FROM THE NATIONAL FRONT and
what it means to you!
1.
On January 25th the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reduced its
estimate of how many people would enroll in health coverage through the ACA
State and Federal exchanges from 21 million down to 13 million. They also
further estimated that 11 of those 13 million would be receiving subsidies,
which was down from their prior estimate of 15 million.
The
White House and other proponents of the ACA made rosy projections of enrollment
for Obamacare, but it hasn't turned out. Next year, in 2017, in order to
meet projections, 24 million would have to sign up, which is highly
unlikely. The problem is what you already know:
Policies
with high deductibles and high out of pocket maximums, very narrow choices
in doctors, and with ever higher rates are just not attractive to
non-subsidized buyers. As my sainted mentor told me, "It's not dog
food if the dogs won't eat it."
2.
There was a report in the Wall Street Journal on January 29 that United
HealthCare had lost $450 Million last year with their individual policies sold
on the health exchanges. That despite all the efforts they undertook to
DISCOURAGE the sale. Initiatives such as increasing deductibles,
increasing premiums, reducing their provider networks, and eliminating producer
commissions. They along with Humana have announced that they are
considering withdrawing from the Individual Exchange placed policy market
altogether in 2017.