4 ms·

Obamacare was expressly designed to fail, it seems. Take an issue and make it worse, wait for the backlash, then come back to the public and offer a new solu

Obamacare was expressly designed to fail, it seems. Take an issue and make it worse, wait for the backlash, then come back to the public and offer a new solution: single payer.

flavor8 10y ago
And/or public option. "The insurers can't make this work, so we'll offer a reasonably priced plan."
maxerickson 10y ago
The design included risk corridor payments that aren't being met. http://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/18/health-insurer-highmark-sues-us-over-obamacare-payments.html http://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/18/health-insurer-highmark-sues-... It's also really difficult to say what premiums would have been without the changes the ACA made. Medical inflation has slowed since the law was passed, but again, I think it is difficult to figure out how much of that to attribute to the ACA.
- xienze 10y ago
  > It's also really difficult to say what premiums would have been without the changes the ACA made. No it's not. Forcing insurers to take people with pre-existing conditions completely screws up risk pools. Anyone could've told you that doing so would make premiums rise much faster than if those customers could be denied.
  - maxerickson 10y ago
    Right, but the must carry provision is not the only change the ACA made...
    - xienze 10y ago
      It's without a doubt the provision with the biggest impact. The whole point of an insurance pool is to pay out less than you bring in, and if you suddenly introduce a lot of people that cost more than they bring in, premiums have to go up. A lot.
merpnderp 10y ago
Only if you realize there's likely nothing you can do to ruin your reputation. Usually there are repercussions for failing badly.
xienze 10y ago
> Obamacare was expressly designed to fail, it seems. Of course it was. Anyone with half a brain understands how risk pools work and understands that allowing people to join said pools after developing an expensive, crippling illness will completely wreck everything.

Obamacare was expressly designed to fail, it seems. Take an issue and make it worse, wait for the backlash, then come back to the public and offer a new solution: single payer.

flavor8 10y ago

And/or public option. "The insurers can't make this work, so we'll offer a reasonably priced plan."

maxerickson 10y ago

The design included risk corridor payments that aren't being met. http://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/18/health-insurer-highmark-sues-us-over-obamacare-payments.html http://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/18/health-insurer-highmark-sues-... It's also really difficult to say what premiums would have been without the changes the ACA made. Medical inflation has slowed since the law was passed, but again, I think it is difficult to figure out how much of that to attribute to the ACA.

xienze 10y ago
> It's also really difficult to say what premiums would have been without the changes the ACA made. No it's not. Forcing insurers to take people with pre-existing conditions completely screws up risk pools. Anyone could've told you that doing so would make premiums rise much faster than if those customers could be denied.
- maxerickson 10y ago
  Right, but the must carry provision is not the only change the ACA made...
  - xienze 10y ago
    It's without a doubt the provision with the biggest impact. The whole point of an insurance pool is to pay out less than you bring in, and if you suddenly introduce a lot of people that cost more than they bring in, premiums have to go up. A lot.

merpnderp 10y ago

Only if you realize there's likely nothing you can do to ruin your reputation. Usually there are repercussions for failing badly.

xienze 10y ago

> Obamacare was expressly designed to fail, it seems. Of course it was. Anyone with half a brain understands how risk pools work and understands that allowing people to join said pools after developing an expensive, crippling illness will completely wreck everything.