Discussion for article #232529
2016 will be the death knell for Teahaddists who long for the 1920’s.
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To republicans a slow death is preferable to no death. This is true whether it refers to people or laws. The republican way is all for me and none for thee.
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Yeah,but what would’ve been the damage of vetoing the CRomnibus because of that provision?
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Your photo of Boehner is apt. the result is a feature, not a bug.
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The thumb that $ister$arah referred to in her un-teleprompted screeeeeeeech.
Some clever devil broke her teleprompter AND removed all the Sharpies in order to enhance the others palatability…Stephen U-Must-B Joking, Rick dinglePerry, Mike The-Sausage (bet he was channeling MicheleB and her Iowa CorngoD) HuckaBuck looking wise by comparison.
Fair question, but apart from that (or … maybe not so much) is that there was always going to be some insuring entities, whether for-profit or not-for-profit, that fail for some combination of marginal business assumptions or poor actuarial controls etc combined with over-dependence on or over-vulnerability TO the risk-corridor program.
Plus, the R-CP wasn’t ever going to continue indefinitely. Instead, it constituted a potential (and in certain cases, a MINORITY I am assured) incentive for innovation. AND there were, and are, effective work-arounds for agencies and entities that are OTHERWISE based on sound business theory and practices. I am not convinced that Co-Opportunity Health qualifies on ANY such account, or indeed that it did so at any time from the outset.
Not necessarily commenting to this particular case, but bear in mind there WILL be LOTS AND LOTS of instances where well-meaning folks simply don’t have the background, expertise and sharpness to survive in the health coverage insurance business and there will also be MANY instances of folks trying to scam aspects of the massive ACA structure.
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That provision in the CRomnibus bill is a direct line out of the “anti-collectivism” scare tactics and playbook from the Koch Brothers. You can bet on that. Co-ops are some of the best mechanisms for providing a good return on the dollar over a period of years. They enable pooling of money that is necessary for long term success. There are strong economic years and lean ones. When lean years occur, an infusion of cash needs to be available. That’s why the federal gov’t gave it a few years of support to get it off the ground.
I live in a co-op. We cash in our bonds and small investments when we need to get through hard times. For awhile we had a HUD contract to help us get to the point of independence and sustainability. In the case of this insurance co-op, the federal government was the safety net and investment source, which was taken away from their ability to balance their books even before it got off the ground.
If we did this to any other business on Wall Street, forcing them to become revenue neutral we’d destroy the entire economy. Projections for future profits are always in their business model and no one dares to take that away from them. That simply would never happen. These wingnuts knew what they were doing to hamper the success of this aspect of healthcare. They destroyed it before it even had a chance to make a profit and grow. They killed the baby in the crib.
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I wish I was as confident about this. Americans have a long history of dependably voting against their actual best interests.
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Agree, and it’s ironic in that co-ops (and credit unions) are exactly the type of “voluntary associations” that conservatives and “libertarians” cite as preferable to coercive “government-controlled” arrangements.
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GOP are now endorsing Death Panels - as people will die due to lack of healthcare access - they will be so proud.
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Many in Kentucky who benefited from Obamacare still either didn’t vote, or voted for McConnell, who vows to destroy Obamacare. In other words, their ignorance or racial hate trumped their personal well being.
So be it: you can lead a horse to water but…
Let them die if that’s what they want.
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OK, so a small insurer got screwed by a change in an omnibus funding bill so it would be buried and marginally noticed, just like the Republicans intended.
From a practical basis, what does this mean for the for the 68,000 folks enrolled with the failed company? Will they now be without insurance, have to move to a larger insurer, get discounts on new insurance, etc.?
Unfortunately, in my neck of the woods, I’ve read about 4 local healthcare insurance companies go under over the last 15 years. That doesn’t speak to the accessibility, affordability, or quality of care available to the individuals. Meaning I don’t give a shit about the insurance companies, it’s the people who need healthcare I’m worried about.
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Good point.
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I hope repubs are proud of themselves. I abhor them. They disgust me on oh so many levels.
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The Republican’s health care option is akin to the early settlers who handed the Native Americans smallpox-infected blankets…or the mentality of the kid who f*rted and immediately yelled, “Eww…something stinks. Who did that?” When the Repukes’ were screaming about “Death Panels” it was just to divert attention away from the fact that THEY WERE the Death Panels.
Republicans are just continuing George Dumbya’ Bush’s legacy: “Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.” —Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004
…
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True, but don’t you think the midterms showed us it was more about not voting?
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“Death Panelists”
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Iowa voters getting what they voted for. Sweet justice.
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“Congress should have realized that by limiting funding for the risk corridor program, it would likely be driving some insurers into insolvency.”
They did.
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