Pirate's Cove

As Obamacare continues to implode almost exactly as predicted even before it was passed in the dead of night using parliamentary shenanigans, Obama is pleading with insurance executives to not bail on the federal exchanges, which are causing them to lose money hand over fist

(Politico) Deep into the final year of his presidency, Barack Obama is working behind the scenes to secure Obamacare’s legacy, struggling to bolster a program whose ultimate success or failure will likely be determined by his successor.

With no lifeline coming from the divided Congress, Obama and his administration are redoubling their pleas for insurers to shore up the federal health care law and pushing uninsured Americans — especially younger ones — to sign up for coverage. The administration is nervously preparing for its final Obamacare open-enrollment season just a week before Election Day, amid a cascade of headlines about rising premiums, fleeing insurers and narrowing insurance options.

Premiums are expected to go up sharply for 2017. Particularly since the young and healthy are not interested in joining.

On Monday, Obama met face to face at the White House with leading insurance executives, asking for their continued commitment to the health law despite its recent spate of difficulties. Insurers have come to the White House periodically as the law has rolled out; this time the president made a direct plea for their ongoing support. They in turn pressed their case for steps the administration can still take to strengthen the Obamacare markets.

Notably absent were two of the national insurers that have already bailed on most Obamacare marketplaces — Aetna and UnitedHealth Group.

So, there weren’t more than a handful of represented companies. If the co-op managers were present, well, they’ve been whittled down to 6, as Health Republic Insurance of NJ collapsed several days ago due to hazardous financial conditions.

“We know that this progress has not been without challenges,” Obama wrote this week to each insurer selling Obamacare plans. “Most new enterprises have growing pains and opportunities for improvement. The Marketplace, while strong, is no exception. Time and experience will help drive that improvement, as will constructive policy changes.”

Got that? A government dominated and essentially controlled system is a “enterprise” in Obama’s World. This is the Leftist view of the economy. What kind of enterprise is it that forces citizens to either purchase health insurance or be taxed simply for being a citizen.

Of course, when a new enterprise has the financial metrics of Obamacare, they tend to collapse and go out of business. Just like Ocare is slowly doing.

But Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) scoffed at the idea that Republicans should work to salvage the law. “I remember the victory dance that you guys performed after passing Obamacare without a single Republican vote,” McCain said at a hearing on Thursday. “Now the chickens have come home to roost.”

This is your ugly baby, Dems. It’s all on you.

Meanwhile, remember when Democrats slammed Joe Wilson when he said “you lie!” when Obama said illegal aliens wouldn’t be covered?

California Democrats advocated for President Barack Obama to sign a waiver allowing undocumented immigrants to buy healthcare plans through the Obamacare exchanges Wednesday, claiming the change would not be federally subsidized.

Funny how most prognostications about Ocare keep coming true.

Crossed at Right Wing News.