As most of our readers know, this week the nation’s largest insurer, UnitedHealth, threatened to stop offering insurance plans to individuals through the public exchanges established by Obamacare. Low enrollment and high usage have made participation a losing proposition for the company.
If UnitedHealth exits, more than a half million people will have to find other coverage. But this might not be easy. As Katherine Hempstead, who heads the insurance coverage team at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation says, “if [UnitedHealth] can’t make money on the exchanges, it seems it would be hard for anyone.”
UnitedHealth’s threat to exit wasn’t the only adverse headline for President Obama’s signature program. The folks at America Rising have compiled the following additional headlines:
Gallup: Ratings of U.S. Healthcare Quality No Better After ACA (If you look at the numbers, Americans actually think their health care has gotten worse).
The New York Times: In Many Obamacare Markets, Renewal Is Not an Option (In markets throughout the country, the plan in the most popular category that was least expensive this year will not be offered next year).
Washington Examiner: Health insurance stocks plummet on Obamacare fears
Miami Herald: Survey: Healthcare unaffordable for many even with insurance (healthcare costs are said to be unaffordable for 25 percent of privately insured working-age adults).
The Wall Street Journal: Rising Rates Pose Challenge to Health Law (higher premiums, fewer doctors, and skimpier coverage will be common in 2016).
The New York Times: Health Care Law Forces Businesses to Consider Growth’s Costs (Obamacare makes employers reluctant to expand beyond 49 employees)
Boston Globe: Critics say high deductibles make insurance ‘unaffordable’
Is Obamacare heading into a “death spiral”? I don’t know, but it certainly looks ill.
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