If you hurry and purchase your own individual health insurance plan you can be grandfathered in. meaning all of the new Obama healthcare changes that the insurance companies will be required to cover and all the pre-existing conditions that must be accepted. That will expect the premiums to go through the rough. To meet the criteria of being accepted into the Obama Individual health insurance program you have to go without other coverage for 6 months. How many sick people can afford to go without health insurance for 6 months. Those with children cannot expect to go those 6 months without health insurance coverage. Colds and flu season as well as emergency room visits will not allow you to be uninsured. Do you think Obama stays awake at night thinking about how many people this health plan change is going to effect? NO
Health insurance agencies are downsizing due to the expected cuts in the commissions and loss of groups being covered. Health insurance exchange call centers are being opened and staffed. If you think that you are going to be able to call a local agent that has been in business for years and help your company buy your company or your family individual insurance you are mistaken. You will be calling government employees that will be selling you the plan you chosse being offered by the few carriers deciding to stay in business. The health insurance industry may become the new government automotive like takeover. So even if the health insurance carrier loses money it really does not matter as it is owned by the government and they have access to your tax dollars.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Guaranteed Individual Health Insurance under Obama
It sounds bizarre for me to even type this heading as it has NEVER been true. Even under the Cover Florida plan there was always some crack or loop hole to keep people from getting coverage by the carriers, set by the state of Florida. Not to mention it was never a fully comprehensive health insurance plan to begin with. United Healthcare and Blue Cross & Blue Shield dived in to take on most of the risk knowing that there is very little risk in a LIMITED BENEFIT plan. Even the name tells you there are limits to what will be paid and/or how much will be paid. The actuaries or the wizards of ROI for the insurance companies, calculate the amount of a procedure or service and how many people of a demographic utilize that service. They then set their pricing to account for that potential cost plus, plus, to include worst case scenario and still make a profit. Presto you have under a slick name the Cover Florida plan, a common side of the road cheap insurance plan pushed out to the public through political advertising for the good of the uninsured. The people that are truly uninsured this plan would not help them stay out of debt or bankruptcy on major claims.
BUT........
As of 2011 Obama is pressuring the individual health insurance carriers to take ALL people that have not had insurance for the last 6 months. Regardless of what you have or are being treated for. That is fantastic but then you think well they will just charge those particular people outragious premiums so they can't afford to buy it, protecting the insurance carrier from high dollar claims. Under the New Obama healthcare law they CANNOT do that. The health insurance carriers have to stay within certain parameters on their entire book of insurance business premiums. Any spikes are not allowed. So then we can expect the health insurance carriers to file for huge rate increases in 2011. Since that is when they know this law will truly impact their chances of getting high dollar claims coming through the door. Obama once again has shut this down. The health insurance carrier have to submit for a rate increase to the state of Florida with data supporting why they would need this increase. Even thought these are individual companies they are governed by the state to regulate pricing. So if the state of Florida decides to deny or partially approve a percentage of a rate increase to premiums. There is nothing the health insurance company can do. So then what?
1. Health Insurance Company pulls out of the state of Florida with a 12 month run-off to existing clients to allow them to find other coverage. Not accepting any new policies to be sold.
2. Health Insurance Company stays in Florida and rides out the price denial hoping to get price increases through the year or be subsidized by the government, which has not been mentioned.
Or the 3rd and scariest of them all.
3. The insurance companies place a freeze on selling new policies until pricing can suit the cost of doing business for the companies.
In the Obama health legislation it is stated in fancy words that carriers will be required to spend 80% of a $1.00 in premium on medical expenses versus the current 40-50%. That means that most avenues of purchasing insurance through agents earning commissions will need to be removed if not eliminated. Leaving individuals to shop online without direction or personal contact. These may be part of the new national health insurance program. Where health insurance agents who currently work for themselves are forced to now work for the state, city or county to offer assistance in buying insurance.
Take a moment and think when we said computers could never do my job. The government could never run a national health insurance program. Never say never.
BUT........
As of 2011 Obama is pressuring the individual health insurance carriers to take ALL people that have not had insurance for the last 6 months. Regardless of what you have or are being treated for. That is fantastic but then you think well they will just charge those particular people outragious premiums so they can't afford to buy it, protecting the insurance carrier from high dollar claims. Under the New Obama healthcare law they CANNOT do that. The health insurance carriers have to stay within certain parameters on their entire book of insurance business premiums. Any spikes are not allowed. So then we can expect the health insurance carriers to file for huge rate increases in 2011. Since that is when they know this law will truly impact their chances of getting high dollar claims coming through the door. Obama once again has shut this down. The health insurance carrier have to submit for a rate increase to the state of Florida with data supporting why they would need this increase. Even thought these are individual companies they are governed by the state to regulate pricing. So if the state of Florida decides to deny or partially approve a percentage of a rate increase to premiums. There is nothing the health insurance company can do. So then what?
1. Health Insurance Company pulls out of the state of Florida with a 12 month run-off to existing clients to allow them to find other coverage. Not accepting any new policies to be sold.
2. Health Insurance Company stays in Florida and rides out the price denial hoping to get price increases through the year or be subsidized by the government, which has not been mentioned.
Or the 3rd and scariest of them all.
3. The insurance companies place a freeze on selling new policies until pricing can suit the cost of doing business for the companies.
In the Obama health legislation it is stated in fancy words that carriers will be required to spend 80% of a $1.00 in premium on medical expenses versus the current 40-50%. That means that most avenues of purchasing insurance through agents earning commissions will need to be removed if not eliminated. Leaving individuals to shop online without direction or personal contact. These may be part of the new national health insurance program. Where health insurance agents who currently work for themselves are forced to now work for the state, city or county to offer assistance in buying insurance.
Take a moment and think when we said computers could never do my job. The government could never run a national health insurance program. Never say never.
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