Youll recall that Standard & Poors downgraded the US governments credit rating for the first time in history during Barack Obamas first term -- a decision for which they were reportedly threatened by the administration. Now another ratings agency is slapping the health insurance industry with a fresh downgrade -- and the cause-and-effect calculus isnt ambiguous: Credit ratings firm Moodys Investors Service on Thursday lowered its outlook for health insurers to negative from stable, citing uncertainty swirling around the rollout of President Obamas health care law. In a new report, the agency said that the outlook for insurance companies is no longer clear because the laws insurance exchanges havent been attracting enough younger individuals. In addition, Moodys analysts were concerned that the Obama administration has been changing regulations after insurers had already set prices for the year...The past few months have seen new regulations and announcements that impose operational changes well after product and pricing decisions were finalized. The release noted, Uncertainty over the demographics of those enrolling in individual products through the exchanges is a key factor in Moodys outlook change. ... Enrollment statistics show that only 24 percent of enrollees so far are between 18 and 34, a critical age group in ensuring that lower claim costs subsidize the higher claim costs of less healthy, older individuals. This is well short of the original 40 percent target based on the proportion of eligible people in this cohort. townhall/tipsheet/guybenson/2014/01/23/oh-my-moodys-downgrades-insurers-citing-obamacare-uncertainty-n1783579
Posted on: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 05:23:33 +0000
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