A Giveaway is Now a Threat
As open enrollment creeps across the finish line in year two, many organizations that support Obamacare are changing their marketing plans. The first year and the opening of this year focused on the ever popular "giveaway" model. It came in two parts.1. Give people something for free. From free birth control to free preventive care people should sign up for health insurance because these benefits wouldn't cost anything. Never mind the fact that doctors and pharmacies aren't really giving this stuff away.2. Explain that Government thinks this is important for you to have insurance so they are&n...
Source: InsureBlog - January 21, 2015 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Source Type: blogs

Everything Old is New (Again)
Way back in the early days of this blog, we reported on a seasoned citizen who chose a life at sea as her Long Term Care plan:"On our October cruise on Royal Caribbean lines, there was an elderly lady who actually resided on the ship 'Voyager of the Sea ... She told us that it was just more financially feasible to do this than living in an assisted-living home and was much more fun"So it was with a sense of deja vu that I read this item this morning:"Lee Wachtstetter, an 86-year-old Florida widow ... sold her five bedroom Fort Lauderdale area home on 10 acres and became a permanent luxury cruise ship resident ... has been ...
Source: InsureBlog - January 20, 2015 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Source Type: blogs

Counting down the ObamaTax
As you've no doubt seen all over the news, once Open Enrollment v2.0 is over next month, folks who failed to take advantage of it and are still uninsured will (likely) be subject to a fine penalty tax. Many (most?) folks believe that the tax is a mere $95 this year and, for some people, this may well be the case. But it's actually just a minimum; the actual rate (this year) is 1% of income:"TurboTax, an online tax service, estimated that the average penalty for lacking health insurance in 2014 will be $301."On the one hand, that's a lot more than $95, but on the other, it's likely less than one month's premium, especially ...
Source: InsureBlog - January 19, 2015 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Source Type: blogs

Sold Out
In an unusual move, Community Health Alliance has pulled their product off the exchange in Tennessee.Community Health Alliance has pulled its health insurance plans off the federal marketplace because it hit its enrollment goals.Knoxville-based Community Health Alliance, a nonprofit consumer operated and oriented insurance provider, or co-op, hit its enrollment goals in the first two months of open enrollment. It stopped offering plans on the exchange Jan. 15.No carrier has ever done this before (pulling a product in mid-year). Is this the first of many or simply an anomaly?Original content copyright © InsureBlog (Source: InsureBlog)
Source: InsureBlog - January 16, 2015 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Source Type: blogs

Health Wonk Review: Welcome to '15 edition now up
Vince Kuraitishos hosts this week's eclectic round-up of the first wonky blog posts of the New Year.Original content copyright © InsureBlog (Source: InsureBlog)
Source: InsureBlog - January 15, 2015 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Source Type: blogs

MVNHS© In The News
Since it's been a while since we've reported on the Much Vaunted National Health Service©, seems like it's a good time to catch up:1 - Co-blogger Bob alerts us to this alarming news:"More than 3,000 operations have been cancelled by the NHS in the first two weeks of [December] as an "unprecedented demand" takes its toll."Here's the deal: When something is "free" (or, more precisely: perceived as free) then more folks are going to want it. After all, why would anyone in their right mind leave money (or health care) "on the table?"It also points out that nationalized health care schemes do nothing to rein in demand, and by ...
Source: InsureBlog - January 15, 2015 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Source Type: blogs

A Timely Reminder
It's 2015, and that means:"The employer mandate applies to applicable large employers with 50 or more full-time employees and full-time equivalents. It requires applicable large employers to either offer full-time employees and their dependents minimum essential coverage that is affordable and meets minimum value requirements, or risk paying an excise tax (penalty). Employers with 100 or more full-time employees and full-time equivalents, and employers with 50-99 full-time employees and full-time equivalents who do not qualify for transition relief, will need to comply in 2015."Shorter: The (Evil) Employer Mandate is ...
Source: InsureBlog - January 14, 2015 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Source Type: blogs

Bob G vs "Survey Says!"
FoIB Bob Graboyes takes to the pages of US News to explain why judging the success (for certain values of "success") of the ObamaTax, based on ubiquitous and often self-selecting surveys, is destined to be disappointing:"The phrasing of questions matters a great deal. Individuals surveyed may answer a pollster’s question dishonestly for a variety of reasons, or they may answer incorrectly because they don’t actually know whether they have qualifying insurance coverage."Or maybe they think their better half took care of it. Doesn't really matter: you know the old saw about lies, damn lies and...Bob wants to know just on...
Source: InsureBlog - January 14, 2015 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Source Type: blogs

Bucks, Ducks and Luck
Congratulations to The Ohio State Buckeyes for their impressive route of the University of Oregon Ducks last night in Texas. While most of us here in Buckeye country are busy celebrating the win, one regional retailer is licking its wounds:"Ohio-based Morris Furniture Company is now on the hook for upwards of $1.5 million in refunds to customers ... The promo promised refunds to customers who purchased at least $1,999 in furniture a ... if OSU won the championship game by at least seven points."Which, by golly, they did.So the chain is on the hook for an estimated $1.5 million dollars. That's the bad news. The good news is...
Source: InsureBlog - January 13, 2015 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Source Type: blogs

Frustrating Client Tricks
First off, let me be clear that it's the client (and myself) that's frustrated. It's just that kind of situation:Mary is divorced, and has custody of her teenaged son.She is responsible for his health care expenses, but her ex- is supposed to provide health insurance. Unfortunately, he is not terribly reliable: he is frequently unemployed (and uninsured), and he doesn't always let Mary know whether or not their son's actually covered.In order to alleviate the stress of that inconsistency, Mary has always kept her son on her insurance. Due to some recent employment woes, she purchased a subsidized ObamaPlan from the Exchang...
Source: InsureBlog - January 13, 2015 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Source Type: blogs

Insuring Ferguson: Update/Correction
Earlier this week, we posted on a couple interesting P&C-related items, one of which was the "civil unrest" in Ferguson, MO (there's a reason for the scare-quotes, we'll get to that directly). In that post, I reported - incorrectly - that riot-related claims would not be covered under standard commercial policies.Ted Kinney, Director of Education for the Alabama Independent Agents association, graciously emailed me with a correction:"Ferguson is probably more of a “civil commotion” than a riot.  Most standard policies do cover riot & civil commotion.  If  a covered peril damages property on the p...
Source: InsureBlog - August 29, 2014 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Source Type: blogs

Cavalcade of Risk #216: Call for submissions
Tim Dodge makes his CavRisk hosting debut with next week's edition. Entries are due by Monday (the 1st).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 to link back to the carnival if your submission is accepted.We need hosts for Fall Cav's - Please drop us a line to claim yours. It's easy, fun and a nice traffic bump. Thank you!Origi...
Source: InsureBlog - August 29, 2014 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Source Type: blogs

Healthcare.gov Security Chief Was Distracted
It's no secret that the Obamacare website is not only dysfunctional, but also has major security flaws. There may be a good reason for the latter problems. The IT chief of security apparently had his, uh, hands full with other distractions.Timothy DeFoggi, who had been the lead IT specialist at the Department of Health and Human Services, was found guilty Tuesday for accessing and viewing child porn, and discussing his fantasies — which included the rape and murder of children — on message boards.[He] was found guilty of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise, conspiracy to advertise and distribute child porn...
Source: InsureBlog - August 29, 2014 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Source Type: blogs

Obamacare SNAFU - The Gift That Keeps On Giving
It all started with a failed website (that STILL isn't fixed), followed by lack of full disclosure aboutjust how bad the new Obamacare plans were, then you had doctors that refused to accept patients with Obamacare, applications that were never properly submitted to carriers, premiums that were never paid ......... the list goes on.As bad as that is, how would you feel if you worked very hard for 5 months, investing not only your time but money, only to later discover you would not be paid for your efforts.Six brokers filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Clark County District Court, seeking class-action status for their claim that t...
Source: InsureBlog - August 28, 2014 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Source Type: blogs

MVNHS© Rocket (but not Cancer) Surgeons
First, the good news: 66 year old Roger Mollison is cancer free.That's good news because the folks who run the Much Vaunted National Health Service© don't exactly have a great track record when it comes to cancer care. The not-so-great news is that, despite their "best" efforts, they couldn't cure Mr Mollison of cancer.Mostly because he didn't have cancer in the first place:"Doctors at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee told Mollison to prepare for the final nine months of his life after diagnostic testing revealed a deadly case of mesothelioma"Imagine the sheer horror of receiving such a diagnosis, and then undergoing years of...
Source: InsureBlog - August 28, 2014 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Source Type: blogs