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An Insurance Exodus From Obamacare Could Come in 2017
UnitedHealthcare’s decision to not offer Affordable Care Act exchange plans next year in “at least 26 of the 34 states where it sold 2016 coverage” may soon be followed by similar announcements from other health care insurers. At least that is one implication that can be drawn from the findings reported in a new paper…Jean Morrow -
How UnitedHealthcare’s Exit From Obamacare Exchanges Will Impact Consumers
In the wake of UnitedHealthcare’s decision to exit Obamacare’s marketplaces in 2017, consumers purchasing coverage on the exchanges may have fewer choices and less competition. UnitedHealth Group CEO Stephen Hemsley announced during an earnings call last week that the nation’s largest health provider would be exiting the majority of the exchanges after warning the marketplaces…Melissa Quinn -
Health Care Giant Abandons ‘Higher-Risk’ Obamacare Exchanges
Health insurance giant UnitedHealth Group opted out of most Obamacare health exchanges on Tuesday after a review of its first-quarter earnings suggested the exchanges would be a risky investment. According to The Washington Times, UnitedHealth Group CEO Stephen J. Hemsley said on a first-quarter earnings call, that the small-market size and “shorter-term, higher-risk” profile of…Kristiana Mork -
‘Stop Cheating Taxpayers:’ Ben Sasse Introduces Bill Requiring Obamacare Program to Reimburse Treasury
Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., introduced a bill Thursday that would force the Obama administration to deposit $5 billion in the Treasury by 2017 as required under Obamacare’s reinsurance program or face steep cuts to its departmental management fund this year and next year. Called the “Taxpayers Before Insurers Act,” Sasse’s legislation codifies penalties for the…Melissa Quinn -
4 Facts That Prove Obamacare Isn’t Aging Well
Millions of Americans are faced with rising healthcare costs and higher taxes, unstable and expensive health insurance exchanges, mountains of red tape, and arrogant bureaucratic attacks on personal and religious liberty. These and other mounting problems, as Heritage Foundation Senior Fellow Robert E. Moffit shows in a comprehensive Heritage paper, plague the Affordable Care Act….Jean Morrow -
Competition in Obamacare Exchanges Declined in 2016
On Oct. 1, 2013, President Barack Obama lauded the opening of the Affordable Care Act’s new health insurance exchanges and claimed, “You’ll find more choices, more competition, and in many cases, lower prices.” In his latest paper tracking choice and insurer competition in the exchanges, Heritage Foundation senior fellow Ed Haislmaier reports that fewer insurers are…Jean Morrow -
3 Ways Obamacare’s Insurance Regulations Could Cost You
The price tag for the Affordable Care Act includes not only the additional tax dollars spent on expanding Medicaid and providing new subsidies for exchange coverage, but also the costs imposed, in the form of higher health insurance premiums, by the law’s new regulations. While sound health care policy would have focused on finding ways…Drew Gonshorowski -
A Legacy of Broken Promises: Obamacare Turns 6
Obamacare, a partisan product full of broken promises, is six years old. Burdened by mounting problems, it’s not mellowing with age. Notwithstanding the president’s notorious promise, millions of Americans have lost their health care plans, and, for those faced with narrowing provider networks, their choice of doctors is also shrinking. If you were eagerly awaiting…Robert Moffit -
Why the Little Sisters of the Poor Believe Obamacare Mandate Violates Their Religious Liberty
The Little Sisters of the Poor is a group of Catholic nuns who typically lead a quiet, dignified existence caring for the elderly poor. In the last few years, that quiet existence has been troubled by the constant court battles the group has been fighting over the Affordable Care Act’s so-called “contraceptive mandate,” which requires…Grace Stark -
In 5 Charts, How Obamacare Has Worked the Past 6 Years
Six years ago Wednesday, President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law. Since then, Americans have seen their premiums increase, a dozen nonprofit insurers have closed their doors and the number of people on the Medicaid rolls has expanded. Americans nationwide have both praised and cursed the law since the…Melissa Quinn -
Obamacare Mandate Would Make ‘Hypocrites’ of Catholic University, Its President Says
The head of one of the nation’s most prominent Catholic universities said in an interview with The Daily Signal that Obamacare is at odds with the institution’s mission by mandating coverage of contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs in health plans. Requiring such insurance coverage in violation of deeply held religious beliefs “makes hypocrites of us,” John…Mariana Barillas -
6 Broken Obamacare Promises
The Affordable Care Act is six years old today, but there is little reason to celebrate. Here are six broken promises and lies made by President Barack Obama and his ally, Rep. Nancy Pelosi. D-Calif., about the law—which are six good reasons Congress should blow out the birthday candles and repeal it once and for…Genevieve Wood -
Obamacare Was Going to Lower Health Care Costs. What Actually Happened.
Hawking the Affordable Care Act (ACA) six years ago, President Barack Obama said, “Every single good idea to bend the cost curve and start actually reducing health care costs [is] in this bill.” Team Obama projected that their version of health care reform—replete with the bells and whistles of “investments” in health information technology, health…Robert Moffit -
Why Obamacare Premiums Are Climbing All Over US
On the third year of the Affordable Care Act exchanges, it is becoming more apparent that the promises of cost-saving and premium reduction may be reserved only for people who are able to capture the most subsidies. Plans increased rates by 25.1 percent in Kentucky, 14 percent in Ohio, and nearly 11 percent in Michigan. Exchange…Drew Gonshorowski -
Obamacare Insurers Could Get Billions From Controversial Government Fund
A $5 billion lawsuit filed by a nonprofit insurer against the Obama administration for a program implemented under Obamacare is raising questions about the use of a fund available for settlements with the government and whether Congress can, and should, intervene. According to legal experts, if the Obama administration decided to settle its class action…Melissa Quinn -
Will Failed Obamacare Co-Ops Repay Taxpayers’ Money? Senate Panel Seeks Answers
Top Obamacare officials told a Senate panel Thursday that they can’t guarantee that the government ever will recover billions of taxpayer dollars loaned to health insurance “co-ops.” “Today’s hearing is about the families who lost their health care plans, it’s about the taxpayers who were swindled, it’s about the bureaucrats who mismanaged this program, and…Leah Jessen -
How Much Are Obamacare Deductibles Up in Your State?
Americans across the country are paying higher health care deductibles under Obamacare. Freedom Partners, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting freedom and expanding opportunity, released an analysis of data tracking the weighted average of 2016 Obamacare deductibles in all 50 states. A total of 41 states saw an average increase in deductibles. “Higher Obamacare deductibles increase,…Leah Jessen -
The Obama Administration’s $5 Billion Obamacare Problem
One of the more than 20 failed or struggling “consumer-oriented” insurers created by Obamacare is suing the U.S. government for as much as $5 billion in payments it claims are owed to itself and other insurers. Health Republic Insurance of Oregon filed a class action complaint in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C., seeking $2.5…Leah Jessen -
Farm Contractors Balk at Obamacare Requirements
Obamacare is putting the agricultural industry in a tizzy. Many contractors who provide farm labor and must now offer workers health insurance are complaining loudly about the cost in their already low-margin business. Some are also concerned that the forms they must file with the federal government under the Affordable Care Act will bring immigration…April Dembosky -
Bad Decisions, Mismanagement Led to ‘High Risk of Failure’ for Obamacare Website, Study Finds
The Obamacare website failed on launch because government officials spent too little time on it, made bad technical decisions, and mismanaged a key contract, a new internal report says. The “culture” of the agency overseeing Obamacare also got in the way of readying the website, Healthcare.gov, especially poor coordination and a resistance to addressing “bad news,”…Leah Jessen
