Mon
Sep 26 2016
11:34 am
By: Andy Axel
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee will not sell insurance plans on the Obamacare exchange in the state's three largest metro areas next year, as the health care giant grapples with hefty losses and ongoing uncertainty on the marketplace.
This, of course, after they were granted a 62% rate hike by the state insurance commission.
#StillWaitingOnTheHaslamPlan
|
Topics:
|
|
Discussing:
- Are Chat bots a waste of time? (1 reply)
- Smith & Wesson noise problem (1 reply)
- Musicians dropping out of President's Freedom Concert Series (1 reply)
- It's time for new blood in Congress, Barnett in - Burchett out (1 reply)
- Burning Down The House... (2 replies)
- Behind Lege Lies (1 reply)
- Peace (1 reply)
- Speak your truth, fight and believe. (1 reply)
- Large banks have too much AI data center debt? (1 reply)
- GOP misleading on federal health care funding (1 reply)
- Feds indict civil rights group (3 replies)
- Georgia issues burn ban, first time in state history (2 replies)
TN Progressive
- Smith & Wesson not a good fit for Blount County (BlountViews)
- Pellissippi Parkway extension delayed again (BlountViews)
- Blount County early voting record turnout (BlountViews)
- Louisville, TN, town center coming soon? (BlountViews)
- WATCH THIS SPACE. (Left Wing Cracker)
- America As It Is Right Now (RoaneViews)
- A friend sent this: From Captain McElwee's Tall Tales of Roane County (RoaneViews)
- The Meidas Touch (RoaneViews)
- Massive Security Breach Analysis (RoaneViews)
- (Whitescreek Journal)
- My choices in the August election (Left Wing Cracker)
- July 4, 2024 - aka The Twilight Zone (Joe Powell)
TN Politics
- Bloody UFC cage match on White House lawn marks Trump’s 80th birthday (TN Lookout)
- Local Tennessee officials are putting data center plans on ice to consider regulations (TN Lookout)
- Judge blocks Trump’s ‘anti-weaponization’ fund until government agrees it’s been dissolved (TN Lookout)
- Five laws passed by Tennessee lawmakers in 2026 face legal challenges, so far (TN Lookout)
- Tennessee’s “Nuclear Family Month” is a slap in the face of dads fighting for their children (TN Lookout)
- Firearms drive majority of veteran suicides, federal data shows (TN Lookout)
Knox TN Today
- Famous DGG is out there, DeSean Bishop is here (Knox TN Today)
- Thomas Cole: New KFD Asst. Chief, 134th Wing’s Chief Master Sergeant (Knox TN Today)
- Chris Bryant + Winston Fellows + D-Day for Derek Dooley ++ (Knox TN Today)
- Meet Miley, Monday’s Parent-A-Child (Knox TN Today)
- Dr. Conrad Ivie performs first of a kind surgery in the state (Knox TN Today)
- Mission Monday: Today’s focus on YWCA Knoxville’s Victim Advocacy Program (Knox TN Today)
- 6/15 HEADLINES: News and events from Knox, World, USA, Tennessee & Historic Notes (Knox TN Today)
- The Knox County Sheriff Primary will stand. Here’s what the GOP board was really deciding. (Knox TN Today)
- Knoxville Street Medicine seeks to support the unhoused (Knox TN Today)
- Vols win 4×100 relay, team is third in NCAA track (Knox TN Today)
- PAT the play returns to the stage in June (Knox TN Today)
- Easy Bacon & Swiss Quiche: Breakfast meal prep (Knox TN Today)
Local TV News
- A brief break in the higher humidity levels of June (WATE)
- One airlifted to hospital after shooting incident in Winfield, SCSO investigating (WATE)
- New arthritis surgery performed for the first time in East Tennessee (WATE)
- Pop-up clinics offer free medical care services in Knoxville, Del Rio (WATE)
- Road in Knoxville closes for 15 days of repairs (WATE)
- TBI releases statement on 5-year mark of Summer Wells' disappearance (WATE)
News Sentinel
State News
- Bonnaroo survived 2026. What’s next? - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- Free Press Opinion: America much more of a mess at the bicentennial than it is today - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- Teen charged in connection with disappearance of Collegedale man - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- Losing Ground: Historic Black neighborhoods in Chattanooga face new pressures - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
Wire Reports
- Dow jumps 600 points to record with rally gaining steam after Trump signs Iran deal memorandum: Live updates - CNBC (Business)
- President says 250th celebration on July 4 will be a ‘Trump rally’ - The Washington Post (US News)
- Newsom Says Trump’s Justice Department Is Investigating Him and His Wife - The New York Times (US News)
- U.S. and Iran announce a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz - NPR (US News)
- Senate to confirm Jay Clayton as soon as Thursday - Politico (US News)
- Middle East crisis live: Trump claims ships carrying oil are moving out of strait of Hormuz after US and Iran agree deal - The Guardian (US News)
- Why Fox Stock Is Tumbling After $22 Billion Roku Deal - Barron's (Business)
- Skydivers on plane that crashed in Missouri "didn't have time to jump," witness says - CBS News (US News)
- SpaceX Stock Jumps Again as Elon Musk Unveils Meteoric Revenue Target - Barron's (Business)
- What a U.S.-Iran peace deal could mean for energy, inflation - Axios (Business)
- SpaceX IPO haul rises to $85.7 billion after underwriters exercise greenshoe - Reuters (Business)
- Cybersecurity vets protest 'dangerous' US government ban on Anthropic's most powerful models - TechCrunch (Business)
- Kevin Warsh Wants the Fed to Stop Explaining Everything - WSJ (Business)
- Although some uncertainty remains, a very real flood risk exists across the Houston region this week - Space City Weather (US News)
- KFC's The Colonel gets a subtle makeover in new rebrand - Creative Bloq (Business)
Local Media
Lost Medicaid Funding
To date, the failure to expand Medicaid/TennCare has cost the State of Tennessee ? in lost federal funding. (Source)
Search and Archives
TN Progressive
Nearby:
- Blount Dems
- Herston TN Family Law
- Inside of Knoxville
- Instapundit
- Jack Lail
- Jim Stovall
- Knox Dems
- MoxCarm Blue Streak
- Outdoor Knoxville
- Pittman Properties
- Reality Me
- Stop Alcoa Parkway
Beyond:
- Nashville Scene
- Nashville Post
- Smart City Memphis
- TN Dems
- TN Journal
- TN Lookout
- Bob Stepno
- Facing South

WT actual F?
WT actual F?
Wow!
Wow!
"Feature, not bug."
BCBS still plans on servicing 5 of the 8 regions, which I'm assuming is contingent upon federal approval of their rate hike. If I were a competent insurance commissioner (which Julie McPeak almost certainly is not), I would certainly be hauling some asses back to Nashville to answer some hard questions. This, naturally, will not happen.
(eyeballing the "lost funding" counter)
The article says the will no
The article says they will no longer sell indivdual plans in those markets at all, on or off the exchange.
The insurance companies are sabatoging the bill they wrote.
.
(in reply to R. Neal)
Write off 60% of the state's population, then make the remaining 40% bear the losses (many of those places where you have to drive a couple of hours to get to a hospital). Watch Ron Ramsey do a victory lap.
Very unfortunate, but also not unexpected
The TN Legislature and Governor will continue to ropeadope on having a plan until something (who knows what) forces their hand at the state level. A tipping point of rural hospital closings or cost to the state from uninsured persons? Something else? The giant loophole that was left when states were permitted to opt out of Obamacare has been a significant Achilles heel to the approach. When I hear folks says Obamacare doesn't work, the response is "it hasn't actually been implemented as planned, so how would we know". At the federal level, it will clearly fall to the next President to move the ball forward. If that's Clinton, she will face many of the same obstacles that Obama did, coupled with her history with an earlier round of federal health expansion attempts. If it's Trump, who knows, other than it could clearly get a lot worse. The old saying that "things that can't go on forever don't" applies here, it's just not clear how close to forever we are going to have to get before the cost/coverage situation is non operative such that it produces a post-Obamacare model.
I thought insurance companies
I thought insurance companies were required to offer individual policies. Apparently not, or not in all areas.
Average ACA subsidy in
Average ACA subsidy in Tennessee is $400/mo. BCBS is taking another $628 million annually of federal funding out of our health care system. And it would likely have been more with their approved rate increases.
Frak em! It's way past time
Frak em! It's way past time for single-payer.
Abolish Medicaid, VA Healthcare and any other government program. All citizens to be enrolled in an expanded Medicare; no opt out.
If only.
(in reply to Kosh III)
If only.
BCBS doesnt affect GOV employees GO figure
When BCBS started dropping physicians who accepted PLAN S it didnt affect any government employee's who had plan S.Anyone in Tennessee who had certain "low income" or government paid insurance plans like plan S could no longer see certain physicians and MANY physicians at UT Knox were dropped from those plans..BUT..and a BIG BUTT..if you were/are a Governmemt employee you could/can still see those physicians...go figure.
So NOW they(BCBS) has been approved for a 62% premium rate INCREASE...and go figure..BCBS IS THE GOVERNMENTS Health Insurer!!! THATS WHY THEY APPROVED the increase..becasue THEY arent paying for it..WE ARE with our TAX dollars.
If we DONT HAVE insurance we pay penalty taxes to the Govermentt.
SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE FIXED HERE.THIS IS JUST WRONG. Add to THIS problem for many is those of us who are chronic illness and require chronic pain medicine daily..cancer patients etc..THOSE laws were changed 2 years ago whereas now we HAVE to jump thru hoops and be treated like criminals to even FIND a doctor who will treat us and see that doctor EVERY month and take a paper RX to a pharmacy.nothing can be called or faxed in that is a certain schedule drug.We have to submit to drug testing which is a GOOD thing..BUT..INSURANCE WONT PAY for those tests and there is no CAP on what clinics can charge for them Ive seen those run upwards of $700.00 PR test.You have senior citizens on fixed incomes HAVING to go every month now which is costing more in travel/gas and doctor visits and then add the cost of drug tests to that.Required even when the weather is very bad they must drive to the physician and then to the pharmacy,and sometimes because of the weather one or both might close due to bad roads.These laws need to be amended in some way.SICK people cannot afford the insurance hikes/losses/costs of medicine let alone up to $700 for a pee cup.Elderly couple in KY BOTH have to do that.Thats $1400 just for a $5.00 test then add their part of the doctors visit and medicine that keeps increasing. WHATS THE GOVERNMENT doing?? Trying to rid the country of sick people? STOP ALLOWING LIFETIME BENEFITS for members of congress for one thing.LOWER their incomes and make them pay at least in part for their benefits like the average working man has to. THAT would be a nice start. Im sick of being sick as it is but now Im really sick over all of this. CANADA is sounding pretty good right now. My BCBS costs us well over $100.00 a WEEK and now is going UP 62%!!! AND I am losing my doctor of 4 years already lost the specialists I saw at UT and because I am chronic pain try finding a new doctor in this area..they dont want all of the new laws rules regulations and paperwork that goes along with it. I tried calling a clinic with multple specialists and a nutricionist..to see the cardiologist and nutricionist and because Im a chronic pain patient they would not accept me even JUST for the cardiologist.What a crying shame.What is this country coming to.Remove the doctors who are in it for money over care..and remove the governments free benefits they get and start taking CARE of our elderly and veterans.
With all due respect.....
(in reply to SICK of IT all)
The focus of your attack was on people who had the healthcare you need and should have.
You advocate drug testing, in clear violation of the fourth amendment, yet complain about the costs.
If you want change, you need to focus your anger on those creating the problem and the problem itself. Going after a working person's insurance, regardless of his/her employer will just make the situation worse. We shouldn't be taking insurance away from people with decent insurance, we should be bringing people with substandard insurance up to and acceptable level.
As long as those with power and money keep those without power and money fighting among themselves, they will retain , not only the power and money, but the control of the decisions that affect the lives of the rest of us.
Don't kid yourself, getting you used to healthcare being a privilege is just the first step. These people will be coming after your food and water next, and getting folks like you to explain who doesn't deserve food and water and why.
"The ACA marketplace rules
"The ACA marketplace rules often change in the middle of the game. Beyond closing the gap between the medical costs we need to cover in our premiums, there are changes that could occur next year, midyear that could put us in a loss position yet again," Vaughn said. "The prospect of future losses has us in a place where we believe we need to reduce our risk in hopes that this marketplace will stabilize at some point.”
What is this in reference to?
He's probably referring to
(in reply to earlnemo)
He's probably referring to the various bailout programs built into Obamacare--risk adjustment, reinsurance, and risk corridors, especially the latter.
A number of the insurers were counting on risk corridor payments to cover losses. Money was supposed to be taken from insurers with profits and paid to those with losses. But (almost) none had profits, so there was no money to spread.
The administration had told insurers the federal government would pay into the fund if underfunded, but didn't have statutory authority.
Net result: insurers set rates and signed up enrollees based on the administration's promises, then got stiffed. Tennessee's co-op folded for want of that payment, they said.
Once burned, twice shy.
Those programs had been holding premiums artificially low by offsetting some of the insurers' losses, but expire this year (if I recall correctly). That's another factor.
US taxpayers are paying BCBS
US taxpayers are paying BCBS Tennessee over $800 million per year in subsidies. Where is all the money going?
That's an excellent question
(in reply to R. Neal)
Address that to...
Comm. Julie Mix McPeak
Dept of Commerce & Insurance
500 James Robertson Pkwy
Nashville, TN 37243
(615) 741-2705
Might also try the BCBST corporate office. Audited financials should be available.
Government employees and BCBST "Blue" Network Plan S
When BCBS started dropping physicians who accepted PLAN S it didnt affect any government employee's who had plan S.Anyone in Tennessee who had certain "low income" or government paid insurance plans like plan S could no longer see certain physicians and MANY physicians at UT Knox were dropped from those plans..BUT..and a BIG BUTT..if you were/are a Governmemt employee you could/can still see those physicians...go figure.
If I'm correctly following what you're saying, a government employee on the BCBST "Blue" Network, also known as "S", is somehow still allowed to see physicians at institutions that no longer accept this plan. I am a retired state employee, and I received notification from BCBST that the University of TN Hospital in Knoxville no longer accepts this plan.
However, I could, if I so chose to do so, see a physician at U-T Hospital, but it would be considered an out-of-network visit, and my co-pay for such a visit would have a dramatic increase. So, when you say that government employees were not affected by the non-acceptance of Network "S", that is not entirely correct.
University of TN employees
(in reply to Julius Travers)
I can only speak for UT employees (my spouse is employed there) and we can still see our UT doctors under the state plan with BCBS, S network. It appears that the state contract is the only one that BCBS is honoring the S network contract with the doctors there.
Very sad if the agreement did
(in reply to Julius Travers)
Very sad if the agreement did not include retired employees.