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...
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....
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Seven years ago, we participated in the "Project 2,996" campaign to remember and honor those killed in 9/11. Today, on the 12th anniversary of that terrible day, we reprise our original post, to which I will append this prayer:Baruch atah Adonai, dayan ha-emet ... Blessed are you, oh G-d, the righteous judge.[Originally...
By now we all have heard about Congress and their staffers being removed from the Federal Health Plan and being placed into exchanges marketplaces. Mike did a post on it here. We also know that the Office of Personnel Management has determined that they can still contribute to the employees premiums. This is a BFD when...
I recall hearing Obama say a couple of different things about "keeping your insurance" - - --"if you like your insurance plan you can keep it". That's true if your plan claimed grandfathered status so that essentially current coverage is locked into place until the end of time. And it's only true after including the additional coverage (and cost) that ACA...
Just when you thought you had heard it all, another Obamacare fine comes along. This one impacts employers with only 1 employee.If you own a business, including self employed, and have annual revenues of $500,000 or more, you have to tell your employee(s), in writing, about Obamacare exchanges.Beginning Oct. 1, any business...
One of the ObamaTax core benefits is pediatric dental care. As we've pointed out, at least some of that care is ripe for abuse, but at least some carriers are looking for ways to minimize the damage.Superior Dental Care is a regional dental carrier with whom we have a few cases; they've just announced their new "kids' plans"...
According to local Socialist Jay Bookman, the REPUBLICAN's in Georgia are doing their best to sabotage Obamacare.How dastardly.Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgeons recently bragged about "doing everything in our power to be an obstructionist" in the implementation of Obamacrap.Hudgens went on to give an example of...
Our friend David Adams reports that Kentucky's Insurance Department has approved Humana's 80% rate hike on individual plans. Of that, 60% is directly related to the ObamaTax Guaranteed Issue requirement.But remember, rates will decrease by 300...
From the home of RomneyCare (which begat the ObamaTax), we see the effects of the train wreck:"New ACA Medicare Payroll Tax Hits Massachusetts, $1.7 Billion Over 10 Years"According to a new report from the folks at the Pioneer Institute, some Bay Staters will see their annual Medicare payroll tax burden jump over 60%. They've even figured out how the new taxes will affect famous (and not-so-famous)...
FoIB Brian D offers this poser:Many "mature" workers have resisted early retirement because it's been so difficult to find health insurance due to age and/or pre-existing health issues. Given that the ObamaTax premiums are required to be lower for older workers (and higher for young'uns), and since ObamaTax-compliant plans are guaranteed issue, how many folks in their early 60's will now feel...
Bloomberg News carried this fascinating article on September 2: “Female physicians in the U.S. continue to earn less than their male counterparts, with the pay gap widening during the past two decades to more than $50,000 annually in 2010, researchers said.”The article suggests that because of limitations in the source data the researchers “couldn’t adjust for a physician’s specialty or...
Tonight marks the beginning of the 10 Days of Awe, as we welcome the New Year. Although this is a very serious time, it's also an opportunity to celebrate and have a little fun.One enduring tradition is dipping apples in honey; the apple represents the world, the honey represents sweetness. Typically, apple slices and a bowl of honey are passed around; everyone takes a slice, takes a dunk, recites...
Julie Ferguson hosts this week's clean - but potentially deadly - roundup of risk-related bloggetry.Bring a fresh towel.NB: We've still got some Fall hosting slots available - just email us to claim yours!...
HHS is spending $700 million of YOUR money to teach you something your parents did not. In an effort to save Obamacare the government is hoping to convince young invincible's it is time to grow up, act like an adult and assume responsibility for your actions.people like Kay Lamberti, age 29, a former nursing assistant now working...
Back in the Spring, we noted that "some unions leaders have grown frustrated and angry about what they say are unexpected consequences of the [ObamaTax]."Unexpected. Heh.Fast forward a few months, and we learn that this anger and frustration has brought forth this result:"[T]he 40,000 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) announced that they have formally ended their association...
[In case you missed it, HHS also wants you to meet Howard]Lupita and her nine year old daughter are uninsured. She works at a dental office as a dental assistant. She scrapes by every month trying to earn a few extra dollars by staying late just to make sure she and her daughter "have enough" at the end of the month. According to her story over at hhs.gov, she is really looking forward...
Little did I realize when I recently posted about a client that I was on the bleeding edge of a potential revolution in life insurance underwriting. But that seems to be the case, as "new research by Timetric [shows that] three key technological developments have had a substantial impact on life insurance underwriting: automation, social media and big data."[ed: gotta love "Big Data." Brent Spiner...
