House panel eyes Obamacare co-op collapses...DUH

[wxzyw]

House panel eyes Obamacare co-op collapses

11/26/2015

By Richard Pollock

Reprinted with permission of the Daily Caller News Foundation

Members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform want to know why half of the 23 Obamacare health insurance co-ops have failed, and they are demanding documents from the Obama administration that may offer answers.

Utah Republican Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz and three subcommittee chairmen sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Nov. 20 demanding it turn over documents about the co-ops by December 4. CMS is part of the Department of Health and Human Services and manages Obamacare.

An estimated 800,000 Americans are scrambling to find new health insurance coverage as a result of the collapses. It will cost federal taxpayers at least $1.2 billion. President Barack Obama spent $2.4 billion overall to establish the co-ops, which are intended to provide publicly-funded competition for private sector health insurers.

Here’s the help you’ll need to prepare your household for the realities of living under a centralized health-care system — order Dr. Lee Hieb’s “Surviving the Medical Meltdown: Your Guide to Living Through the Disaster of Obamacare”

Chaffetz addressed Andy Slavitt, the acting CMS administrator who Obama nominated to serve as its permanent top official.

Marilyn Tavenner, his predecessor, left CMS in disgrace over the failures that plagued the roll out of the Obamacare program. Slavitt’s nomination requires Senate confirmation but so far the Senate has not acted on it.

Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse is promising to put a “hold” on Slavitt’s nomination until the administration provides additional information over the failures of the Obamacare exchanges.

In his letter to Slavitt, Chaffetz writes, “With 2016 premiums rising by double digits in some states, and more difficulties predicted both for the Exchanges and co-ops, it is critical that Congress assess CMS’ plans to protect consumers and safeguard billions in taxpayer dollars.”

But in only two years of operation, half of them face financial insolvency, low enrollment and higher-than-expected medical expenses. Many co-ops quickly ran into the red as they tried to offer below market rates that failed to generate sufficient revenue to cover promised benefits.

Iowa’s Co-Opportunity Health, one of the first co-ops to fail this year, paid out $1.40 in medical costs for every dollar it took in as premiums.

Compounding the problem, the original federal rules for the co-ops stop anyone with experience in the commercial insurance industry from joining board or in management. As a result, many of the co-ops can’t hire people with knowledge and experience in health insurance.

A July 2015 Inspector General Report for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found 22 of the 23 co-ops are in the red and hemorrhaging large amounts of money.

Signing the letter with Chaffetz are Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the panel’s health care subcommittee, North Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Meadows, chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, and Texas Republican Rep. Will Hurd, who heads the Subcommittee on Internet Technology.

[D2D]

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/c_pu1va0KGk" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/v/c_pu1va0KGk</a>

WASHINGTON – Top Democrats knew in advance that Obamacare co-ops would fail, but did nothing to fix the problems in the bill before they passed it into law.
Cooperative (co-op) health insurers are closing at a rate of 46 percent as presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton defends Obamacare on the campaign trail. The Obama administration created the co-ops to act as nonprofit insurers to compete against private insurance companies. The scheme was intended to drive down costs. Now, the co-ops are failing and taking billions of dollars in government loans with them.
A video from the archives, flagged by researcher Rich Weinstein and presented here below, shows that Democrats knew in advance that the co-ops would fail.
The House Democratic Steering Committee hosted Yale professor Jacob Hacker during the last-minute push to pass the bill in December 2009. House Speaker and insurance industry donation recipient
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was fighting against the creation of the co-ops (she ended up losing that battle to the White House). Pelosi shared the little-seen video on her Youtube channel at the time.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/11/20/revealed-democrats-knew-obamacare-co-ops-fail-video/

The whole of Obama care was designed to screw up the entire health care system so badly even single payer would seem like a good idea in comparison!

[D2D]

Seems Democrats are OK with the collapse of Obamacare!

[wvit1001]

Single payer is the future of healthcare in America.  There's no sense in seeing bilions and billions of dollars of our healthcare money going to profits for insurance companies.

[D2D]

As predicted!

Obama destroyed the nations health care system by implementing the disaster known as Obamacare!

Soon we will all be waiting in line for months in the hopes of getting life saving care!

I suppose I could always go to Mexico or Asia for treatment!

[Local5th]

Single payer is the future of healthcare in America.

Makes sense. If we don't do that interest on debt will become the biggest line item on out budget.

[wvit1001]

saving our country money hurts you somehow local?  wouldd you rather see your money going to enrich the insurance companies?

[Local5th]

saving our country money hurts you somehow local?  wouldd you rather see your money going to enrich the insurance companies?

Obamacare was passed on the promise of saving money. And they lied. You think this will be any different?

I have no problems with money going to insurance company's. They are limited by what they can make and give us more choices.