Consumers postponed nonessential health procedures during the initial COVID-19 outbreak, and that led to unusually high second-quarter earnings for publicly…
Wire Reports
Supreme Court Won’t Hear Obamacare Case Until After Election
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a Trump administration-backed lawsuit to strike down the Affordable Care Act one week after Election Day. The case against the ACA is led by Texas and a group of Republican-led states. California and a group of Democratic-led states are defending the law.
Only one in five of the 143 largest statewide public retirement systems in the U.S. are resilient, a new analysis published by the bipartisan nonprofit Equable Institute shows. And five states California, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas account for more than 50 percent of unfunded liabilities.
Only A Can-Do Attitude Will Beat Covid-19: Column
It seems like we’ve been living with the coronavirus pandemic in a slow-motion time warp. But it’s time we snap out of it and beat this plague with the can-do attitude that has characterized Americans’ character when faced with other seemingly insurmountable crises.
Florida Democrats Blast Trump Payroll Tax Pledge
A Quinnipiac University poll of Florida voters released last month showed Biden leading Trump by three points, 49% to 46%, among older voters. The poll said 80% of people over the age of 65 were paying “a lot” of attention to the presidential race.
White House, Democrats Spar Over Trump Coronavirus Aid Orders
The White House and top Democratic lawmakers sparred Sunday over President Donald Trump’ s executive orders to extend expired benefits to tens of millions of American workers left unemployed by the coronavirus pandemic and defer payroll taxes for many workers.
Stimulus: Lawmakers Hope To Reach Deal With $1,200 Payments
Top Democrats emerged from a 90-minute meeting with Trump administration officials to declare more progress on reaching common ground in an aid package expected to include a second round of $1,200 direct payments. Another glimmer of hope emerged as a key Senate Republican suggested the party may yield to Democrats on an increase in the food stamp benefit.
US Might Be Facing Extended Economic Depression: Opinion
As the US entered August, the economic damage from the necessary social distancing and closure protocols to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease began to hit. The US economy is suffering an even bigger shock than after the 9/ 11 terror attacks or the 2008 financial crisis.
U.S. Study Reveals Gaps In Chronic Care Needs And Experiences
New research has shed light on a longstanding healthcare system challenge that affects more than 1 in 3 Americans: Health outcomes are not improving for those with complex, chronic health concerns, even though they see their doctor frequently and take multiple medications.
Biden Wants The Fed To Help Close Racial Economic Gaps
This week, the Biden campaign released its fourth and final plank in the former Vice President’s package of economic ideas: a plan for racial economic equity. But contained in the plan was a less-flashy proposal: asking the Federal Reserve to explicitly take race into account when it sets policy.
Don’t Kill Obamacare, Dems Say In Court Brief
House Democrats said the Affordable Care Act will be just fine without the individual mandate. That was one contention made in a Supreme Court brief filed to support the Affordable Care Act against a lawsuit, backed by the Trump administration, that would overturn the 2010 law.
President Donald Trump signed four executive orders Friday aimed at lowering prescription drug prices for consumers, including allowing the importation of drugs from other nations.
US Appeals Court Upholds Reg BI
The court’s decision means that Reg BI, which which establishes a new advice standard for brokers, can take effect as planned on Tuesday.
House Democrats Introduce Bill To Expand ACA
The measure includes Democratic priorities such as expanding the ACA’s subsidies to make premiums more affordable and encouraging states to expand Medicaid by increasing federal Medicaid funding. It also would do away with Trump administration policies such as expanding the availability of short-term plans that compete with ACA coverage.
Franklin Templeton Disavows Racism After Twitter Outrage Over Central Park Incident
Franklin Templeton Investments fired an employee following a confrontation in New York’s Central Park that was caught on video and sparked a discussion on race.
The Trump administration will not reopen the federal health insurance exchanges for a special enrollment period in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, although several states that operate their own exchanges will continue to allow people to sign up for coverage.
Everything You Wanted To Know About The COVID-19 Stimulus Bill
The Senate passed an unparalleled $2.2 trillion economic rescue package steering aid to businesses, workers and health care systems engulfed by the coronavirus pandemic. The unanimous vote Wednesday came despite misgivings on both sides.
Supreme Court Will Hear Challenge To ACA Individual Mandate
The court will hear the case in its new term, which begins in October. This means that the Affordable Care Act will continue for at least another year.
Trump Administration To Permit Medicaid Block Grants
The program — labeled “Healthy Adult Opportunity” — will allow states to ask permission to end their traditional, open-ended Medicaid program and put hard caps on how much money states and the federal government will spend on the poor and disabled.
Pennsylvania Moves To Place Health Insurer In Rehabilitation
Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Jennifer Altman filed an application with the state’s Commonwealth Court to have Senior Health Insurance of Pennsylvania placed in rehabilitation.
Trump Administration Looks At Medicaid Block Grants
The Trump administration is finalizing a block grant plan that targets the Medicaid expansion brought about under the Affordable Care Act, Politico reported Friday.
Trump, On Twitter, Pledges To ‘Save’ Social Security
President Donald Trump reassured his Twitter followers that he would keep Social Security benefits safe from any possible cuts after an interview in which he implied he would be open to cuts in entitlement programs including Medicare.
AHIP Wants ACA Court Case To Move Quickly
America’s Health Insurance Plans wants the U.S. Supreme Court to decide quickly on whether the Affordable Care Act is valid. Arguments center on the Republican-led Congress’ passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, which eliminated – or zeroed out – the ACA’s penalty for people who did not have health insurance.
Insurers Start Drug Company To Lower Prescription Prices
A group of 18 Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurers is helping to create a nonprofit drug company to make certain generic drugs itself. The insurers are targeting medicines where there is a lack of competition and a need to bring down prices.
Medicare Cuts Could Be ‘On The Table’ Later This Year, Trump Suggests
The president suggested he would be willing to consider cuts to programs such as Medicare to reduce the federal deficit if he wins a second term. Spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid is expected to cost the federal government more than $30 trillion through 2029, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Physicians’ Groups Have Opposing Views On ‘Medicare For All’
The American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians want to see everyone get coverage but have differing ideas on how to get there.
Conservative Groups Take Aim At Fix To ‘Surprise’ Billing
A collection of conservative groups is mobilizing to oppose a measure that would ban “surprise” medical bills patients sometimes receive from hospitals and providers when their services aren’t covered by insurance.
What Will Happen To Protection Over Pre-Existing Conditions?
President Donald Trump is tweeting about how he saved the Affordable Care Act’s protections for people who have pre-existing conditions, even as he is backing a court challenge to the law that would overturn the ACA and eliminate those protections.
31 States See ACA Premiums Drop For 2020
Health insurance premiums for plans purchased through Affordable Care Act marketplaces for 2020 decreased in 31 states, a new analysis shows.
Financial Planning: Getting Smart About The SECURE Act, Part 2
Three key provisions of the SECURE Act will likely affect the way client’s handle their IRA. These provisions went into effect on Jan. 1 and include 1) eliminating the stretch provision on inherited IRAs, 2) increasing the RMD age from 70½ to 72, and 3) allowing individuals older than 70½ to make contributions to traditional IRAs.
SECURE Act, Signed By Trump, A Game-Changer For Retirement Plans
Congress passed an important retirement-savings law called Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement, or the SECURE Act of 2019. For example, the bill raises the age for required minimum distributions (RMDs) from 70 1/2 to 72 years old. As long as you’re working, you can still contribute to your IRA after age 70 1/2. Previously, you couldn’t.
The National Cannabis Risk Management Association (NCRMA) and Garnet Casualty Insurance Corporation (Garnet) have announced a partnership that organizers say will bring normalcy to the nation’s cannabis insurance market.
Sen. Warren Releases Plan To Pay For ‘Medicare For All’
Who will pay for Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s plan to provide “Medicare for All”?
The U.S. Senate rejected a Democratic attempt to roll back a Trump administration rule that would allow states to disregard part of the Affordable Care Act and permit the sale of what some call “junk insurance.”
Breaking: Fed Cuts Rates For Third Time This Year
Federal Reserve cuts rates for 3rd time this year but signals it will pause its rate reductions.The Federal Open Market Committee lowered its benchmark funds rate by 25 basis points to a range of 1.5% to 1.75% as expected.
House Conservatives Announce Latest ACA Replacement Plan
House conservatives on Tuesday announced a plan that they said is an alternative to “Medicare for All” and other single-payer proposals being debated by Democratic presidential candidates.
Fed Cuts Interest Rates, Trump Blasts Powell Anyway: ‘No Guts!’
The Federal Reserve announced its decision today to cut interest rates. The move had been expected and while President Donald Trump urged a rate cut, he still might not be happy with the decision.
Employee benefits provider Unum finds that 38% of U.S. adults rate their ability to manage finances as average, poor, or very poor. Thirty-five percent say thinking about what would happen to their family should they die unexpectedly was a top cause of anxiety; only going to the dentist (40%) rated higher.
Between your 401 or pension, your IRA and Social Security, you hope to have enough to enjoy a comfortable retirement lifestyle. Yet, you may want, or need, to find other financial resources one of which might be a fixed annuity, which offers a guaranteed interest rate and can be structured to provide a lifetime income stream.
Accenture today announced that Principal Financial Group (R) has implemented the Accenture Life Insurance& Annuity Platform to enable its digital growth strategy with enhanced service levels and operating efficiency. “ALIP will help us improve our customer and advisor experience by providing the foundation to enhance our digital capabilities, deliver…
American Workers Want Life Insurance As Employee Benefit: Survey
Although 28 percent of employed Americans have voluntary group life insurance through their employer, 59% of workers who say they don’t because their employer doesn’t offer it say they would be likely to purchase it if it was an option. That’s according to a survey conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of OneAmerica.
A Philadelphia- based health insurer plans to apply for an HMO license in Minnesota so it can compete for business in Minnesota’s public programs for lower-income residents. The plans were disclosed to the Star Tribune on Monday by AmeriHealth Caritas, a for-profit subsidiary of Independence Health Group, which is the parent company of the Blue Cross…
Health Insurance Rebates To Reach All-Time High
The provision to ACA was sponsored by former Minnesota Sen. Al Franken and requires health insurers must spend most of the premium dollars collected on actual health care or return the money to plan participants. In 2018, insurers across the country paid out nearly $707 million in rebates to nearly 6 million consumers.
Columnist: Low Interest Rates ‘Likely To Continue’
With stocks exhibiting extreme volatility and growth slowing in all the major economies, many individual investors are rebalancing portfolios toward bonds — savvy investors will resist this temptation and stick with stocks.
House Democrats, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, announced their plan to shore up the Affordable Care Act one day after the Trump administration told a court to strike down the entire law.
Democrats To Announce ‘Sweeping’ Health Care Bill, Pelosi Says
House Democrats are set to announce their version of a health care bill, according to an advisory from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. The proposal comes as more than 100 House Democrats support a “Medicare For All” bill introduced in February by Progressive Caucus co-chair Representative Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.
2018 Annuity Sales Smash Records Across The Board, Wink Reports
Annuity sales rebounded in a big way throughout 2018, Wink reports. For example, total non-variable deferred annuities sales were $113.6 billion, an increase of 29.1 percent over 2017. Non-variable deferred annuities include the indexed annuity, traditional fixed annuity, and MYGA product lines.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is looking for recommendations on how to make it easier to sell health insurance across state lines.
Known as the Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act, the bill was initially introduced in previous session. It was re-introduced by Reps. Ron Kind, D-Wisc., and Mike Kelly, R-Pa., as the House Ways and Means Committee conducted a hearing Wednesday on retirement security.
Voya Financial’s newest product is a suite of health saving and spending accounts to be offered as optional workplace benefits.
The business to be transferred, which has been marketed under the Great-West Financial brand, includes bank-owned and corporate-owned life insurance, single premium life insurance, individual annuities, and a portion of Great-West’s closed block life insurance and annuities.
Democratic state attorneys general from 18 states filed a motion Monday night challenging a Texas federal judge’s ruling that struck down the Affordable Care Act. The motion, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, asks the court to clarify the impact of the ruling and confirm that the ACA is still the law of the land.
The Trump administration wants to see the nation’s health-care system move away from government mandates and toward a more free-market direction. A report outlines some recommendations, including expanding availability of health savings accounts (HSAs).
Under this new guidance, states are empowered to innovate new health care programs aimed at strengthening their health insurance markets, expanding choices of coverage, and targeting public resources to those most in need.
Through this new fully integrated platform, consumers and brokers will be able to go directly to the approved enrollment partner’s website to for the entire application and enrollment experience without being redirected to HealthCare.gov.
Humana and Walgreens are reportedly in talks to expand their current partnership, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Legislation introduced Wednesday by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., would cap the size of the largest financial institutions so that a company’s total exposure is no more than 3 percent of GDP, about $584 billion today. The bill faces tough opposition from controlling Republicans.
The stock market began the current bull market run on March 9, 2009 and will set a record Wednesday. Still, some analysts are concerned about the potential for a downturn amid several economic disruptions.
Paid subscribers, which account for about 90 percent of the company’s sales, are more profitable for Spotify than free users. But Spotify reported fewer users of the advertising-supported tier than a quarter ago, which is making investors nervous.
Stock Investors Pick The Wrong Exit In Emerging Markets
The EM index is also down 16 percent from its high on Jan. 26, just shy of the 20 percent decline that signals a bear market.
