The folks in LaLa land were greeted with this posting from the California Dept of Insurance. Seems the MLR rebates have been calculated and the results are in.Blue Shield of California Life & Health Insurance Company: $10.8 million rebate to policyholders in the individual market; approximately 239,595 subscribers impacted;...
Nobamacare is a real possibility thanks to the Supreme Court Decision. If the states refuse to participate in key parts of Obamacare the law quickly becomes Nobamacare.If any state declines to participate in the expansion, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) could strip that state of 100% of its Medicaid dollars. Every voter in that state would continue funding Medicaid...
Sixteen states impose a monthly limit on the number of drugs Medicaid recipients can receive and seven states have either enacted such caps or tightened them in the past two years, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KHN is a program of the foundation). The limits vary across the country. Mississippi has a limit of two brand-name drugs. In Arkansas adults are limited to up six drugs a month.Since...
A successful pizza restaurant owner wants to expand and open a new restaurant but is putting off plans because of Obamacare."I want to open a new restaurant, but without knowing how Obamacare will affect me, I can't make plans," Nichols said at a recent community forum in Beaumont on the new Patient Protection and Affordable...
Georgia residents Liz Johnson and Robert Irby have diabetes and no health insurance. They had health insurance in the past . . . a high deductible plan with BCBSGA but they dropped it when the premium increased.Johnson and Irby will be eligible for the state Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, created for ‘’high risk’’ individuals...
Obamacare is supposed to make health care and health insurance more affordable, give consumers more choices and provide free health care services.Apparently the politicians in DC believe the public is both ignorant and gullible. In truth, there are at least 10 ways in which Obamacare LIMITS consumer choice."Free" preventive...
What does Margaret Hamburg and the FDA have against cancer drugs? Maybe she can't wait for the Obamacare death panels and wants to speed the process along.This FDA smackdown on generic drugs has led to a shortage of much needed cancer drugs.The report, commissioned by Oversight Committee chairman Darrell Issa (R., Calif.),...
is still an exchange. You can change the name, put some lipstick on that pig, but it is still a pig.Health insurance exchanges are an integral part of Obamacare. So are taxpayer funded subsidies.Without exchanges, there are no subsidies. More importantly, without the RIGHT KIND of exchange, there are no subsidies.The...
Seems the folks to our north have a secret they have been hiding for years. Their Medicare system is mediocre. The Canadian health care system (actually systems, since there is one for each province) provides equal access for all but falls short in delivering value.In the eyes of the provinces, national standards...
Our hearts of course go out to the victims of last week's horrific shooting spree, and we wish the survivors a quick and full recovery. But some folks have already decided to politicize the attack, noting that "[s]ome of the victims ... may face another challenge when they get out of the hospital: enormous medical bills without the benefit of health insurance."The article then goes on to speculate,...
Last week, we reported on the unfortunate case of Aloha State insurance agent Kathleen Kau, who was recently sentenced to 10 years in prison for raiding her clients' insurance policies. We wondered what kind of life insurance policy came with a checkbook (as described in the original article), and reached out to the reporter and to TransAmerica.We were unable to connect with the former, but yesterday...
Although we primarily concern ourselves with life and health insurance, we're certainly no strangers to the Property and Casualty side of the biz. This item in the Washington Free Bacon Beacon (oops, sorry), piqued my interest:"The insurance industry and ... lawmakers are attempting to water down a new Iran sanctions bill that...
Bob mentioned this last night, but I wanted to toss in my 2¢. Regular IB readers won't be surprised that: "About one in 10 employers plan to drop health coverage when key provisions of the new health care law kick in"I think that's lowballing it, and here's why:First, the ridiculously onerous MLR requirements, which add...
About one in 10 employers plan to drop health coverage when key provisions of the new health care law kick in less than two years from now, according to a survey to be released Tuesday by the consulting company Deloitte.read more . ....
[Note: This post was co-written by Henry Stern and Bob Vineyard]We've often lamented that it's too bad no one read the ObamaTax bill before they passed it, and with good reason. A fundamental problem is that the 2000+ pages of the bill, and the 13,000+ (so far!) pages of reg's promulgated to enforce it, keep handing up surprises. As we've pointed out, folks in states which opted for Federally-run...
We're pleased as punch to add Jeff Root's interesting and helpful life insurance blog to our blogroll. Jeff's an independent life insurance agent, licensed in all 50 states(!), who specializes in high risk life insurance. He works with consumers and agents alike, helping those with health issues obtain needed coverage at affordable rates. Jeff performs thorough evaluations of a consumer's risk...
Van Mayhall hosts next week's Cavalcade of Risk - Entries are due by Monday (the 23rd).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).Than...
Regular readers may recall the sad story of Glen Neasham, who sold an annuity and went to jail. A bit further west, insurance agent Kathleen Kau has just been sentenced to 10 years in prison for "stealing more than $360,000 over five years from two longtime clients."Most definitely not good customer service.I'm a little unclear...
[UPDATE: To participate, click here, then click "Like"] MassMutual and Easter Seals are once again teaming up to increase awareness of the important decisions and financial challenges facing families with special needs members. Taking advantage of social media, they've launched a cool FaceBook video giving folks a glimpse into...
Health insurance exchanges. That place on the internet where magic happens. Citizens and business owners can view, compare and purchase government designed and priced health insurance plans . . . all with the click of a mouse.But it appears some of the states are lagging behind in establishing this new insurance flea market. According to NCSL, only 12 states have established "The Exchange."Health...
Regular readers know that, come 2014, it'll be more economically efficient to drop their health insurance than to keep it, since plans will be guaranteed issue with no exclusions for pre-existing conditions. Since the ObamaTax is (at least initially) going to be a lot less than one's premium, why would one purchase insurance before a claim?Now you may be thinking: "But Henry, if I don't buy coverage...
Got this from a forum used by insurance agents all over the country. It shows the insanity of the MLR debacle.United Healthcare just informed me that I can look online and see what rebate amounts my group clients received. A group with 44 enrolled employees in 2011 and an annual premium of $132,211.45 for 2011 will receive a rebate of $124.97 representing .001%. What a mess.Humana didn't list the...
but were afraid to ask about Obamacare.So you think the Supreme Court upheld a law that requires most people to buy health insurance? That's only part of it. The measure's hundreds of pages touch on a variety of issues and initiatives that have, for the most part, remained under the public's radar....
MLR is confusing. It shouldn't be, but it is. Perhaps it is confusing because it was a rule created by those who did not have to implement it, or deal with the associated problems, particularly for employers.Employers.Those that actually CREATE jobs vs. just talking about saving or creating jobs.MLR seems to be simple. ...
