More Obamacare Fallout

Among the requirements of Obamacare is this: insurance companies selling individual health plans no longer can sell cheaper, bare-bones plans for very low premiums; instead, these companies must offer a mandated bundle of “benefits”—regardless of whether those “benefits” are wanted, or even needed, by the purchaser.  Of course, the premiums for these broader, less useful policies are far higher, too.  As a result, and because they don’t consider the gains from the resulting insurance market worth the cost of the changes,

Aetna, American Family Mutual Insurance, Humana, Independence American Insurance Company, Reserve National Insurance Company, Standard Security Life Insurance Company of New York, Companion Life Insurance, and United Security Life and Health Insurance have all informed the [Nebraska] insurance department of their intent to stop selling health insurance to individuals—and in some cases—groups.

In the Nebraska health insurance market, these companies are small players, but they’re major companies in the health insurance industry.  Their example will be carefully watched, and the remaining players are, rather tautologically, small companies.

The Cornhusker Kickback bought a lot, didn’t it?  The kickback later was rescinded, certainly, but the vote that was bought with it was not refunded.  And here we are.

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