NC BCBS Looks For 35% Rate Increase For Obamacare Plans

Cost are much higher than anticipated or something

(WRAL)  North Carolina’s largest health insurer says higher-than-anticipated costs after two years of selling federally subsidized coverage has forced it to seek premium increases even greater than it thought would be necessary two months ago.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina said Thursday that it now seeks an average 34.6 percent higher premium for insurance sold under President Barack Obama’s health insurance overhaul law. The company said in June that it wanted to raise rates by an average of almost 26 percent starting in January, compared with this year’s allowed 13.5 percent increase.

Blue Cross vice president Patrick Getzen says the program has not met expectations that healthier customers would enroll in the second year and that costs would level out after people who avoided doctors for years got treatment.

“Based on our data, neither expectation is proving true. Our claims and expenses are higher than our premiums and we need to take steps now to protect the sustainability of plans for our customer over the long-term,” Getzen said.

Imagine that, costs are much higher. My goodness, if only someone could have anticipated this. Of course, this doesn’t even address the high deductibles, nor the limitations with doctors and medical facilities and such built into Ocare.

Hey, remember these quotes from Obama?

  1. “We agree on reforms that will finally reduce the costs of health care. Families will save on their premiums…” (1)
  2. “I will sign a universal health-care bill into law by the end of my first term as president that will cover every American and cut the cost of a typical family’s premium by up to $2,500 a year.” (2)
  3. “You’re going to be able to purchase high-quality health insurance for less than the cost of your cell phone bill.”(3)

Those are just a portion of his lies about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, in this case about cost. Calling it “affordable” starts it all.

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11 Responses to “NC BCBS Looks For 35% Rate Increase For Obamacare Plans”

  1. david7134 says:

    The only way to make health care “affordable” is to limit your ability to use it. That is exactly what Obamacare is, the deductible is about $5000, so very few people of low income can afford that. My insurance was canceled by Obama, and I had a good policy, it just did not pay for my birth control, which I don’t need as a male. Then my wife and kid had a significant increase in their deductibles, again because of Obama. Then, the level of administration and expense for my medical office has gone out the roof. The first time the government interfered was in the 80’s. At that time, I was charging $35 per day for hospital care, no matter how long I attended the patient or how sick they were. The government said that was too much and sent a drg book. After entering the codes the cost went above $500 per day. Also, the government says we can not treat people for free, that is fraud.

  2. Clayton says:

    I did not enroll, figured that the savings in useless premiums would offset the penalty. Just shelled out $3,900 for cataract surgery, paid in full before the procedure. The cost would have fallen below the deductible anyways. The opthomologist had his money he was happy, the clinic had their money, they were happy, I saved money I’m happy. Now Mr. Gruber tell me again how stupid I am.

  3. Liam Thomas says:

    There is a saying in England “HEALTHCARE SUNK OUR NAVY” What that means is that Great Britain went to universal health care and it was so expensive that in order to pay for it England quite literally scrapped 80 percent of her naval forces to do so.

    Obamacare was ALWAYS WRITTEN TO DO TWO THINGS….drive insurance companies out of business and force the states to turn to the US government for help with Medicaid as they simply do not have the resources to handle health care MANDATED by the government.

    The net result would be single payer. Many politicians were caught on tape and in interviews saying Obamacare was just the first step to universal health care.

    Now I dont have anything against universal health care but……….

    In the USA HEALTH industry is a 5 trillion a year industry. How is the government going to cover that? Fine they will cut costs, cut benefits, cut procedures, cut pay and in doing so you will no longer be seeing a doctor but rather a Semi-doctor that didnt go to school for 12 years but rather 8 years.

    America opened the can of worms and those opposed to obamacare understand the shoddy healthcare coming down the pipe….those for it are simply partisan hacks who hate Medicare part D because BUSH thunk it up….IF Obama THUNK it up it would be the greatest thing since sliced bread.

  4. Zachriel says:

    Liam Thomas: There is a saying in England “HEALTHCARE SUNK OUR NAVY”

    http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=%E2%80%9CHEALTHCARE+SUNK+OUR+NAVY%E2%80%9D&l=1#

  5. Stosh says:

    I’m trying to imagine how bad it would be if Obama hadn’t illegally delayed the employer mandate, and the “Cadillac Tax, and given out all those wavers to the unions, and….

  6. JGlanton says:

    My obamacare premium rose 22% after the first year. I’m paying $1600/month. For that, I get higher deductibles and a prescription that isn’t covered. I also spend a LOT more time waiting. I used to get seen right away when I had private insurance. I liked that insurance, but they didn’t let me keep it.

    Then I get to listen to that bald-faced liar in the WH tell me that his plan has slowed the rise of health care premiums and reduced costs. And his mindless army of sycophant drones that repeat this BS. Drones who claim that I’m the liar about my rates going up, and I’m the liar about $1600/month because Obamas says I should pay no more than a phone bill. Go eff yourselves, drones. That was my vacation budget down the toilet.

  7. John says:

    Currently. On Eco. Combined poll 47% disapprove of the healthcare law
    However. When Gallup asked further 10% said they disapproved because it was. To weak they wanted. A stinger single payer health care system like virtually all other developed countries have for their citizens
    Actually most also cover non citizens, when my sister broke ribs and clavicle in Ireland riding at a hunt
    Her hospital bill was covered at virtually no charge
    And they kept/allowed her to stay. Two times as long as an American hospital

  8. gitarcarver says:

    As usual, john has issues with the truth and statistics.

    While the percentage of people who disapprove of the ACA is 48%, the approval rate is at 47% which means that the ACA is still disapproved by the majority of respondents.

    john likes to cite the idea that people think the ACA didn’t go far enough, but that is more due to the fact that those who believe that are not paying for it. It is easy to sit there and want more ice cream when you aren’t paying the bill. In fact, a higher percentage of people say they were harmed by the ACA than were helped.

    Because the government artificially held costs down with the ACA, that bill is about to come due now as well. That is why we are seeing requests for massive increases from insurance companies and expansion of Medicare.

    john’s sister riding in Ireland and breaking her clavicle shows that the NIH covers emergencies as does US hospitals. Also the idea that she stayed “twice as long” is complete and total BS because there is no way of knowing the extent of the break which would determine the hospital stay.

    If john wants to trade NIH health care stories, I have a friend who is an American citizen and married to a Scottish national. She had to have her pacemaker replaced. Despite she and her husband paying into the NIH system as a couple, she was told she had to return to the US to have the surgery. It was lucky for her that she had maintained her healthcare payments in the US under her retirement plan or else she would have been dead. Her husband, on the other hand, was initially diagnosed with cancer by a GP after a colonoscopy in Scotland and had to wait 9 months to get an oncologist to look at him. By then the cancer had spread and they had to remove a large part of the colon and he now has a stoma and bag to wear because of the delay.

    So a family who had paid into the plan was denied care and also had care delayed by the NIH.

    That’s the kind of care john wants for everyone.

    Maybe he should move to England and see how it really works over there.

  9. Liam Thomas says:

    Actually most also cover non citizens, when my sister broke ribs and clavicle in Ireland riding at a hunt

    http://www.irishleftreview.org/2009/02/20/ireland-bankrupt/

    http://www.irishleftreview.org/2009/02/20/ireland-bankrupt/

    Awesome for your sister….not even a resident and she gets free health care…..

    In life John there is no free lunch……socialist countries with free health care are struggling all over the world……..great for you huh?

    Not so great for the country.

    Everything has a cost…..nothing is free…….

    Universal health care in the USA would cost about 2.5 trillion per year causing a 50 percent cut in the health care industry putting millions out of work.

    Nothing is free….healthcare is not free…and there is not enough money in America to pay for it………

    Tax everyone at 100 percent and you just might barely pay for it….of course the economy would collapse…but gee John and his progressive buds would have free aspirins.

  10. JGlanton says:

    Wait, what? You guys can understand John??? He sounds like Yoda after shooting an eight ball. To stinger they much?

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