(The People’s View): President Obama Check-Mates Health Insurance Lobby

[Playinghardball]

There are a lot opinions going around about President Obama’s press conference this morning on the Affordable Care Act and its implementation. I see it as a singular thing: check mate. Once again, to quote my fellow contributor here at TPV, the president saved the Democrats’ bacon, and once again, with his back to the wall, he delivered a masterful stroke of political genius curved out to avoid any interference with policy.

The headlines tell you that Obama will let Americans who are being dropped from their plans keep those plans for another year, and that is absolutely true. But the headlines do not tell the whole story. With the withering assault on health reform from the media, the Republicans and some Democrats, the president took the most blistering attack line against him, and turned it into a weapon against reform opponents. Here is what I believe were the two most important sentence the president spoke in the nearly hourlong presser:

We’re also requiring insurers to extend current plans to inform their customers about two things: One, that protections — what protections these renewed plans don’t include. Number two, that the marketplace offers new options with better coverage and tax credits that might help you bring down the cost.

This, my fellow progressives, is how you keep your eyes on the prize….

More here: http://www.thepeoplesview.net/

[russspeakeasy]

1. Thank you for this post.

[freshwest]

2. Obama is honest and his opposition isn't. That's why he keeps winning. Of course, too many in media

talk about Obama and his agenda, without ever having read it first. Or listening to the man speak.

If they had, they would realize he never leaves anything out, is speaks in terms of complex truths.

When I argue with baggers, they call him 'arrogant' or 'ignorant' or 'a liar' when they have never listened to even one speech, news conference or read what he literally says, because they are doing this:



They cannot have any debate based on anything but regurgitated bias and repeating what their media told them. They believe they have all the answers, when all they have are voices in their head, like Beck or Rush.

It's frightening, the power of repetition, using the way people learn and for the advancement of the Koch Reichwing. Very, very hard to fight it.

[badtoworse]

3. Seriously? Does anyone actually believe what Obama suggested is doable?

Even if the state insurance commissioners allow it and the insurance companies want to do it, isn't enough time to reinstate them by the deadline. The canceled policies are history.

If people who were canceled are still in the same boat a month now, do you think one press conference changing the rules at the last minute will get Obama off the hook? I don't.

Health.gov needs to work soon and people need to be happy with the plans that are offered. If not, the shit storm is just beginning.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

5. No. The people affected have time to call their insurance company

And get reinstated. Insurance commissioners HAVE to allow it, and since they set rates for coming year already, the insurance companies are just going to have to EAAt it in lost profits for the coming year because they decided to be amoral douche bags and fuck with people's lives using Obamacare as a pretext to do so.

[badtoworse]

7. So why do the insurance commissioners have to allow it?

What makes you think the insurance companies are going to eat any lost profits?

[Pretzel_Warrior]

9. Because rates are set yearly by commissioners

[badtoworse]

10. So are the terms of the policies...

...and the policies the commissioners approved are not the same as the policies that were canceled. Like I said, the canceled policies are history.

Assuming you called your insurance company and asked for the old policy, they would likely tell you they don't offer it anymore. They would then tell you what is available. If you like what they have - great!. If not, too bad.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

11. That may be the reality of what happens, but it won't be due to legal requirements

The way is cleared for them to go ahead and regenerate these policies and get people who were on them back on them. That will be the important message. The fact that an insurance company CHOOSES not to do so will be their own PR problem.

[badtoworse]

13. You're right. It will be due to the logistical impossibility of doing a year's work in 30 days

I think most people will realize that and see Obama's move as an attempt to shift the blame to the insurance companies and the commissioners.

I guess we'll have to wait to see what happens.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

14. That is utter bullshit. I work with sophisticated enterprise systems

There is nothing logistically impossible about adding back in policies with coverages, rates, etc. In their systems, on the website, etc.

[badtoworse]

15. How about renegotiating terms with doctors and hospitals?

Those agreements don't apply anymore either. How about detailing the differences between the new plan and old plan and then sending letters explaining it to the ex-policy holders (read that legal review)? How about the time it takes the commissions to review and approve the reinstated policies?

It's not going to happen in 30 days even if everyone wanted it to.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

17. Insurance companies don't negotiate rates on a per policy basis. It is overall.

How much the insurance company pays vs. What you pay may vary. But their agreed upon rates for an office visit or appendectomy ate universal.

You are just throwing out red herrings now.

[badtoworse]

18. What difference does that make?

The new rates and terms will be different than what was used to price the old policies. ETA: There is also no guarantee that the same doctors will agree to accept the old plan again.

[B2G]

16. It's not just technology, that's the easiest part

[Chuuku Davis]

8. Correct

Those policies were CANCELLED
They are gone
No longer exist
This will be interesting

[Pretzel_Warrior]

4. Very curious why DeFazio voted for that.

His seat has been remarkably safe.

[Capt. Obvious]

6. Michigan Dems think this is a checkmate

[Pretzel_Warrior]

12. Who cares who wrote it? It was well done.

[llmart]

19. For what it's worth......

I bought an individual policy from BCBS Michigan about a year and a half ago. Back in August I received a letter from them stating that the policy I have did not meet the ACA standards but that BCBS Michigan was going to continue the policy until the end of 2014. In the letter they also pointed out that if I was interested and/or qualified for a subsidy I would not get that subsidy if I remained in the policy I have. They stated that the rates for the insurance would remain the same but that there would be a 9.5% increase due to federal and state taxes required. They also stated that I could probably get better coverage in a Marketplace policy that would quite possibly cost me more if I didn't qualify for a subsidy.

I thought they were very up front about the whole thing. They didn't cancel the policy like some of the insurance companies did.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that if some of the insurance companies cancelled the policies isn't that more the fault of the insurance companies and not the ACA?

For me, I've spent considerable amount of time online and on the phone and on the chat help line (no help at all), and the little bit of subsidy I would get does not make up for the increase of premium price for the 6 months that I need to purchase insurance on my own, so I'll stay with my low cost, high deductible policy.

[Doctor_J]

20. The definition of checkmate must have changed

When I played chess, check mating someone meant getting to a position where they could not move, and were forced to capitulate. Maybe someone can explain how the current hc debacle meets that definition