Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This is what the people wanted. Obama, Pelosi and Reid told us so.
So in 3 days the gates open up.
We deserve everything coming to us.
Most people who support don't even give a poop. They have no out of pocket cost now and will have no out of pocket cost after it is implemented. Of course, those who write the bill got a lot to gain from it.
There is only ONE provider in West Virginia. Two were approved for the exchange, but one dropped out because it was not in their best interest to participate once they saw all the details and restrictions.
"Rep. Renee Ellmers raised awareness of a new problem with Obamacare’s implementation: the creation of private-sector health insurance monopolies that will limit Americans’ provider choices. “Although seven insurance companies currently operate in North Carolina, under the new Obamacare exchanges, those options will dwindle down to one in the majority of counties,” Ellmers said Thursday following the disclosure of figures by federal health officials showing that more than 60 percent of North Carolina counties will have only one insurance provider option under Obamacare. Beginning October 1 under Obamacare, Blue Cross Blue Shield will be the only health insurance provider serving the entire state of North Carolina in the new Obamacare exchanges, serving all 100 of the state’s counties. Its competitor Coventry Health Care, which is owned by Aetna, will only reach 39 counties."
But hey, if you are happy with your insurance you get to keep it. Isn't that what the President said?
Sounds to me like when there's a common baseline for an insurance product and a side by side comparison, most NC licensed carriers do not have the depth or breadth to compete with BCBS in some counties in NC.
Yet in other places, all over the U.S., there are reports of 100+ carriers competing against each other for healthcare business.
How did a handful more carriers manage to compete before the ACA baseline? What was the nature of their healthcare policy product? Did they rely on consumer ignorance that all healthcare insurance was alike? Were these policies of the typical sub prime variety of high deductible- low annual or lifetime cap, that bites people in the butt?
What other underlying causes, unique to some counties in NC, precludes other carriers from competing with BCBS on a level playing field? Speculation on my part...
Could it be that access to healthcare is so limited in some areas that hospitals do not have to compete and charge whatever they want?
Does NC state insurance law allow a carrier and a hospital to agree to non compete clause? By this, I mean a hospital and carrier is allowed to negotiate an exclusive and/or preferred PPO arrangement?
Only thing clear here is that there is more to this story and the reporter chose to not roll up his sleeves and dig in when it's easier to blame ACA.
Last edited by middle-aged mom; 09-27-2013 at 10:17 AM..
Those same young invincibles will be the first running to the ER racking up bills that they can't pay when they get hurt. Hospitals had $41 BILLION in unpaid bills in 2011. Who do you think pays for them? I do, you do, through higher premiums. I already have to pay for them, they should be getting fined for making MY bills go up.
Exactly, not to mention that in parts of the country with high %'s of uninsured illegals it puts a big burden on some healthcare services when their payment rates are lower than normal.
It's no different than uninsured drivers who push additional costs onto us by having accidents but not paying money into the system to pay for damage.
I would hope that some hospital costs come down as they experience less "leakage" in the form of unpaid bills.
Exactly, not to mention that in parts of the country with high %'s of uninsured illegals it puts a big burden on some healthcare services when their payment rates are lower than normal.
It's no different than uninsured drivers who push additional costs onto us by having accidents but not paying money into the system to pay for damage.
I would hope that some hospital costs come down as they experience less "leakage" in the form of unpaid bills.
Good points.
Many of these "invincibles" still will not be paying a penny out of pocket.
There is only ONE provider in West Virginia. Two were approved for the exchange, but one dropped out because it was not in their best interest to participate once they saw all the details and restrictions.
I am sorry for the situation in WV. How is it possible that only one carrier chose to compete on a level playing field in the entire state?
It suggests a few possibilities:
Pre ACA, carriers were relying on consumer ignorance and a perception that all insurance was equal. This allowed many to write relatively cheap sub prime policies with high deductibles and low annual/lifetime caps, the type of policies that are useless for routine medical care and diagnosis of serious medical conditions and/or accidents, and/or
Hospitals in the state are few and far between meaning there is little to no competition , meaning they can charge whatever they want, and/or
State laws allow insurers and hospitals to negotiate non compete clauses.
I am sorry for the situation in WV. How is it possible that only one carrier chose to compete on a level playing field in the entire state?
It suggests a few possibilities:
Pre ACA, carriers were relying on consumer ignorance and a perception that all insurance was equal. This allowed many to write relatively cheap sub prime policies with high deductibles and low annual/lifetime caps, the type of policies that are useless for routine medical care and diagnosis of serious medical conditions and/or accidents, and/or
Hospitals in the state are few and far between meaning there is little to no competition , meaning they can charge whatever they want, and/or
State laws allow insurers and hospitals to negotiate non compete clauses.
What a hospital can charge is regulated by the state. What we supposedly were addressing is people with no insurance, not those with inadequate insurance.
So those with no insurance and looking to government agencies to help them through this maze will all be directed to this one carrier. I huge, huge, huge government subsidy for this carrier and as we know, anything the government subsidizes only gets bigger.
BlueCross/BlueShield is a very suspect insurance company. They operate as a "non-profit", yet have a bloated bureaucracy of overpaid execs.
Most U.S. hospitals, including the giants, are non-profit. CEOs and other Sr. management can and often do make substantial 6 figure incomes. Non-profits in any field are not precluded from making a profit and most do in any given year. Some make hundreds of millions in profits each year. They simply cannot use to profits to give their shareholders a dividend.
They increasingly use those profits to:
Buy the competition and control the market
Buy medical practices
Compete for top international medical talent
Build their brand
Expand, expand, expand
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
