Kaiser cuts Obamacare rates 1.4% for 2015; Anthem hikes rates 4.6%

[Zorro]

Source: LA Times

Healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente is lowering its rates for Obamacare coverage in California by 1.4% next year, according to an industry report.

California's health insurance exchange recently announced that premiums were rising 4.2%, on average, statewide for 2015 policies. A new analysis by Citigroup healthcare analyst Carl McDonald offers new details on what consumers can expect by company.

Kaiser was among the most expensive health plans in 2014 and staggered to a fourth-place finish in exchange enrollment. Anthem Blue Cross was the leader statewide, followed by Blue Shield of California and Health Net Inc.

"Kaiser doesn’t seem particularly happy with its exchange market share, as it is the only company reducing exchange premiums in 2015," McDonald said.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/healthcare/la-fi-obamacare-california-rates-20140810-story.html

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Looks like market forces may be coming into play -- as predicted.

[cprise]

1. You can mandate that Finance provide a service, but ultimately

...it will be on their (Wall St. banks') terms.

I remind readers of the role that creative new 'financial instruments' played in creating the subprime housing/mortgage bubble. Once federal mandates for lending to more people were no longer accompanied by Glass-Steagal regulations, it was bound to turn into an economic hostage-taking situation (with the <1% holding the gun).

For Obamacare, I'm not sure the results will be much different.