Did you hear the one where this major newspaper editorial board published an article telling America that the pull out from the Obamacare exchanges of the nation's largest health insurer was a sign that Obamacare is working? You did if you read the Washington Post.
According to the editors of the Post, the departure of United Healthcare from the Obamacare exchanges is actually a good thing. First of all say the editors, United only insures 6% of the people who bought insurance on the exchanges. That means that United's departure won't mean all that much, they claim. Now let's stop and think about that for a moment. It's important to keep in mind that United does not currently sell policies on all of the exchanges. It only offers policies in roughly thirty states. In those states, United obviously sells substantially more than 6% of the policies. In fact, it's more than ten percent in multiple states. And remember too that in some states United is one of only two or three insurers offering policies. United's departure from the exchanges removes the bulk of the competition in those poorly served states.
The WaPo editors also tell us that United couldn't compete because it offered better networks of doctors and hospitals as well as lower deductibles than the competition with the result that United charged higher premiums. So the WaPo is celebrating the outcome that plans that offered good networks and tolerable deductibles are being driven from the marketplace. All that anyone will be able to buy on the exchanges will be plans with poor networks and super-high deductibles. In other words, people will have to pay for insurance, but they won't be able to use it unless they have a catastrophic illness. That will mean poorer health for the nation in general as visits to the doctor become fewer and less frequent.
The truth is that the pull out of United is a harbinger of the disintegration of the Obamacare exchange system. Obama set up a system that will cost trillions of dollars to manage and subsidize but the end result will be worse healthcare and the ruination of the health insurance system.
According to the editors of the Post, the departure of United Healthcare from the Obamacare exchanges is actually a good thing. First of all say the editors, United only insures 6% of the people who bought insurance on the exchanges. That means that United's departure won't mean all that much, they claim. Now let's stop and think about that for a moment. It's important to keep in mind that United does not currently sell policies on all of the exchanges. It only offers policies in roughly thirty states. In those states, United obviously sells substantially more than 6% of the policies. In fact, it's more than ten percent in multiple states. And remember too that in some states United is one of only two or three insurers offering policies. United's departure from the exchanges removes the bulk of the competition in those poorly served states.
The WaPo editors also tell us that United couldn't compete because it offered better networks of doctors and hospitals as well as lower deductibles than the competition with the result that United charged higher premiums. So the WaPo is celebrating the outcome that plans that offered good networks and tolerable deductibles are being driven from the marketplace. All that anyone will be able to buy on the exchanges will be plans with poor networks and super-high deductibles. In other words, people will have to pay for insurance, but they won't be able to use it unless they have a catastrophic illness. That will mean poorer health for the nation in general as visits to the doctor become fewer and less frequent.
The truth is that the pull out of United is a harbinger of the disintegration of the Obamacare exchange system. Obama set up a system that will cost trillions of dollars to manage and subsidize but the end result will be worse healthcare and the ruination of the health insurance system.
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