ObamaCare’s Hidden Trigger Paves The Way For Single Payer

[Tx4obama]

When ObamaCare was passed conservatives slammed it as a government takeover of the health insurance industry and progressives complained the law didn’t offer at the least a public option, but it seems as though that the law had a hidden trigger that may very well pave the road to single payer health insurance system or Medicare for all. That trigger is the medical loss ratio. This is the part of the law that makes the health insurance industry use at least 85% of your premiums to cover medical expenses. This is something the for profit health insurance industry detests, because it limits the amount of dollars you pay into the system to go toward CEO pay, bonuses, lobbying and advertisements.

SNIP

Interview video and rest of Article here: http://www.politicususa.com/en/obamacare-single-payer

[Enrique]

1. Ungar is basing that on a right-wing think tank

and this fits right into the right-wingers' fiction about Obama care.

Ungar says people have been asking him, why are health stocks doing so well if the industry is doomed? He doesn't have a good answer for that and the right-wingers never did.

[Fearless]

2. So how exactly does this "pave the way for single payer".

I think it maintains the status quo in a slightly more manageable way.

[patrice]

3. I suspect Aetna subscribers, who received $100million in reimbursements for Aetna's failure to meet

the 85% criteria, would disagree with you.

I also suspect that efficiencies achieved by surviving health ins cos will be challenged and further refined, or not, by expansion into the customer bases abandoned by the failed companies, or what of those customer bases they can acquire by actual competition, instead of by means of Romney -esque hostile take overs.

Finding out what kinds of expanded coverage will be created by the higher MLR criteria, instead of giving that money to CEOs, will also be revelatory of what traits to pursue, or not, when it comes to Medicare reform.

[Fearless]

4. In actuality while it does good for some people...

It props up an old system instead of creating single payer. This does not create single payer or a path to it... in fact it may weaken support for single payer if what we have gets marginally better for a while. It could set us back if people are given a false satisfaction with their insurance based on an (overall) token change.

[patrice]

5. Have you read HR 676 yet?

[Fearless]

6. It's a nice thought, but won't pass. It doesn't have the votes.

There isn't enough firm and vocal public support behind a single payer or public option plan right now. No doubt a majority of the country would agree with it in practice, but Repubs have enough of them believing they sh*t rainbows that we won't have that kind of bill passed this year.

[A Simple Game]

8. Aetna subscribers received reimbursments?

Perhaps you should reread the article.

Looks like they may have time to readjust their books. We'll see, I hope you are right.

[provis99]

7. incoherent nonsense from the right wing.

[honeylady]

9. What's going to happen

when the insurance companies start folding? I can see lots of potential problems. People being laid off. The government works slowly. Are they going to be able to step in at the first sign of people losing their health insurance and sign them up to a single payer? No wonder Republicans hate "Obamacare" so much. I will not miss the health insurance companies at all. I think they are greedy bastards. I just hope the government is ready for all these newly uninsured folks.