The Insurance Blog

Obamacare and Mega Blue

The Obama administration plans on Monday to announce scores of new health insurance options to be offered to consumers around the country by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and the United States Office of Personnel Management, the agency that arranges health benefits for federal employees, according to administration officials.The options are part of a multistate insurance program that Congress authorized in 2010 to increase......

Cavalcade of Risk #193: Call for Submissions (And A Special Note)

Dennis Wall hosts next week's Cav, and he's chosen to build it around a rather interesting (and provocative) theme:The Rich Get Richer from the Great Recession, The Unemployed Stopped Looking.So, please try to submit a post that fits this theme (of course, non-themed posts are also welcome).Submissions are due by Monday the 30th.To submit your risk-related post, just click here to email it.You'll need to provide:■ Your post's url and title■ Your blog's url and name■ Your name and email■ A (brief) summary of the postPLEASE remember: ONLY posts that relate to risk (not personal finance tips......

This is how Ms Shecantbeserious sees the ObamaTax:And this is reality, barking back at her:[HatTip: Ace of Spad......

ObamaTax Exchange Crunch-Time edition

Poor Ms Kathy: the clock keeps on tickin', and her pet project keeps getting a lickin'.To wit:■ Capital City itself"The ObamaCare exchange serving Washington, D.C. is delaying important parts of its operations less than a week before it is scheduled to open for enrollment"Not only won't potential enrollees be unable to calculate their subsidies (if any), but they can't even determine whether or not they're eligible for Medicaid.■ Colorado"Colorado exchange managers revealed Monday ... that customers who want tax credits to make health insurance more affordable will have to call for help, rather......

A Gentle Reminder...

For HHS Secretary Shecantbeserous:COUNTDOWN CLOCKSThis word "start" - I dunna think it means what you think it means:"In response, Joel Ario, a former HHS official who oversaw health exchange matters at the agency, told The Washington Post’s Sarah Kliff that “nobody is going to say we’re not starting on October 1, but in some situations, you may see a redefinition of what ‘start’ mean......

Health Wonk Review is up!

Peggy Salvatore presents this week's terrific Health Wonk Review, celebrating blogger Brad Wright's 700th post (Mazel Tov, Brad!). The main theme of this week's collection of wonky posts is (no surprise), the ACA. Lots of quality entries this week - enjoy!Bonus: Mike's post (about how the ACA is playing out in the Golden State) got top billing - go Mi......

Psst. Wanna save money on your Obamacare plan? Stay single. If you are married, get a divorce.The "wedding tax" is upon us.To illustrate, let’s start with the 60-year-old married couple with no children If they have identical earnings totaling $65,000, which will usually net down to $50,000 or below after all income and payroll taxes, their Obamacare exchange Silver Plan premium next year with the same earnings will be $16,382, or about......

Obamacare navigators. Much has been written about this job creation project that is tied to Obamacare. Take 3 days of training and you are qualified to answer any and all questions about Obamacare. Background checks not required.The state of Georgia decided to pass on creating our own exchange which meant the feds had to handle that task . . . along with setting up exchanges in 32 other states.Navigators will earn $10 - $14 per hour and even more......

Spain is like most other European countries in providing their own version of Obamacare, a government managed health care delivery system funded by taxpayers. And like other countries that provide "health care for all", the program is bleeding profusely."The impact we have seen in the year since the reform is simply devastating," the president of the organisation, Alvaro Gonzalez, told a news conference, launching a new publicity campaign against......

Euthanasia in Netherlands up 13% in 2012. Aren't the Dutch happy?

“The number of Dutch people killed by medical euthanasia has more than doubled in the 10 years since legislation was changed to permit it, rising 13 per cent last year to 4,188 . . . One explanation for the steep rise of Dutch cases is the introduction last year of mobile euthanasia units allowing patients to be killed by voluntary lethal injection when family doctors refused.”Is this bad news or good news? Does the growing use of euthanasia mean the Dutch are actually becoming less happy? Could it be the Dutch are less happy than Americans - even though - on the prestigious, European-based......

Yesterday's McPaper characterized one aspect of the ObamaTax pricing regime as the "Family Glitch:""Congress defined "affordable" as 9.5% or less of an employee's household income ... the "error" was that it only applies to the employee — and not his or her family. So, if an employer offers a woman affordable insurance, but doesn't provide it for her family, they cannot get subsidized help through the state health exchanges."Why is this both an "error"......

Patient Protection Act - Cause it isn't Affordable

With insurance Exchanges Marketplaces nearing their grand opening HHS has released another issue brief on the "low rates" people will pay after subsidies. In one of the examples they use a 27 year old in Texas who makes $25,000 per year. This person will pay $145 for the second lowest cost silver plan or $83 for the bronze plan after the subsidy.HHS is so focused on premiums and making this trainwreck look affordable that they are missing the boat on a key component, the benefits. Without knowing the health history of the individual they may in fact be promoting the exact opposite of what the......

Alzheimer's Update: Good news (for once)

SoIB Gail S tips us to this recent story in the Dayton Daily News, recounting an award-winning therapy that's deceptively simple:"Three years ago, Wright State University professor Dr. Govind Bharwani was given a challenge: Find a way to help people living with Alzheimer’s disease so they are less prone to becoming confused, agitated, withdrawn and falling."And it appears that he has, in fact, succeeded:"The therapy works by providing each person with their own “memory box” filled with family photos, books and movies they love and other special items."Once you think about it, it's kind of intuitive:......

Take two apps and call me in the morning

Introducing the iDoc® (not really, but we're getting close):[Hat Tip: FoIB Jeff......

How uninformed can NYT readers, commentors possibly be?

Every once in awhile you see a comment that just makes you stop and ask how clueless and misguided people can be, then you remember they are allowed to vote.Your typical NYT tripe from some blowhard that doesn't understand 90% of what he is talking about. The real gem is down in the comments though;mikeosheaHadley, NY"All Republican Congresspeople - except those on Medicare - should be required to buy their own and their family's health care BY THEMSELVES, just as I must buy my wife's (I'm on Medicare, thank the gods) health insurance by myself."Odd, I thought that is exactly what the law (ACA)......

So yesterday, I did my Exchange training and exams. Started at about 9:30 in the morning, finished about 4:30 in the afternoon.I understand Pat completed this in just a few hours, but he's a lot younger (and apparently smarter) than I am. And I also took the liberty of saving all the training material for future reference (which no doubt added some time, as well)I'll have a more complete report soon, but here are some of my initial impressions fresh......

ObamaTax School's Now In Session!

Learn it, live it, love ......

I've been remiss....

In case you missed it, I'm the newly-installed Content Expert Writer (Insurance) for Answers.com. It occurs to me that IB readers might be interested in some of my work in that venue, so here are some free samples:Part 1 of a 3-part series on Universal LifeAn explication of Insurable InterestEnj......

But it's a nice hat. That's because the people paid for that hat.

Remember the President's assurances that his ACA would finally “bend the cost curve”? Despite a determined rear-guard media that clings to Obama's every word as universal truth, evidence accumulates that the President was talking thru his hat. On September 17, 2013, CBO released it's most recent Long-Term Budget Outlook.According to CBO, in 20 years, “major health care programs” will be the largest component of federal spending. CBO expresses its estimate relative to GDP - which is also growing. CBO's estimate is that federal health care spending will increase from roughly 3% to north......

Cavalcade of Risk #192: Galloping Into View edition

Nancy Germond hosts this week's romp through the wilds of risk, a maze of medical conditions, and a not-so-*fowl* post on chickens (cluck all you want).......

If you have nothing to do, what happens? Some drink. Some go shopping. Others create board games."Everybody has to pay. Nobody ever wins,"Each player starts out on the "Buy Insurance" square as a small business owner (except for the Occupy Wall Streeters, who begin the game unemployed). Along the way, players are taxed, troubled, hospitalized, or may even fall victim to a death panel as they make their way across the board.CNS NewsDo not pass Go.Do......

Employees of Bibb County (GA) schools got an early peek at their new benefit plan for 2014. Through the end of this year employees had a choice between several plans administered by UHC or Cigna. They could pick an HMO or PPO. Copay or high deductible HSA or high deductible HRA.Choices, choices.That was then. This is now.The Georgia Blue's got tired of sitting on the sideline and made a winner take all offer to the SHBP (State Health Benefit Plan)......

The Lame Stream Media prides itself on its unerring accuracy and commitment to getting the facts straight. As it turns out, at least when it comes to life insurance, this pride is, in fact, unjustified. As we pointed out almost 4 years ago, they can't even get the relatively simple suicide exclusion correct:"...it appears that this may well have been an elaborately staged suicide, the point of which was to leave the proceeds of a life insurance policy......

Lately, we've had an embarrassment of riches concerning the ObamaTax and other related news. Because there are only 24 hours in a day, it's not really possible to give each one the blog-space it probably deserves, but at least we can give our readers a heads' up on what's hot:1 - We've been warning folks about the very real probability of fraud in the new Navigator program. From FoIB Holly R here's the latest:"...officials are watching for look-alike......

As Bob noted last month, the grand folks in Capital City aren't too keen on rubbing elbows with us rubes waiting on line at the Health Insurance Exchange. Far beneath their stations in life, don'tcha know.Well, it should probably comes as no surprise, then, to learn that Federal "workers" really don't want to give up their gold-plated (but Yugo-priced) health insurance. After all, they were promised that "if they liked their insurance, they......

Exchange THIS

The LA Times reports some major California insurers have built "narrow networks" of doctors and hospitals for plans that will be offered thru the State's Obamacare Exchange.Insurance companies (and consultants and many large employers) say that these narrow networks reduce costs by increasing the insurers' ability to negotiate price discounts. Physicians and hospitals say they oppose these narrow networks because they fear patients won't be able to find the doctor or hospital they like, in the plan they like. As for the State, Peter Lee - executive director of Covered California [the State's......

With the horrific flooding going on in Colorado, folks may be wondering how (or even if) their homeowner's insurance policy will cover them. The folks at the National Flood Insurance Program have a neat little widget that helps you determine your home's risk of flooding, and how much flood insurance coverage might cost.As always, it's best to check with your professional, independent homeowner's insurance age......

Much has been made, at least in some circles, of the vulnerability of your personal information that will be filtered through the #Obamacare #datahub.For the most part, the lame stream media has ignored this topic and when they have mentioned it they simply parrot what DC says indicating there is nothing to fear.Security watchdogs know that hacking is a potential threat but most data breaches come from within, not outside the firewall.That being......

This Sceptered Isle, Part DCIV

From the Telegraph of London on 9/11: "Death rates in NHS hospitals are among the highest in the western world, shock figures revealed yesterday. British patients were found to be almost 50 per cent more likely to die from poor care than those in America."Hat tip to Tim Worstall's enjoyable blog, which generally focuses on economics. The Telegraph article also cites this comment from a U.K. Professor Sir Brian Jarman, who is considered a globally-recognised expert on hospital performance:"I expected us to do well and was very surprised we didn’t do well – but there is no means of denying......

Obamacare. The master plan to deliver (almost) universal access to health care for everyone.Promises of lower premiums.Promises that you can keep your plan and your doctor.Promises of no new taxes.What's not to love about that?Then one day, someone started reading the law and it was discovered the promises could not be kept. So HHS and the White House started down a path of handing out pardons.Pardons for insurance carriers that offered limited benefit......

HHS Wants You to Meet Jamie

Continuing their ongoing effort to "educate" people on PPACA, HHS has introduced us to Jamie. Jamie is a 27 year old college graduate. She has been working at the coffee shop for four-and-a-half years and has never made more than $20,000 in a year.Self admittedly, she really "has no plan...but that's just how her life has worked out." She hasn't been to the doctor since her junior year of high school. If she ever got really ill or injured she couldn't afford to pay for treatment. She doesn't have any savings and struggles to get by with all of her current bills.For Jamie life with health......

Unusual and Interesting Insurance News

Over the years, we've chronicled such things as virginity and alien abduction insurance (different posts), the risk posed by superheroes simultaneously destroying much of a city while trying to save it, and hole-in-one coverage for sporting events.And now for more:■ Terrorism Risk insurance - Back in 2009, we interviewed Chris Klein, Global Head of Business Intelligence for Guy Carpenter (major risk and reinsurance specialists), who explained why government involvement was necessary in providing reinsurance for major terrorist acts.Four years later, The Cato Institute argues that the Federal Terrorism......

Cavalcade of Risk #192: Call for submissions

Nancy Germond hosts next week's Cav. Entries are due by Monday (the 16th).To submit your risk-related post, just click here to email it.You'll need to provide:■ Your post's url and title■ Your blog's url and name■ Your name and email■ A (brief) summary of the postPLEASE remember: ONLY posts that relate to risk (not personal finance tips and the like). And please only submit if you are willing to link back to the carnival if your submission is accept......

What a Waste of Time

For the last several months agents have been working on educating ourselves and our clients on the various administrative atrocities of PPACA. The latest one is the so called "Notice of Exchanges". The notice is a three page document that essentially all employers must provide all employees about the Health Insurance Marketplace. The notice is to "assist" people as they evaluate options for health insurance products they are being forced to purchase in 2014.My guess is that I have over 40 hours put into developing a plan of action for distributing the notices to my clients.......

Although the ObamaTax was heavily promoted by various unions, it appears that buyer's remorse is inexorably setting in:"The AFL-CIO on Wednesday approved a resolution critical of parts of [the ObamaTax] ... The strongly worded resolution says ... will drive up the costs of union-sponsored health plans to the point that workers and employers are forced to abandon them."Oh, methinks that ship sailed some time ago.But not to worry, the new health insurance......

The problem we have when people like Obama and his apostles write sweeping reform is they have no clue how the system works which leads to all sorts of unintended consequences. We have a doozy of one coming. Large Employers and self funded plans must comply with the out of pocket (OOP) cap. For 2014 they can have separate caps if, for example, an Rx plan is administered separate from a medical plan; in 2015 they must be combined. Currently that cap......

Health Wonk Review - Big Data edition

The delightfully-named Tinker Ready hosts this week's round-up of wonky posts, with a major emphasis on the role of data, its collection and application. As always, you're sure to find something interesting and n......

Alphabet Soup Update: Why Local Matters

As we've noted time and again, having a local expert to administer Flex Spending Accounts and Health Reimbursement Arrangements is ideal. Our local gurus, FlexBank, just proved that again. Via email, they've tipped us to a little-known - but potentially major - option for groups utilizing Section 125 plans (so-called "POP Plans").Premium-only plans are the vehicles by which companies make it possible for employees to pay their portion of health insurance premiums pre-tax. This can be a major cost-saver for both the employee and the employer. But there are rules for these plans, one of which is......

Another One (Thousand) Bites the Dust

As Nate noted some months ago, the Medical Device Tax has put a crimp in the medical R&D sector. The latest casualties of this component of the ObamaTax are the 1,000 soon-to-be-former employees of Michigan-based Stryker.Adding insult to injury, the beleagured firm also owes Uncle Sugar some $100 million just from this year, and it's estimated to "cost the company fully 20 percent of its total research and development investments."Train. Wre......

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