• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!
  • Welcome to our archives. No new posts are allowed here.

ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the U.S.

B

buck

DP Veteran
Joined
May 29, 2009
Messages
13,061
Reaction score
5,128
Location
USA
Gender
Male
Political Leaning
Conservative
Texas BC/BC lost 400 million on their exchange business, or $360.00 per customer. While most insured's are losing money on the exchange business, not many are losing quite this much per customer.

It also discusses the reason for them dropping the PPOS and their price increases in the HMO, which I know Junping Jack has been discussing.


ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the U.S. average | | Dallas Morning News

Unfortunately for them, most of the business has been a money-loser. And Texas’ largest insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, has been hit hard — over twice as hard, in fact.
Click to expand...

The Texas unit lost almost $400 million on exchange business in 2014, the ACA’s first full year. That comes to a loss of about $360 per member, based on rate filings with regulators. That compares with an average loss of $163 per member for insurers nationwide, according to an estimate by McKinsey & Co.
Click to expand...

Almost two-thirds of insurers lost money on the exchange in 2014 and their financial struggles are continuing. A Goldman Sachs analyst, who evaluated the Blues in 30 states, projects an aggregate loss for the not-for-profit plans in 2015. It would be their first loss since the 1980s, and exchange claims are the key driver, wrote Matthew Borsch.Results were so bad that Blue Cross Texas dropped its PPO for the individual market. Then it raised rates almost 19 percent for its exchange HMOs in 2016, and adjusted the prescription formulary and co-pays
Click to expand...
 
Re: ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the

buck said:
Texas BC/BC lost 400 million on their exchange business, or $360.00 per customer. While most insured's are losing money on the exchange business, not many are losing quite this much per customer.

It also discusses the reason for them dropping the PPOS and their price increases in the HMO, which I know Junping Jack has been discussing.


ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the U.S. average | | Dallas Morning News





[/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR]
Click to expand...

I think the key phrase should be, "It would be their first loss since the 1980's". About damn time. They get zero sympathy from me.
 
Re: ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the

buck said:
Texas BC/BC lost 400 million on their exchange business, or $360.00 per customer. While most insured's are losing money on the exchange business, not many are losing quite this much per customer.

It also discusses the reason for them dropping the PPOS and their price increases in the HMO, which I know Junping Jack has been discussing.


ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the U.S. average | | Dallas Morning News





[/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR]
Click to expand...

Growing pains? More like an agonizing death.

And we told you so. Yes, we did.
 
Re: ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the

LowDown said:
Growing pains? More like an agonizing death.

And we told you so. Yes, we did.
Click to expand...

Ha. You told us lots of things, few if any of which proved to be true. Let's recap hilariously wrong Republican predictions about Obamacare

Meanwhile, here's the chart that makes conservatives cry:
120815krugman1-tmagArticle.png
 
Re: ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the

eohrnberger said:
At the cost of killing the entire health care insurance system? Not sure that this is a trade off that's going to turn out well.
Click to expand...

Ha! I posted a link to earlier extremist predictions, none of which came true. Now it's "killing the entire health care insurance system!!!!!!!"

Yeah, right. You guys have SUCH credibility... :roll:
 
Re: ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the

jpn said:
Ha! I posted a link to earlier extremist predictions, none of which came true. Now it's "killing the entire health care insurance system!!!!!!!"

Yeah, right. You guys have SUCH credibility... :roll:
Click to expand...

How long can a business survive with losses such as these?

What happens after the insurance companies go under one by one?
 
Re: ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the

eohrnberger said:
How long can a business survive with losses such as these?

What happens after the insurance companies go under one by one?
Click to expand...

They won't go under. They'll either leave the exchanges (UHC) or just keep jacking up those rates (such as happened this enrollment period).
 
Re: ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the

buck said:
They won't go under. They'll either leave the exchanges (UHC) or just keep jacking up those rates (such as happened this enrollment period).
Click to expand...

This is exactly what is going to happen until it finally reaches the point that their will be no insurance companies in the exchanges. Or the few that do remain, the enrollees won't be able to afford the premium or deductibles even with subsidy.

United Healthcare will be the first big company making an exit next year. The rest will follow.

UnitedHealth Obamacare Insurance Might Be Canceled: Here's What To Do - Fortune
 
Re: ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the

swizllestick said:
This is exactly what is going to happen until it finally reaches the point that their will be no insurance companies in the exchanges. Or the few that do remain, the enrollees won't be able to afford the premium or deductibles even with subsidy.

United Healthcare will be the first big company making an exit next year. The rest will follow.
Click to expand...

We already knew that UHC was ceasing marketing their exchange plans. I just read yesterday that they will also stopped offering any commission to agents for selling exchange plans - in other words no agents will be writing those policies (they don't typically like to work for free). Seems pretty clear what UHC's final decision will be.

Edit for link:

UnitedHealthcare to stop paying insurance agents for selling ACA health plans | News & Observer

“The only time I’ve seen this before is when insurers are required by government to sell a product they do not particularly want to sell,” said Wake Forest University law professor Mark Hall. “Here, this seems consistent with an insurer that no longer wants to sell through the exchanges ... but is not allowed to withdraw immediately, so it’s pushing its commissions to zero until it’s allowed to exit.”
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Re: ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the

eohrnberger said:
How long can a business survive with losses such as these?
What happens after the insurance companies go under one by one?
Click to expand...

Awesome questions!!!
But here: I have a question for you!

What happens when insurance companies don't "go under one by one?"

But we already know, don't we? What happens is that the Obama-haters will move on to their next dire prediction which also won't come true either. Rinse, repeat. Rinse, repeat.

How boring. :roll:
 
Last edited:
Re: ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the

LowDown said:
Daily Kos? Give me a break.
Click to expand...

Oh, so you must have data which shows that the percentage of Americans without health insurance is very different from the graph I provided.

Please share.

(I won't wait up...)
 
Re: ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the

jpn said:
Oh, so you must have data which shows that the percentage of Americans without health insurance is very different from the graph I provided.

Please share.

(I won't wait up...)
Click to expand...

I'm not going to waste time reading Daily Kos. Please cite something reliable.
 
Re: ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the

LowDown said:
I'm not going to waste time reading Daily Kos. Please cite something reliable.
Click to expand...

I didn't ask you to waste time reading Daily Kos. I asked you to provide data that contradicts the graph. The estimates of uninsured Americans are all over the internet. You'd almost have to work to avoiding them. And, they all pretty much say the same thing, unfortunately for you and your fellow Obama-haters. Since it's something you don't want to see, you so won't "waste your time" seeing it.

So how do you spend your value-added time? Watching Fox "News?"

I was right, wasn't I????? Wow! I'm psychic! :shock:
 
Last edited:
Re: ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the

jpn said:
Awesome questions!!!
But here: I have a question for you!

What happens when insurance companies don't "go under one by one?"

But we already know, don't we? What happens is that the Obama-haters will move on to their next dire prediction which also won't come true either. Rinse, repeat. Rinse, repeat.

How boring. :roll:
Click to expand...

Seems that the reality is more so that health insurance providers are going to exit the ObamaCare 'markets' as they can't make enough to survive.

followed shortly by the reality that healthcare insurance would become even more scarce and even more expensive regardless of what ObamaCare would try to do, you know, the law of supply and demand.
 
Re: ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the

Oh no!! Some of the most bloated, wasteful, inefficient, profit-engorged parasites that operate our healthcare system might go out of business !! Won't anyone think of the millionaires ?!?

Give me a break.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1449724581.524075.jpg

We're going to need a hell of a lot more growing pain than this to put us in line with the OECD averages.
 
Re: ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the

jpn said:
I didn't ask you to waste time reading Daily Kos. I asked you to provide data that contradicts the graph. The estimates of uninsured Americans are all over the internet. You'd almost have to work to avoiding them. And, they all pretty much say the same thing, unfortunately for you and your fellow Obama-haters. Since it's something you don't want to see, you so won't "waste your time" seeing it.

So how do you spend your value-added time? Watching Fox "News?"

I was right, wasn't I????? Wow! I'm psychic! :shock:
Click to expand...

Wallow in ignorance, then. Good day to you.
 
Re: ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the

jpn said:
Ha. You told us lots of things, few if any of which proved to be true. Let's recap hilariously wrong Republican predictions about Obamacare

Meanwhile, here's the chart that makes conservatives cry:
120815krugman1-tmagArticle.png
Click to expand...

There are over 12 million uninsured, which is just a few million less than 2008 (before the recession caused a spike in uninsured). Obamacare has barely made a dent.

Millions are now UNDERinsured, as opposed to before.

Obamacare Is Now on Life Support - Yahoo Finance
 
Re: ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the

JumpinJack said:
There are over 12 million uninsured, which is just a few million less than 2008 (before the recession caused a spike in uninsured). Obamacare has barely made a dent.

Millions are now UNDERinsured, as opposed to before.

Obamacare Is Now on Life Support - Yahoo Finance
Click to expand...

Great to see that you're SO concerned about health insurance in America. :roll:

We're making progress, no thanks to any Republicans!

Obamacare Is a Success, Researchers Say
 
Re: ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the

jpn said:
Great to see that you're SO concerned about health insurance in America. :roll:

We're making progress, no thanks to any Republicans!

Obamacare Is a Success, Researchers Say
Click to expand...

I am concerned. Unlike you, who apparently has his pony, I don't have my pony. The health insurance system is in freefall. It's crumbling around you.

If you don't want to believe it, you have a partisan viewpoint. Objectively speaking, it's in serious trouble. Companies are folding and withdrawing from entire markets. Cos. are losing millions. The insured still exist by teh millions....and growing. Now there's a new group: THE UNDERINSURED.

This is hurting the middle class the most, I believe. But, hey...you've got YOUR pony, so what do you care?
 
Re: ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the

JumpinJack said:
I am concerned. Unlike you, who apparently has his pony, I don't have my pony. The health insurance system is in freefall. It's crumbling around you.

If you don't want to believe it, you have a partisan viewpoint. Objectively speaking, it's in serious trouble. Companies are folding and withdrawing from entire markets. Cos. are losing millions. The insured still exist by teh millions....and growing. Now there's a new group: THE UNDERINSURED.

This is hurting the middle class the most, I believe. But, hey...you've got YOUR pony, so what do you care?
Click to expand...

These bloated companies have had unimpeded profit growth by just raising their prices for decades. The idea that they should all survive only has merit if we're willing to let their costs continue to grow without boundary.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1449875396.782172.jpg

Further, many of the coops are simply mismanaged. We don't very well suggest that the failure of Blockbuster means the dvd industry is doomed, do we ?
 
Re: ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the

LowDown said:
Growing pains? More like an agonizing death.

And we told you so. Yes, we did.
Click to expand...

:yt

I don't know if you personally did, but some did. I fell for it, hook line & sinker. Well, I knew that not everything would work out to be totally correct, but they out and out lied to us. Having a reform plan was a good thing. But I didn't think they'd snooker us intentionally. BTW, I don't think it was Obama or his staff. They're not insurance experts. Congress had the broad plan, and all the politicians knew was what the so-called experts told them. But as one of the so-called experts said a few months ago, they lied and knew they could get away with it because the public is stupid.

:ws
 
Re: ACA growing pains: Losses for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas are over twice the

Absentglare said:
These bloated companies have had unimpeded profit growth by just raising their prices for decades. The idea that they should all survive only has merit if we're willing to let their costs continue to grow without boundary.

View attachment 67193964

Further, many of the coops are simply mismanaged. We don't very well suggest that the failure of Blockbuster means the dvd industry is doomed, do we ?
Click to expand...

Yes, Virginia. The dvd industry is all but gone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom