S&S
Benefits.....Opinion, Hearsay & News Review
Of
course the big news was that the U.S. Supreme Court listened to oral arguments
on Obamacare. The hearings were quite entertaining from the standpoint of
listening to the Solicitor General trying to defend the indefensible. On the
issue of severability, Justice Scalia had the line of the day when told that the
Justices could decide which pieces of Obamacare to keep and which should go:
JUSTICE SCALIA: Mr. Kneedler, what happened to the
Eighth Amendment? You really want us to go through these 2,700 pages?(Laughter.)
JUSTICE SCALIA: And do you really expect the Court to
do that? Or do you expect us to give this function to our law clerks?(Laughter.)
The 8th amendment relates to cruel and unusual
punishment- the basic acknowledgement that nobody who voted for the law even
knew all that was in it.
The Maine Supreme Court ruled
that Anthem's proposed rate hike of 9.7% should be reduced to 5.2%, despite
Anthem saying they needed the increase to reach a profit margin of 3%.
Meanwhile, the HHS has ruled that
rate increases by health insurance companies in 9 states are
"excessive" and should be blocked.
The Council for Affordable Health
Insurance released it health mandates study which shows that state mandated
benefits increased to 2,262 mandates from 2,156 in 2010. Rhode Island and
Virginia led the way with 70 mandates each.
HCSC, the parent of BCBS-IL,
OK,NM and TX has booked more that $1 billion in net income in 2011. The company
expects to issue $88.2 million in rebates related to Obamacare MLR's, with $84
Million of that going to individual policyholders.
The NAIC estimated MLR rebates to
be received based on 2010 data would have been $2 billion, with 53% going to
individual plans, 23% to small group plans and 15% to large group plans. In
December, the Obama administration estimated 9 million people would receive $1.4
billion in rebates (an average of $155.00 per person).
Prudential is discontinuing sales
of its individual long term care policies as of April 1, 2012. Group policies
will remain for sale.
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The U.S. Department of HHS now
says the cost of Obamacare will increase by $111 billion between 2014 and 2021.
The staggering increase in cost estimates is being called a budgeting
"technicality" by administration officials.
A 2012 Health Reform Survey by
Willis shows that 56% of employers surveyed said Obamacare has raised costs.
Employers identified cost drivers of adult child coverage to age 26 and removal
of annual and lifetime limits for "essential health benefits."
GOP lawmakers passed a measure
in the House by a 223-181 margin repealing the Independent Payment Advisory
Board that would decide what services would be paid for and how much could be
spent in Obamacare. The rationing board measure will likely not get a hearing in
the Senate.
Express Scripts has announced
completion of the $29.1 billion acquisition of Medco Pharmacy.
As part of Obamacare,
Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plans (PCIP) have been formed in 23 states and
the District of Columbia by the federal government. 27 states run their own
PCIPs using federal dollars. The plans are meant to provide insurance for people
with pre-existing conditions that can't find coverage elsewhere. The plans are
meant to be affordable. However, enrollment has been less than expected and
claims costs much higher than expected. Some groups are picking up the premium
payments to put people into the programs, Hospitals would benefit by doing this
for people who have serious medical needs. The American Kidney Fund is one such
organization that has been picking up people's premiums. Some states do not
allow third party payments. If the Obamacare mandates stand, will they mandate
that people purchase insurance and then not allow one party to purchase it for
another in 2014? Oh what a tangled web they have woven.