June 26--Justice Antonin Scalia added a stellar new entry to the annals of wickedly entertaining U.S. Supreme Court dissents on Thursday.

You didn't have to read between the lines.

You didn't need to know the subtleties of the government's defense of a legal challenge to Obamacare: That Congress had flubbed in drafting the law but everyone knew what Congress meant.

"Words no longer have meaning if an exchange that is not established by a state is 'established by the state'," Scalia wrote in his icy dissent. "Under all the usual rules of interpretation, in short, the government should lose this case. But normal rules of interpretation seem always to yield to the overriding principle of the present court: The Affordable Care Act must be saved."

Obamacare? "We should start calling this law SCOTUScare," Scalia wrote.

Zing.

Chief Justice John Roberts has now twice rescued the Affordable Care Act from legal challenges that would have crippled it. In 2012, Roberts wrote the opinion for a 5-4 majority that upheld the law's individual insurance coverage mandate.

And the conservative chief justice -- yes, he still tends to be a conservative -- wrote the majority opinion in the 6-3 ruling issued Thursday.

It does remind us of the long-ago comment from Mayor Richard J. Daley's press secretary, Earl Bush: "Don't print what he said. Print what he meant."

At any rate, the majority accepted the argument that, despite what the law's language said, Congress did not intend to restrict Obamacare subsidies only to people who got insurance through state-run exchanges.

"Congress passed the Affordable Care Act to improve health insurance markets, not to destroy them," Roberts wrote. "If at all possible, we must interpret the Act in a way that is consistent with the former, and avoids the latter."

Millions of people whose coverage was at risk, including more than 200,000 people in Illinois, no doubt sighed with relief. So, perhaps, did Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, who did not seem eager for a fight over whether Illinois should create an exchange to preserve subsidies.

While the legal challenges to Obamacare are winding down, big financial and structural challenges remain.

Many insurers are seeking big premium increases for the next year. Many Americans who signed up for health coverage earlier this year have fallen off the rolls because they didn't pay their premiums.

President Barack Obama took a victory lap on Thursday, while some GOP presidential candidates and congressional leaders vowed to repeal the law.

It's time, though, to move on some changes that would preserve the best-liked elements of Obamacare while easing some of the financial pressures, and reverse incentives it has created.

Among them:

--Ease the mandate that forces employers to cover employees who work 30 hours a week or more as full-timers. Setting that standard at 40 hours would encourage employers not to greatly curb workers' hours or cut full-time jobs.

--Exempt businesses that have fewer than 100 employees from the mandate to provide coverage that kicks in next year. Many small businesses can't afford it.

--Offer Americans more choices for coverage. A proposed "copper" option, for instance, would appeal to people who want low premiums and protection from the cost of treating a catastrophic illness or injury.

Call it Obamacare or SCOTUScare, it's the law of the land. It can be vastly improved. It should be.

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(c)2015 the Chicago Tribune

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OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
AM Best has upgraded the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICRs) to “a” (Excellent) from “a-” (Excellent) of most of the subsidiaries of Sagicor Financial Company Ltd. (Bermuda). These subsidiaries — Sagicor Life Inc. and Sagicor General Insurance Inc. (both domiciled in St. Michael, Barbados), Sagicor Life Insurance Company (Austin, TX) and ivari (Toronto, Canada) — collectively are referred to as Sagicor Financial by AM Best and represent the organization’s Canadian, United States and a portion of the Caribbean operating companies. In addition, AM Best has upgraded the Long-Term ICR to “bbb” (Good) from “bbb-” (Good) and the Long-Term Issue Credit Rating (Long-Term IR) to “bbb+” (Good) from “bbb” (Good) of the $550 million, 5.3% senior unsecured notes, due 2028, of Sagicor Financial Company Ltd., the ultimate parent. Concurrently, AM Best has affirmed the FSR of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICR of “a-” (Excellent) of Sagicor Reinsurance Bermuda Ltd. (SRBL) (Bermuda), as well as the FSR of B++ (Good) and the Long-Term ICR of “bbb+” (Good) of Sagicor Life Jamaica Limited (SLJ) (Kingston, Jamaica). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect Sagicor Financial’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).

AM Best views Sagicor Financial’s consolidated risk-adjusted capitalization as strongest, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), supported by diversified operational earnings from multiple subsidiaries. Financial flexibility is demonstrated via multiple debt issuances as well as a revolving credit line. Financial leverage and debt service coverage metrics support Sagicor Financial’s current ratings. Liquidity is adequate and in line with peers. The investment portfolio is conservative with a majority allocation to government and corporate bonds, alongside equity and commercial mortgage loans positions.

Sagicor Financial’s strong operating performance is driven by a track record of consistently positive earnings spread over multiple subsidiaries and geographic areas including Canada, United States and the Caribbean. Premium growth has been steady with continued new business recorded at the consolidated level. Investment performance has also been strong with net yields that outperform peers. Overall volatility has slowly been decreasing driven by a more conservative investment portfolio and a larger asset base.

Sagicor Financial’s neutral business profile reflects very strong market presences in the Caribbean and Canadian markets, as well as a captive agency force, which maintains strong business growth in multiple Caribbean territories. Sagicor Financial utilizes a large set of independent agents and independent marketing organizations in Canada and the United States. Offsetting these strengths is an elevated level of country risk which stems from Caribbean operations. ERM framework is appropriate for size and scale of the organization’s operations and includes proper subsidiary oversight and consistency in risk mitigation activities.

In addition to the consolidated ratings at Sagicor Financial, two additional entities are rated for the Bermuda and Jamaica operations. The ratings of SRBL reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate ERM. SRBL optimizes group-wide capital and its ratings benefit from a capital maintenance agreement with Sagicor Financial Company Ltd.

The ratings of SLJ reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate ERM. SLJ has a very strong market position in Jamaica and a consistent history of revenue and earnings, which has led to balance sheet growth. Offsetting rating factors include an elevated country risk level in Jamaica.

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Source: AM Best