As the shutdown continues for another week, I stumbled across a fascinating article. I would recommend that you read it. Most of the ACA premium tax credits go directly to the big insurance companies.
At first, I was shocked, but it now makes sense. The insurance companies are the ones who want subsidies to help them make billions of dollars a year.
Sending the subsidies directly to the insurance companies was part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). I wonder who came up with this idea? It goes from the U.S. Treasury directly to the insurance company. Shouldn’t it go to the person who receives the subsidies?
No politician is even talking about this, or am I missing it? Shouldn’t this be all over the news? This allows insurance companies to receive thousands of dollars at minimal cost. Basically, they are taking your hard-earned tax dollars and using them to pay themselves. You can read more about it here. The article also discusses donations to politicians.
Why would the politicians agree to give the money directly to the insurance companies instead of to the individual? Shouldn’t you oversee your insurance money? Why was it put into the ACA? Could it be that the insurance companies wanted it that way? It is much easier to take money from the taxpayer if it is automatically transferred.
Go to Open Secrets website and look for yourself. They have given millions of dollars over the years. I would think that would be a conflict of interest, but it probably keeps the money coming.
During COVID, they expanded eligibility for subsidies to those earning up to $600,000 a year. Why don’t they go back to the way the subsidies were when they passed the ACA? It removes high-income brackets from receiving subsidies. I wonder whether it is the insurance companies, the politicians, or both who want the subsidies to continue. After all, the more people who receive subsidies, the more money they get.
While insurance companies are making a lot of money off the subsidies, they are also controlling the price of health care, or at least some of it. They can increase healthcare costs for everyone, and the people who do get subsidies do not see the increases because the subsidies rise, too. Meanwhile, someone must pay the difference.
The other reason the cost of health care has gone up is Medicare and Medicaid. Since prices are negotiated, the insurance company can only get a negotiated price for a procedure, office visit, etc. So, if they only get $600 for a procedure and the actual cost is $1,200, they raise prices for private commercial insurers and try to make more money from government programs. Someone needs to pay the difference, or they would lose money and go out of business.
Wouldn’t it be better to give the subsidies directly to the people, so they can use them to purchase their health insurance? Would this not promote more competition for that money? It would probably lower health insurance premiums, since insurance companies would not be guaranteed the money and would have to compete for it.
However, there is one big problem with that. Politicians would no longer receive large donations, and insurance companies would lose millions in profit a year. Insurance companies also spend a lot of money on lobbying to help influence lawmakers to give them more money. Look at Open Secrets Website. Just think of how much of that money could go to providing healthcare.
I think it is time to stop letting health insurance companies make political donations and use that money towards helping people. However, this will never happen because politicians want and need the money, so they would never vote against it. However, they will act like they are for lowering healthcare, but they won’t. While they are receiving the best healthcare, they are taking it away from you.
Regardless of whether you are a democrat or a republican, they are both taking money from insurance companies. Unless we get politicians who really want to work for the people, it will not stop.
Remember, do your research before voting. If they promise everything for free, move on!