"Obamacare saved consumers billions, new report finds"

[applegrove]

Obamacare saved consumers billions, new report finds

By Morgan Whitaker at MSNBC

http://www.msnbc.com/politicsnation/obamacare-saved-consumers-billions

"SNIP........................


The report from The Commonwealth Fund released Tuesday finds the medical loss ratio provision, which caps profits for health insurance companies, benefited consumers by about $3 billion over the past two years through a combination of rebates from insurance companies and reduced overhead spending.

The law’s provision limits insurance companies to spending a minimum of 80-85% of premiums specifically on treatment and medical costs, rather than overhead and profits.

The rebate receipts sent to consumers hit $1 billion in 2011 and about $500 million in 2012, an indication that insurance providers successfully shifted business models to fit the new spending requirements. In addition to the rebates provided to consumers, insurers reduced profits and spending on general overhead by about $1.4 billion, the report finds.

“The medical loss ratio requirement of the Affordable Care Act creates a higher-value insurance product for consumers,” said The Commonwealth Fund President David Blumenthal said in the report. “It ensures that a substantial portion of their premium dollar pays for medical care, as opposed to administrative costs and profits. It also encourages insurers to improve the care their customers receive, by investing in initiatives that will help achieve better outcomes for patients.”




.......................SNIP"

[KaryninMiami]

1. Happy to be the first rec

And happy to have Obamacare. It's not perfect - but it is getting off to an excellent start.

[Puzzledtraveller]

2. even if it didn't, it did

[onehandle]

3. SOCIALISM!

In Europe, not so much here, but it's a start.

[mcar]

4. Great news!

[Cha]

5. Wonderful! mahalo apple~

[cantbeserious]

6. Thank You For Sharing

eom

[Thinkingabout]

7. This is good news, will probably be the story in the future also.

Guess the Benghazi screams will be louder.

Most important many has health care now which was not the story in 2008. Thanks to our Democrat Congressional members along with President Obama, his mother would be proud of her son.

[freshwest]

8. Yeah, but...

Wait, wait...

Obamacare isn't on the list!

YAY!

[IronLionZion]

9. But, but, but DUers told me its a big giveaway to big insurance!

and that the medicaid expansion was the biggest part of the giveaway. This is great news, but I can't shake the feeling that someone, somewhere, is getting something they don't deserve and must be punished bitterly.

[MADem]

11. Yeah, where ARE all those gripers now? Along with the "I hate it because I don't understand it"

crew, and the "I think it costs more, even though it doesn't" brigade?

[Jackpine Radical]

16. They're probably griping about

the fat that we're STILL paying twice as much per capita for health insurance as does the single-payer world, we STILL don't have everyone insured, and we STILL have oppressive copays and deductibles.

[MADem]

18. Well, they aren't doing it here, are they?

But if they're going to do it at all, they should start with Congress.

Congress makes law. That's how it works. And if they can make it happen, fine with me.

No laws were ever passed by complaining on DU, as far as I know.

As for "oppressive copays and deductibles" you can pay now or later. Why do you think so many rich foreigners haul ass to USA from those "swell health care" places like UK and France? Because they take a big bite out of your salary for that health care, and they take it whether you use it or not. It always seems like more when you have to write the check, it's less obvious when it disappears from your pay packet before it reaches you. Spend a day shopping in London or Paris and you'll see--it's usurious, the prices over there. And don't even think about filling your economy tank unless you've got a hundred handy.

[IronLionZion]

30. Complaining on message boards accomplishes so much.

You'd think we'd have gotten single payer by now!

[Number23]

34. Oh they're around, my friend. They're around.

[MADem]

49. +1!!! nt

[yodermon]

12. there are Duers who criticized the MLR for codifying

Insurance company profits into law.

[Doctor_J]

14. Yeah, why would any Democrat be against promising insurance companies a half trilllion dollars

per year?

[IronLionZion]

36. Someone somewhere is getting something they don't deserve!

[Doctor_J]

38. yeah, insurance executives

It's so encouraging that this abomination was passed by a democratic congress and president. I wonder why the party is almost dead

[IronLionZion]

41. Democratic Underground exists to bury democrats deep underground

we must destroy the party in order to save it! That will teach them!

[Doctor_J]

45. indeed. The president and his fan club have destroyed the party

Thanks so much

[IronLionZion]

48. Since some people report to work tomorrow at CMS (Medicare/Medicaid)

good night!

Be very careful what you wish for. Imagine people just like me processing claims for a national single payer program and see how well you sleep at night. I promise you'll have lots of new things to worry about. Muahahahaha!

[woo me with science]

15. The subsidies are paid by taxpayers to the corporate profitmongers.

The corporations are *guaranteed* their obscene profits through mandate that every single American must purchase their outrageously overpriced product. By design, assistance to individuals is paid for by the people rather than demanded from the insurers.

The mandate was the goal all along, designed by the corporatists who designed the program.

We need single payer.

[A Simple Game]

20. Why do we as a country feel the need to stick a middleman in to every transaction?

It's not necessary and often the only entity making a profit is in fact the unnecessary middleman. Hospitals are hurting, doctors are hurting, insurance companies are doing just fine, makes no sense. Which of the three is not like the other in the fact that it doesn't actually provide health care?

Single payer is so logical that justifying any other system has to hurt the brain.

Same with car insurance, if the government mandates it they should provide it, pay for it when you get your license plates. And speaking of auto insurance, shouldn't that be going down now that everyone is supposed to have their own medical insurance? Why do we need to pay for insurance companies to argue over which one should pay?

[Doctor_J]

31. Because the middlemen own the government

the government's function is to take everything possible from working people and give it to the hyper-rich. The rich then give it back to the government thieves is campaign contribution and multi-million dollar no-show jobs after they retire from government. Obama has earned a huge payday from Big Insurance.

[IronLionZion]

37. There is no bigger middleman than single payer/Medicare

Do you want to pay cash for treatment at whatever rate providers feel like charging you? Good luck paying for care without an evil middleman to do some collective bargaining on behalf of their members. And forget about sharing risk amongst the pool. You're on your own.

The middlemen are using their bargaining power to force transparent pricing for routine procedures, so patients can have some choice. There is no fairness or any sense at all in the pricing of medical procedures across providers in the same city for the exact same patient with the same equipment and supplies and treatment. Medicare/medicaid pays less for procedures than any insurance company could ever dream of, but you probably know that don't you?

Revenue/profit is the only thing that motivates many providers to even exist. Good luck with free clinics.

[Doctor_J]

39. really? Medicare overhead is 3%. private insurance is 20%

STOP LYING.

[IronLionZion]

44. Pay more to providers you get more providers

Pay less to providers you get less providers. That's how it works with many things. The revenue that bothers you so much is precisely what causes many hospitals and doctors to provide treatments.

There are more hospitals, clinics, doctors, nurses, etc opening up now because there is more demand for care because more people have access to a way to pay for it. New urgent care centers opened up in my neighborhood entirely because of the ACA.

If single payer is so easy to implement, then do it already! I think you just like complaining.

[IronLionZion]

52. 3% overhead for CMS is intentionally misleading

since admin costs are shared with other agencies (SSA, IRS, HHS, Treasury, etc.) so the real overhead is much higher than you think.

Don't worry, I support single payer/Medicare for all. But its not the utopia you think it is. If you only knew what went on behind the scenes to get conditions and treatments approved, and then determining the provider reimbursement rates, it would give you nightmares. Providers are unhappy. Congress is unhappy and loves to punish CMS.

I just want you to think of people like me handling claims and medical data every time you support single payer. These things sound so great conceptually, its a little different for those of us who actually work in the field.

[Doctor_J]

27. Health "care" revenues and profits are through the roof. But the BOG is convinced it's the answer

to all of the country's problems.

Well, I will be the first to admit Obama has had an avid cheering section while he destroyed the last of the middle class. I hope I live long enough to find out the real story behind this - are the cheerleaders Rove plants, deluded by their lust for the president, or just morons? Inquiring minds want to know.

[IronLionZion]

35. That's just horrible, those monsters!

The fact that more Americans are getting life saving medical procedures than at any time in our country's history just doesn't matter to some people.

Under single payer, health care providers won't get revenues? Is that what Vermont has to look forward to? I guess Canadian doctors are all volunteers.

[Doctor_J]

42. what the fuck is wrong with you? of course Canadian doctors get paid

Canadian insurance executives don't get rich by killing people. Are you actually arguing that for profit insurance is better? Why don't you tell us why you voted for Willard in 2012?

[IronLionZion]

29. Nonprofit co-ops, Medicaid, and Medicare must be the biggest corporate profitmongers of all.

Why ignore the regulations put on the insurance industry to protect patients?

Attacking the PPACA is not going to get you single payer.

[Skittles]

28. there're here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024970298

[jeff47]

32. Well, you have to remember that time has stopped.

It's utterly impossible to change any program in the future, so we'll be "stuck" with any downside of the ACA forever. Just like Social Security and Medicare have never changed in the decades since they were created.

Also, it's utterly impossible for individual states to go single-payer. Pay no attention to Vermont.

It's also utterly impossible for insurance to be offered by non-profit or co-op entities. Pay no attention to that half of the Maine exchange.

[okaawhatever]

10. I have a policy I got through the exchange and I'm thrilled, especially knowing there aren't

any lifetime caps, pre-existing conditions and the coverage isn't crap. Thanks Obama!

[Doctor_J]

13. Hmm....I suppose there are different ways to look at this, but

given this 1-year look at the NYSE Healthcare index (indexed share prices of health insurance providers)

http://marketdata.nyse.com/JTic?app=JP&rf=GIF&cs=368x150&style=NY2&esd=Y&JPEG_QUALITY=100&fq=D&ezd=1Y&id=NYPID&cred=l8bCBrn1yOi2LSb2VhwRw558DNBCUlW2XtJfEInYMtMHct3dWAzT1Q.opg21PqKOo4uKtznUqChX3Ca6phY8wOm4hXIBljeoPpGh/5zbh9tqeKpry7KDYW

and my own personal debacle, there may be more to this than meets the eye

Congrats to those who saved billions. Some weren't so lucky

[IronLionZion]

40. And profit just kills you doesn't it?

They must be punished!

I promise you I will NOT be voting for President Obama in 2016.

[IronLionZion]

46. After 12 years, you finally caught me!

[Iliyah]

17. K & R

Thanks Obama!

[iandhr]

19. But but but...

Cooperate sellout, POS used car salesman.

[Thespian2]

21. Responders on this thread

need to take time to read this thread...Obama administration quietly approves new Obamacare loophole benefiting insurance companies.

Hooray for Obama!

[salib]

24. Good post on it here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024970298

Still in all, Obamacare is saving huge amounts of money, and in many cases it is for the benefit of those who need it most. Let's give credit where credit is due, and still do the more importing thing of criticizing what deserves to be criticized.

[davidpdx]

53. It's been debunked

Too bad people on DU are naive enough to believe this stuff.

[Kingofalldems]

22. Kick this for the Ayn Rand crowd.

[salib]

25. Obamacare is so asymmetric to Randian types

That it would "whoosh" right over their self-indulgent heads.

[Adrahil]

23. Worked well for my company.

Our plan had to change for the ACA. We were among those whose policies were "cancelled" due to non compliance with the ACA. So, our replacement policy was compliant (a couple minor benefits expanded). The deductible quadrupled ( from $500 to $2000 annually), but our premium went down 22%. Doing the math, if the full deductible is paid, the policy holder saves $5. If the the full deductible is NOT paid, the savings goes straight to the policy holder. Another Obamacare success story!

[babylonsister]

26. Love it! nt

[SidDithers]

33. DU rec...nt

Sid

[Wounded Bear]

50. This is the corporatists worst nightmare...

Every dollar a consumer saves is a dollar not added to their bottom line, or their stock options.

[sheshe2]

51. KnR

Thanks applegrove!