Here We Go: Insurers Begin Blaming Health Law For Premiums Increases

[ProSense]

Here We Go: Insurers Begin Blaming Health Law For Premiums Increases

On Friday, the News & Observer in North Carolina reported that Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina — the largest insurer in the state — would be increasing premiums to keep up with medical inflation and the requirements of the new health care law:

“With everything that’s been added, you can’t really expect costs to go down,” he said.

The situation isn’t likely to improve any time soon. As more provisions of the health overhaul law take affect in 2014, Blue Cross officials said they expect rates to rise further.

“We do expect significant premium volatility in 2014 as the industry moves to an entirely new rating structure,” said Patrick Getzen, Blue Cross’ chief actuary.

But aside from allowing dependent coverage and eliminating annual limits, BCBSNC is also taking early steps to implement other provisions of the health law. The company is starting to move people into a single risk pool and is slowly eliminating the rating bands that many insurers are so infamous for. That sounds good, but it means that younger people who now pay relatively little for individual policies will pay substantially higher premiums, with some rates going up as much as 30%.

Adam Linker, a policy analyst with the N.C. Justice Center’s Health Access Coalition, doesn’t think that policy holders should have to bear the brunt of the issuer’s decision to adopt early changes, particularly since they’ll have to pay higher premiums without the added benefit of the law’s subsidies or Medicaid expansion (both of which don’t begin before 2014). He believes that if BCBSNC wants to institute a policy of early compliance, then it should pay for these changes itself. After all, the issuer does has an unusually high amount of money set away in its reserves and could certainly afford it.

“I’d like to see insurers take a small hit now and then figure out what adjustments they need to make in 2014,” when federal subsidies will help the uninsured afford coverage, Linker said. At that point, health insurers also will get a boost in business from new members.

But what’s really interesting about this approach is that BCBSNC is trying to get its policyholders to pay for its early compliance efforts and any “premium volatility in 2014″ — the very same kind of “volatility” that early compliance is presumably designed to reduce. The problem is that the health care law provides many insurers with an easy scapegoat, even if actuaries have estimated that the initial provisions (dependent coverage and eliminating annual limits) would increase costs by as little as 1%. They can raise premiums higher and blame all the increases on the taxes and coverage provisions of the new health law.

[KT2000]

1. Solution: Public Option

and we better yell that louder than the insurance companies.

[RandomThoughts]

3. I mentioned that when I was making logic aruguments for it years ago.

Didn't seem that people wanted to listen to that.

So working on beer. Since that sequence is already in progress by best observation.

[golfguru]

6. Public option or strict limits on premium increases

are the main vehicles for keeping the private health insurance premiums
from escalating unchecked.

Unfortunately, both are missing from the HCR bill signed by Obama.

[msongs]

2. industry thanks congress/Obama admin for the extra money they can now make nt

[golfguru]

4. Just wait until January 2011...

That is when most health insurance premiums reset.
Most contracts are signed for one year at a time and reset on Jan 1st.

[dflprincess]

5. And this is news?

The same old crooks have been left in charge of our access to care and all they do is shake us down for money money and you're surprised?

Obama is the one who used to say we needed a public option to "keep them honest". He admitted they were crooks but still thought it was a fine idea to dig them in deeper. He dropped any push for a public option and turned them loose on us. It's hardly shocking to find out that they are continuing to cheat us

[ProSense]

9. No, but

this is exactly the reaction that is expected.

The insurance companies are trying to sway perception and justify increases. The fact is there is a in place to counter some of these activities before the law is fully implemented.

[Milo_Bloom]

7. It's funny becuase they don't even have to!

It's not like the Health Insurance Bill has any EFFECTIVE measures to control costs, but some people think they do, so the insurance companies get to use it as an excuse to raise prices.

[hulka38]

8. Here We Go: Feigning Surprise That This Was Going To Happen. n/t

[depakid]

11. LOL- exactly

[Rosa Luxemburg]

10. ddn't Congress stop health Inr companies jacing up premiums?

meanwhile their CEOs rake in the millions

[woo me with science]

12. Gee thanks for this crap piece of legislation.

Just in time for the election, too.

[TheKentuckian]

13. Surprise, surprise, surprise! I'll be who woulda thunk it?

We got zero hand on this. It has probably occurred to the syndicate that the only thing over there heads is being booted from the exchange but if they all violate as a team there is no option but to let them slide and accept it.

The exchange threat only works if they care about the customers and that they don't get picked off one or a few at a time.

The whole thing is a joke. If the cartel doesn't play nice there is nothing to do about it.

[Safetykitten]

14. But...but....oh nevermind. It's pointless now. I am convinced when only

a select chosen few have health insurance, then and only then will the "Thank God it passed" contingent will admit to this colossal fuck up.

[lynne]

15. Here we go: Pretending we weren't warned about this -

- as this isn't new. It was discussed in the media and was talked about at DU but was ignored.