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Originally posted by: Chilcoot
There is no "Insurance Company Bailout".
One might've been able to claim that "there is no insurance company bailout" back when Chicoot's link to the Washington Post was published. That link appropriately references the Obamacare provision for "risk corridors" to partially cover "unexpected losses" by insurance companies with Obamacare funds.
[DonDiego opines it isn't unreasonable to consider this provision a "bailout", . . . as he has reported in this Forum some months ago; but the Washington Post says it's not.]
But now, as published in, f'rinstance, The Albuquerque Journal on 21 May this week, things have, . . . umm, . . changed, . . . umm, . . . again:
"The Obama administration has quietly adjusted key provisions of its signature health care law to potentially make billions of additional taxpayer dollars available to the insurance industry if companies providing coverage through the Affordable Care Act lose money.
The move was buried in hundreds of pages of new regulations issued late last week. It comes as part of an intensive administration effort to hold down premium increases for next year, a top priority for the White House as the rates will be announced ahead of this fall’s congressional elections.
Administration officials for months have denied charges by opponents that they plan a 'bailout' for insurance companies providing coverage under the health care law.
They continue to argue that most insurers shouldn’t need to substantially increase premiums because safeguards in the health care law will protect them over the next several years.
But the change in regulations essentially provides insurers with another backup: If they keep rate increases modest over the next couple of years but lose money, the administration will tap federal funds as needed to cover shortfalls."
[boldface added - DD]
[underline added - DD]
i.e. The Obama fears significant increases in Obamacare insurance premiums may be announced over the next several months, . . . coincidently shortly before the mid-term election this year. The Obama finds this unacceptable.
So the Obama has once again unilaterally - without any Congressional legislative action authorizing additional expenses - changed the Obamacare Law to reward the Obamacare insurers with additional taxpayer dollars if they just keep their premiums low for a little while.
This is at best a simple "bailout". DonDiego suggests it is worse than that, . . . it is simple fraud on the American taxpayers.
