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The exchanges are only part of the story. They're making oodles from people who purchased policies outside of the exchange because of the mandate. Far in excess of what they're losing on policies through the exchange. Greed and lack of foresight is why they're pulling out.
Revenue jumped 6% to $15.8 billion thanks to plans it sells via contracts with state Medicaid insurance programs and the federal Medicare insurance for the elderly.
Aetna said enrollment in Medicaid plans jumped 9% to 2.4 million in the third quarter compared to 2.2 million in the third quarter of 2015. Aetna, like other insurers including UnitedHealth Group UNH -0.20%, Humana HUM -0.26% and Centene CNC -2.03%, are seeing growth after more states in the last two years opted to expand Medicaid under the ACA.
my employer plan was $78/mo in 2013 now its $120/mo.
1) "Outrageous" premium costs? Where do you get "outrageous?" Is 6% "outrageous" in the context of health care for the under served population?
2) Oh, so you're disappointed that Obamacare, which covers about 5 percent of the population, didn't end all price rises everywhere in medical care forevermore? Gee, sorry to disappoint. However, the top graph in the post you responded to above shows that the price increase slowed substantially after passage of the ACA. As I wrote above, "In the years from 1999 to 2010, health care costs per insured person rose at an average annual rate of 5.7 percent. In the years from 2010 to 2015 costs per insured person rose at an average rate of just 2.3 percent."
But those premium increases on employer-based insurance coverage have nothing to do with what's happening with premiums on insurance plans purchased via the federal exchange. Nonetheless, both have the same problem with cost containment: not enough clients enrolled across the board. Thus, aggregate cost-sharing has to be adjusted accordingly.
It's not just the off-exchange individual market business, it's the ACA's Medicaid expansion as well:
Obamacare Woes Aside, Aetna Profits Rise From Other Government Business
Companies like Aetna have done fine under the ACA, even if they haven't quite figured how to compete for commercial insurance customers in the open market yet.
I hate to be the bearer of obvious news, but your employer plan didn't cost $78/mo in 2013 nor does it cost $120/mo now. That's your contribution which is very much detached from the actual cost of your coverage. In reality, cost growth in employer-based coverage over the past few years has been at historic lows.
Didn't Harry Reid say so himself?
Apparently you didn't see my initial post about how an open market plan premium for me has went up 700% since the ACA passed.
Surely you know that meeting one is going to affect the other.
I agree, the Administration has admitted not enough healthy young people signed up. Obama set the ACA up to fail on that one when he set it up to allow parents to cover their kids through 26 on their plans.
I agree things did not go according to projections for the ACA. I don't blame the insurance companies from quitting the exchanges, when they are loosing money.
Yes my contribution to the plan correct.
Yes, and your contribution is only a piece of the plan's actual cost. The average employee with single coverage this year contributed $94/month. But the average total cost of their plan was $536/month.
So when HHS says the average benchmark premium in exchanges is jumping up to ~$370/month next year for a middle aged person, that's well below what most employer-based coverage costs.
That is also like saying that a Kia costs less than a BMW - while they are both cars they are not the same car.
The good news is that the cost increase of a subsidized exchange plan is unlikely to matter to most since the premium portion which they pay (capped at fixed percentage of their income) does not change.
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