Most Americans don’t think it’s their job to bail out insurance companies who lose money under Obamacare, but that’s exactly what’s poised to happen. Obamacare’s risk-corridor program — which President Obama has been using as a slush fund to placate his insurance allies and keep them quiet about his lawlessness — shifts financial risk from insurers to taxpayers. According to the House Oversight Committee, health insurers expect Obamacare’s risk corridors to net them nearly $1 billion, at taxpayer expense, this year alone.
Obamacare’s risk-corridor program is designed to redistribute money in the Obamacare exchanges, from health insurers who make money to those who lose money. But the Obama administration pressured insurers to set rates as low as possible despite Obamacare’s myriad mandates that have driven actual insurance costs up dramatically. Knowing that the risk-corridor program was in place, insurers willingly played ball with the administration, figuring that even if they lost money, they’d still find money — through this helpful program. It was a win-win that would boost Obamacare in its early days — to the benefit of those who’ve gained extraordinary power at the expense of Americans’ liberty, and of those whose product has become mandatory for Americans to purchase.
