Obama aka Big Brother demands health care increase reports, Health insurance companies to report all price increases, Orwellian rectifying?, Thwart bad news?
“And so our goal on health care is, if we can get, instead of health care costs going up 6 percent a year, it’s going up at the level of inflation, maybe just slightly above inflation, we’ve made huge progress. And by the way, that is the single most important thing we could do in terms of reducing our deficit. That’s why we did it.”…Barack Obama
“However … health insurance rates and benefit coverage plan costs have continued to increase. As a result of those increases, county employees have experienced a pay decrease that has grown larger each year.”…Guilford County Interim Manager Sharisse Fuller
“the Times of the nineteenth of December had published the official forecasts of the output of various classes of consumption goods in the fourth quarter of 1983, which was also the sixth quarter of the Ninth Three-Year Plan. Today’s issue contained a statement of the actual output, from which it appeared that the forecasts were in every instance grossly wrong. Winston’s job was to rectify the original figures by making them agree with the later ones.”…George Orwell, “1984”
Obama, aka Big Brother, is demanding that all health care increases be reported to him. Apparently too many reports of health care insurance increases are being reported and they must be rectified.
Once again we look to George Orwell for guidance. Refer to “1984” and set your decoder rings accordingly.
From the NY Times March 3, 2013.
“Obama Asks Health Plans to Report Rising Rates”
“The Obama administration says it will require health insurance companies to report all price increases, no matter how small, to the federal government so officials can monitor the impact of the new health care law and insurers’ compliance with it.
Under current rules, the federal government requires insurers to report information on rate increases of 10 percent or more. New rules being issued by the administration will extend this requirement to all rate increases for all health plans sold to individuals, families and small businesses — a total of 60 million people.
Federal health officials said they needed the additional data to monitor trends in premiums as major provisions of the law take effect and more people buy insurance.
“The purpose of this policy is to identify patterns that could indicate market disruption, which could occur given the additional standards that apply” to insurance starting next year, the administration said in a justification of the rules adopted by Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services.
Under the new law, Ms. Sebelius said, she is supposed to “monitor premium increases of health insurance coverage” inside and outside the regulated state-level markets known as insurance exchanges.”
“A fierce debate has erupted over the impact of Mr. Obama’s health care law. Insurers and employers predict that it will drive up premiums, especially for healthy people under the age of 35. The White House disputes that prediction and says that many factors will lead to lower prices.”
“The White House says the fears of “rate shock” are overblown. Consumers can move from expensive health plans to more efficient, lower-cost plans, the administration says. It says critics who focus on premiums do not take account of other provisions of the law that limit how much consumers will spend out of their own pockets for health care.”
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From Citizen Wells March 4, 2013.
“The county has cut costs for the past two years by increasing co-pays,
deductible amounts and out-of-pocket maximums for employees.
“Over the last four years, no merit increases have been awarded to
Guilford County employees,” Fuller said Friday in an email. “However
… health insurance rates and benefit coverage plan costs have
continued to increase. As a result of those increases, county
employees have experienced a pay decrease that has grown larger each
year.””
““It looks to me like Obamacare is causing prices to go up and will
continue to make prices go up,” Henning said. “That’s something we’re
going to have to deal with, like everyone else in this economy.”
“The question is do you raise costs or do you cut services?” Henning
said. “Hopefully, we won’t do either. But health care costs are going
up for everyone. County employees aren’t immune.””
From Citizen Wells September 26, 2012.
“Health Insurance Costs Skyrocket For College Students Due To ObamaCare”
“Can we stop calling ObamaCare the Affordable Care Act now?
A Young America’s Foundation activist forwarded an email from the Vice President for Finance at his school, Guilford College (Greensboro, NC), informing him that, “For the 2012-13 academic year, the annual cost of the student health insurance is increasing from $668 to $1,179. This insurance premium has been charged to your student account.”
Why the increase? “Our student health insurance policy premium has been substantially increased due to changes required by federal regulations issued on March 16, 2012 under the Affordable Care Act.”
“Guilford joins a long list of colleges raising their premiums. Virtually all current student insurance plans do not meet ObamaCare’s mandates, and Forbes reports colleges have been forced to drop their plans or raise their premiums rates as much as 1,112% (and no, that’s not a typo).”
“Lenoir-Rhyne University (Hickory, NC) raised theirs from $245 to $2,507″
“Health Premiums Up $3,000; Obama Vowed $2,500 Cut”
“During his first run for president, Barack Obama made one very specific promise to voters: He would cut health insurance premiums for families by $2,500, and do so in his first term.
But it turns out that family premiums have increased by more than $3,000 since Obama’s vow, according to the latest annual Kaiser Family Foundation employee health benefits survey.
Premiums for employer-provided family coverage rose $3,065 — 24% — from 2008 to 2012, the Kaiser survey found. Even if you start counting in 2009, premiums have climbed $2,370.
What’s more, premiums climbed faster in Obama’s four years than they did in the previous four under President Bush, the survey data show.
Citizen WElls 