insurance

Death of Small Group Insurance - One Chart

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January 1, 2014. Community rating, narrower age banding, guaranteed issue, and other fun parts of the law will begin on this date. In preparation, our agency has been meeting with major health insurance carriers on the impact PP<strike>AC</strike>A will have on our employer sponsored plans with less than 50 employees. For my accounts the results have been staggering:</div>
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 <img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9npXGBgZUqu4zh6-r4zsezw3eCb00VNhOFKIDJItYW0eZ6IiAGAmyHqEgIXlupWDlKTfmaSMM2YajV_qPOgwxDwUw64IqSelBs7-ERvJEvxSBU_JlPKYYncPEUlXqica58HVg6Kp8oUs/s320/Small+Group+Book+of+Business+PPACA+Impact.jpg" width="640" /></div>
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49 employer groups, 4 with decreases of 20%-30%, 4 with 0-10% increases, 20 employers with 30% or more increases. How will businesses absorb/pass on the cost increases? Drop coverage. With no penalties for not offering why wouldn't they?</div>

Death of Small Group Insurance - One Chart

January 1, 2014. Community rating, narrower age banding, guaranteed issue, and other fun parts of the law will begin on this date. In prep...

8:38 AM

Flawed thinking on ObamaCare, giving it a shot has consequences

Reading the comments to an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/24/us/politics/as-clock-ticks-fierce-turnout-effort-for-health-law.html" target="_blank">article in the NYT</a> on the Obama Admin's implementation of ACA, I came across a very common response:<br />
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<i>"Corkyjon it seem to me that you speculate in the negative; the best  thing that we can do for ourselves is to let  Obama care play itself  out. It's meant to work  by getting all the uninsured to get coverage or  suffer a penalty id they don't, and to offer coverage despite  pre-existing conditions, Sounds good . . . will it do what's expected of  the program ? that's to be seen"</i></blockquote>
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What I never see mentioned or discussed by these individuals is the consequences or aftereffects of giving it a shot. They make it sound like giving it a shot is a free sample.  That is not in anyway accurate. If it doesn't work we are looking at:<br />
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<li>Hundreds of billions (if not trillions) of additional debt.</li>
<li>Individuals being kicked off insurance with no place to go</li>
<li>Employers having exited the market and possibly not willing or able to get back in</li>
<li>Shopping habits and expectations for insurance altered </li>
<li>Carriers having exited the market and possibly never returning</li>
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If this fails we just don't pick up where we left off before. The stimulus was a failure, that doesn't mean we don't have to pay the trillion dollar bill. ACA's failure could easily dwarf that. That is why you don't half-ass complete overhauls of major segments of the economy like this.  <br />
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Flawed thinking on ObamaCare, giving it a shot has consequences

Reading the comments to an article in the NYT on the Obama Admin's implementation of ACA, I came across a very common response: ...

8:38 AM

The ObamaTax Subsidy Cheat

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As we noted almost 2 years ago, the ObamaTax specifically forbids folks in states with Federally-run Exchanges from receiving any subsidies (and this would include those hybrid State/Fed models, as well). Of course, a little thing like the law is of little consequence to the folks in Capital City, and so the IRS has stated unequivocally that <i>"it determined that Congress intended for subsidies to be available in both state- and federally-run marketplaces</i>," thus greatly expanding the scope (and, of course, the <b>cost</b>) of the subsidies.<br /><br />Now come two House committees (finally) looking into this egregious decision:<br /><br />"<a href="http://freebeacon.com/house-investigating-obamacare-subsidy-expansion/" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Two House committees sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew ... the law explicitly allows the subsidies to only be applied to purchases made on an exchange “established by the state</span></i></a>"<br /><br />As we were saying (seven months ago).<br /><br />Since only 16 of the 58 states would legally be eligible for these subsidies, this represents a pretty significant chunk of ObamaChange. The Sooner State (one of those with a state-run Exchnage) "<i><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">is now the plaintiff to a lawsuit arguing that the federal government cannot legally provide subsidies to federally run exchanges</span></i>."<br /><br />Here's wishing them well.<br /><br /><span style="color: red;"><u><b>ADDENDUM</b></u></span>: Meanwhile, Motor City seems intent on further exacerbating the ObamaTax Subsidy budgeting challenge:<br /><br />"<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/29/us/detroit-looks-to-health-law-to-ease-costs.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=2&" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">[T]he city is proposing a controversial plan for paring some of the $5.7 billion it owes in retiree health costs: pushing many of those too young to qualify for Medicare out of city-run coverage and into the new insurance markets that will soon be operating under the Obama health care law</span></i></a>."<br /><br />Yup, hundreds (thousands?) more unemployed folks hitting the Exchanges. And remember, thanks to the now-delayed roll-out of the Data Hub verification system, most if these folks will be climbing on board the subsidy gravy train.<br /><br />Your tax dollars hard at <strike>retirement</strike> work.</span></div>

The ObamaTax Subsidy Cheat

As we noted almost 2 years ago, the ObamaTax specifically forbids folks in states with Federally-run Exchanges from receiving any subsidies...

8:38 AM

Obamacare - Help Wanted

<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Need a job?    </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Need a job with benefits?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Keep looking.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgANi-Z-UyoshAXaqvDKOYp7NY5HMIflb2XZzn4oHCVot93hion_RUfJWixfOpTnhcQkfjInrBWiej8dj8Y_niXW1dR9J_NiUrpPfxJIZZLnkHEo82bxiHTVCzVxFM7hyphenhyphentxvHcRDX-xx1o/s320/Obamacare+screwed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgANi-Z-UyoshAXaqvDKOYp7NY5HMIflb2XZzn4oHCVot93hion_RUfJWixfOpTnhcQkfjInrBWiej8dj8Y_niXW1dR9J_NiUrpPfxJIZZLnkHEo82bxiHTVCzVxFM7hyphenhyphentxvHcRDX-xx1o/s320/Obamacare+screwed.jpg" width="320" /></a><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In order to ensure Americans understand how to access the benefits available to them when many provisions of the Affordable Care Act go online October 1, the Obama administration <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/25/health/us-unveils-health-care-web-site-and-call-center.html" style="color: #333333;">announced last month</a> that it is setting up a call center that will be accessible to Americans 24 hours a day. </span></i></blockquote>
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<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One branch of that call center will be located in California’s Contra Costa County, where, <a href="http://www.contracostatimes.com/rss/ci_23733819" style="color: #333333;">reportedly</a>, 7,000 people applied for the 204 jobs. According to the Contra Costa Times, however, “about <b>half the jobs are part-time, with no health benefits</b> — a stinging disappointment to workers and local politicians who believed the positions would be full-time.”</span></i></blockquote>
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<b><a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/354556/obamacare-call-center-will-not-offer-healthcare-benefits-employees-eliana-johnson" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">National Review</span></a></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's gonna leave a mark.</span></div>
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Obamacare - Help Wanted

Need a job? Need a job with benefits? Keep looking. In order to ensure Americans understand how to access the benefits available ...

8:37 AM

Promoting the ObamaTax

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukY3PKDcNyhas4eaAo9ZYOVyj3r4JOBfoXISWDuCWTDfCeMQJGIN0b209UPKxPEtdg3fNZfRSjr6CERn7EOm2Ir_BiiwJWEeObxvZoITJNOPysZE24LaOoQdsIwo90xhRPhXqzf-i0oA/s200/X1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukY3PKDcNyhas4eaAo9ZYOVyj3r4JOBfoXISWDuCWTDfCeMQJGIN0b209UPKxPEtdg3fNZfRSjr6CERn7EOm2Ir_BiiwJWEeObxvZoITJNOPysZE24LaOoQdsIwo90xhRPhXqzf-i0oA/s200/X1.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We've been wondering for a while now, why - if the ObamaTax is such a grand bargain - is it necessary to advertise it so heavily, and to enlist everyone from Sheriff Andy to Michael Jordan to shout its praises from the rooftop. Not only have we received no answer, but Ms Shecantbeserious and her minions insist on doubling - nay, <i>tripling</i> - down.<br /><br /><u>Item the first:</u> A gorgeous, impeccably designed <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/07/24/Dems-Offer-Free-I-HEART-ObamaCare-Bumper-Stickers" target="_blank">ObamaTax bumper sticker</a> (to compliment the Co-Exist one on your Prius). We've provided our take on this work of art above.<br /><br /><u>Item the Second:</u> In keeping with the whole "community organizing" spirit of the Obamastration, Ms Kathy has enlisted folks like <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/obamacares-foot-soldiers-train-enroll-masses-110615788.html" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">"Nahla Kayali ... among the first wave of 2,000 community organizers in California getting trained to persuade more than 1 million uninsured people in the state to sign up for [the train wreck]</span></i></a>." Since the success of the whole risky scheme seems to rest on the shoulders of young people (whose lower expected utilization is deemed essential in offsetting the costs of older folks), this seems a no-brainer [<i>ed: I see what you did there</i>].<br /><br /><u>Item the Third:</u> One of the biggest challenges to those first two may be this little tidbit:<br /><br />"<a href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/irs-employee-union-we-dont-want-obamacare/article/2533520?custom_click=rss" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">IRS employees have a prominent role in Obamacare, but their union wants no part of the law.</span></i></a>"<br /><br />Ooops.<br /><br />Turns out, even the folks tasked with enforcing the (Evil) Mandates aren't keen on participating. And who can blame them? After all, they're used to getting gold-plated (and low-to-them-cost) coverage through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. Wouldn't want to lose that, now, would we?</span></div>