{"id":2112954,"date":"2023-12-01T04:16:02","date_gmt":"2023-12-01T09:16:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/like-trump-elizabeth-warren-believes-obamacare-sucks\/"},"modified":"2023-12-01T04:20:44","modified_gmt":"2023-12-01T09:20:44","slug":"like-trump-elizabeth-warren-believes-obamacare-sucks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/like-trump-elizabeth-warren-believes-obamacare-sucks\/","title":{"rendered":"Elizabeth Warren shares Trump’s view on ‘Obamacare’s flaws"},"content":{"rendered":"

16<\/div>SHARES<\/span><\/div>

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Democrats’ Outrage Over \u200dTrump’s Obamacare Comments<\/strong><\/h2>\nFor the \u200bpast \u2063several days,\u2063 Democrats have acted in a state of \u200bself-righteous indignation excessive even by their standards. Following Donald Trump\u2019s \u2064recent statement that he was \u200d considering \u2062alternatives<\/a> to Obamacare, the left has resorted\u2062 to high dudgeon over \u200cthe supposed threat\u200b to \u201cterminate\u201d Americans\u2019\u200c health coverage should Trump win the \u200bWhite House\u2063 next year.<\/p>\n
Let us stipulate that the imprecise \u200bnature \u2063of the\u200c former president\u2019s statements amounted \u200bto \u200cgiving his opponents a bludgeon\u2062 with which \u2064to beat him over the head ad\u2063 nauseam<\/em>. That said, \u200dnews that \u2063broke a few days later, about a(nother) proposed\u2062 merger<\/a> between two of the nation\u2019s largest health insurers,\u2064 provides further evidence that,\u2064 as Trump claimed<\/a> \u2062in a follow-up social media post<\/a>,\u2063 \u201cObamacare sucks.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Law Fueled Mergers and Consolidation<\/strong><\/h2>\nTrump made his original comments over the Thanksgiving weekend in response to a Wall Street Journal \u2062 editorial<\/a> \u2062discussing how the law has helped \u2063raise health care costs.\u2063 The Journal editorial cited a \u2064 letter<\/a> \u200bthat Sens. Elizabeth Warren, \u200dD-Mass., and Mike Braun, R-Ind., sent to the Department of Health and Human Services\u2019 \u200dinspector general just before the holiday.<\/p>\n
The letter \u200dcited previous reporting<\/a> that exposed how \u2062some insurers have charged patients \u2064inflated prices for generic drugs \u200cthat should have\u200b cheap price tags. Even when \u200binsurance covers these \u200bdrugs, higher prices mean \u200cthat patients\u200d pay more \u2062\u2014 first, because (for instance)\u200b 10 percent co-insurance on a $200 drug is more than\u2062 10 percent co-insurance on a $20 drug, and second, because\u2063 higher costs to insurers \u2063ultimately mean higher premiums \u200cfor patients.<\/p>\n
The Warren-Braun letter noted that\u2064 large insurers that also own pharmaceutical benefit managers<\/a> (PBMs) have a financial incentive to charge higher prices for cheap generic drugs.\u200c By so doing, they \u200bcan \u200cshift profits from their insurance business\u200b to their pharmacy business, and circumvent \u200cfederal medical loss ratio \u2063(MLR)\u200c requirements that mandate insurers spend\u2063 a certain \u2064percentage \u2064of\u200b every\u200d premium dollar on medical claims, as\u200d opposed to administrative overhead and\u2063 profit.<\/p>\n
Warren wrote that \u201cinsurance companies are \u200bexploiting\u200c loopholes in the \u2062law\u201d through this practice, and then noted \u2064that \u201cjust a year after the MLR requirement was \u2062put in place,\u201d UnitedHealth \u2063Group, the nation\u2019s \u2062largest insurer, started buying up physician practices \u200cand a \u2064PBM\u200d to boot. But she didn\u2019t \u2063mention\u2062 the name \u200dof the law that \u2064created the\u200c medical \u200dloss ratio requirement and those supposed \u201cloopholes\u201d\u200d she denounced.<\/p>\n
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The\u2064 law is \u2062called Obamacare. And \u200cWarren\u2019s letter admits that the law has been \u2062driving consolidation within the health care \u200bsector<\/a> that is raising prices for\u200d consumers. In fact, the letter even cites\u2062 a (progressive)\u200d Substack post<\/a> whose\u200d title\u200b says the quiet part out \u200dloud: \u201cHow Obamacare\u2064 Created Big Medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Big \u2063Medicine\u2019\u2064 Wants to Get\u200b Even Bigger<\/strong><\/h2>\nInto that\u2063 equation came \u2064news that major insurers \u2062Cigna and Humana are engaged in talks\u2062 about a possible \u2064merger. \u200bHere\u2019s how The\u2062 Wall Street Journal, which broke the\u200d news<\/a>, described the \u200bpotential combination:<\/p>\n
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Joining forces would give the pair scale \u2062to rival\u200d that of UnitedHealth Group and CVS Health and vault the\u200b combined company into the top\u200b tier of integrated \u200dhealthcare firms. Cigna, which\u200b had revenue of about\u200d $181 billion last year, \u200dwould \u200cbe able to \u2063marry its huge pharmacy-benefit unit, which manages \u2064drug\u2063 plans, and its strength \u2062in commercial insurance with Humana\u2019s big position in the\u2063 fast-growing Medicare\u200b segment, something Cigna has long sought.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
In other words, it\u2019s about one company \u2062with a \u201chuge\u201d PBM \u2064combining with another company with a \u201cbig position in the fast-growing Medicare segment.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Journal article also \u2063chronicles some of the other mergers and consolidations, both proposed \u2064and actual, that have taken \u2063place in health\u2062 care since Obamacare\u2019s passage, including each company\u2019s\u2062 expanding home health and primary care businesses.<\/p>\n
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Why do Democrats argue that Trump’s\u2063 statements \u200bpose a threat to Americans’ health coverage?<\/h2>\n
Democrats’ Outrage Over Trump’s Obamacare Comments<\/p>\n
In recent days, Democrats have been expressing \u2064their outrage over President \u200bDonald Trump’s comments\u200c regarding alternatives to Obamacare. The left has been quick to criticize Trump, arguing \u2062that his\u2063 statements pose a threat\u2063 to Americans’ health \u2062coverage \u2062if he \u200cwere\u2064 to\u2062 win the White House next year. <\/p>\n
It is important to\u2063 acknowledge\u2064 that Trump’s statements were imprecise, providing his \u2063opponents \u200dwith an opportunity to attack\u2062 him relentlessly. However,\u2064 news of a\u2063 proposed merger \u200cbetween two of the nation’s largest health insurers further supports Trump’s claim that “Obamacare\u2064 sucks.” <\/p>\n
Trump made his original \u2063comments in response to \u2064a Wall Street Journal editorial discussing how the law has\u200b contributed to the rise in\u200c health care costs. The editorial highlighted a letter from Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) \u200cand Mike Braun\u200d (R-Ind.) to\u2062 the Department of Health and Human Services’ inspector general, which raised concerns about the \u200binflation \u2062of \u200bprices for generic drugs \u200dby some insurers.<\/p>\n
The letter \u2063pointed out that certain insurers have been charging inflated prices for generic drugs, resulting in higher costs for patients. This is a significant \u200cconcern because higher prices not only increase \u2064the amount patients have to pay for\u200c these drugs but\u2062 also lead to higher premiums for all individuals insured by these companies. <\/p>\n
Interestingly, the letter \u2062also \u2062highlighted the \u200dfinancial\u200c incentive for large insurers \u200dthat own pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBMs) \u2062to charge\u2062 higher \u200bprices\u200d for cheap generic drugs. By doing so, they can transfer profits from their insurance business to\u200b their pharmacy business,\u200d thereby\u200c circumventing federal medical\u2064 loss ratio (MLR) requirements. Under MLR, a certain percentage\u200b of every premium\u2062 dollar must be spent on medical \u200cclaims rather than administrative \u200boverhead and profit.<\/p>\n
Warren\u2064 argued that\u200b insurers are exploiting loopholes in the law to benefit themselves financially. She specifically mentioned that UnitedHealth Group, the largest \u200binsurer in the country, started acquiring physician practices and a PBM shortly \u2063after the \u200dMLR requirement\u200c was implemented. However, she failed to mention the name\u2062 of the law that created the MLR requirement and the \u200dsupposed “loopholes” she denounced.<\/p>\n
In conclusion, Democrats’ outrage over Trump’s comments \u2063on Obamacare seems excessive, considering the flaws and issues\u200d that exist within the \u200chealthcare system. The proposed merger between\u200c two major health insurers further\u2063 highlights the shortcomings of Obamacare.\u2064 It is important for policymakers \u200bto address the \u200bloopholes \u200bin the law that\u2062 allow for inflated drug prices\u200d and\u2064 financial benefits for insurers. A comprehensive and effective healthcare system\u2064 should prioritize \u2062the\u200d well-being \u200dof patients rather than the profit margins of healthcare companies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Democrats have been displaying an unprecedented level of self-righteous indignation in response to Donald Trump’s consideration of alternatives to Obamacare. They are in a state of high dudgeon, claiming that if Trump wins the White House, he will “terminate” Americans’ health coverage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":2112955,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2112954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2112954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2112954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2112954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2112955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2112954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2112954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2112954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}