insurance

Whiner's and Deadbeats

The Unaffordable Care Act (UCA) is still being promoted as a success. Only a politician with a big ego would say the UCA is working and helping people obtain health care they would not otherwise get.  <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv44W3JS5qC7mMatgc006u_yXQ7JU-BB9tO8hkyz80nBmMICgVmQP-2rBAeXyPvDvxvGOQfZSAXZzDSJUjJpmfbmc0iwFvWv1K5BSjqOp3gllxhtShM9M0XIOABobCC6xSMiKZ23eC3mA/s1600/govt+wasteful+spending.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv44W3JS5qC7mMatgc006u_yXQ7JU-BB9tO8hkyz80nBmMICgVmQP-2rBAeXyPvDvxvGOQfZSAXZzDSJUjJpmfbmc0iwFvWv1K5BSjqOp3gllxhtShM9M0XIOABobCC6xSMiKZ23eC3mA/s1600/govt+wasteful+spending.jpg" /></a></div> If the UCA is so great, why are there so many whiners and deadbeats? <blockquote class="tr_bq">A <a href="http://kff.org/report-section/survey-of-non-group-health-insurance-enrollees-section-3/" style="background-color: white; color: #003399; line-height: 24px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Kaiser Family Foundation survey</a> found that 43% of those buying ObamaCare plans say they are having difficulty paying premiums, with 14% finding it "very difficult."</blockquote><a href="http://news.investors.com/politics-obamacare/070814-707833-obamacare-enrollment-numbers-unreliable-government-audit-finds.htm?p=2" target="_blank">Investors Business Daily</a> I can understand if these people were my clients who are paying the FULL UNSUBSIDIZED PREMIUM for their coverage, but 87% of those surveyed are receiving taxpayer premium and cost sharing subsidies. <blockquote class="tr_bq">Widely followed industry analyst <a href="http://healthpolicyandmarket.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #003399; line-height: 24px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Robert Laszewski of Health Policy and Strategy Associates</a>, said that "generally, carriers are saying that 85% paid the first month and that enrollment deteriorates after that at a rate of 2% to 3% per month."</blockquote>That's a 15% fall off the first month in people who never paid their first premium. Six months later that is another 12 - 18% drop off. I have been in the health insurance business almost 40 years and if I had those kind of results I would have bailed a long time ago. It's difficult enough to grow a successful business, but losing as much as half your business the first full year is an insane business model. <blockquote class="tr_bq">An additional problem with the official enrollment numbers turned up in a <a href="https://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-01-14-00180.pdf" style="background-color: white; color: #003399; line-height: 24px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">separate IG report</a>, which found 2.9 million "inconsistencies" between what applicants said and what government data show about income, citizenship and the like in the first five months of open enrollment.</blockquote>Roughly 40% of applications submitted via hc.flub have inconsistencies and 60% of those may never have been eligible for coverage. I wonder how many of those "inconsistent" applications originated with navigators? Recapping, of the reported 8 million that signed up: <ul><li>1.2 million never paid their first premium</li><li>Another 1.9 million will drop off during the first year due to non-payment of premium</li><li>And 1.6 million may be disqualified because they were never eligible for coverage</li></ul><div>Whiners and deadbeats are wrecking Obama's grand scheme.</div><div> </div><div>We spent almost $1 billion on a website that still isn't working and who knows how much money for navigators and other paid enrollers and only insured a net enrollment of 3.3 million people.</div><div> </div><div>This is how Washington politicians define success.</div><div> </div><div>Pitiful.</div>

Whiner's and Deadbeats

The Unaffordable Care Act (UCA) is still being promoted as a success. Only a politician with a big ego would say the UCA is working and help...

6:40 AM

If you like your current agent...

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://kisstheschoolbondgoodbye.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/pinocchio-long-nose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="http://kisstheschoolbondgoodbye.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/pinocchio-long-nose.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, you know... Still another broken ObamaTax promise: "<a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/health-care-inc/2014/07/side-effects-half-of-brokers-consider-leaving.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+bizj_seattle+(Seattle+-+Puget+Sound+Business+Journal)" target="_blank">Nearly half of insurance brokers polled nationally have considered leaving the industry in the wake of the [ObamaTax] ... Companies' use of brokers has increased to 61 percent in 2013, compared to 56 percent in 2011</a>" So just when we're needed the most, a chunk of us are contemplating bailing. I must admit to having (briefly) considered this option last year. Not leaving the business, of course, just the health insurance side of it. Eventually, I abandoned that plan, but I know that quite a few others did decide to pull the plug (and several have been referring their health insurance clients and prospects my way, which is nice). Still, I'll need to make time soon to re-certify for the Exchange, which means another half-day on a .gov site that's barely navigable. And this news comes as we learn that "45 percent of companies surveyed said they plan to increase their reliance on brokers ... when making changes to their employee health plans." So, a lot of potentially disappointed, and frustrated, small business owners. The other (bigger) problem, of course, is the plight of individuals trying to navigate (Heh) the Exchanges (both public and private) by themselves. Although the ObamaTax was sold as a means to simplify consumer choice, it's really had the opposite effect. People have questions about subsidies, and plan designs, and networks, and they're not getting answers from the 404Care.gov folks. So <a href="http://insurance.answers.com/methods-to-obtain-insurance/why-you-need-an-insurance-agent" target="_blank">to whom will they turn</a>?</div>

If you like your current agent...

Well, you know... Still another broken ObamaTax promise: " Nearly half of insurance brokers polled nationally have considered leaving ...

11:00 AM

Remember Open Enrollment?

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ih3.redbubble.net/image.12616450.6647/fc,550x550,black.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="http://ih3.redbubble.net/image.12616450.6647/fc,550x550,black.jpg" width="140" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yeah, about all those newly insured folks: "<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/07/08/thousands-still-reportedly-face-coverage-delays-months-after-obamacare/?intcmp=latestnews" target="_blank">Months after the deadline to enroll in a health insurance plan through ObamaCare has come and gone, thousands of Americans have found themselves without coverage due to backlogs or glitches in various enrollment systems</a>" I blame the enrollees. No, really: "<a href="http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2014/07/07/exchange-plan-users-face-calls-about-inconsistenci?eNL=53baf708160ba0bf64a253c6&utm_source=HCRW&utm_medium=eNL&utm_campaign=LifeHealthPro_eNLs&_LID=107687085" target="_blank">Many of the consumers who [believe they] bought "qualified health plan" (QHP) coverage through the public exchange system are scrambling to back up the information they put in their applications</a>." Turns out, the rocket surgeons who can't even straighten out the problems in their own systems require would-be insureds to "prove it or lose it." One wonders <strike>if</strike> when said consumers will claim that the info was on that darned hard drive that just crashed. Should work, right? One can hardly wait for the next round coming up this Fall.</div>

Remember Open Enrollment?

Yeah, about all those newly insured folks: " Months after the deadline to enroll in a health insurance plan through ObamaCare has come ...

7:43 AM

A Sticky Wicket

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4TooLFTdb4ezbqZPls6dZk2CMwGHbczFSOjJfWBsdQjHKVb-S2SKVguMGQ14pC5OOszbRSTX0sdc_Ol-Iv1d-hqAa-P1ZzjE40A-8lKGadZ2glIEdiFsNGp9yccVP33Lbr5qbX_o1FPs/s1600/StickyWicket3jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4TooLFTdb4ezbqZPls6dZk2CMwGHbczFSOjJfWBsdQjHKVb-S2SKVguMGQ14pC5OOszbRSTX0sdc_Ol-Iv1d-hqAa-P1ZzjE40A-8lKGadZ2glIEdiFsNGp9yccVP33Lbr5qbX_o1FPs/s1600/StickyWicket3jpg.jpg" width="140" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Recently, Pat wrote about <a href="http://insureblog.blogspot.com/2014/06/its-government-simple.html" target="_blank">the ObamaPlan auto-renewal process</a>. Briefly, folks who've already bought new plans on-Exchange will be able to automagically renew their plans by simply checking off a box and sending the form back in to the carrier. Pat wrote about some of the key issues facing consumers who go this route; today, we'll take a look at the issue from the carriers' perspective. One of the key problems facing insurers is likely to be "retention." Retention is the percentage of policyholders who keep their coverage over time. For some lines of business, a high retention rate is profitable, for others, a higher rate of turnover ("new blood") is preferable. So what's the problem with the auto-renewal process as regards retention? Well: "<a href="http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2014/07/03/what-if-sick-exchange-plan-members-are-stickier?eNL=53b58eb9150ba0310a8b4860&utm_source=HCRW&utm_medium=eNL&utm_campaign=LifeHealthPro_eNLs&_LID=107687085" target="_blank">Simply letting [ObamaTax] exchange plan enrollees keep their plans without re-enrolling could change the plans' exposure to health claim risk</a>." So says Steve Zaharuk, Senior VP at Moody's Investors Service. His argument is that carriers with higher retention rates will have an edge in attracting investors. The idea is that carriers with higher retention rates will have an edge with investors, since "the ability to retain a sizable block of their business, administrative costs will be more predictable, and policyholder inertia will likely result in retaining many healthier, less risky individuals." I beg to differ. Historically, it was to the policyholder's advantage to shop around every few years, because it was almost a truism that new business rates at competitors would result in substantial savings (assuming one was in reasonably good health). Why would this change under the auto-renewal system? While it's true that the underlying assumptions that drove those lower new business rates are now gone, the economic issues remain. That is, if you've been relatively healthy the past year, and you see your renewal rate skyrocketing (again), you're going to be shopping. Mr Zaharuk compounds his mark-missing with this little gem: "Sick enrollees may be more likely to stick with their QHPs, even if prices rise, because they are in the middle of courses of treatment and need to keep their doctors and hospitals" That's quite an assumption. First, since there's no underwriting -  Guaranteed Issue means never having to say you're sorry (as in "Declined") - there's little incentive not to shop. Skinny networks are skinny networks, and it's not necessarily unlikely that another carrier's wouldn't have some (or a lot of) overlap. Second, assuming that all (or even most) "sick enrollees" are in the "middle of treatment" is kind of a stretch. Many folks have chronic, manageable conditions that don't necessitate heroic efforts (and specific providers). In the contest between affordability and accessibility, which do you think's going to win out? From the carriers' perspective, then, I'm not seeing this as a "win."</div>