UnitedHealth drops thousands of doctors: Seniors scramble to find coverage

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

And I'm not the one who said "We will keep this promise to the American people: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor.  Period."  President Obama did.  Numerous times.  Don't make promises you can't keep.  Again, he didn't say "If you want to keep your doctor, you can - but only if you go shopping on our broken website and buy a new plan.  Period."

Again, Obama cannot and will not force insurance companies to keep every doctor in their network (Republicans would be howling socialism if he tried!).  Insurance companies are constantly bringing doctors in and out of their networks -- Obamacare doesn't change that.  It's the free market that determines which doctors are in which networks, not Obamacare, period.

I realize that basic tenets of how health insurance works aren't part of the high school curriculum or anything, but I've never seen an entire political party show such utter ignorance of a topic that that they argue so vehemently about like Republicans lately.

If Obama and those who voted for the ACA really thought that it would not cause people to have to change their insurance and their doctors - their ignorance is astounding.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Didn't we have this same exact story a few weeks ago?

Medicare Advantage was a failed Republican pilot to privatize Medicare where the government paid private insurers substantially MORE than Medicare rates to create a "free market" option for seniors. As part of Obamacare's efforts to reduce federal spending on Medicare, this was brought to an end. It has nothing to do with the other promise in the news.

"Seniors" never have to "scramble to find coverage" because they are all eligible for Medicare.

Republicans who make hay about this are being complete hypocrites, even if only out of ignorance about what Medicare Advantage is. I'm pretty sure anyone complaining about the end of Medicare Advantage has also complained about the runaway deficit...

If they are losing their insurance plan, they would have to find another plan if they want to keep their doctor(s), which might not include regular Medicare. So yes it has something to do with the promise.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Again, Obamacare can't promise an insurance company will keep your doctor in its network any more than he can promise that your local grocery store will keep stocking Caffeine Free Mountain Dew even though you're the only one who likes it.  In fact, if Obama did try to compel insurance companies to hold on to your doctors the right wingers would be rolling around in the streets shrieking about socialism, and they might even have a point.

All Obama's "promise" means that Obamacare will not compel any insurance company to drop a doctor, and it doesn't.  If an insurance company decides to do what's in its own best interest (and the interests of its customers, if that's to drop expensive doctors and lower people's premiums), that's the decision of the company, not of Obama.

Anyway, everyone knows this.  The Right is just fauxraging and concern trolling over this non-issue.

The point is that the interests of the insurance companies and of doctors change due to the ACA and the regulations of the Obama administration.  Something that made financial sense for them to offer before nor longer does.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Again, Obamacare can't promise an insurance company will keep your doctor in its network any more than he can promise that your local grocery store will keep stocking Caffeine Free Mountain Dew even though you're the only one who likes it.  In fact, if Obama did try to compel insurance companies to hold on to your doctors the right wingers would be rolling around in the streets shrieking about socialism, and they might even have a point.

All Obama's "promise" means that Obamacare will not compel any insurance company to drop a doctor, and it doesn't.  If an insurance company decides to do what's in its own best interest (and the interests of its customers, if that's to drop expensive doctors and lower people's premiums), that's the decision of the company, not of Obama.

Anyway, everyone knows this.  The Right is just fauxraging and concern trolling over this non-issue.

The point is that the interests of the insurance companies and of doctors change due to the ACA and the regulations of the Obama administration.  Something that made financial sense for them to offer before nor longer does.

Obamacare could have been put in place in its entirety without touching Medicare Advantage. The health insurance market for seniors is separate from that affected by Obamacare.

The only reason Medicare Advantage was cut was to reduce the deficit and make Obamacare revenue-neutral or revenue-positive. This was never a consideration for Medicare Part D when Republicans were in power, but it was a requirement the Dems took upon themselves as a matter of fiscal responsibility.

Shua, in criticizing Obama for ending Medicare Advantage, you are advocating for deficits and wasteful spending in order to score gotcha points on a related but independent policy. You are welcome to do so, but I would question what you stand for, strategically, if your focus is on tactics. Do you support higher deficits and wasteful subsidies? If not, why are you happy for this?

I'm not necessarily criticizing Obama for ending Medicare Advantage - which he actually didn't btw, he reduced funding thereby ending and changing some plans.  I'd have to look at into the issue in more detail to see to what extent that was a good decision.  What I am saying is- be honest about the effects of your policies and that this is not just a win-win-win for the vast majority of people as it has been sold as and as some people are still incredibly claiming.