Major insurance company United Healthcare announced Tuesday that it would be pulling out of most of the ObamaCare insurance exchanges, after losing over a billion dollars due to the policy. This announcement was met with silence from ABC and NBC. Today the networks continued the trend of ignoring this new blow to the administration’s greatest, touted, “success” but The Kelly File gave it a thoughtful discussion worth noting.
Fox News contributor and columnist for the Washington Post Marc Thiessen explained that commercial insurers are now “hemorrhaging money on ObamaCare.” That’s why United had to leave most Obamacare exchanges.
“[W]hen these insurers are losing money, they have three choices. They can scale back their coverage. They can can -- and provide less doctors, they can raise prices or they can get out. More and more what you're seeing is they're going to start getting out,” he stated.
He sparred with DNC strategist Robert Zimmerman who disagreed vehemently that Obamacare had been anything but a success.
In this situation, we have a matter where UnitedHealthcare simply overpriced their market place. In fact, in three big marketplaces, Ohio Florida and I believe Texas, in those three marketplaces, 95% of the people who were applying for health insurance could go to a company and get it cheaper than UnitedHealthcare provided. They were too expensive. They weren't competitive. That's why they failed.
But Thiessen noted, the reason why the prices are so high is because of excessive government mandates placed on them by Obamacare.
One of the reasons they're so expensive is because the Obama administration put all these mandates on what they have to cover...What's happening is the commercial insurers are getting out and they’re being replaced by medicaid providers who are offering low bare-bones plans that basically mirror who they offer medicaid people which is the worst -- the coverage we provide for the poorest of the poor in this country...Three-quarters of people in the ObamaCare exchange had commercial health insurance before they were forced into ObamaCare, now they’re being forced not only into ObamaCare in getting government subsidized health care but into medicaid-style government health care. So this is a bad deal for them.
As Kelly pointed out to Zimmerman, it’s not just United that’s suffering.
KELLY: Robert, the facts are, it's not just United. Many companies say they're losing a lot of money, nearly a billion dollars, in some cases.
The media’s unwillingness to report on Obamacare’s failures is nothing new. Perhaps that’s why late-night liberal comedy hosts can claim that they haven’t heard “one bad story” about ObamaCare.
See the full transcript from Wednesday’s The Kelly File below:
MEGYN KELLY: Developing tonight, the largest health insurance company in America getting out of the business of ObamaCare. Insurance giant United health group says the exchanges are costing them more than a billion dollars in losses and other insurance companies are warning the soaring costs are going to mean some tough decisions for them as well. Trace Gallagher live tonight with the details. Trace?
TRACE GALLAGHER: Megyn, UnitedHealthcare reported losing 475 million in ObamaCare exchange funds last year and is on target to lose 650 million this year. So by the end of 2017, the company will only operate exchanges in a few states like Nevada and Virginia, the full list has not been released.
Here is what it means numbers wise. Of the 11 million people currently enrolled in state exchanges, 795,000 are in United health. Most of them will have to shop for a new plan altogether. And in Florida alone, nearly 300,000 people will now have only one insurance company to choose from. That's bad because when there is no competition, premiums almost certainly will rise.
The Obama administration is downplaying the pullout with the Health and Human Services spokesman saying, quote, “the marketplace should be judged by the choices it offers consumers, not the decision of any one issuer.” And experts agree this isn't the death nail for ObamaCare, but it is a strong signal the system isn't performing the way it was meant to. For example, Blue Cross Blue Shield says health care spending for people in the exchanges is 22% higher than for employer-based insurance. In other words, ObamaCare enrollees are paying less and using more. Aetna, Anthem, Humana and several Blue Cross plans have also reported losses. None of those companies are planning to pull out, but some are planning to merge and analysts say all of them will look to increase premiums. Now, the states have the power to reject rate increases, but then the catch 22 is they also risk losing more insurance companies.
KELLY: Trace, thank you. Joining me with more, Marc Thiessen a Fox News contributor and former chief speechwriter for President bush and Robert Zimmerman a DNC strategist and DNC committee member. Good to see you both.
KELLY: This is not good, Marc. This is not good.
THIESSEN: No, this is not good at all. I mean, the commercial insurers are hemorrhaging money on ObamaCare. United lost a billion dollars, billion with "B" in just two years by participating in this exchange. And the reason is simple. There are more sick people coming into the exchanges than there are healthy people to pay for them. And they're not alone. You've got Highmark, the fourth largest Blue Cross Blue Shield member in the country, $773 million in losses. Health services corporation $2 billion in losses. Blue Cross of North Carolina $400 million in losses. So what's happening is, when these insurers are losing money, they have three choices. They can scale back their coverage. They can can -- and provide less doctors, they can raise prices or they can get out. More and more what you're seeing is they're going to start getting out.
KELLY: Robert, is this not a failure? I mean, you tell me how this is -- how the administration can be comfortable with this and say the system is working.
ZIMMERMAN: Well, actually, when capitalism works, ObamaCare succeeds. That's really what's going on here. I mean, Marc, really, you have to start watching Fox News more. Because if you did, you would know the Fox Business Channel reported that Anthem and Cigna are in fact expanding their coverage in the marketplace and reaching out and trying to get more people to enroll through them through the health insurance marketplace. It's also important to point out, while I know that you're concerned about the health insurance industry, certainly United Healthcare's stock has gone up 70% since the marketplace has opened for ObamaCare and the big five stock market has gone up -- their shares have gone up for 75%. The point here Megyn is the more competition you have, the better it is. Marc and I agree on that. In this situation, we have a matter where UnitedHealthcare simply overpriced their market place. In fact, in three big marketplaces, Ohio Florida and I believe Texas, in those three marketplaces, 95% of the people who were applying for health insurance could go to a company and get it cheaper than UnitedHealthcare provided. They were too expensive. They weren't competitive. That's why they failed. That's why other insurance companies --
KELLY: Go ahead, Marc.
THIESSEN: One of the reasons they're so expensive is because the Obama administration put all these mandates on what they have to cover. They have to cover contraception for elderly people and all the rest of it. These are the things the administration forced on the insurers they have to provide. Then you have all these sick people coming in and using coverage and not enough healthy people coming in. What's happening, Megyn, it's not a death nail for ObamaCare. But a fundamental change is happening. What's happening is the commercial insurers are getting out and they’re being replaced by medicaid providers who are offering low bare-bones plans that basically mirror who they offer medicaid people which is the worst -- the coverage we provide for the poorest of the poor in this country.
ZIMMERMAN: Marc, I just have to point out.
THIESSEN: Hold on, Robert.
KELLY: Let him finish.
THIESSEN: Three-quarters of people in the ObamaCare exchange had commericial health insurance before they were forced into ObamaCare, now they’re being forced not only into ObamaCare in getting government subsidized health care but into medicaid-style government health care. So this is a bad deal for them.
ZIMMERMAN: I just have to point out, Marc, in fact, we have more insurance companies competing per state than ever before. In 2014 there were on the average of eight insurance companies per state, 2015 there were nine, now in 2016 there are approximately ten insurance companies per state competing in the ObamaCare marketplace. That's competition. That's why ObamaCare is expanding their services to 20 million citizens who are paying less for insurance.
KELLY: Robert, the facts are, it's not just United. Many companies say they're losing a lot of money, nearly a billion dollars, in some cases. So people are worrying they'll lose the plan they chose and the doctors that they're now going to. My question for you, therefore, is whether this becomes an issue for the Democrats in an election year.
ZIMMERMAN: Actually, this was an issue in the last Presidential election. You saw President Obama win very handily. I don't believe it's going to be an issue.
KELLY: This type of thing hadn't yet begun. ObamaCare was frontloaded with the goodies.
ZIMMERMAN: Actually, I think we've seen over time as ObamaCare has moved forward we're seeing more people enroll. Now there are 20 million Americans who are benefitting from ObamaCare and we're actually seeing our country spend less on health insurance --
KELLY: So you don't see it as an election issue. Robert does not see it as an election issue and Marc does. Got to go.
