02.02.16

Obamacare Repeal Fight Continues

`Serious Concerns' About Obamacare Sustainability Continue To Pile Up

“Tuesday’s vote [in the House]… will be the first attempt to override President Obama’s veto of a measure to overturn his signature legislative accomplishment.” (“This Week: Congress Takes Up Obamacare Repeal, Energy Fight,” The Hill, 2/1/16)

 

‘GOP Congressional Leaders Fulfilled A Longtime Pledge To Voters And Rank-And-File Members’

SEN. MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): “Americans are intimately familiar with the painful reality of Obamacare. Americans want a fresh start. Americans want to see Washington build a bridge away from Obamacare and toward better care for them.” (Sen. McConnell, Press Release, 12/2/15)

“The Senate Thursday approved on a largely party line vote a budget bill that would repeal Obamacare... By voting to nullify Obamacare -- the signature domestic accomplishment of the Obama administration -- GOP congressional leaders fulfilled a longtime pledge to voters and rank-and-file members to get a repeal to President Barack Obama's desk, even though he will veto it.” (“Senate Passes Budget Bill Repealing Obamacare, Defunding Planned Parenthood,” CNN, 12/04/15)

“Congressional Republicans made good Wednesday on a central campaign pledge from the 2014 midterms, delivering a bill repealing the health care reform law they loathe to President Obama’s desk, forcing a certain veto.” (“Congress Sends Health Care Repeal To Obama, Setting Up Certain Veto,” The Washington Post, 1/06/16)

“This achievement is all the more notable for traveling through the regular channels of constitutional government, without Armageddon-style confrontations or blowing up century-old Senate rules, as some activists have demanded. The bill passed through patient, unglamorous legislative work, with House and Senate Republicans working together to make policy advances . ... This is what the GOP promised voters in 2014.” (Editorial, “A Victory Over ObamaCare,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/05/16)

“…delivering on the promise of the Senate majority they won last fall to put a bill on Obama’s desk. It will frame the choice in 2016 clearer than ever before: Elect a Republican president, and you can be rid of this abomination once and for all.” (“Promise Kept’: The Senate Finally Votes to Repeal Obamacare,” The Atlantic, 12/4/15)

 

Obamacare: ‘A Faustian Bargain’

“Premiums for individual plans offered by the dominant local insurers are rising almost everywhere for 2016, typically by double-digit percentage increases, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of plan data in 34 states where the HealthCare.gov site sells insurance. More than half of the midrange ‘silver’ plans are boosting the out-of-pocket costs enrollees must pay, while more than 80% of the less-expensive ‘bronze’ plans are doing so. The Obama administration has acknowledged that premiums are going up, releasing an official analysis that, by one metric, showed the price of second-lowest-cost silver plans was rising 7.5% on average for 2016.” (“Rising Rates Pose Challenge to Health Law,” The Wall Street Journal, 11/19/15)

“Private health insurers made a Faustian bargain with Democrats in 2010: In return for supporting passage of the Affordable Care Act, the companies would be able to grow their business with subsidized customers who were required to buy insurance. How’s that working out? Except for Dr. Faustus, not great. … we’re learning that private health insurers are losing money on their Affordable Care Act business, as Aetna was the latest to acknowledge on Monday during its quarterly earnings report.” (Editorial, “More ObamaCare Losses,” Wall Street Journal, 2/2/16)

“UnitedHealth has said that it will probably take about $1 billion in losses on Obamacare plans when 2015 and 2016 results are combined. The company has that it should have stayed out of the market longer, and that it may quit the program in 2017.” (“Aetna CEO Has `Serious Concerns' About Obamacare Sustainability,” Bloomberg Business, 2/01/2016)

“Large U.S. health insurers have faced a rocky start in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act . ... Aetna is one of the biggest insurers in Obamacare and, like its rivals UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Anthem Inc., has struggled to make a profit in the business.” (“Aetna CEO Has `Serious Concerns' About Obamacare Sustainability,” Bloomberg Business, 2/01/2016)

“Anthem, like other insurers, grappled with a tougher-than-expected second year in the Affordable Care Act's exchanges. People who signed up for coverage turned out to be sicker than originally thought. … Fourth-quarter earnings dropped 64%...” (“Anthem's Individual ACA Plans Hammer Q4 Profit,” Modern Healthcare, 1/27/16)

“Blue Cross and Blue Shield isn't challenging agents' descriptions that the insurer projects a loss of more than $400 million on its Affordable Care Act business in North Carolina. …company's combined loss for 2014 and 2015 on ACA customers is expected to top $400 million when the company announces its year-end financial results in the coming weeks.” (“Blue Cross Losing More Than $400M On ACA In 2 Years,” WXII12, 2/1/16)

 

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SENATE REPUBLICAN COMMUNICATIONS CENTER

Related Issues: Obamacare, Back to Work, Health Care