Category Archives: ObamaCare

UnitedHealth Group pulling out of Obamacare exchanges?, Expects major losses on its business through Affordable Care Act, Other insurers sounding alarms about their exchange business, Many insurers have raised premiums to cover medical costs of enrollees

Posted on November 19, 2015 | 18 comments

UnitedHealth Group pulling out of Obamacare exchanges?, Expects major losses on its business through Affordable Care Act, Other insurers sounding alarms about their exchange business, Many insurers have raised premiums to cover medical costs of enrollees

“If you’ve got health insurance we’re going to work with you to lower your premiums by $2,500 per family per year. We will not wait 20 years from now to do it, or 10 years from now to do it. We will do it by the end of my first term as president.”…Barack Obama

“Dean Griffin liked the health insurance he purchased for himself and his wife three years ago and thought he’d be able to keep the plan even after the federal Affordable Care Act took effect.

But the 64-year-old recently received a letter notifying him the plan was being cancelled because it didn’t cover certain benefits required under the law.

The Griffins, who live near Philadelphia, pay $770 monthly for their soon-to-be-terminated health care plan with a $2,500 deductible. The cheapest plan they found on their state insurance exchange was a so-called bronze plan charging a $1,275 monthly premium with deductibles totalling $12,700. It covers only providers in Pennsylvania, so the couple, who live near Delaware, won’t be able to see doctors they’ve used for more than a decade.”…Times Colonist November 2, 2013

“We are being lied to on a scale unimaginable by George Orwell.”…Citizen Wells

 

 

 

From Market Watch November 19, 2015.

“UnitedHealth Group Inc. said it expects major losses on its business through the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges and will consider withdrawing from them, in the most prominent signal so far of health insurers’ struggles with the health law’s marketplaces.

The disclosure by the biggest U.S. health insurer, which had just last month sounded optimistic notes about the segment’s prospects, will sharply boost worries about the sustainability of the law’s signature marketplaces, amid signs that many insurers’ losses on the business continue to mount.

UnitedHealth Group’s chief executive, Stephen J. Hemsley, said it made the move, which included a downgrade of its earnings projections for 2015, amid reduced growth expectations, the expected shutdowns of the majority of the health law’s nonprofit cooperative insurers, and signs that its own enrollees continue to increase their use of medical services, raising costs.
As a result, UnitedHealth said it is pulling back on marketing its exchange products, as open enrollment is currently under way for plans that will take effect in 2016. And the insurer said it is “evaluating the viability of the insurance exchange product segment and will determine during the first half of 2016 to what extent it can continue to serve the public exchange markets in 2017.” UnitedHealth had previously expanded its exchange offerings to 11 new states for 2016, and said in October it had around 550,000 people enrolled.

UnitedHealth said it was revising its 2015 earnings projection to $6 a share, from a previous range of $6.25 to $6.35. The move reflected “pressure” of $425 million, or 26 cents a share, tied to individual plans sold under the health law, it said. The $425 million includes $275 million related to the “advance recognition” of losses it expects to incur in 2016. UnitedHealth also said it expects its 2016 earnings to be between $7.10 and $7.30 per share in 2016; previously, the company said it thought next year’s earnings would be within the range of analysts’ projections, then around $7.09 to $7.55.

Chris Rigg, an analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group, wrote that it was likely “this is more of an industry issue,” and if the exchanges don’t stabilize, he would expect UnitedHealth to “exit this business line.”

UnitedHealth’s announcement comes as other insurers have been sounding alarms about their exchange business, but the big insurer went considerably farther than its peers in flagging the recent rapid deterioration of its performance and raising concerns about future viability. UnitedHealth also changed its own tone markedly from its Oct. 15 earnings call, when it said it expected “strikingly better” results on the exchanges in 2016, due partly to price increases that it said averaged in the double digits.

The impact of the insurance industry’s struggles is already clear in the products currently on offer in the marketplaces, many of which are aimed at stanching a flood of red ink. For these plans, which will take effect in 2016, many insurers have raised premiums in order to cover the medical costs of enrollees, which have run higher than many companies originally projected, fueling this year’s losses. Insurers have also shifted to offering more limited choices of health-care providers. The majority of the startup cooperative insurers created under the health law are slated to shut down.

Analysts say the danger is that higher rates might discourage enrollment, particularly by the younger, healthier consumers that the marketplaces need to draw in, since they are the ones that are most likely to feel they can go without insurance. That would have the effect of driving premiums even higher in the future, because insurers would need more rate increases to cover the costs of a smaller, sicker pool of enrollees. At its worst, this cycle can feed on itself, creating what the industry calls a “death spiral.””

Read more:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/unitedhealth-cuts-guidance-citing-obamacare-2015-11-19

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Posted in Barack Obama, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Health Insurance, Healthcare bill, Lies, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, ObamaCare

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Obamacare costs skyrocket and low income people can’t afford, Huge deductibles hidden story emerges, Hospitals medical providers and public will pay for unpaid bills, Family spent half its annual income paying for obamacare

Posted on November 16, 2015 | 54 comments

Obamacare costs skyrocket and low income people can’t afford, Huge deductibles hidden story emerges, Hospitals medical providers and public will pay for unpaid bills, Family spent half its annual income paying for obamacare

“If you’ve got health insurance we’re going to work with you to lower your premiums by $2,500 per family per year. We will not wait 20 years from now to do it, or 10 years from now to do it. We will do it by the end of my first term as president.”…Barack Obama

“Dean Griffin liked the health insurance he purchased for himself and his wife three years ago and thought he’d be able to keep the plan even after the federal Affordable Care Act took effect.

But the 64-year-old recently received a letter notifying him the plan was being cancelled because it didn’t cover certain benefits required under the law.

The Griffins, who live near Philadelphia, pay $770 monthly for their soon-to-be-terminated health care plan with a $2,500 deductible. The cheapest plan they found on their state insurance exchange was a so-called bronze plan charging a $1,275 monthly premium with deductibles totalling $12,700. It covers only providers in Pennsylvania, so the couple, who live near Delaware, won’t be able to see doctors they’ve used for more than a decade.”…Times Colonist November 2, 2013

“We are being lied to on a scale unimaginable by George Orwell.”…Citizen Wells

 

 

Citizen Wells has been warning you for years that aside from the catastrophic effect of Obamacare on premiums our healthcare system and jobs, the hidden story was rising deductibles that lower income people will not be able to pay and the burden this will place on the entire country.

From Citizen Wells October 17, 2013.

Obamacare is increasing healthcare premiums in 45 states.

A 27 year old in Virginia will see an increase of over 252 percent.

And one of the biggest under reported Obama scandals is the skyrocketing deductibles under Obamacare.

https://citizenwells.com/2013/10/17/obamacare-increases-premiums-in-45-states-deductibles-skyrocket-27-year-old-in-va-up-252-percent-obama-lied-about-keeping-your-insurance-and-reducing-costs/

From Zero Hedge November 15, 2015.

“Meet The Family That Just Spent Half Its Annual Income Paying For Obamacare”

“Well, since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, also known as the Obamacare tax, we have watched in horror as shocker after shocker are revealed.

Some examples:

Now we can add one more thing that “was in it”: soaring deductibles, which give the fake impression of contained, low all-in costs… until one actually needs expensive medial help (and these days there is no other kind).

The latest expose against Obamacare comes not from its usual nemesis, but the hard-left NYT, suggesting that even the ideological supporters of Obama’s “crowning achievement” are losing faith. To wit:

Obama administration officials, urging people to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, have trumpeted the low premiums available on the law’s new marketplaces.

 

But for many consumers, the sticker shock is coming not on the front end, when they purchase the plans, but on the back end when they get sick: sky-high deductibles that are leaving some newly insured feeling nearly as vulnerable as they were before they had coverage.

 

“The deductible, $3,000 a year, makes it impossible to actually go to the doctor,” said David R. Reines, 60, of Jefferson Township, N.J., a former hardware salesman with chronic knee pain. “We have insurance, but can’t afford to use it.”

 

In many states, more than half the plans offered for sale through HealthCare.gov, the federal online marketplace, have a deductible of $3,000 or more, a New York Times review has found. Those deductibles are causing concern among Democrats — and some Republican detractors of the health law, who once pushed high-deductible health plans in the belief that consumers would be more cost-conscious if they had more of a financial stake or skin in the game.

 

“We could not afford the deductible,” said Kevin Fanning, 59, who lives in North Texas, near Wichita Falls. “Basically I was paying for insurance I could not afford to use.” He dropped his policy.

In other words, Obamacare’s “affordable care” is affordable, as long as one doesn’t actually have to use it!”

Read more:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-11-15/meet-family-just-spent-half-its-annual-income-paying-obamacare

 

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Posted in Barack Obama, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Economy, Health Insurance, Healthcare bill, Lies, Medicine, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, ObamaCare

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Obamacare nightmare unaffordable, Higher premiums and deductibles, Job losses part time jobs, School closes, MIT economist Jonathan Gruber lack of transparency and stupidity of American voter allowed Obamacare to be passed

Posted on October 27, 2015 | 26 comments

Obamacare nightmare unaffordable, Higher premiums and deductibles, Job losses part time jobs, School closes, MIT economist Jonathan Gruber lack of transparency and stupidity of American voter allowed Obamacare to be passed

“If you’ve got health insurance we’re going to work with you to lower your premiums by $2,500 per family per year.”…Barack Obama

“Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico has requested rate increases averaging 51 percent for its 33,000 members. The proposal elicited tart online comments from consumers.”

““Our enrollees generated 24 percent more claims than we thought they would when we set our 2014 rates,” said Nathan T. Johns, the chief financial officer of Arches Health Plan, which covers about one-fourth of the people who bought insurance through the federal exchange in Utah. As a result, the company said, it collected premiums of $39.7 million and had claims of $56.3 million in 2014. It has requested rate increases averaging 45 percent for 2016.”…NY Times July 3, 2015

“Nearly half of U.S. companies are reluctant to hire full-time employees because of the ACA. One in five firms indicates they are likely to hire fewer employees, and another one in 10 may lay off current employees in response to the law.

Other firms will shift toward part-time workers. More than 40 percent of CFOs say their companies will consider switching some jobs to less than 30 hours per week or targeting part-time workers for future employment.”…Duke University Fuqua School of Business December 11, 2013

“We are being lied to on a scale unimaginable by George Orwell.”…Citizen Wells

 

 

 

Obamacare sticker shock.

Well there should have been.

First clues?

The biggest liar ever to occupy the White House was pushing it and the IRS is involved.

For 2016 there will be a penalty up to $ 695 per uninsured household member.

But that may be the good news.

In June of 2015 MIT economist Jonathan Gruber, a paid Obama consultant, explained out Obamacare was passed.

“lack of transparency”
“the stupidity of the American voter”

Obamacare reality shock.

Citizen Wells has been reporting about the rising premiums and impact on jobs from Obama care.

From Citizen Wells August 8, 2015.

“Blue Cross now seeking 34.6% rate hike in NC for ACA plans

Insurer is scrapping June request for 25.7% increase

Blames Affordable Care Act for driving up costs”

https://citizenwells.com/2015/08/08/nc-blue-cross-raises-obamacare-premiums-34-6-percent-obama-lies-healthcare-dies-affordable-care-act-driving-up-costs-replaces-june-request-of-25-7-aca-customers-use-expensive-services-for-chronic/

From Citizen Wells March 10, 2015.

“‘Over the last six months, of the net job creation, 97 percent of that is part-time work,’ said Keith Hall, a senior researcher at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center. ‘That is really remarkable.’”Hall is no ordinary academic. He ran the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the agency that puts out the monthly jobs report, from 2008 to 2012. Over the past six months, he said, the Household Survey shows 963,000 more people reporting that they were employed, and 936,000 of them reported they’re in part-time jobs.” ‘That is a really high number for a six-month period,’ Hall said. ‘I’m not sure that has ever happened over six months before.’ “”
“How, then, to explain what’s happened since January? Back to the McClatchy article and Hall, the former BLS chief:

“Hall speculated that the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, shorthanded as Obamacare, might be resulting in employers shifting workers to part-time status to avoid coming health care obligations.”

5.2 million full time employments lost Obama’s first year, Part time jobs created, Job myths lies exposed, Media lies, Whitehouse lies, Obamacare created more full times jobs?…let the drug testing begin, Gallup CEO Jim Clifton right

From Zero Hedge October 26, 2015.

“What was supposed to be affordable remains painfully unaffordable for the lowest rung of the employment pyramid.

Here is the actual math as experienced by both the abovementioned Mr. Sewell of Golden Corral restaurants, and his mostly minimum-wage employees.

He employs 1,800 people at the 26 Golden Corral franchises he owns in six Southern and Midwestern states, and previously offered insurance only to his salaried management staff. In January, when the employer mandate took effect, he made the same insurance plan, with a bigger employer contribution, available to all employees working an average of 30 or more hours a week.

Running the math on his plan — a typical one for the restaurant industry — illustrates why a number of low-wage workers are falling through gaps in the Affordable Care Act.

The annual premium for individual coverage through the Golden Corral Blue Cross Blue Shield plan is $4,800. Mr. Sewell pays 65 percent for service workers, leaving them with a monthly cost of $140.

The health care law defines affordable employer-sponsored insurance as that priced at 9.5 percent or less of an employee’s annual household income for individual coverage. (Because employers do not know how much money their workers’ relatives make, there are several “safe harbors” they can use for compliance, including basing their calculation on only their own employees’ wages.) Mr. Sewell’s insurance meets the test, but $65 per biweekly paycheck is more than most of his workers are willing — or able — to pay for insurance that still carries steep out-of-pocket costs, including a $2,500 deductible.

And this is where Obamacare’s employee mandate fails for a vast majority of US workers.”

Read more:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-10-26/latest-obamacare-fiasco-most-low-income-workers-cant-afford-affordable-care-act

From the Times Free Press October 14, 2015.

“Tennessee county closes schools, cites Obamacare as reason

Classes in a small, financially struggling school district in northern Tennessee have been canceled until officials can find a way to generate more revenue.

Clay County Director of Schools Jerry Strong said the school board made the decision Thursday night after struggling with budget concerns for three years. He said the district doesn’t have enough money to pay for partially unfunded government mandates.

“Clay County’s inability to generate the revenue to offset the mandates is what’s caused this to come to a head,” he said. “The straw that broke the camel’s back was really the Affordable Care Act for us and it has made it very difficult for us to have our employees properly covered and meet the mandates of the law.”

Read more:

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2015/oct/14/tennessee-county-closes-schools-cites-obamacare-reason/330504/

From the Washington Post July 3, 2014.

“We are seeing more part-time jobs because employers can’t afford to pay the Obamacare premiums for employees who work more than 30 hours a week. How many Americans will leave the workforce for good? How much lower will the labor force participation rate drop? In other words, how much more dependency will the Obama presidency create?”

Read more:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2014/07/03/the-insiders-this-months-jobs-headlines-dont-tell-the-true-story/

From Zero Hedge June 26, 2015.

“America’s Obamacare Nightmare Is Just Beginning”

“So, the debate will intensify over the primary issue: costs. In every state, the fundamental components of state health-care costs—the demographics, the underlying costs of care delivery and the competitiveness of the markets—are juiced up by expensive federal benefit mandates and individual and group insurance rules and regulations. These all drive costs skyward. As my Heritage colleagues have demonstrated, this regulatory regime forces young people to pay up to 44 percent more in premiums. Washington’s subsidies simply try to hide the true costs of the law; they don’t control them.

The law remains unworkable. The complicated insurance subsidy program itself has been a mess. H&R Block reported that about two thirds of subsidy recipients had to repay money back to the government because they got bigger than allowable subsidies. With the individual mandate, the administration has been granting lots of exemptions to insulate most of the uninsured from any penalty. That’s rather predictable; after all, even candidate Barack Obama argued that an individual mandate was unfair and unenforceable.

As for the employer mandate—another fractured cornerstone of Obamacare—the administration has delayed it for one year. Even liberal supporters now want to repeal it, fearing damage to the labor markets.

And what about those big “savings” from the Medicare payment reductions? They were earmarked to help cover the costs of the insurance subsidies. Yet the Medicare Actuary and the CBO have both routinely dismissed the massive Medicare payment cuts as either unrealistic or unsustainable.”

Read more:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-06-26/guest-post-americas-obamacare-nightmare-just-beginning

If I were the new president, the first thing I would do is immediately disconnect the IRS from our healthcare system and then begin methodically to dismantle Obamacare concurrently with providing basic healthcare services for lower income Americans.

Of course not requiring employers to provide health care combined with a real job creating environment would go a long way to fixing our jobs and economy crisis.

 

 

 

 

 

26 Comments

Posted in Barack Obama, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Economy, Employment, Health Insurance, Healthcare bill, Jobs, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, Obama taxes, ObamaCare, Unemployment

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NPR Doctors To Get 70000 New Medical Codes, Morning Edition September 29, 2015, Federal government edict, Billing system that’s sure to cause headaches, Crashed in a spacecraft? That’s V95.41XA

Posted on September 29, 2015 | 28 comments

NPR Doctors To Get 70000 New Medical Codes, Morning Edition September 29, 2015, Federal government edict, Billing system that’s sure to cause headaches, Crashed in a spacecraft? That’s V95.41XA

“If you’ve got health insurance we’re going to work with you to lower your premiums by $2,500 per family per year.”…Barack Obama

“since 2008, average family premiums have climbed a total of $4,865.”… Investors Business Daily

“We are being lied to on a scale unimaginable by George Orwell.”…Citizen Wells

 

 

I first heard of this last week from a physical therapist.

From NPR September 29, 2015.

“Doctors To Get 70,000 New Medical Codes

Doctors are getting a billing system that’s sure to cause headaches.

Introduced by the federal government, 70,000 new medical codes will describe diagnoses in detail.

Like this:

Crashed in a spacecraft? That’s V95.41XA.

Walked into a lamppost? Twice? That’s W220.2XD.

Others include, “Problems in relationship with in-laws…”

“Other contact with a squirrel …””

Read more:

http://www.npr.org/2015/09/29/444398839/doctors-to-get-70-000-new-medical-codes

Listen to Morning Edition:

http://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/

 

28 Comments

Posted in Barack Obama, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Doctors, Health Insurance, Healthcare bill, Medicine, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, ObamaCare, The Case Against Barack Obama

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NC Blue Cross raises Obamacare premiums 34.6 percent, Obama lies healthcare dies, Affordable Care Act driving up costs, Replaces June request of 25.7%, ACA customers use expensive services for chronic conditions and visit emergency department in high numbers

Posted on August 8, 2015 | 21 comments

NC Blue Cross raises Obamacare premiums 34.6 percent, Obama lies healthcare dies, Affordable Care Act driving up costs, Replaces June request of 25.7%, ACA customers use expensive services for chronic conditions and visit emergency department in high numbers

“Contrary to industry expectations, ACA (Affordable Care Act) customers continue to be unhealthy and use more health care services than expected. BCBSNC’s (Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina) data shows that ACA customers use expensive services for chronic conditions and visit the emergency department in high numbers.”…BlueCross BlueShield of NC August 6, 2015

“If you’ve got health insurance we’re going to work with you to lower your premiums by $2,500 per family per year.”…Barack Obama

“Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico has requested rate increases averaging 51 percent for its 33,000 members. The proposal elicited tart online comments from consumers.”

““Our enrollees generated 24 percent more claims than we thought they would when we set our 2014 rates,” said Nathan T. Johns, the chief financial officer of Arches Health Plan, which covers about one-fourth of the people who bought insurance through the federal exchange in Utah. As a result, the company said, it collected premiums of $39.7 million and had claims of $56.3 million in 2014. It has requested rate increases averaging 45 percent for 2016.”…NY Times July 3, 2015

“We are being lied to on a scale unimaginable by George Orwell.”…Citizen Wells

 

 

Wasn’t Obamacare supposed to keep the costs of healthcare down?

Wasn’t Obamacare supposed to encourage preventive measures and reduce emergency room visits?

Who is going to pay for those high deductibles that many patients cannot afford?

Obama lies healthcare dies.

From the News Observer August 6, 2015.

“Blue Cross now seeking 34.6% rate hike in NC for ACA plans

Insurer is scrapping June request for 25.7% increase

Blames Affordable Care Act for driving up costs

Says most on ACA plans are chronically ill people who run up medical costs

Insurer also eliminating broad network plans in Triangle and Charlotte”

“Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Carolina’s largest health insurer, is scrapping its June request for a 25.7 percent rate increase in favor of a larger rate hike: 34.6 percent.

In announcing the change Thursday, the Chapel Hill organization blamed the Affordable Care Act for driving up costs by extending health insurance to many chronically ill people. As the state’s dominant health insurer and the only ACA insurer in several dozen counties, Blue Cross is seen as a barometer of North Carolina’s health insurance market for pricing and access.

The company’s request, which requires approval from state and federal regulators, would affect about 380,000 people Blue Cross covers in North Carolina on individual policies under the Affordable Care Act. It does not apply to the majority of the 3.9 million Blue Cross covers in the state under employer plans, state plans and other policies.

Blue Cross continues to see a large number of chronically ill people who require expensive medical care this year, the second year of ACA enrollments, said Patrick Getzen, the insurer’s chief actuary. The ACA made it illegal for health insurers to turn down people with pre-existing conditions and charge older customers exorbitant rates, common practices in the past that helped insurers control their expenses.

The architects of the health insurance law anticipated an influx of older, sicker customers, but expected that the cost of treating them would be offset by attracting younger and healthier customers. That hasn’t worked out for Blue Cross so far, despite the company’s marketing campaign to attract “young invincibles” and federal penalties for those who fail to obtain health insurance.

Getzen said that in 2014 the company’s health care costs in North Carolina exceeded revenue by $123 million, even after receiving $343 million in reinsurance and other financial assistance from the federal government to offset ACA expenses. Getzen said the financial picture was expected to improve this year, but he said that expenses keep rising.”

“For example, a 40-year-old non-smoker living in Raleigh who has a Blue Value Silver plan with a $2,500 deductible pays about $315 a month today. With the adjusted proposed increase, this customer will pay about $418 for the same plan in 2016, an increase of 32.7 percent.”

Read more:

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article30244941.html

“Muslims may appear very sincere; in fact, they are sincere, when they lie for their own protection or in the cause of Islam. They have permission to lie. Yes, Christians have also lied but never are they given permission to lie. However, a Muslim has no guilt since the Koran and Hadith permit his deception.”…Don Boys, Ph.D.

 

 

 

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Posted in Barack Obama, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Health Insurance, Healthcare bill, Insurance, Lies, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, ObamaCare

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Obamacare increases skyrocket for 2016, Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico requested rate increases averaging 51 percent, 54 percent in Minnesota, Shock waves set off by Affordable Care Act, Obama lies your healthcare dies

Posted on July 7, 2015 | 49 comments

Obamacare increases skyrocket for 2016, Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico requested rate increases averaging 51 percent, 54 percent in Minnesota, Shock waves set off by Affordable Care Act, Obama lies your healthcare dies

“One of the CBO’s most intriguing estimates is that by 2017 there will be 2 million fewer full-time jobs on the market than there would have been without Obamacare, and that figure could climb to 2.5 million by 2024.”…Market Watch February 4, 2014

“If you’ve got health insurance we’re going to work with you to lower your premiums by $2,500 per family per year.”…Barack Obama

“We are being lied to on a scale unimaginable by George Orwell.”…Citizen Wells

 

 

From the NY Times July 3, 2015.

“Health Insurance Companies Seek Big Rate Increases for 2016”

“Health insurance companies around the country are seeking rate increases of 20 percent to 40 percent or more, saying their new customers under the Affordable Care Act turned out to be sicker than expected. Federal officials say they are determined to see that the requests are scaled back.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans — market leaders in many states — are seeking rate increases that average 23 percent in Illinois, 25 percent in North Carolina, 31 percent in Oklahoma, 36 percent in Tennessee and 54 percent in Minnesota, according to documents posted online by the federal government and state insurance commissioners and interviews with insurance executives.

The Oregon insurance commissioner, Laura N. Cali, has just approved 2016 rate increases for companies that cover more than 220,000 people. Moda Health Plan, which has the largest enrollment in the state, received a 25 percent increase, and the second-largest plan, LifeWise, received a 33 percent increase.

Jesse Ellis O’Brien, a health advocate at the Oregon State Public Interest Research Group, said: “Rate increases will be bigger in 2016 than they have been for years and years and will have a profound effect on consumers here. Some may start wondering if insurance is affordable or if it’s worth the money.””

“The rate requests, from some of the more popular health plans, suggest that insurance markets are still adjusting to shock waves set off by the Affordable Care Act.”

“Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico has requested rate increases averaging 51 percent for its 33,000 members. The proposal elicited tart online comments from consumers.”

““Our enrollees generated 24 percent more claims than we thought they would when we set our 2014 rates,” said Nathan T. Johns, the chief financial officer of Arches Health Plan, which covers about one-fourth of the people who bought insurance through the federal exchange in Utah. As a result, the company said, it collected premiums of $39.7 million and had claims of $56.3 million in 2014. It has requested rate increases averaging 45 percent for 2016.”

Read more:

 

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Posted in Barack Obama, Citizen News, CitizenWells, Economy, Health Insurance, Healthcare bill, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, ObamaCare

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Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC requests 25.7 percent rate increase for Obamacare plans in 2016, Higher premiums would help offset growing cost of medical services, 2015 rates increased 13.5 percent

Posted on June 2, 2015 | 49 comments

Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC requests 25.7 percent rate increase for Obamacare plans in 2016, Higher premiums would help offset growing cost of medical services, 2015 rates increased 13.5 percent

“If you’ve got health insurance we’re going to work with you to lower your premiums by $2,500 per family per year.”…Barack Obama

“Nearly half of U.S. companies are reluctant to hire full-time employees because of the ACA. One in five firms indicates they are likely to hire fewer employees, and another one in 10 may lay off current employees in response to the law.

Other firms will shift toward part-time workers. More than 40 percent of CFOs say their companies will consider switching some jobs to less than 30 hours per week or targeting part-time workers for future employment.”…Duke University Fuqua School of Business December 11, 2013

“We are being lied to on a scale unimaginable by George Orwell.”…Citizen Wells

 

 

From WRAL June 1, 2015.

“Insurers seek sizable rate increases on Affordable Care Act health plans”

“Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina has asked state regulators for a 25.7 percent average rate increase on individual insurance plans purchased under the Affordable Care Act for 2016.

The request, which still needs to be approved by the North Carolina Department of Insurance, doesn’t include employer-sponsored health plans or to any existing coverage grandfathered in under the federal health care law.

Two other insurers, Coventry Health Care of the Carolinas and United Healthcare, also offer plans through the HealthCare.gov marketplace to North Carolina residents. Coventry, which is merging with Aetna, has asked for an average 18 percent increase, while United submitted a request for an average 12.5 percent increase.”

“Higher premiums would help offset the growing cost of medical services, he said, noting the Blue Cross could revise its request in the next month or so and seek an even larger increase. The company based its current request on 2014 data and wants to collect more information on 2015 costs before deciding on amending its filings with state regulators.

The Affordable Care Act requires that insurers spend at least 80 cents of every premium dollar directly on health care. Blue Cross officials have said the company spends 86 cents of every dollar on care.

Rates for Blue Cross plans on HealthCare.gov increase by an average of 13.5 percent this year.

Getzen also noted that 15 to 20 percent of customers with HealthCare.gov plans canceled their coverage after paying initial premiums and consuming costly medical services.”

Read more:

http://www.wral.com/insurers-seeking-sizable-rate-increases-on-affordable-care-act-health-plans/14682626/

 

49 Comments

Posted in Barack Obama, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Economy, Employment, Health Insurance, Healthcare bill, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, ObamaCare, The Case Against Barack Obama

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Janet Yellen millennials a mystery, Citizen Wells schools Yellen, Student debt and jobs, Influx of illegals impacting job market, 75 percent of Obama jobs went to Hispanics Latinos, High unemployment rates for young Americans

Posted on February 25, 2015 | 56 comments

Janet Yellen millennials a mystery, Citizen Wells schools Yellen, Student debt and jobs, Influx of illegals impacting job market, 75 percent of Obama jobs went to Hispanics Latinos, High unemployment rates for young Americans

“Of the approx. 6 million new employments since Obama took office in January 2009, 4,511,000, 75 percent, were Hispanic/Latino!”…Citizen Wells

“In today’s labor market, there are nearly 1 million “missing” young workers—potential workers who are neither employed nor actively seeking work (and are thus not counted in the unemployment rate) because job opportunities remain so scarce. If these missing workers were in the labor market looking for work, the unemployment rate of workers under age 25 would be 18.1 percent instead of 14.5 percent.”…Economic Policy Institute May 1, 2014

“Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.”…George Orwell, “1984″

 

 

Janet Yellen testified before congress today, February 24, 2015.

“Current Economic Situation and Outlook

Since my appearance before this Committee last July, the employment situation in the United States has been improving along many dimensions. The unemployment rate now stands at 5.7 percent, down from just over 6 percent last summer and from 10 percent at its peak in late 2009. The average pace of monthly job gains picked up from about 240,000 per month during the first half of last year to 280,000 per month during the second half, and employment rose 260,000 in January. In addition, long-term unemployment has declined substantially, fewer workers are reporting that they can find only part-time work when they would prefer full-time employment, and the pace of quits–often regarded as a barometer of worker confidence in labor market opportunities–has recovered nearly to its pre-recession level. However, the labor force participation rate is lower than most estimates of its trend, and wage growth remains sluggish, suggesting that some cyclical weakness persists. In short, considerable progress has been achieved in the recovery of the labor market, though room for further improvement remains.

At the same time that the labor market situation has improved, domestic spending and production have been increasing at a solid rate. Real gross domestic product (GDP) is now estimated to have increased at a 3-3/4 percent annual rate during the second half of last year. While GDP growth is not anticipated to be sustained at that pace, it is expected to be strong enough to result in a further gradual decline in the unemployment rate. Consumer spending has been lifted by the improvement in the labor market as well as by the increase in household purchasing power resulting from the sharp drop in oil prices. However, housing construction continues to lag; activity remains well below levels we judge could be supported in the longer run by population growth and the likely rate of household formation.”

http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/testimony/yellen20150224a.htm

From CNN February 24, 2015.

“Janet Yellen: Millennials are a mystery”

“Millennials are a bit of a mystery to Janet Yellen.

The head of the U.S. Federal Reserve said Tuesday that the behavior of millennials — which typically refers to a generation of people born in the 80s and 90s — has top economists scratching their heads.

“I think we’re just beginning to understand how the millennials are behaving,” Yellen said before the Senate Banking Committee. “They’re certainly waiting longer to buy houses; to get married. They have a lot of student debt. They seem quite worried about housing as an investment. They’ve had a tough time in the job market.”

As the economy continues to gain strength, Yellen said she expects more millennials to buy homes and start families. “But,” she quipped, “we’ve yet to really see how this is going to affect that generation.””

Read more:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/24/politics/janet-yellen-capitol-hill-preview/index.html?iid=EL

“top economists scratching their heads.”

Janet Yellen apparently does not have a firm grasp of the impact of the economy on millennials.

Chief economist at Goldman Sachs, Jan Hatzius must not either.

Several weeks ago I corrected his statement about baby boomers impacting the drop in the percent of the population employed.

https://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2015/02/08/economist-jan-hatzius-baby-boomer-impact-debate-with-citizen-wells-drop-in-percent-of-population-working-email-debate-both-agree-not-enough-jobs-2-percent-allegation-in-cnbc-interview/

The problem with the percent of population employed is the increase of people over 16 in this country.

The US Labor Dept. states that we have approx. 15.5 million more since January 2009.

Those turning 16 each year netted by those dying adds approx. 1.5 million a year which totals 9 million since 2009.

From The Daily Caller February 23, 2015.

“But Obama has used his power over the immigration agencies to minimize enforcement of immigration laws. Since 2009, Obama’s senior deputies have repeatedly instructed his immigration agencies to reduce enforcement of immigration laws. For example, since 2009, his aides have given work-permits and temporary residency to 4.7 million migrants, including illegal immigrants, tourists, guest-workers and students.

That 4.7 million is in addition to the annual inflow of 1 million legal immigrants. Roughly 4 million American youths enter the workforce each year.”

Read more:

http://dailycaller.com/2015/02/23/federal-judge-new-illegal-immigrants-must-be-released/

So, there you have it.

At least 9 million native born Americans being added to the labor force and immigrants taking native born American jobs.

There was an increase of over 12 million not in the labor force since Obama took office.

The youngest members of the workforce, 16 and above will be hit the hardest by immigrant workers.

And all of those jobs that Obama bragged about and Janet Yellen and others referred to….

Of the approx. 6 million new employments since Obama took office in January 2009, 4,511,000 were Hispanic/Latino!

We have barely, if at all,  recovered all of the jobs lost during the recession and 75% of the job growth went to Hispanic/Latinos!!

There were approx. 1.8 more people employed in the last 6 months. 50 percent of those, approx. 900,000, were Hispanic/Latino.

From CNS News February 17, 2015.

“Census Bureau: 30.3% Millennials Still Living With Their Parents”

Read more:

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/ali-meyer/census-bureau-303-millennials-still-living-their-parents

From the Economic Policy Institute May 1, 2014.

“This paper’s title, The Class of 2014, is admittedly something of a misnomer, as we do not yet know the labor market outcomes of these soon-to-be graduates. However, the outcomes of recent high school and college graduates provide a good sense of the labor market conditions the young men and women graduating this spring will face. This briefing paper examines the labor market that confronts young graduates who are not enrolled in further schooling—specifically, high school graduates age 17–20 and college graduates age 21–24. We look at young graduates who are not enrolled in further schooling in an attempt to focus as closely as possible on the labor market outcomes of those who are starting their careers. ”

“Key findings include:”

  • “In today’s labor market, there are nearly 1 million “missing” young workers—potential workers who are neither employed nor actively seeking work (and are thus not counted in the unemployment rate) because job opportunities remain so scarce. If these missing workers were in the labor market looking for work, the unemployment rate of workers under age 25 would be 18.1 percent instead of 14.5 percent.
  • Unemployment and underemployment rates among young graduates are improving but remain substantially higher than before the recession began.
    • For young college graduates, the unemployment rate is currently 8.5 percent (compared with 5.5 percent in 2007), and the underemployment rate is 16.8 percent (compared with 9.6 percent in 2007).
    • For young high school graduates, the unemployment rate is 22.9 percent (compared with 15.9 percent in 2007), and the underemployment rate is 41.5 percent (compared with 26.8 percent in 2007).
  • Overall unemployment rates of young graduates mask substantial disparities in unemployment by race and ethnicity. The unemployment rates of blacks and Hispanics are substantially higher than the unemployment rates of white non-Hispanics, for both young high school graduates and young college graduates.
  • The large increases since 2007 in the unemployment and underemployment rates of young college graduates, and in the share of employed young college graduates working in jobs that do not require a college degree, underscore that the current unemployment crisis among young workers did not arise because today’s young adults lack the right education or skills. Rather, it stems from weak demand for goods and services, which makes it unnecessary for employers to significantly ramp up hiring.
  • The long-run wage trends for young graduates are bleak, with wages substantially lower today than in 2000. Since 2000, the real (inflation-adjusted) wages of young high school graduates have dropped 10.8 percent, and those of young college graduates have dropped 7.7 percent.
  • The erosion of job quality for young graduates is also evident in their declining likelihood of receiving employer-provided health insurance or pensions.
  • Graduating in a bad economy has long-lasting economic consequences. For the next 10 to 15 years, those in the Class of 2014 will likely earn less than if they had graduated when job opportunities were plentiful.”

Read more:

The Class of 2014: The Weak Economy Is Idling Too Many Young Graduates

 From Market Watch February 18, 2015.

“High student debt equals fewer home buyers”

“Going to college usually leads to better jobs and better pay, but it’s also left many people dangerously in debt and unable to buy a house years after they leave school.

A pair of reports in the past two days illustrate the point. The percentage of student loans at least 90 days overdue rose to 11.3% from 11.1% in the final three months of 2014, the New York Federal Reserve said Tuesday.

While delinquencies have fallen from a record 11.8% in 2013, they are still almost twice as high as they were 10 years earlier.

Then on Wednesday the government reported that construction of new homes fell slightly to a 1.06 million annual pace in January. While sales have been rising gradually, they still aren’t increasing nearly as fast as expected almost six years into an recovery. And the percentage of buyers purchasing their first home is still unusually low.

In a fully functioning economy, housing starts should be running around 1.4 million to 1.8 million a year, analysts estimate.

Clearly the weight of student loans is too heavy for many young people to buy a single-family home. Many can’t qualify for a loan in an era of tougher lending standards or afford the monthly cost of a mortgage.”

Read more:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/high-student-debt-equals-fewer-home-buyers-2015-02-18

Janet Yellen, which part of the millennial reality do you not understand???

 

 

 

 

 

 

56 Comments

Posted in Americans, Barack Obama, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Economy, Employment, Federal Reserve, Government, Jobs, Lies, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, ObamaCare, Unemployment

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Q4 GDP boosted by Obamacare spending, Obama lies economy dies, Market Watch orwellian version vs Zero Hedge reality, Healthcare largest expenditure, Economy in ruins as food stamp usage soars for labor force dropouts

Posted on January 30, 2015 | 48 comments

Q4 GDP boosted by Obamacare spending, Obama lies economy dies, Market Watch orwellian version vs Zero Hedge reality, Healthcare largest expenditure, Economy in ruins as food stamp usage soars for labor force dropouts

“two-thirds of the “boost” to final Q3 personal consumption came from, drumroll, the same Obamacare which initially was supposed to boost Q1 GDP until the “polar vortex” crashed the number so badly, the BEA decided to pull it completely and leave this “growth dry powder” for another quarter. That quarter was Q3.”…Zero Hedge December 23, 2014

“One of the CBO’s most intriguing estimates is that by 2017 there will be 2 million fewer full-time jobs on the market than there would have been without Obamacare, and that figure could climb to 2.5 million by 2024.”…Market Watch February 4, 2014

“Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.”…George Orwell, “1984″

 

 

The fourth quarter GDP was lower than forecast at 2.6 percent.

It would have been lower without the higher costs of healthcare brought on by Obama and Obamacare.

Here is the Orwellian spin from Market Watch.

“The U.S. economy slowed a bit more than expected in the fourth quarter after expanding at the fastest pace in eleven years during the fall, according to data released Friday.

Gross domestic product — the value of all goods and services produced by the U.S. — grew at a 2.6% annual clip in the fourth quarter, the government said Friday. That’s below the 5.0% pace recorded in the July-September period.

Economists polled by MarketWatch forecast GDP would grow by a seasonally adjusted 3.2% in the October-to-December period.”

“Consumer spending was a major positive in the fourth quarter, expanding 4.3%, the fastest pace since before the financial crisis.”

Read more:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/economy-downshifts-to-26-rate-in-the-fourth-quarter-2015-01-30

“Consumer spending was a major positive”????

And talk about Orwellian.

From Market Watch January 30, 2015.

“White House says economy grew 3.9% using a different measure of growth”

“On the surface this gives the appearance that the economy hit a sizable soft patch.Read full MarketWatch report.

But White House chief economist Jason Furman noted that all of the swings in the fourth quarter came from two notoriously volatile sectors—net exports and government spending.

In a blog post, Furman noted that the economy increased at a 3.9% rate in the October to December period, applying an alternative measure of GDP that strips out these volatile sectors. That figure is only a tad slower than the 4.1% rate in the third quarter.”

Read more:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/white-house-says-q4-gdp-was-pretty-steady-at-39-rate-2015-01-30?link=MW_home_latest_news

(Refer to the numerous “1984” quotes on this site for the proper decoder ring settings)

Now for the reality from Zero Hedge January 30, 2015.

“Thanks Obamacare: This Is What Americans Spent The Most Money On In Q4”

2014Q4 spending GDPobamacare

“If readers need clarification on what was the primary source of spending-based “growth” for the US economy in the fourth quarter, the same source that bumped up final Q3 GDP from 3.9% to 5.0%, please ping us: we will gladly explain the chart below. And just in case it is still unclear what Americans are spending their “gas sasvings” on, here it is one more time.”

Read more:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-01-30/thanks-obamacare-what-americans-spent-most-money-q4

From Zero Hedge December 10, 2014.

“The spin continues:

“It’s a fair bet that most of the reduced energy costs are going to show up as added spending by consumers somewhere,” said James Hamilton, an economics professor at the University of California, San Diego.

Here’s the thing, Professor Hamilton is spot on. The only problem is what this added spending will be used on. Sadly, it is neither trinkets, nor gadgets, nor BigMacs, nor even surging cell phone and home internet bills. Unfortunately for the proponents of the “oil crash is unquestionably bullish for America” (as an aside, the falacy of a statement is directly proportional to how “unquestionable” it is), where the bulk of “savings” for those Americans who have to spend on gas (primarily those Americans who commute to work, i.e. the middle class) is… on Obamacare.

Here is confirmation that in a centrally-planned economy, it is the unintended consequences that always prevail in the end:

Example 1:

Iowans are feeling the heat from Obamacare’s rising premiums, especially Wellmark customers with Blue Cross Blue Shield.

 

As of January 1, 2015, Blue Cross Blue Shield customers will experience a 14.5 percent increase in premiums, while Wellmark Health plans will see a 11.9 percent increase.

Example 2:

Hundreds of thousands of consumers nationwide who bought insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act will face a choice this fall: swallow higher premiums to stay in their plan, or save money by switching. That is the picture emerging from proposed 2015 insurance rates in the 10 states that have completed their filings, which stretch from Rhode Island to Washington state.

 

In all but one of them, the largest health insurer in the state is proposing to increase premiums between 8.5% and 22.8% for next year, according to a Wall Street Journal review of the filings. That percentage represents the average rate increases for all individual health plans offered by that carrier

Example 3:

Aetna has said it is likely to seek rate increases of more than 10% for individual marketplace plans in 2015, according to a note from Citigroup analyst Carl McDonald. An Aetna spokeswoman said that with health-law fees, generally increasing health-care cost trends and other factors, “that level of increase would not be out of the realm of possibility,” but it was too soon to say what it would request.”

Example 4:

Americans increasingly have to dig into their own pockets to pay for medical care, a shift that is helping to curb the growth in health spending by employers and the government.

 

The trend is being accelerated by the Affordable Care Act because many private plans sold by the law’s health exchanges come with hefty out-of-pocket costs, which prompt some people to delay or put off seeking care. For the exchanges’ 2015 policies, which went on sale last month, “bronze-level” plans have an average deductible of $5,181 for individuals, up from $5,081 in 2014, according to a November report from HealthPocket, which publishes health insurance market analyses. Bronze plans generally cover 60% of consumers’ medical expenses.

And that ignores the fact that the average deductible for workers who get employer health coverage has shot up 47% to $1,217 from $826, and that one in three Americans said they or a family member delayed medical care because of costs in 2014.”

Read more:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-10/what-americans-will-spend-their-whopping-380-low-gas-price-savings

 

 

 

 

48 Comments

Posted in 1984, Barack Obama, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Economy, Health Insurance, Healthcare bill, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, ObamaCare, The Case Against Barack Obama

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NC labor force participation rate plummets 5.3 percent since May 2008, Reason for unemployment rate drop, Reason for drop in claims, No more employees left to lay off, NC ninth most populous state

Posted on January 29, 2015 | 14 comments

NC labor force participation rate plummets 5.3 percent since May 2008, Reason for unemployment rate drop, Reason for drop in claims, No more employees left to lay off, NC ninth most populous state

 

“Over the last six months, of the net job creation, 97 percent of that is part-time work,”…Keith Hall, former BLS chief

“The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was little changed in September at 7.1 million. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.”…US Labor Dept. September 2014

“Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.”…George Orwell, “1984″

 

Do not be fooled by low information biased media.

Those folks dropping out of the labor force are not mostly older baby boomers.

They are younger people who have given up on finding jobs.

Many of them are not drawing unemployment pay and are not counted in the unemployed numbers.

They also cannot be laid off.

NC is the ninth most populous state and is representative of what is taking place in the US.

Many states have been hit even harder.

From Citizen Wells January 15, 2015.

“Forget the unemployment rate. If you remove enough people from the labor force you will achieve full employment and a low unemployment rate. We have that scenario now. In fact one state, West Virginia, has a labor force participation rate below 50 percent yet the unemployment rate is 6.3 percent.

See what I mean?

Old Abe Lincoln once said “you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”

From Market Watch January 14, 2015.

“The only state where less than half its civilians work”

“West Virginia quietly passed the ignominious milestone of having less than half of its adult, civilian population in the workforce in November.

State data compiled by the Labor Department shows that West Virginia’s civilian labor participation rate has fallen to 49.8%, from 50% in October. The national rate in December was 62.7%.

The Mountain State is the only state in the history of the series, which goes back to 1976, to have fallen below 50%, though Mississippi at 50.8% isn’t far behind.”

https://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2015/01/15/us-economy-on-verge-of-collapse-workers-not-buying-labor-markets-recovery-forget-unemployment-rate-record-low-labor-force-participation-rates-wv-drops-below-50-percent-national-debt-exc/

From Citizen Wells January 9, 2015.

“You are being bombarded by the “good news” about employment from the Orwellian mainstream media, low information market news reports and I am certain the White House.

Now for the truth.

The real employment news.

The unemployment rate dropped to 5.6 percent and jobs are being added? Right?

From the US Labor Department data:

There were 456,000 more people not in the labor force in December!

There were supposedly 111,000 more people employed in December???

Hardly cause for celebration, if true, especially with the numbers of part time jobs.

The drop of .2 percent in the labor force participation rate accounts for the .2 percent drop in the unemployment rate.

The  labor force participation rate has plummeted 3 percent since Obama took office.

The number of people who could only find part time work is up 756,000 since Obama took office.”

https://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2015/01/09/real-employment-news-from-us-labor-department-january-9-2015-non-orwellian-version-truth-from-citizen-wells-and-zero-hedge-456k-more-not-in-labor-force-labor-force-participation-drop-of-2-percen/

From Jim Clifton Chairman and CEO of Gallup

“The U.S. now ranks not first, not second, not third, but 12th among developed nations in terms of business startup activity. Countries such as Hungary, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Sweden, Israel and Italy all have higher startup rates than America does.

We are behind in starting new firms per capita, and this is our single most serious economic problem. Yet it seems like a secret. You never see it mentioned in the media, nor hear from a politician that, for the first time in 35 years, American business deaths now outnumber business births.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the total number of new business startups and business closures per year — the birth and death rates of American companies — have crossed for the first time since the measurement began. I am referring to employer businesses, those with one or more employees, the real engines of economic growth. Four hundred thousand new businesses are being born annually nationwide, while 470,000 per year are dying.

Until 2008, startups outpaced business failures by about 100,000 per year. But in the past six years, that number suddenly turned upside down. There has been an underground earthquake. As you read this, we are at minus 70,000 in terms of business survival. The data are very slow coming out of the U.S. Department of Census, via the Small Business Administration, so it lags real time by two years.

Net Number of New U.S. Firms Plummets

Business startups outpaced business failures by about 100,000 per year until 2008. But in the past six years, that number suddenly reversed, and the net number of U.S. startups versus closures is minus 70,000.

My hunch is that no one talks about the birth and death rates of American business because Wall Street and the White House, no matter which party occupies the latter, are two gigantic institutions of persuasion. The White House needs to keep you in the game because their political party needs your vote. Wall Street needs the stock market to boom, even if that boom is fueled by illusion. So both tell us, “The economy is coming back.”

Let’s get one thing clear: This economy is never truly coming back unless we reverse the birth and death trends of American businesses.

Dead-Wrong Thinking

It is catastrophic to be dead wrong on the biggest issue of the last 50 years — the issue of where jobs come from. Our leadership keeps thinking that the answer to economic growth and ultimately job creation is more innovation, and we continue to invest billions in it. But an innovation is worthless until an entrepreneur creates a business model for it and turns that innovative idea in something customers will buy. Yet current thinking tells us we’re on the right track and don’t need different strategies, so we continue marching down the path of national decline, believing innovation will save us.”

Read more:

http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/180431/american-entrepreneurship-dead-alive.aspx?utm_source=WWWV7HP&utm_medium=topic&utm_campaign=tiles

 

 

 

14 Comments

Posted in Barack Obama, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Employment, Jobs, NC, North Carolina, Obama, Obama administration, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, ObamaCare, The Case Against Barack Obama, Unemployment

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