Aetna announced in early August that it would not expand into additional Obamacare markets and that it might consider leaving existing markets. It's just the latest example of the failures of this massive healthcare law.
In an editorial, Investor's Business Daily declared: "Obamacare is failing exactly the way critics said it would." The outlet explained that Aetna had already lost $200 million thanks to Obamacare, but had expected to break even in 2016. That didn't happen, so the company will no longer expand into five additional states and is rethinking whether it will stay in the 15 states it already offers Obamacare plans.
Aetna is just the latest insurance company to deal a blow to Obamacare supporters and those who were forced to purchase plans through the exchanges. UnitedHealth Group announced in April itwould leave most Obamacare exchanges, after expecting to lose $650 million from the exchanges this year.
Humana announced in late July that it would also pull out of many Obamacare exchanges. Blue Cross Blue Shield announced a month earlier that it would leave Minnesota after losing $265 million in 2015. Also, some 23 government-created insurance co-ops have failed.
All this in addition to news that massive rate hikes are coming next year and the Congressional Budget Office downgraded its forecast for the law.
"Who could have envisioned such problems? Not Obamacare backers. They were endlessly promising that the law would create vibrant, highly competitive markets that would lower the cost of insurance," IBD's editorial board wrote. "Critics, however, were spot on. They said that, despite the individual mandate, Obamacare wouldn't attract enough young and healthy people to keep premiums down."
IBD goes on to say that the following predictions from critics actually came true: Young people would opt to pay the penalty instead of getting insurance, premiums and medical claims would increase, people would wait until they got sick to buy insurance and cancel the plan after the bills were paid and insurers would leave Obamacare after they lost money.
Aetna's CEO is now calling for more government bailouts. Democrats want what may have been their goal all along — single-payer healthcare. IBD, however, thinks the government should do what critics suggested all along.
"How about instead policymakers listen to the original ObamaCare critics? For decades, they've been calling for reforms that lift myriad anti-competitive government regulations, as well as fixes to the tax code so that it no longer massively distorts the insurance market," IBD wrote.
"The resulting free market competition in healthcare would do what it does everywhere it's allowed to function — improve quality while improving affordability. In other words, it would achieve the things ObamaCare promised but miserably failed to deliver."
Imagine where we'd be right now in healthcare if we had listened to realistic proposals instead of following along with promises of free stuff.
Ashe Schow is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
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