AP: Premiums will rise under Democrats’ health plan

[NorthCarolina]

Last month, President Barack Obama bemoaned double-digit increases in healthcare premiums -- most notably a 39% year-over-year hike by the Blue Cross insurance leviathan Wellpoint in California. Wellpoint is raising premiums by double digits for many customers in 11 states.

But according to an analysis by the Associated Press, health insurance premiums will rise under the Democrats' own health care plan championed by President Obama.

Premiums are likely to keep going up even if the health care bill passes, experts say. If cost controls work as advertised, annual increases would level off with time. But don't look for a rollback. Instead, the main reason premiums would be more affordable is that new government tax credits would help cover the cost for millions of people.

---snip---

"There's no question premiums are still going to keep going up," said Larry Levitt of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a research clearinghouse on the health care system. "There are pieces of reform that will hopefully keep them from going up as fast. But it would be miraculous if premiums actually went down relative to where they are today."

The statistics Obama based his claims on come from two sources. In both cases, the caveats got left out.

---snip---

Link: http://rawstory.com/2010/03/ap-premiums-rise-democrats-health-plan/

[Nikki Stone1]

1. This is exactly what the problem is: NO COST CONTROLS

...

[karynnj]

9. There are cost controls - and this article even admits that

"There's no question premiums are still going to keep going up," said Larry Levitt of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a research clearinghouse on the health care system. "There are pieces of reform that will hopefully keep them from going up as fast. But it would be miraculous if premiums actually went down relative to where they are today."

[Javaman]

14. So in other words, they will just go up slower.

:banghead:

[karynnj]

15. At first, then efforts should be made to decrease it

Halting the increases has to happen first.

[Javaman]

18. "efforts should be made"

I'm holding my breath.

:eyes:

[rurallib]

2. AP is about as neutral as FUX

[ShortnFiery]

3. And so it begins.

:nuke:

[Lerkfish]

4. so if our taxes are used to reimburse premiums, explain to me why socialized medicine is worse?

at least with socialized medicine, our taxes go DIRECTLY to the doctors, with no insurance middleman.

since they're going to be using our tax dollars ANYWAY, I don't see how this prevent socialized medicine... just makes it horribly inefficent

[Luciferous]

23. +1

[subterranean]

26. Good point.

On a related note, I agree with something Norman Goldman predicted on his show yesterday: The government will end up paying MUCH more in subsidies (using tax dollars) than it originally projected.

We will still have BY FAR the most expensive and inefficient health care system in the industrialized world.

[soleft]

5. The AP ran a republican hit piece last weekend

It was picked up in my local paper. Headline was something like - Republicans warn against Obama plan - with all these quotes from people like Scott Brown, without one quote or counter claim to balance the story.

[MarjorieG]

6. HCR will need cost controls and will get them, but heavy enough lift to pass as is now.

[unblock]

7. as i've said, they'll blame the premium hikes that were always going to happen on democrats

looks like they've started already.

the body of the article actually describes some good news, that the plan would have a positive effect on curbing increases.

but the headline is awful, and that matters a lot more than the body.

[bigtree]

11. right. Premium increases would be 'curbed' by the legislation

. . . unfortunately, that may not be enough for folks unaware of the magnitude of the momentum behind rate hikes right now to appreciate the limiting effect of the legislation.

[karynnj]

8. The AP has people qualified to do an analysis? Not all that likely

Not to mention, there headline intentionally misleads people to think that the bill CAUSES premiums to increase - which is directly contradicted by the Kaiser Family Foundation:

""There's no question premiums are still going to keep going up," said Larry Levitt of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a research clearinghouse on the health care system. "There are pieces of reform that will hopefully keep them from going up as fast. But it would be miraculous if premiums actually went down relative to where they are today."

[Motown_Johnny]

10. Start Over.... AFTER .... Passing This Bill.

[Luciferous]

22. They won't. They'll declare a victory because they managed to get this

piece of shit bill passed and then they'll move on to other things.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

12. If anyone has been paying attention to this point...

they'd realize that it has ALWAYS been said that the reduction in premiums would be relative to projected rates, not to current ones. It's about keeping the costs down as much as it is about reducing them.

[rox63]

13. Premiums will also go up without the bill

But at least some people will get subsidies if the bill passes.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

16. Old news and false news

Premiums will go down apples-to-apples

IIRC, the CBO estimates premiums will go up as better coverage becomes affordable, causing people to get better plans.

[emulatorloo]

24. More AP willful misinterpretation of the facts. Are they stupid or liars? n/t

[Mari333]

17. Im just going to watch as the citizens are screwed over again

and relax. I wont say I told you so. I promise.

[NNN0LHI]

19. Mari333 I don't agree with you

But I sure do love you. In a platonic way of course. My wife insists upon that.

Take care kiddo. See you later.

:pals:

Don

[O is 44]

20. Premiums are already going up and the plan has not passed.

And you think the status quo would be better? I believe all the naysayers will be surprised what this bill actually does.

[emulatorloo]

21. AP loves to ANAL-yse. Already debunked. n/t

[mzmolly]

25. Very misleading. They'll rise regardless. but they'll rise less with

reform.

[GreenArrow]

27. The price of everything else is going up too...

except my salary.

[babylonsister]

28. AP "fact check" headline falsely suggests people would pay higher premiums under health care reform

AP "fact check" headline falsely suggests people would pay higher premiums under health care reform


The headline of an Associated Press "fact check" article falsely suggested that President Obama's health care plan would cause people to pay higher health insurance premiums. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that by 2016 the Senate's version of health care reform -- on which Obama's plan is largely modeled -- would not increase premiums for the vast majority of Americans, and for many, premium costs would decrease.

more...

http://mediamatters.org/research/201003170014

[Wizard777]

29. Premiums will rise if no health care bill is passed at all.

They've been spending hundreds of millions on lobbyists and advertising to defeat HCR. Do you think they will take that money out of the profits or maybe the CEO will take it out of his lavish salary or obscene bonuses?

:spray: :rofl:

Oh that's rich. But not nearly as rich as the insurance industry and they want to stay that way. So 100% of what they are spending is going to be coming out of the policy holders pockets. That's the price of trying to keep others from having insurance too.

If the dems were smart they would include a provision that prohibits Insurance companies from passing their lobbying costs onto customers.