Pete the Banker: Told Ya! Oregon Insurance Costs UP UP UP Due to ObamaCare

November 18, 2010

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Plenty of huffing and puffing about the evil corporations over at Blue Oregon over United Health’s request for a rate increase. Those of us who were paying attention to the ObamaCare promises versus what the market told us would happen laugh and shake our heads over their faux shock. Filing here

Rate Request:

 Proposed rate increase: 16.8 percent from one year earlier.

 Effective date: 2/1/2011

 Oregonians impacted: 14,068 (actual membership as of July 2010)

This isn’t a news flash. See this story here. Apparently United Healthcare of Connecticut is United Health.  This is the same United Health that was cooperating with the Obama Administration to get Obamacare approved in the Summer of 2009. 
Remember article from Business Week from August 2009? (Here) The article extensively covers United Health’s involvement in lobbying for the bill.  The article suggests they were cooperating with the Administration with a two fold objective, greater numbers of insureds to generate more premium dollars and secondly to lower reimbursements to existing insureds (and accordingly United’s costs).  

Here: “A fundamental question about the health overhaul is what minimal standards will apply to the coverage all Americans will be required to have. UnitedHealth has been exchanging a high volume of information on the topic with members of the Senate Finance Committee and their staff. Stevens, the former British health aide, regularly scans Power Point presentations generated by the committee staff that attempt to calculate the actuarial value of proposed benefit packages. Senators stung by the projected $1 trillion price tag are winnowing down the required coverage levels to cut costs. (emph mine)

And the bottom line:

This is good news for UnitedHealth, which benefits when patients pick up more of the tab. In late spring, the Finance Committee was assuming a 76% reimbursement rate on average, meaning consumers would be responsible for paying the remaining 24% of their medical bills, in addition to their insurance premiums. Stevens and his UnitedHealth colleagues urged a more industry-friendly ratio. Subsequently the committee reduced the reimbursement figure to 65%, suggesting a 35% contribution by consumers—more in line with what the big insurer wants. The final figures are still being debated.

 Also remember that during the Fall, 2009, Obama turned against the Health Insurers including United Health to try to garner more public support for his bill and the honeymoon between the United Health and Administration grew more tenuous.

 
Oregon leftists/progressives’ shock over the price increases is about as convincing as those phony photo op doctor’s coats over there. 
Pete the Banker

Tell ’em where you saw it. Http://www.victoriataft.com