"We cannot sustain these losses,"-UHC

[zork]

Interesting news from United HealthCare:

(Reuters) - UnitedHealth Group Inc said it may exit the individual insurance exchanges created under U.S. President Barack Obama's healthcare law, raising new questions about the long-term sustainability of a key Obamacare program.

The largest U.S. health insurer said weak enrollment and high medical costs for exchange members were taking too big a toll on its performance. It will evaluate during the first half of next year whether it will offer Obamacare plans in 2017.

Rivals Aetna Inc and Anthem Inc said last month that they were seeing too few people enroll, but have not said they were considering exiting the business.

"We cannot sustain these losses," UnitedHealth Chief Executive Stephen Hemsley said during a conference call with investors. "We can't really subsidize a marketplace that doesn't appear at the moment to be sustaining itself."

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/health-in...-full-profit-forecast-110805557--finance.html

What will Obama do to bolster his program? Does he have the capacity to work with the Republicans on a compromise?

 

[nashhorn]

No

 

[nashhorn]

Well maybe one, print Obamacare dollars.

 

[theiioftx]

Aetna and Anthem are also about to exit. Go figure.

 

[mb227]

So basically...to make sure I have this right...if you liked your plan, you could keep it except that, oops, the companies cut the plan because the feds claimed it didn't meet Obamacare standards so they now offer you this other group of plans that, no matter whether you liked it or despised it, you ALSO won't be able to keep.

The crap just keeps getting shoveled by this Administration...

 

[BevoBeef]

Interesting news from United HealthCare:

What will Obama do to bolster his program? Does he have the capacity to work with the Republicans on a compromise?

The news report I heard .emphasized that the younger gen are choosing to pay the penalty instead of signing up . The subsidy to those making over $50K annual decreases to half as much. Soak the healthy is a philosophy that is not working.

 

[UTChE96]

Discussed in length years ago, but this was completely predictable by anyone who has basic reasoning skills. It is obvious that you cannot set-up an optional insurance system which allows customers to sign-up after they get sick. As long as the penalty for not having insurance is significantly less than insurance premiums, the system is inherently unsustainable. The healthy young folks are not signing up in the numbers that were needed to subsidize the system. Getting rid of the preexisting condition clauses has taken away the main reason why young people were signing up for insurance in the first place.

 

[mb227]

The news report I heard .emphasized that the younger gen are choosing to pay the penalty instead of signing up . The subsidy to those making over $50K annual decreases to half as much. Soak the healthy is a philosophy that is not working.

It was more like soak the HEALTHY AND the WEALTHY.

I was one of those who HAD a relatively inexpensive plan that I liked...I did not get to keep it. I have elected to go uninsured precisely because the penalty is less than the damned deductible would have been, to say little of the premiums. My medical bills for the past decade are still a total in the low four figures...does that mean I won't ever have something catastrophic? No. But that is a risk I have been willing to assume...