CBO Is Increasingly Skeptical About ObamaCare

[mikey23545]

The latest report from the Congressional Budget Office : Obamacare is going to be more expensive than the Obama administration thought, disrupt the marketplace more than they thought, and be tougher to implement than they thought.



The latest report from the Congressional Budget Office highlights a number of reasons why the CBO is concerned about the implementation of Obamacare. It boils down to this: Obamacare is going to be more expensive than the Obama administration thought, disrupt the marketplace more than they thought, and be tougher to implement than they thought.

First, more expensive: The CBO significantly hiked the amount of money needed to fund the subsidies available through Obamacare's exchanges, hiking them by $233 billion. IBD explains: “The CBO's new baseline estimate shows that ObamaCare subsidies offered through the insurance exchanges — which are supposed to be up and running by next January — will total more than $1 trillion through 2022, up from $814 billion over those same years in its budget forecast made a year ago. That's an increase of nearly 29%. The CBO upped the 10-year subsidy cost by $32 billion since just last August.” Part of that is expecting more people in the exchanges thanks to employer dumping and more limited Medicaid expansion, but “The rest is largely the result of the CBO's sharp increase in what it expects the average subsidy will be. Last year, the CBO said the average exchange subsidy for those getting federal help when ObamaCare goes into effect next year would be $4,780. Its latest estimate raised that to $5,510 — a 15% increase. All these numbers are up even more from the CBO's original forecast made in 2010, which had the first-year subsidy average at $3,970.”

Second, more disruptive: More employees will be dropped from their existing plans and fewer uninsured people will get coverage. The WSJ explains: “The CBO has long said it expects the new federal health law will prompt some companies to drop millions of employees from health plans because workers have new options to buy insurance on their own. In August, CBO put the number at four million over 10 years. Now it’s seven million. What changed? Nothing about the health law. Rather, the cliff deal that was enacted in January. When CBO crunched the numbers in August, it assumed that no cliff deal would be reached and higher tax rates would kick in. Economists typically assume that higher tax rates mean that more people are offered, and accept, employer-provided health benefits, says Paul Fronstin, a senior research associate at the Employee Benefit Research Institute. That’s because health benefits are tax-deductible for companies, and so are any premiums that the employee is required to contribute.”

Third, more difficult to implement: The CBO isn't buying the administration's repeated assurances that everything will be ready to go on time when it comes to the health insurance exchanges. From the report: “CBO and JCT [Joint Committee on Taxation] have slightly reduced their estimates of the rates at which people will enroll in the insurance exchanges or Medicaid as the expansion of coverage is implemented—a process that had already been anticipated to occur gradually. That change reflects the agencies’ judgment about a combination of factors, including the readiness of exchanges to provide a broad array of new insurance options, the ability of state Medicaid programs to absorb new beneficiaries, and people’s responses to the availability of the new coverage.”

National Journal explains: “Publicly, administration officials have promised that the new exchanges will be ready on time… But the CBO report expresses skepticism… In plain language, that means CBO thinks the marketplaces won’t have many insurance choices, the Medicaid enrollment systems will not be ready for new people to enroll, and people will be less enthusiastic about signing up for new insurance options.”

Taken together, this is a report that shows how already, Obamacare is failing to match the hopes of its creators in many respects. Expect this trend to continue in future years. This is going to be a lot of political fractiousness and market disruption over a policy which may ultimately end up nudging the insured percentage up only slightly.


http://www.realclearpolitics.com/art...re_116951.html

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by Dunerdr

So its my understanding that older people will be turned down for expensive procedures because they are near the end of thier lifespan correct? Much like a certain age car with certain mileage can be totaled easily... And people are excited about this.

Dude, is this a real post? Death panels? Really? You get that off Palin's website?

The only death panels are the ones that already exist today in private insurance.

[Dallas Chief]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

uhhhhhhhhhhhh
Obamacare saved consumers $1.5 billion — and that’s bad news for insurers

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...-for-insurers/

The health-care law has a rule requiring insurers to spend at least 80 percent of health-care premiums on medical care. The good news: It’s saved consumers $1.5 billion in one year! The not-so-good news: Some insurers are operating at a loss.

Dude is this a real post? I don't think you have the capacity to comprehend what you read. Like this is something to celebrate...

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by Dallas Chief

Dude is this a real post? I don't think you have the capacity to comprehend what you read. Like this is something to celebrate...

The American people have $1.5 billion in their pockets that they didn't have a year ago because of Obamacare.

In what world are you living in that is not a positive thing?

[LiveSteam]

Oh look obama rainbows & pots of obama gold

ME LUCKY CHARMS

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by LiveSteam

Oh look obama rainbows & pots of obama gold

ME LUCKY CHARMS

$1.5 billion in Obama gold in our pockets to spend on whatever we want, more guns, abortions, gum etc.

[LiveSteam]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

$1.5 billion in Obama gold in our pockets to spend on whatever we want, more guns, abortions, gum etc.

Yes,yes/ Im going to take my pot of obama gold & buy 300lbs of Pot & 1 Lotto ticket
What are you going to do with yours?

[Dallas Chief]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

The American people have $1.5 billion in their pockets that they didn't have a year ago because of Obamacare.

In what world are you living in that is not a positive thing?

Assuming that an insurance companies revenue is entirely made up from the premiums it charges its customers, how are they to stay in business when 80% of said revenue now MUST go towards the cost of medical care? The article calls out that this group of insurers already have a higher overhead than do the companies that sell insurance to companies for their employees. That leaves 20% of their revenue to cover their operating costs. In effect, that puts these guys out of business, therefore leaves the people that are purchasing plans from them uninsured.

In what world are you living in that a positive thing?

You see I read the article...and not just the headline.

[LiveSteam]

A baby pic of Obamas great,great,great,great,great,great,great,great,great,great,...grandfather

[Dallas Chief]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

$1.5 billion in Obama gold in our pockets to spend on whatever we want, more guns, abortions, gum etc.

How much is that per capita? Enjoy your free Obamadinner at Chili's.

[BigCatDaddy]

Originally Posted by Dallas Chief

Assuming that an insurance companies revenue is entirely made up from the premiums it charges its customers, how are they to stay in business when 80% of said revenue now MUST go towards the cost of medical care? The article calls out that this group of insurers already have a higher overhead than do the companies that sell insurance to companies for their employees. That leaves 20% of their revenue to cover their operating costs. In effect, that puts these guys out of business, therefore leaves the people that are purchasing plans from them uninsured.

In what world are you living in that a positive thing?

You see I read the article...and not just the headline.

Exactly. All it's doing it robbing from Peter to pay Paul.

[BigRedChief]

you guys are hopeless. If you received a $1.5 billion tax cut you'd be estatic. But since that $1.5 billion is from Obamacare it sucks. You guys need to get your partisan heads out of the bubble.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy

Exactly. All it's doing it robbing from Peter to pay Paul.

Bull ****ing shit. Now the insurance companies must quit giving lavish million $ bonuses, expensive 5 star trips for team building etc. etc.

Those poor insurance companies must live with a 20% profit margin.

[BigCatDaddy]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Bull ****ing shit. Now the insurance companies must quit giving lavish million $ bonuses, expensive 5 star trips for team building etc. etc.

Those poor insurance companies must live with a 20% profit margin.

Do you know how I know you have no idea how insurance companies work?

The goal of an insurance company it to break even on on their underwriting losses. Essentially to take in the same amount on premiums that's paid out in claims. How they make their money is investing the money from the premiums they take it and earn money on that before they have to pay it out in claims. They are essentially borrowing money at a 0% clip and if they happen to make a 2-3% profit on the insurance side that's is pretty damn good.

So when insurance companies are forced to pay out more money guess what? They need to take in more money from those already paying the premiums, it doesn't come out of the insurance companies pockets at all because they can't afford to do that without raising addition funds.

So as you see it's just robbing Peter to pay Paul.

[Dallas Chief]

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy

Do you know how I know you have no idea how insurance companies work?

Exactly what I am saying. BigRedObamaKoolaid hasn't a clue. He thinks the remainder is all profit. No operating costs, no SG&A, no legal costs. No. Idea.

[DementedLogic]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Bull ****ing shit. Now the insurance companies must quit giving lavish million $ bonuses, expensive 5 star trips for team building etc. etc.

Those poor insurance companies must live with a 20% profit margin.

Do you really believe that insurance companies do not have any overhead?