Tag Archives: Obamacare

To have or not to have? (Health insurance)

September 6, 2016 Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A. 4 Comments

One of the biggest problems with Obamacare is the the inability to determine what next year’s costs are really going to be. From the big insurers’ point of view, they feel that their inability to know who is (and how many who’s are) going to sign on to the program before they list their proposed premiums. From the small (and newly formed coops) insurers’ point of view it has been the changing rules as to who is responsible for the transfer payments from the lower cost insurance pool to the higher ones.

Continue reading To have or not to have? (Health insurance) →

Share this:

Economy, Medicine

The Shell Game?

September 1, 2016 Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A. 3 Comments

As I’ve reported, the health insurers and our employers have been shifting the health cost burden onto the insured over the past few years. And, now, given that many of the poor are on Medicare or subsidized Obamacare (PPACA) programs, it means that it’s pretty much just the the middle class that is feeling the pain of these cost shifts. (It is such a small amount of money to the rich that the change is not truly noticed by them.)

Continue reading The Shell Game? →

Share this:

Economy, Medicine

Costs slow, but it still bad news

July 29, 2016 Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A. 6 Comments

Yesterday, we spoke about how PPACA (Obamacare) has been attenuating the US healthcare cost spiral. Over the past few years, the overall cost growth has dropped dramatically. But, many of us don’t feel the love- because our employers and our insurance companies have been playing the “cost shifting” game. They’ve changed our co-insurance, they’ve raised our deductibles- claiming that when we have ‘skin in the game’, we are more attentive to the costs of our healthcare.

Continue reading Costs slow, but it still bad news →

Share this:

Economy, Medicine

Slowing down- finally?

July 28, 2016 Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A. 6 Comments

The health care cost spiral is slowing- finally. Prior to 2008, the increase averaged at least 8% a year- for two decades! Over the past 5 years (up to 2014), total healthcare costs have growing by less than 3% annually. That trend is up for grabs through, as the last year’s(2015) increase seems to 5.5%- but the current year’s increase will be a little less at 4.8%. Except, these numbers still don’t tell the whole story….

Continue reading Slowing down- finally? →

Share this:

Economy, Medicine

This corridor is blocked

May 23, 2016 Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A. 2 Comments

This is the third part of an update of what is going on with Obamacare.

On Thursday, we discussed why – without states expanding Medicaid and without approving the use of more physicians assistants and nurse practitioners- the ability to provide health care to rural America is a difficult task.

Continue reading This corridor is blocked →

Share this:

Business Management, Medicine

Obamacare Exaggerations

May 20, 2016 Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A. 1 Comment

Yesterday, we talked about Obamacare and its purported failure in the rural regions of the US. Those regions have always been problem areas for healthcare. Long before there was a hint of the program. Too few practitioners, little density to support hospitals, and the population is generally a little poorer than the rest of the US.

Continue reading Obamacare Exaggerations →

Share this:

Medicine

Obamacare Choice

May 19, 2016 Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A. 9 Comments

I haven’t written about Obamacare (PPACA, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is its more formal appelation) in a while. And, several of my clients have asked questions based upon spurious statements (yes, this opinion will be substantiated) by several insurance companies about the ability of Obamacare to work and provide profitable engagements for the insurance companies.

Continue reading Obamacare Choice →

Share this:

Business Management, Taxes, Technology

Tonight starts income tax season…And, do I have some surprises for you!

January 18, 2016 Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A. 2 Comments

Most of you know that the IRS has had its budget slashed by Congress. The goal (of the majority party) was to make it really hard for the IRS to collect the special taxes one might owe for failure to have health insurance and to punish it for various perceived ills. Because, after all, every dollar provided to the IRS only provides some $ 11 in return. (There’s no other agency that has such a return on investment for the US.)

Continue reading Tonight starts income tax season…And, do I have some surprises for you! →

Share this:

Economy, Medicine

The COOPs. Part 3. The end?

November 12, 2015 Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A.

Well, I didn’t think this explanation of health care coops would go on this long. But, it turns out there’s a lot to setting up new insurance companies. (Yes, I should recall how much it took to set up our liability insurance coop, as I described here.)

Continue reading The COOPs. Part 3. The end? →

Share this:

Economy, Medicine

The COOPs. Part 2.

November 11, 2015 Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A. 2 Comments

As discussed yesterday (this is part 3 of an update on PPACA- there is one more in this array.), PPACA (Obamacare) originally considered a single-payer solution. For about a second. Then, the goal was to develop non-profit insurers to compete against the existing health insurers, thereby providing (one would hope) lower cost alternatives for US citizens. All in the name of arresting health care cost increases- and, preferably, to lower our health care expenditures.

Continue reading The COOPs. Part 2. →

Share this: