Insurers nervous over prospect of a Romney victory

[yortsed snacilbuper]

Obama's law is starting to look more and more like a tangible business opportunity. In a little over a year, some 30 million uninsured people will start getting coverage through a mix of subsidized private insurance for middle-class households and expanded Medicaid for low-income people. Many of the new Medicaid recipients would get signed up in commercial managed care companies.

A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers study estimated the new markets would be worth $50 billion to $60 billion in premiums in 2014, and as much as $230 billion annually within seven years.

Read more link

[Fumesucker]

1. But... but.. I was told that insurance companies *hated* the PPACA

And they fought tooth and nail to kill it entirely.

I'm so confused.

[1StrongBlackMan]

4. They do ...

Despite any increase in revenues, the PPACA makes them send it on actually paying for healthcare; as oppose to the current system that allows insurance company growth through raising premiums and no medical loss restriction.

It's the difference between increasing revenue through expanding the market (the state in 2013); and increasing revenue by just raising prices (the current, and insurance industry's preferred state).

[Fumesucker]

7. Please don't throw me in dat Briar Patch br'er Fox..

I don't believe for a minute if the insurance companies really and truly didn't want the PPACA that it would have ever made it through Congress.

[1StrongBlackMan]

9. Okay n/t

[underthematrix]

2. yep and mittnocchio's

has promised to repeal the OBAMACARE cash cow.

[naaman fletcher]

3. The scumbag insurance companies

Like laws that force people to buy their shitty product.

I agree with Matt Taibbi that this law is horrible. It should be straight government health care, not this awful bill.

[1StrongBlackMan]

5. We keep coming back to what "should be" ...

but no one can explain how we could have gotten there, given the composition of Congress, then and now.

[naaman fletcher]

6. sure

But I think forcing people to buy the insurance companies product was the worst choice

[1StrongBlackMan]

8. No, it wasn't ...

Leaving the previous structure intact was the worst choice.

[naaman fletcher]

11. If you can,

Read the Taibbi book "Griftopia" It was that which convinced me the present situation is worse.

[1StrongBlackMan]

12. I read it ...

It is very informative. However, still he doesn't explain exactly how we could have gotten to a single payer system, given the reality of the politics. Without that recognition/consideration, any POLICY discussion becomes moot.

[librechik]

10. Yup--they know they got a super sweet deal from Obama

he could have nationalized health care and decreased their obscene profits by 20 or 30 percent.
Executive perks might have shrunk a little bit--what an outrage!

Instead they get another 20 or so years of life before we are all so disgusted by their excess that we do the right thing and get a national health service like every other civilized country has had for 50 years, thanks to postwar US rebuilding efforts.

Irony will kill us all.