Ballsy Insurance Carrier Trick
I believe this may be a first:"The Farmers Insurance Company is suing 98 Illinois towns, Cook County, and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, asserting they were insufficiently prepared to deal with the effects of global warming that allegedly caused heavy rains and floo…
![Maybe I can be of Assistance [UPDATED]](http://www.metwashairports.com/image/May_I_Help_You_fin.jpg)
Maybe I can be of Assistance [UPDATED]
I have been closely following the VA situation - I cannot call it a scandal, for reasons I will explain - and wish to offer some much needed assistance. This is of interest to me for two reasons:First, my husband served 8 years in the Air Force and as such is eligible for the VA Healthcare. However,…
In case you were wondering...
Yeah, it was that bad:"This document shows that, on its first full day of operation, October 1, 2013, Obamacare’s Healthcare.gov received only one enrollment! That’s one – out of 334 million Americans. On the second day, 48% of registrations failed to process."Now, we've covered that part before, bu…
On Vaccines and Health Insurance
Over the years, we haven't been afraid to express our doubts about the efficacy and/or safety of certain vaccination regimes, notably Gardisil and the various flu varieties. we've not, however, weighed in (in any substantive way) on the controversy over the potential correlation of MMR vaccination a…
Cavalcade of Risk #209: Risk Assessment edition
Claire Wilkinson presents this week's roundup of risky posts, focusing on the assessment side of the equation. From hurricanes to hamburgers, there's sure to be a post to pique your interest.Thanks, Claire! …
A dollar here, a dollar there... [UPDATED]
Remember when the ObamaTax was going to solve the "crisis" of the uninsured?Yeah, about that:"About half of uninsured Americans surveyed didn’t try to sign up for health coverage under Obamacare because they said they couldn’t afford it"And by the way, kudos to Ms Shecantbeserious for making sure th…
Just One More Obamacare Misstep
Less care, higher health care costs, fewer insured.In St. Louis, Barnes-Jewish Hospital has started charging co-payments to uninsured patients, no matter how poor they are. New York Times …
Obamacare Medi-Cal Fail
The California gold rush to gain free health insurance is on the rocks. Alameda Alliance, founded in 1996, appears headed for bankruptcy.As more Californians fall under Medi-Cal, the state's health care program for the poor, the Alameda Alliance for Health was one of a handful of local providers poi…
Employer Move Blocked
Employers thinking of dropping health insurance and sending employees to the exchange might want to reconsider.Such arrangements do not satisfy the health care law, the administration said, and employers may be subject to a tax penalty of $100 a day — or $36,500 a year — for each employee who goes i…
Interesting Carrier News
Not all of our company-related posts are for Stupid Carrier Tricks© [ed: believe it or not]. Sometimes, there's just interesting announcements. For example:■ In Special Open Enrollment news, United Healthcare has come out with its take on what counts as a Qualifying Event. What's interesting to me i…
Cavalcade of Risk #209: Call for submissions
Claire Wilkinson hosts next week's Cav. Entries are due by Monday (the 26th).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 post…
Just When You Thought it Couldn't Possibly Get Any Worse ...............
You run across this report on the Obamacare SNAFU: The full extent of the failure, however, is reflected in the details provided by the Judicial Watch FOIA document revelations. They include:On October 1, there were 43,208 accounts created and 1 enrollment. As of October 31, 2013, there were 1,319,4…
A New Twist on an Old(er) Idea?
We've been blogging about Medical Tourism for going on 8 years. Generally, we've referred to two "flavors:"1 - Foreign nationals taking advantage of what they perceive to be superior health care here in the US, and2 - Americans traveling abroad for less expensive treatment, ostensibly as good as wha…
Health Wonk Review: Life's a Beach edition
Good morning, and welcome to this edition of the Health Wonk Review.In casting about for a theme suitable to the occasion, my mind wandered a bit (as it's prone to do this time of year), and I flashed on a serene stretch of sand and crystal clear water (and no, I did not have my hands wrapped around…
You Are a Man, Not a Woman
Woe be unto you if you have an Obamacare plan and the government does not know your gender.A report that aired on Asheville, NC ABC affiliate WLOS on Tuesday detailed the plight of college student Shelby Higdon, who under ObamaCare was refused medicine because of a gender mix-up within the ObamaCare…
Predictive Analytics (A Risky P & C Post)
So, a few weeks ago, I attended one of our carriers' annual sales meeting. This is a fun-filled afternoon of speakers discussing topics ranging from commercial automobile polices to surplus markets, loss ratios and liability umbrellas.Oh yeah, and 5 minutes on life insurance.Oddly enough, I always e…
Health Insurance with Medicaid is the Perfect Gift
This is not a headline from The Onion. It was an email I received yesterday from the "team" at Healthcare.gov. Even better than the headline was the message that followed.Mother's Day might be behind us but it's not too late to give your mother a special gift. Let the moms in your life know that hea…
The Loneliest Number
Three Dog Night had it right. After a 3+ year run-up to the 404Care.gov Exchange, the results were - too put it mildly - underwhelming:"Only one person successfully enrolled in Obamacare on its first day of business, a nonprofit government watchdog group found ... 48 percent of enrollee hopefuls fai…
Coming full circle, MVNHS© edition
Over the years, we've chronicled the many shortcomings of the Much Vaunted National Health System©, including its decision to pay for breast enlargements for teens but not spinal cord surgeries for tots.And remember, this is one of the key models for our own shiny new healthcare scheme. That's becau…
Lying Can Cost You
unless you are a politician trying to get re-elected or work for the Veteran's Administration and you are expected to lie as part of your job.The Obama administration Friday spelled out civil fines of up to $250,000 for knowingly and willfully providing false information to get taxpayer-subsidized c…
MVNHS© Priorities
Compare and contrast:"More than 250 girls aged 16 and under have had breast enlargements paid for by the NHS ... Across all age groups, more than 3,000 women had augmentation surgery last year"While bigger may be better, is this really the best use of precious health care dollars?Ok then, what about…
Aloha Obamacare
Aloha is used to express greetings (hello) as well as goodbye. Hawaii's two largest health insurers are reporting $36 million in losses during the first quarter and blaming it on fees required by the federal Affordable Care Act.KITVAloha to $36 million.Hawaii Medical Services Association posted loss…
Point of Reference (Pricing)
Over the years, we've documented the phenomenon known as "PARE pricing;" that is, when one is inadvertently treated by an out-of-network provider. For example, you go in for arthroscopic knee surgery, choosing an in-network hospital and surgeon, but it turns out that the anesthesiologist is out-of-n…
Gullible to the Actuaries SWAG
Media outlets and health policy "experts" have been spewing over reports this week about the initial 2015 rate increases that have been submitted in Washington and Virginia. Headlines such as Six Reasons Obamacare Premiums are Going Up Next Year and Big Obamacare Insurers Signal Big Premium Hikes h…
The Richdoctor Myth Revisited
Several years ago, I posted on the myth of the "Richdoctor," a myth that is really about wealth envy and isn't supported by the facts. Fast forward a few years, and the effects of the myth have escalated. Fortunately, not everyone buys into it.As an advocate of increasing physician reimbursement, i…
In-and-Out Info
So, some ObamaTax news from different ends of the spectrum:OUT - So you don't want to buy a health insurance plan, but you also don't want to pay the fine penalty tax surcharge; what to do?Well, you could apply for an exemption. Ms Shecantbeserious and her helpful minions have made available a downl…
While You Are At It
The failure of hc.gov (the Obamacare exchange) is notorious (and it still isn't fixed). Less publicized are stories about the number of state exchanges built with federal tax dollars.Not only were many of the state exchanges not "shovel ready" but most seem to be almost as inoperable as hc.gov.A cou…
Over a barrel, ObamaTax-style
We've long noted that the ObamaTax will likely kill off group health insurance plans. It's finally dawning on the MSM, as well:"The idea that employers might drop their health plans and replace them with a "defined contribution" for employees has been around for years ... Some analysts anticipate a…
You Were Warned
"If you like your plan you can keep your plan. If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor." It was all a lie. One big campaign promise.You were warned. If you didn't take heed there is no one to blame but yourself.Michelle Pool is one of those customers. Before enrolling in a new health plan o…
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