Obamacare Update

Just how reliable have the Kaiser Family Foundation ACA forecasts been so far? The truth is that they have been about as accurate as DonDiego's predictions have been dead wrong. Yes, it sounds like an exaggeration, but they have been that accurate.

So here you go:

i'd say ObamaCare is a step in the right direction. Its far from perfect, but its a lot better than the old system, and I've yet to hear a Republican comer up with a better plan. I don't know why people think its okay to have Medicare for people over 65, but nothing for people who are 64.
If a single company like United is pulling six billion dollars a year in profit out of the health care system, I'd think we could do better. How is it that every person in the country is assured of an education , but not health care?
The VA would work fine, if it were funded properly. Congress has underfunded it for a generation now, then screams abou it not functioning correctly.

In 2009 the VA budget was $89b. In 2014 it was $152b. Funding isn't the problem. Govt incompetence is the problem.

Medicare's unfunded liability is in the trillions, not a good model for a plan for those under 65.

$89 billion in 2014 dollars amounts to $98. In other words, the VA has been rewarded with a 54% pay raise (corrected for inflation), as a reward to terrible performance.

"UnitedHealth Group Inc. will drop out of government-organized health insurance markets in at least 18 states as the U.S. industry leader tries to stem losses from participating in Obamacare, the healthcare overhaul that has brought coverage to millions of people."

UnitedHealth Group will leave the following markets:
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
Colorado
Connecticut
Georgia*
Louisiana
Maryland
Michigan
Missouri
Nebraska
NorthCarolina
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Tennessee
Texas
Washington
*a UHC subsidiary will remain serving Atlanta

Ref: Bloomberg

Which will have a "modest impact" on premiums, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. You know, the anti-DonDiego when it comes to accuracy about such matters.

A recent study by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association detailed how many new customers nationwide under ObamaCare are higher-risk. It found new enrollees in individual health plans in 2014 and 2015 had higher rates of hypertension, diabetes, depression, coronary artery disease, HIV and Hepatitis C than those enrolled before ObamaCare. - ANYBODY BESIDES FORKY & PJ (who are in denial) SUPRISED ABOUT THIS

The Kaiser Family Foundation, in an analysis on the prospect of United's exit, said “the effect on insurer competition could be significant in some markets – particularly in rural areas and southern states” if it is not replaced.

In the most extreme scenario, “If United were to leave the exchange market overall, 1.8 million Marketplace enrollees would be left with two insurers, and another 1.1 million would be left with one insurer as a result of the withdrawal,” the analysis said

Does Forkie and PJ believe that this is the last insurance carrier to flee?

Why not just require any company that offers group policies to also offer individual polices?

Well, . . . what the Kaiser Family Foundation actually concluded was that the effects of the UHC withdrawal would vary from market-to-market.
For example:
"We also analyze premium data to identify where United currently offers one of the two lowest-cost silver plans. As the low-cost silver plans are generally the most popular plans on the market, and these plans are the basis for subsidy calculation, a United exit would likely have a more significant effect on people living in these counties."

Ref: Kaiser Family Foundation - 18 April 2016
[Since poor old DonDiego cannot do the research himself he endeavors to provide references to those who do whenever he can.]