COVID-19 & Healthcare

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

President Obama today explained how the Affordable Care Act is putting money
back into the pockets of millions of Americans thanks to a provision in
the health reform law that requires insurance companies spend 80 percent
of its customers premiums on medical care, rather than administrative
costs. Remarks by the President on the Affordable Care Act.

FACT SHEET: Middle Class Americans Saving Billions under the Health Care Law’s Medical Loss Ratio Refunds

Health care reform is saving Americans billions. See the Infographic.

Video below the fold.

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a report on Thursday that analyzes the 2014 premiums in
the Obamacare insurance marketplaces in 11 different states, including
Virginia, Colorado, Ohio, and Oregon. Surprise! New report finds competition lowers premiums by nearly 20 percent in the Health Insurance Marketplace:

New report finds competition lowers premiums by nearly 20 percent in the Health Insurance Marketplace

Affordable Care Act gives consumers access to better coverage at a greater value in 2014

HHS
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today released a new report that finds
premiums in the Health Insurance Marketplace will be nearly 20 percent
lower in 2014 than previously expected.

The Affordable Care Act
requires health insurers in every state to publicly justify any premium
rate increases of 10 percent or more.  Health insurance companies now
generally have to spend at least 80 cents of every premium dollar on
health care or improvements to care, or provide a rebate to their policy
holders.  In addition, when the Health Insurance Marketplace opens for
enrollment on October 1, 2013 consumers will be able to make apples to
apples comparisons of quality health insurance plans.

“Today’s
report shows that the Affordable Care Act is working to increase
transparency and competition among health insurance plans and drive
premiums down,” said Secretary Sebelius.  “The reforms in the health
care law ensure consumers will have access to better coverage at a lower
cost in 2014.”

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

As if the first 39 failed attempts were not good enough, the TanMan, Weeper of the House John Boehner, has scheduled yet another vote to repeal "ObamaCare," or at least a portion of it today. Boehner's bad timing: the New York Times reports today Individual Cost of Health Plans in New York Set to Fall 50%. Doh!

This follows lower than expected rates in the states of California and Oregon earlier this year. States implementing 'ObamaCare' in good faith are seeing good results.

Steve Benen reports today, The House GOP's futile, poorly timed efforts to gut Obamacare:

House Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) timing could be better. Hoping
to capitalize on the bad press surrounding delay in the implementation
of the Affordable Care Act's employer mandate provision (even though
the move was substantively meaningless), House Republicans are set to
move on their latest idea: a vote on delaying the individual mandate,
too.