Total debacle as Obamacare failures cost North Dakota company $73m in losses
L.J. Devon,Staff Writer
(NaturalNews) The Affordable Care Act is gutting the US economy, inadvertently knifing out chunks of multiple millions of dollars from the private sector, as the unintended consequences of crony government intervention take hold. As the new system is set up, wasted energy and wasted money is funneled into propping up health insurance exchanges that aren't even functional, while real health solutions are ignored.
For one company, a botched healthcare exchange setup cost them $73 million in financial losses. That company, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota, subcontracted work to set up an exchange in Maryland, but the system ultimately didn't work, as millions went to waste, causing a legal battle between subcontractors. People were fired in the aftermath, including a CEO.
Thanks to Obamacare intervention and the ensuing domino effect, large chunks of insurance money are being wasted and thrown away in failed projects. As the money is swallowed, insurance rates for everyday people continue to rise, as the companies pass on the multimillion-dollar losses down to the people.
Government intervention does more harm than good, despite its good intentions
The unintended consequences of government force on individual health and intervention into the insurance marketplace include:
Restricted liberty: Natural health solutions are ignored in the government-ran insurance system, and certain unnecessary services are propped up and mandated.
Endorsed cronyism / mandated products: The law requires everyone to buy an insurance product in order to exist in America. The government even chooses the rare few who are exempt from their all-knowing plan.
Higher fines on personhood: Those who do not comply to forced insurance are threatened with more fines through IRS bully taxation.
Widespread withering of prosperity: Multiple millions of dollars are lost as the system funnels wasted time, energy and investments that only give corporations and lawmakers more control.
ND company caught up in Obamacare debacle, loses $73 million
For Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota (BCBSND), losses have totaled $73 million in 2014, as a healthcare exchange set up in Maryland went awry. The company had already forecast losses of $17.1 million in February but is now watching in horror as the Obamacare debacle unfolds, swallowing over $50 million more than projected.
In 2011, the company lobbied to create a state exchange during the legislative session. Lawmakers rejected the proposal. Meanwhile, a subsidiary, Noridian Healthcare Solutions, secured a contract to build a state health exchange in Maryland under Obamacare. Noridian hired a subcontractor of their own, EngagePoint. When the exchange opened, it wasn't functional, and a legal battle blew up between EngagePoint and Noridian. Millions of dollars were wasted.
Recently, the state of Maryland fired the BCBSND subsidiary, Noridian, which has lost an estimated $51 million.
As the controversy expanded, BCBSND CEO Paul von Ebers was also fired. Before he was terminated, Ebers said, "[Noridian Health Solutions] does believe that it still has claims with the state of Maryland, so that $51 million may not be the end of the story."
Medicaid expansions forcing insurance companies to raise rates yet again
Another element of the ACA was to expand Medicaid, hoping to offer the state program to a greater number of people. When BCBSND assessed the situation last December, they decided to withdraw from the Medicaid expansion, due to financial risks. "BCBSND is unable to assume the financial risk in the arrangement and is obligated to protect the company and its members from the unidentified claims costs for this population," a letter from the company read.
This government expansion chokes even more out of the general insurance pool that many pay into regularly and privately. This strains the insurance company even more, leaving them with no option but to raise rates again and again to compensate. If state-run insurance programs continue to bloat, then the whole private sector system becomes even more unaffordable, eventually leaving no choice but for a complete government takeover of healthcare.
Sources for this article include:
http://www.naturalnews.com/z045136_Obamacare_financial_losses_insurance_company.html