Monday, June 29, 2015

Why The Affordable Care Act Isn't 'Here to Stay'­­­­--In One Picture

Why is Obamacare still so unpopular? Why aren’t the working class and
middle-class signing up for it? Why is the Obamacare population sicker
and causing so many big rate increases a year earlier than expected? Is
Obamacare financially sustainable in its present form? Is it politically
sustainable as it is?

Here is one picture that tells you just about everything you need to
know to

Thursday, June 25, 2015

The King V. Burwell Decision

First, as any of us who know the market can appreciate, the Court just saved the Republicans from themselves. They were in no way ready to avoid the crisis that would have engulfed the individual market––half of those people on the exchange who would have lost their subsidies and the other half off-exchange that would have seen 30% to 50% rate increases––on top of the big increases already

Thursday, June 18, 2015

The Republican Proposals to Extend the Obamacare Subsidies If the Supreme Court Ends Them Would Create a Huge Market Mess

While both the House and Senate plans would create a means for people to
continue to be covered in the wake of any Supreme Court finding that
ended the subsidies in the federally run states, what we so far know
about these proposals is clearly unworkable in the market and would lead
to very big and unfortunate unintended consequences.

See my post at Forbes

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Why Are the Proposed 2016 Obamacare Rate Increases So Large?


Why The Big Obamacare Rate Increases Have Begun a Year Early?



One state after another is reporting big Obamacare rate increases––particularly from many high market share health insurers who have the best claim data.

Where are the rates going up and by how much?

Will regulators cut these rate increases back as they often did last year?

What is causing this a full year before the insurance

Monday, June 1, 2015

The Eye Popping 2016 Obamacare Rate Increases Are Out


The Big Rate Increases Are Coming a Year Early

The Obama administration has posted the 2016 rate increases in excess of 10% that the Obamacare health plans are requesting.

There are a lot of them.

All of the federally run states have been posted and some for the state exchanges as well. Both California and New York do not have their rates on this site yet.

Some will quickly argue that many

Sunday, May 31, 2015

The Columbia Journalism Review: "Why We Need Stronger Coverage of Covered California"


The California Press Gets a Critique It Has Long Deserved

Covered California, the Obamacare state-run health insurance exchange, has long been the subject of occasional posts on this blog––none of them flattering.

The constant spin in the face of facts that comes out of Covered California and the way the press, particularly in California, has often just reprinted that spin hasn't been