One reason HillaryCare went down in flames two decades ago was fierce public opposition, aroused in part by those famous “Harry & Louise” ads — paid for by the Health Insurance Association of America. Presented with the opportunity to make another such permanent power grab in 2009, Democrats played it much smarter. ♡bamaCare!!!’s lynchpin ins’t just the individual mandate, but a rich set of mandated services and features — rich enough to get the insurers and several medical lobby groups on board with Jon Gruber’s plan.
Imagine how crazy the auto manufacturers and car dealers would go, if Washington mandated that everyone must buy a new car every year? Now imagine how extra crazy they’d go if the mandate included the upgraded electronics kit, the TruCoat, and the flashiest rims.
So how’s that working out for the insurers? Tom Haynes has the story:
If there’s one unquestioned category of winners under Obamacare at this point, it’s the insurance carriers, for whom the law has been a boon in both revenues and profit margins.
Let’s start with the macro picture. Five major publicly traded insurance carriers are Obamacare players: WellPoint, United, Aetna, CIGNA and Humana. All have taken somewhat different approaches to the opportunities created by the law, but they all share similar financial and stock market performance trends since Obamacare’s passage and implementation—steadily upward. Since mid-2013, these “managed care” companies have been some of the brightest shining stars of Wall Street—and Obamacare is a major reason. Here’s why.
Exchange premiums for young and healthy are much higher than before Obamacare
I hope America’s youth are enjoying their change.
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