'Risk Corridors'--Automatic Federal Bailouts for the Health Insurance Industry in Obamacare

The Shell Game of 'Risk Corridors'

You really have to wonder if President Obama knew what he was getting into when he ran for President in the first place in 2007.

Namely, if he won the White House, he was actually going to have to 'faithfully execute' his duties as Chief Executive of the federal government and administer leadership and management skills to his administration.

Unfortunately, the American people and the media failed to fully vet President Obama to see if he had any management skills, other than getting himself elected in truly masterful campaigns that will be the envy of every future presidential aspirant, such a being a former governor or executive of a business large or small.

He 'didn't know' how faulty the website was and the rollout of Obamacare was going to be. He 'wasn't briefed' about Benghazi. He 'wasn't aware of' the following: the NSA snooping on cell phones; IRS targeting of conservative groups and most importantly, 'people were actually going to lose their health insurance plans even if they liked them and wanted to keep them'!

What did he think being the President of the United States was going to be, one long golfing and vacation package?

We have found one more 'surprise' in the bill Nancy Pelosi said 'we have to pass in order to find out what is in it' (big mistake) that we are sure President Obama will deny he had any knowledge of beforehand.

They are called 'risk corridors' (click on link to learn more)

They are automatic federal payments to health care companies built into the bowels of the Obamacare legislation in case they suffer losses from enrollment targets not being hit in Obamacare.

Get ready to see your tax dollars flow towards the big health insurance companies just like they went to bail out the Big Wall Street (Robber) Barons after they helped destroy the economy in 2008 with their rampant and reckless over-speculation and excessive risk-taking with things such as credit default swaps backed by your taxpayer money.

We had a former insurance executive write to us when we asked for more explanation of how this got into Obamacare and he responded as follows:

'There is no question now that they (the health care insurance companies) were in cahoots with him, but the only people who are going to get hammered are the American people.

Does anyone seriously believe that insurance companies, who have just spent three years getting ready to comply with Obamacare unlike, apparently, the Administration, can in three weeks go back (for a year) to now outlawed policies, just because the President, in his kingly beneficence, says they can?  They will not, nor could they as a practical matter at this late date.  They made their bed, now they have to sleep in it even if Obama just pulled off the sheets, sawed off three legs and set the mattress on fire.'

Well, the problem for American taxpayers is that the health care companies, just like Wall Street and Detroit 5 years ago, have figured out that they really don't like or want a true 'free enterprise' system but rather one backed up by the federal government. Meaning you as the federal taxpayer acting as the ultimate 'backstop'.

That is why you didn't see any 'Harry and Louise' ads coming from the health insurance industry this time around to fight Obamacare tooth-and-nail like you did in 1993 to fight Hillarycare which was really Obamacare version 1.0.



It is just another case of something very troubling in America we have been writing about for the past 5 years:

'Privatizing the Upside and Socializing the Downside' for American Business.

We really don't have a true 'free market' in America in many large businesses today. Detroit and Wall Street bailouts are just the primetime examples lately.

Small business, yes, we have a free market there. They succeed and fail all the time and no one goes propping them up with your taxpayer dollars, do they? Start-up business, yes. No one ever gets a federal bailout when all their hard work, sweat equity and start-up funds go up in smoke if they are one of the 4 out of 5 new businesses that don't make it past their 5-year anniversary.

We just would like to see people who pound their chests and say they are 'free enterprisers' and wear Adam Smith bowties act like it for a change and bear the risk of their business decisions and investments up AND down.

We worked for a congressman, Alex McMillan who was CEO of Harris-Teeter Supermarkets during its formative years. We asked him one time if he would have ever gone to to Washington DC with his hat in hand with the majority owners of Harris-Teeter, Alan Dickson and Stuart Dickson, asking for a federal bailout if things went sour with Harris-Teeter somewhere along the way.

'I would have rather had both eyes gouged out with a hot poker!' was his sardonic reply.

Do you know people in business like that anymore? Please tell us you do so we can believe American free enterprise will somehow survive this rough patch of flirtation with capitalistic socialism.

Here's another article about risk corridors you might want to read as well 'CBO Never Scored Obamacare's Insurer Bailout Program'. You are probably going to be hearing more about this and other 'surprises' that are now in the bill Nancy Pelosi said they needed to pass so we can see what is in it.

We know now, don't we?

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