Michaely posted:
hate to say it but trumps not going to have to do much to fix Obama care...this thing is collapsing as we speak. the insurance companies are pulling out because they are losing their tails. the only folks in the pool are the very ill not the young healthies they thought they would get. even Obama and his cool joe routine couldnt convince they to join up and pay high premiums for something they would rarely use.

Billy cawed:
The whole concept was flawed....force people to buy insurance, fine those that don't have buy the insurance and make the deductible higher than the fine. Genius!

Keep squawked:
I think it's more of a mess than many people realize.  It had problems before o got hold of it now, it's more than bankrupt and in the hole, insurance companies have gone belly up, all that money has gone in slush funds and you can't just take hc away from people.  It's a nightmare just like everything else o does.  If anyone can fix it, I believe Trump can, but, don't kid yourself, it is very messy.  We've lost a ton of docs in this country and are on track to lose many more.

While it would appear that United Health's exit would radically change the game for the ACA exchanges, the impact may not be that significant.

For one thing, United Health never really entered these marketplaces head first. In fact, as of March 31, the company insures only 750,000 of the more than 12 million people enrolled in Obamacare.

In fact, according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, which focuses on healthcare policy, the impact on enrollees' premiums and competition would not be substantial.

"The effect of a United withdrawal nationally would be modest," said a study by Cynthia Cox and Ashley Semanskee of Kaiser. 

"The national weighted average benchmark silver plan would have been roughly 1% higher in 2016 had United not participated (less than $4 per month for an unsubsidized 40-year-old).

Cox and Semanskee found that United offered mostly high-cost plans in just 34 states in the US as of 2016, so by removing itself from the exchanges the impact would not be as significant as you may think in terms of increased cost or limited choice.

In terms of competition, if United does remove itself from all exchanges Cox and Semanskee found that 53% of all counties covered by exchanges would have only one or two exchanges. While this is significant, most counties with limited options are more rural and less populated.

Therefore, the total number of people with limited choice is still relatively low.

Last edited by DollyLongstaff (4/21/2016 11:33 am)