Elizabeth Warren shares Trump’s view on ‘Obamacare’s flaws

Democrats’ Outrage Over ‍Trump’s Obamacare Comments

For the ​past ⁣several days,⁣ Democrats have acted in a state of ​self-righteous indignation excessive even by their standards. Following Donald Trump’s ⁤recent statement that he was ‍ considering ⁢alternatives to Obamacare, the left has resorted⁢ to high dudgeon over ‌the supposed threat​ to “terminate” Americans’‌ health coverage should Trump win the ​White House⁣ next year.

Let us stipulate that the imprecise ​nature ⁣of the‌ former president’s statements amounted ​to ‌giving his opponents a bludgeon⁢ with which ⁤to beat him over the head ad⁣ nauseam. That said, ‍news that ⁣broke a few days later, about a(nother) proposed⁢ merger between two of the nation’s largest health insurers,⁤ provides further evidence that,⁤ as Trump claimed ⁢in a follow-up social media post,⁣ “Obamacare sucks.”

Law Fueled Mergers and Consolidation

Trump made his original comments over the Thanksgiving weekend in response to a Wall Street Journal ⁢ editorial ⁢discussing how the law has helped ⁣raise health care costs.⁣ The Journal editorial cited a ⁤ letter ​that Sens. Elizabeth Warren, ‍D-Mass., and Mike Braun, R-Ind., sent to the Department of Health and Human Services’ ‍inspector general just before the holiday.

The letter ‍cited previous reporting that exposed how ⁢some insurers have charged patients ⁤inflated prices for generic drugs ‌that should have​ cheap price tags. Even when ​insurance covers these ​drugs, higher prices mean ‌that patients‍ pay more ⁢— first, because (for instance)​ 10 percent co-insurance on a $200 drug is more than⁢ 10 percent co-insurance on a $20 drug, and second, because⁣ higher costs to insurers ⁣ultimately mean higher premiums ‌for patients.

The Warren-Braun letter noted that⁤ large insurers that also own pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBMs) have a financial incentive to charge higher prices for cheap generic drugs.‌ By so doing, they ​can ‌shift profits from their insurance business​ to their pharmacy business, and circumvent ‌federal medical loss ratio ⁣(MLR)‌ requirements that mandate insurers spend⁣ a certain ⁤percentage ⁤of​ every‍ premium dollar on medical claims, as‍ opposed to administrative overhead and⁣ profit.

Warren wrote that “insurance companies are ​exploiting‌ loopholes in the ⁢law” through this practice, and then noted ⁤that “just a year after the MLR requirement was ⁢put in place,” UnitedHealth ⁣Group, the nation’s ⁢largest insurer, started buying up physician practices ‌and a ⁤PBM‍ to boot. But she didn’t ⁣mention⁢ the name ‍of the law that ⁤created the‌ medical ‍loss ratio requirement and those supposed “loopholes”‍ she denounced.

The⁤ law is ⁢called Obamacare. And ‌Warren’s letter admits that the law has been ⁢driving consolidation within the health care ​sector that is raising prices for‍ consumers. In fact, the letter even cites⁢ a (progressive)‍ Substack post whose‍ title​ says the quiet part out ‍loud: “How Obamacare⁤ Created Big Medicine.”

‘Big ⁣Medicine’⁤ Wants to Get​ Even Bigger

Into that⁣ equation came ⁤news that major insurers ⁢Cigna and Humana are engaged in talks⁢ about a possible ⁤merger. ​Here’s how The⁢ Wall Street Journal, which broke the‍ news, described the ​potential combination:

Joining forces would give the pair scale ⁢to rival‍ that of UnitedHealth Group and CVS Health and vault the​ combined company into the top​ tier of integrated ‍healthcare firms. Cigna, which​ had revenue of about‍ $181 billion last year, ‍would ‌be able to ⁣marry its huge pharmacy-benefit unit, which manages ⁤drug⁣ plans, and its strength ⁢in commercial insurance with Humana’s big position in the⁣ fast-growing Medicare​ segment, something Cigna has long sought.

In other words, it’s about one company ⁢with a “huge” PBM ⁤combining with another company with a “big position in the fast-growing Medicare segment.”

The Journal article also ⁣chronicles some of the other mergers and consolidations, both proposed ⁤and actual, that have taken ⁣place in health⁢ care since Obamacare’s passage, including each company’s⁢ expanding home health and primary care businesses.