Name:   GoneFishin - Subject:   lakengulf ONLY Date:   3/29/2017 11:28:40 PM

When Obamacare was first enacted, Insurance companies made estimates that more younger people and healthier would sign up. They did not. But, a lot of people with pre existing conditions and older signed up. They probably also priced coverage lower to try and capture market share. The plan was to gradually increase the rates.  

The current rules require the insurance companies to return profit to the Insured. If they pay out less than 80% of the premium, they have to return the difference. The 20% is to cover expenses and profit.

They need to tighten the pre existing feature. People need a one time entry when they first become eligible. After that, they have no coverage for one year for a pre existing condition plus the premium should be increased for those same people. As an example, if you are covered under your parents plan, you have 60 days to sign up to have full coverage at standard rates when you attain age 26. . If you are over 26, there will be a one time enrollment to sign up for full coverage at standard rates. If you drop out the pre existing limitation and higher rates will apply when you reenroll.If the pre existing is tightened up, they should be able to reduce the high deductible. The high deductible and premium are designed to cover larger claims that occur to cover pre existing. They should also be able to reduce the penalty for not enrolling by tightening up the pre existing coverage.

I don’t think allowing you to buy over state lines will not have much effect on reducing claims. The losses for those covered will be the same with or without the group. A lot would depend on who signs up…young or old..healthy or sick. It would have a small effect on expenses. Companies would file a policy in a state that has limited laws and when you have a problem you will call your State Ins Dept. and they will tell you to call the state where the policy is filed. Good luck when you call that State Dept.

Before Obamacare, there were lifetime limits on how much the Insurance Company would pay for all your claims. Obamacare removed those limits. You could start to reduce limits. But, that eliminates one real benefit if you have a serious illness or accident.

I question the effect of allowing people to get together and form a group to buy coverage. Purchase groups work well for a couple of years unless itttracts a lot of sicker people who cause the rates to rise as the groups are not large enough to handle large claims. Rates increase and the group falls apart. The bottom line is healthier people means lower rates.

These are my thoughts and are far from repeal...they are simply a fix. As Trump has admitted, it is quite complicated.