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Free Beacon: Obama Admin to Handpick Plans for Individuals Who Lost Health Insurance

Individuals may receive up to 20 reminders in less than a month to sign up for insurance

By Ali Meyer

The Obama administration has announced that it will handpick plans for individuals who have lost health insurance due to insurers leaving the exchanges, the Associated Press reported.

“Worried that insurers bailing out of the health law’s markets may prompt their customers to drop out, too, the Obama administration plans to steer affected policyholders to remaining insurance companies,” the AP wrote. “But those consumers could get an unwelcome surprise if their new government-recommended plan isn’t what they’re used to.”

The Obama administration authored a document that was circulated with insurers and state regulators and called for reminders for those with cancelled health insurance to sign up during open enrollment. Those individuals may receive 20 reminders between Nov. 21 and Dec. 15, which is the deadline to get coverage before the new year begins.

“Around the second week of November, consumers whose insurers are leaving the market will get a notice that HealthCare.gov has matched them to another plan,” the article stated. “They could also receive materials from the new insurer, including a welcome kit and a bill.”

Many insurers such as Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, and BlueCross BlueShield have announced exits in the Obamacare exchanges, forcing many Americans off of their current plans and struggling to find a new one. Additionally, there are 17 co-ops that have failed of the 23 that were originally created out of Obamacare, which leaves only six operating.

Continue reading, Washington Free Beacon.

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Dems turn on ObamaCare amid premium hikes

Dems turn on ObamaCare amid premium hikes, Bill Clinton laments ‘crazy system’

By: Fox News

 

ObamaCare has survived dozens of Republican attempts to repeal and undermine it, but a new wave of Democratic complaints — led most recently by former President Bill Clinton — about the cost crush facing consumers is posing a fresh challenge.

Bill Clinton, on the campaign trail for Hillary Clinton, told voters in Michigan on Monday that the legislation has created a “crazy system” where millions more people have health care but those unable to qualify for subsidies are getting “killed.”

“The people … out there busting it, sometimes 60 hours a week, wind up with their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in half,” Clinton said. “It’s the craziest thing in the world.”

The comments come as Republican and Democratic administrations at the state level all grapple with fresh complications from the law, as insurers threaten to leave the ObamaCare exchanges amid financial concerns and customers face the prospect of rising premiums for the plans available.

 

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The Hill: Aetna pulling back from ObamaCare in blow to health law

By Peter Sullivan

In a blow to the health care law, Aetna — one of the largest health insurers in the country — announced Monday that it will significantly scale back its presence on the ObamaCare marketplaces next year.

The move comes as a range of insurers have complained of financial losses on the ObamaCare marketplaces.
The company said it will scale back from participating in 15 states this year to just four states in 2017.

“As a strong supporter of public exchanges as a means to meet the needs of the uninsured, we regret having to make this decision,” Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini said in a statement, citing a loss of $200 million in the second quarter.

The Obama administration argued the move is not a sign that the ObamaCare marketplaces are in trouble.

“Aetna’s decision to alter its Marketplace participation does not change the fundamental fact that the Health Insurance Marketplace will continue to bring quality coverage to millions of Americans next year and every year after that,” said the administration’s ObamaCare marketplace CEO, Kevin Counihan.

The move comes on the heels of pullbacks from other major insurers, including UnitedHealthcare and Humana.

The insurers have raised concerns about the sustainability of the ObamaCare marketplaces.

Continue reading, The Hill

 

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The Hill: Next president faces possible ObamaCare meltdown

By Sarah Farris, The Hill

The next president could be dealing with an ObamaCare insurer meltdown in his or her very first month.

The incoming administration will take office just as the latest ObamaCare enrollment tally comes in, delivering a potentially crucial verdict about the still-shaky healthcare marketplaces.

The fourth ObamaCare signup period begins about one week before Election Day, and it will end about one week before inauguration on Jan. 20. After mounting complaints from big insurers about losing money this year, the results could serve as a kind of judgment day for ObamaCare, experts say.

“The next open enrollment period is key,” said Larry Levitt, senior vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The Obama administration has struggled for several years to bring young, healthy people into the marketplaces, which is needed to offset the medical costs of older and sicker customers.

These problems are coming to light this year, as insurers get their first full look at ObamaCare customer data. Some, like UnitedHealth Group, say they’ve seen enough and are already vowing to leave the exchanges.  

Levitt and other experts warn that if the numbers don’t improve this year, more insurers could bolt. That would deal a major blow to marketplace competition while also driving up rates and keeping even more people out of the exchanges.

Already, many insurers this year are proposing substantial rate hikes with the hopes of making up for higher recent medical costs. The average premium increase next year is about 9 percent, according to an analysis of 17 cities by the Kaiser Family Foundation. But some hikes are far higher: Blue Cross Blue Shield has proposed increases of 40 percent in Alabama and 60 percent in Texas.

Levitt said the premium hikes could be “just be a one-time market correction” in the still-new marketplace. But if insurers continue to lose money, it could be a sign of bigger problems.

Continue reading, The Hill

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