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Forget that ... fleet diplomacy rules.

 

From the Wall Street Journal

Wow, what a surprise, the cost of health insurance is going to go up. The health insurance companies are blaming Obamacare for having to raise the premiums to pay for the increased coverage. The government is claiming that those greedy bastards are just using it as an excuse to raise premiums. Of course how the administration determined that rates should only go up 1 to 2% is beyond me and makes me think they are delusional. I think the cost of food is up way over that and they thought that healthcare costs would basically hold steady????

Is it "dirty pool" by announcing the rate hikes so close to the November election? Personally, I think "Yes" to a certain extent, but they had to announce it eventually.

 

You mean like it has for the last 25 years? What's new?

...And we are supposed to be surprised by insurance company "claims" about the Healthcare Reform Law?

They have never needed any excuse to raise premiums in the past. Oh, wait -- They want us to take away the power of juries to award settlements in a court of law, because they figured the gullible would believe that jury trials are to blame the for rate increases.

They are believeing that once the law actually takes effect, that it will bend the cost curve, and it was the CBO that determined that piece. I suggest you do a bit of independent research to see why the adminsistration believed that.
But let's take a look at your article:

That's no surprise because that is where the problems are in the healthcare system. Small business has been crushed under health insurance premiums for years to the point that many started dropping insurance coverage althogether over the last several years.

This is probably the most critical piece for people who suffered a major illness. Generally, a major illness can wipe out an individual family financially in nothing flat. Hospitals have no problem handing out bills in excess of over 1 million dollars these days to a person who may only make 50 or 60 grand a year - as absurd as it sounds. It's either pay up -- or die.

Well, yes. I suppose that coud be "Obama's" fault. We all know that medical costs have been going down for years - Don't we?

There was, of course, a deal made addressing this very point. The Republican idea of madatory insurance (which the Rs later disowned) was the part that would pay the insurance companies for this additional cost. The insurance companies no longer want that deal? Good! Let's drop that madatory coverage right now. Why should we have it in place if insurance companies won't own up to their end of the deal?

No doubt, they should.

 

I'm with Chandos on this one - when was the last time the cost of health insurance rate increases didn't far outpace inflation?

 

I'm split on this one. On the one hand, insurance companies are notoriously greedy bastards. On the other hand, Obamacare is the devil and has hit them with massive liability increases while not providing the payment increase (mandatory participation) for four more years.

I'm a little more worried about Obama's promise to not let these companies into the Insuance Exchanges... the ones that everyone will be mandated to buy their insurance from. Basically, that means Obama has promised to not let individual companies, that he feels are charging too much, do business in the US. Without congressional action. I'm not sure that's legal, and it's definitely not promising. Even at the height of the oil scare, price gougers weren't just arbitrarily shut down.

 

What reform means:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39180968/ns/health-health_care/