incomplete plans that take advantage of consumers not understanding health insurance, and then families are faced with massive bills for treatments that were never covered in their "skeleton" plan

 

etc...

 

I'm not denying ACA has problems. Even Obama would admit it wasn't a perfect piece of legislation. However what Trump is doing is making it worse than it already is, in hopes that will lead to its downfall quicker.

 

He has to take the blame for the decisions he makes. In the short term this is going to increase premiums for a lot of people. That is on Trump.

[CaliCat 3,957]

7 minutes ago, bcking said:

It's not all Trump's fault.

 

What is Trump's fault is insurance companies increasing their premiums after Trump signed an executive order to end subsidies to those insurance companies.

 

What is Trump's fault is families losing their health insurance due to the above problem.

 

What will be Trump's fault is if he allows insurance companies the ability to offer cheaper incomplete plans that take advantage of consumers not understanding health insurance, and then families are faced with massive bills for treatments that were never covered in their "skeleton" plan

 

etc...

 

I'm not denying ACA has problems. Even Obama would admit it wasn't a perfect piece of legislation. However what Trump is doing is making it worse than it already is, in hopes that will lead to its downfall quicker.

 

He has to take the blame for the decisions he makes. In the short term this is going to increase premiums for a lot of people. That is on Trump.

 

It's kind of hard to navigate the slippery world of alternate facts, relative morals, and hypocrisy. 

 

[JimandChristy 1,689]

2 hours ago, jg121783 said:

Obama signs horrible legislation and it's all Trump's fault when it crashes and burns.

The legislation wasn't horrible it got tens of millions more Americans into health insurance. The problem with the original bill is it didn't go far enough to a single payer system. Unfortunately Republicans didn't want to go there so we're stuck with a bill that is caught right in the middle. Trump is determined to sabotage it.

[Póg mo 1,749]

4 hours ago, CaliCat said:

 

LOL. All the evidence you need is the word of Supreme Leader. His is inspired by the divine, and His word stands on its own. No earthly evidence is required. 

Imagine, or remember the fake outrage about Obama acting like a dictator, and here we are in 2017 and Trump is doing everything they accused Obama of and not a peep from the usual suspects. 

[CaliCat 3,957]

3 minutes ago, Póg mo said:

Imagine, or remember the fake outrage about Obama acting like a dictator, and here we are in 2017 and Trump is doing everything they accused Obama of and not a peep from the usual suspects. 

 

It is hypocritically ironic that Trump proved twice as bad as they said Obama would be. LOL.

Edited October 13, 2017 by CaliCat

[-Trinity- 513]

7 hours ago, smilesammich said:

awesome.

 

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/10/13/557541856/halt-in-subsidies-for-health-insurers-expected-to-drive-up-costs-for-middle-clas

I'm still wondering why Americans aren't protesting on the streets. The health insurance costs are beyond insanity...

You pay for insurance more then for a mortgage....that should outrage people.

 

[smilesammich 10,727]

40 minutes ago, Beachlover said:

I'm still wondering why Americans aren't protesting on the streets. The health insurance costs are beyond insanity...

You pay for insurance more then for a mortgage....that should outrage people.

 

you got me, i dont understand it myself. there's a great deal of fear and propaganda out there driving home that 'socialized' medicine is bad, that if we had a single payer system no one would have timely access to care. meanwhile insurance and pharmaceutical company ceos are making millions of dollars in salary annually and working folk have to file bankruptcy over unexpected (or expected) health costs. it's insane.