Almost on cue, another significant regional carrier has come forward with a very bleak assessment of the existing law's future. The Washington Post reports:
The head of the largest insurer in the Mid-Atlantic region warned Thursday that the Affordable Care Act marketplaces were in the early stages of a death spiral, a statement that came as the company announced its request for massive, double-digit premium increases for next year. Projecting that by year's end the company will have lost a total of $600 million since it started selling plans in the marketplaces four years ago, CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield is requesting a greater than 50 percent rate increase in Maryland, a 35 percent increase in northern Virginia and a 29 percent increase in D.C. “What we’re seeing is greater sickness levels. The pool of beneficiaries is becoming sicker, in part because healthier people are not coming in at the same level we hoped,” said Chet Burrell, chief executive of CareFirst, which insures about 215,000 people through the marketplaces set up by the Affordable Care Act in all three states. Burrell said he was worried that the market was in the early stages of a death spiral, in which sick people who need insurance stay in the pool but healthier people drop out, causing insurers to raise rates — driving even more healthy people out of the market.
In other words, Republican rhetoric matches reality. Companies are running the numbers and fretting about a developing death spiral, out loud, for all to see. That's what the numbers are telling actuaries and accountants, no matter how hard left-leaning "fact checkers" try to pretend otherwise. In this case, a big player in the mid-Atlantic region's individual market says that the eroding risk pools will require another bruising round of double-digit premium increases, ranging from 29 to 50 percent for consumers living in the Washington, DC area. That's on top of large out-of-pocket deductibles and other costs. This is an unsustainable situation that is getting worse. The 2018 numbers are going to look ugly all across the country. That's why Republicans are stepping in: To fix the mess Democrats left them, as they promised the American people they would do, en route to three national election victories.
The head of the largest insurer in the Mid-Atlantic region warned Thursday that the Affordable Care Act marketplaces were in the early stages of a death spiral, a statement that came as the company announced its request for massive, double-digit premium increases for next year. Projecting that by year's end the company will have lost a total of $600 million since it started selling plans in the marketplaces four years ago, CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield is requesting a greater than 50 percent rate increase in Maryland, a 35 percent increase in northern Virginia and a 29 percent increase in D.C. “What we’re seeing is greater sickness levels. The pool of beneficiaries is becoming sicker, in part because healthier people are not coming in at the same level we hoped,” said Chet Burrell, chief executive of CareFirst, which insures about 215,000 people through the marketplaces set up by the Affordable Care Act in all three states. Burrell said he was worried that the market was in the early stages of a death spiral, in which sick people who need insurance stay in the pool but healthier people drop out, causing insurers to raise rates — driving even more healthy people out of the market.
In other words, Republican rhetoric matches reality. Companies are running the numbers and fretting about a developing death spiral, out loud, for all to see. That's what the numbers are telling actuaries and accountants, no matter how hard left-leaning "fact checkers" try to pretend otherwise. In this case, a big player in the mid-Atlantic region's individual market says that the eroding risk pools will require another bruising round of double-digit premium increases, ranging from 29 to 50 percent for consumers living in the Washington, DC area. That's on top of large out-of-pocket deductibles and other costs. This is an unsustainable situation that is getting worse. The 2018 numbers are going to look ugly all across the country. That's why Republicans are stepping in: To fix the mess Democrats left them, as they promised the American people they would do, en route to three national election victories.