Health Care Reform Moves To The States

A state insurance commissioners’ task force will consider a Pennsylvania court case involving insolvent LTCi claims. A request to limit those claims could have implications for life insurance and annuities if successful, an industry trade association says.

–Vanguard today announced a partnership with HealthEquity, the nation’s largest independent health savings account custodian, to provide defined contribution plan sponsors and their participants a new service integrating health and wealth planning for retirement. Vanguard will offer sponsors the ability to provide a leading HSA solution to their…

With the prospect of longer life spans, 38 percent of U.S. workers age 21 and older say it would be a financial “hardship” to live past the age of 85, according to the 2018 Wells Fargo Retirement study, which examines the attitudes and savings of working adults and retirees.

President Trump signed an executive order making it easier for small employers to band together to provide insurance to employees via association health plans. Democrats derided the plans as “junk” coverage, but early returns show those plans working in some places.

Use a combination of high tech and high touch to drive strong benefits participation from millennial employees, who already comprise the largest share of the U.S. labor force at 56 million strong. And in many organizations, millennials are not just the worker bees, they’re already the decision-makers.

President Obama’s health insurance overhaul has emerged as a winner in midterms eight years after opposition to it helped the GOP take over the House. A Democratic majority in the House could block efforts to dismantle the program. Meanwhile, voters in three predominantly Republican states agreed to expand Medicaid, which also was a major issue in races for governor.

Expect “repeal and replace” to be a thing of the past now that Democrats will control the House. The advantage for agents and brokers is that they can tell their clients with certainty that no major changes to the law are expected any time soon, one analyst says.

For the first time since the ACA was passed, premiums will go down, according to the department of Health and Human Services. In New Jersey, for example, the monthly premium for a benchmark policy is $289 for 2019. In Wyoming, the benchmark policy costs $709 a month.

As President Donald Trump was talking up his plans to deploy 15,000 troops to confront a “national emergency” at the Mexican border, Amber Pallante was walking through a Burlington County neighborhood armed with a clipboard and voter lists, worried about the closer-to-home threat of not having health insurance.

Cigna Corporation today reported third quarter 2018 results, with strong performance across all of our businesses. For the third quarter of 2018, shareholders’ net income was $772 million, or $3.14 per share, compared with $560 million, or $2.21 per share, for the third quarter of 2017.. Cash and marketable investments at the parent company, excluding $19.9…

–Nearly half of consumers have abandoned a medication prescribed by their physician because it was too expensive, according to a survey released today by DrFirst, the nation’s leading provider of e-prescribing and patient medication management solutions. According to the findings, as little as $10 in savings would motivate 38 percent of respondents to…

Health analysts say that at least one of the efforts, coupled with previous changes initiated by the administration, could help transform the insurance market to be much more like it was before the 2010 federal health law took effect – when regulation, coverage and consumer protections varied widely across the United States.

Aflac reported a surging profit in the third quarter of 2018, as well as for the first nine months of this year.

The tally by National Nurses United, which supports a government-run, single-payer system, shows how the idea has risen in popularity even as Republicans attack the plan as socialized medicine. Plus, Democrats will need to win a lot of races where they’re the underdog to substantially increase the number of House members backing the plan.

With health care costs continuing to rise, less certainty that Social Security income will remain at current levels and Americans living longer, future retirees need additional savings vehicles to cover out-of-pocket health expenses in retirement, Nationwide said in a news release.

Democrats are focused not on Trump, but on Republicans who voted overwhelmingly to repeal Obamacare, while Republican governors sued to have the Affordable Care Act ruled unconstitutional and the Trump Justice Department withdrew from defending it. Republicans are discovering that the ACA is increasingly popular.

Under this new policy, states will be able to pursue waivers to improve their insurance markets, increase coverage options for their residents, and ensure that people with pre-existing conditions are protected.

Democrats have locked in on health care in the final weeks of the campaign, pointing to rising poll numbers for their signature Obamacare program and the GOP’s failed attempts to replace it with something better.

With quarterly profits again soaring beyond expectations, UnitedHealth Group executives on Tuesday predicted more growth in the market for Medicare health plans. Medicare has emerged as one of the company’s largest sources of health-insurance revenue. During 3Q, UnitedHealthcare saw nearly $18.8 billion in revenue from Medicare and retirement products.

According to a new survey, the blended annual median cost of long-term care support services has increased an average of 3 percent from 2017 to 2018, with some care categories exceeding two to three times the 2.1 percent U.S. inflation rate.

“The current political climate has heightened confusion, but awareness is a chronic issue when it comes to Americans’ understanding of our current health care law,” Jennifer Fitzgerald, CEO and co-founder of Policygenius, said. “If you need health insurance, it’s important to know the marketplaces are opening on November 1 and subsidies are still available for…

Candidate Donald Trump promised better, cheaper health care for all. His plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act would come “in a much simplified form- much less expensive and much better,” he told The Washington Post.

It’s that time of year when employees sit in conference rooms, listening to presentations on enrolling in voluntary benefits for the coming year. Eighty percent of people don’t talk about insurance or finances with anyone, MetLife researchers found. The company wants to change that fact.

–CVS Health today announced that it has entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice that allows it to proceed with its proposed acquisition of Aetna. CVS Health’s acquisition of Aetna remains on track to close in the early part of Q4 2018.. “DOJ clearance is an important step toward bringing together the strengths and capabilities of our two…

More than a quarter of all workers with health coverage now have a deductible of at least $2,000 for single coverage, the survey by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation found. In 2009, by comparison, just 7 percent of covered workers had to pay $2,000 out of pocket before their health coverage kicked in.

As the November election approaches, both sides of the aisle have health care among their top priorities. However, Ken Woods, an insurance broker with Dublin Health and Benefit, said those that come to him seeking assistance with health insurance are still buying through the government marketplace.

With employees now looking to the workplace for more protection products, the role of the broker/consultant and carrier is more valuable than ever before.

After two failed buyout attempts that could have put it in a better position to compete against larger rivals, Rite Aid is shuffling its board of directors and dividing power at the top of the drugstore chain.

New standalone long-term care insurance contracts issued today have a much lower chance of facing big rate hikes than policies issued in the past, a new survey of actuarial experts has found.

The new long-term care insurance product reduces premium and drops elimination periods in favor of deductibles and an 80/20 cost share.

After years of trying to demolish former President Barack Obama’s prized health care law, GOP leaders still lack the votes to succeed. They are also confronting the law’s growing popularity and easing premium increases.

The Affordable Care Act is headed back to court. On Wednesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act is scheduled for a 9:30 a.m. hearing before U.S. Paxton is leading the charge in this case for 20 states, including Alabama, Florida, North Dakota and South Carolina, to end the ACA.

It’s wages vs. health benefits. As Labor Day passes, just about everything seems to be going right for typical American workers, with the glaring and puzzling exception of wage stagnation. Corrected for inflation, wages are up a scant 2 percent since January 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

About 58 million people were enrolled in Medicare at the end of 2017 and more than 75 million people are expected to be enrolled in the program by 2027. That’s a lot of Medigap coverage for agents to sell.

New Jersey residents who purchase their health insurance on the individual market could pay significantly less next year now that the state has received the go-ahead to create a reinsurance program to help cover high-risk residents and their costliest claims.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services moved to bail out the Affordable Care Act markets today with $8.6 million in funding to 30 states and the District of Columbia. The funding will help state insurance regulators put in place plans to stabilize the markets.

A recent survey from the Employee Benefits Research Institute showed 31 percent think health care is the most critical issue in the country, far outpacing terrorism at 21 percent and nearly double the number who thought so five years ago. Critical illness insurance can alleviate your clients’ concerns on health care.