The kids are headed back to school and the pool is closed for the summer, but there’s still time for one last edition of Health Wonk Review. Julie Ferguson has posted the Waning Days of Summer Edition over at Workers’ Comp Insider. So drink it in, like that last piña colada on the pontoon boat. What’s in the edition?For starters, you’ll find some great posts to prep you for the coming election debate about the government’s role in health coverage.
If that whole explainer thing appeals to you, Louise Norris explains the Trump administration’s recently finalized rules regarding short-term health insurance plans. It’s right here at healthinsurance.org. (Thanks, Julie!) Dr. Julie Graves, writing at the Medical Care Blog, looks at a children’s health crisis: the ongoing family separation crisis at the border. At Healthcare Renewal, Roy Poses laments the emergence of “ill-informed and/or mission-hostile health care leadership” in the White House and U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The lamenting continues at Workers Comp Insider, where the blog’s editors are doing their part to alert our readers about the serious matter of the EPA loosening regulations that will expose more workers to asbestos. And what’s this? Good news??? At Health Business Blog, David Williams has a story with a happy ending for patients with Parkinson’s and other movement disorders. Prefer to listen instead of reading health wonkery? Vincent Grippi of the CareCentrix’s Homefront Blog submits this month’s episode of #CareTalk – a discussion about President Trump’s fight with Pfizer over drug pricing (and more). Next up: Andrew Sprung hosts Health Wonk Review at XPOSTFACTOID on September 20. via https://www.healthinsurance.org/blog/2018/08/24/health-wonk-review-for-august-23-2018/
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A few weeks ago, healthcare analysts at the Center for American Progress (CAP) posted a detailed analysis of just how much more unsubsidized enrollees in ACA-compliant individual market healthcare policies will have to pay next year than they’d otherwise have to due specifically to sabotage efforts by the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans. Notice that I didn’t say “how much more” … I said “how much more than they’d otherwise have to.” As I explain in this blog post, that exact wording is important because the 2019 ACA premium situation is quite different from past years. In 2018, premiums increased by a massive 28 percent or so, with most of that being due specifically to Donald Trump cutting off contractually required Cost Sharing Reduction reimbursement payments, along with a mish-mash of other efforts to undermine the law, such as slashing the marketing budget by 90 percent, cutting the outreach/navigator budget by 40 percent and so forth. In 2019, however, average premiums are only going up about 4 to 5 percent on average compared to this year … and in some states are actually dropping. This makes attacking Republicans and Trump for “huge rate hikes!” more difficult, since the sabotage effect (mostly due to the individual mandate being repealed and the expansion of non-ACA compliant short-term and association plans) is less obvious. Expect Republicans to jump on this message … pooh-poohing the idea that their sabotage is causing painful rate increases by pointing to that average of 4 to 5 percent. This article already posits that conclusion and says media is ignoring this “great” news about a tiny increase. This definitely presents a problem for Democrats who were hoping to hang rate increases on Republicans in the midterms. It would have been a lot easier for them to make this attack by saying “premiums went up 28 percent instead of 10 percent because of sabotage!” …than it is to say “premiums went up 8 percent instead of down 2 percent because of sabotage!” But if Democrats want to capitalize on sabotage, that’s what they’ll need to do: They need to explain to voters that
… and …
… when …
The price of sabotage in ArkansasWant an example of what I’m taking about? Let’s look at Arkansas: The average Arkansas ACA enrollee is paying around $509/month this year. Rates are expected to increase by just 4.5 percent on average in 2019 … but if the individual mandate hadn’t been repealed and the floodgate on non-compliant short-term plans wasn’t being opened, I estimate rates would be dropping by around 8 percent instead. That means instead of dropping to $468/month, enrollees will have to pay around $532/month next year … a difference of $768 per year. This graph shows the difference for unsubsidized buyers. (Cha-ching!) In Arkansas, 2018 premiums increased 20 percent, with about half of that being sabotage-related. In Pennsylvania the situation is a bit different: Average premiums increased by 30 percent, with nearly three-fourths of that being sabotage-related. By contrast, in 2019, Arkansas rates are going up 4.5 percent, while in Pennsylvania they’re expected to remain nearly flat … but again, they would have dropped by around 5 to 6 points if not for the mandate being repealed and short-term plans being expanded. Is it the same story across the country? It’s not: The numbers vary widely from state to state and even from district to district. But here’s what jumped out at me as I was reviewing these numbers: 1. Red states are getting screwed by sabotageThe states which seem to be facing the biggest sabotage price hike (over $1,000 per enrollee) are, perhaps not surprisingly, all red states (except for Virginia): Alabama, Arizona, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Tennessee was briefly looking at over $1,500 per enrollee before the Risk Adjustment Freeze situation was resolved last week; now it’s down to “only” around $1,100 apiece. 2. States that are sidestepping sabotage are OK
3. States that are mitigating sabotage could be in better shape
Message is everythingThe messaging on these $600+/apiece cost increases will be tricky to get across. For one thing, that’s ~$600 for the full year; it’s more like $50-$60 monthly, which is how people are generally used to looking at premium prices. In addition, many of these states are actually seeing price drops next year, making it more difficult to say “but it would’ve dropped even more if Trump and the GOP hadn’t screwed with the law!” (even if that’s accurate). In short, the “Sabotage-Created Premium Hikes!” attack is a legitimate one for Democrats to hit the GOP with … they just need to anticipate the GOP defense and immediately debunk it. Beyond the messageAnd messaging obviously isn’t enough. While Democrats are explaining the costs of sabotage, blue states need to be actively working to counter it. At the state level, there’s plenty which Democratically held legislatures and governorships can do … and as noted earlier, several states have already started doing so. Maryland, New Jersey and California in particular have been leading the way, with other states not far behind. Charles Gaba is the founder of ACASignups.net, which has been live-tracking Obamacare enrollments since the exchanges launched in October 2013. His work has been cited by major publications from the Washington Post and Forbes to the New York Times as being the most reliable source available for up-to-date, accurate ACA enrollment data in the country. via https://www.healthinsurance.org/blog/2018/08/23/whats-the-real-price-of-obamacare-sabotage/
NAIFA is proud to announce that the association has been selected as an Honorable Mention as part of InvestmentNews’ inaugural Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion Award Program. NAIFA will be recognized from the podium during the Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Awards Ceremony, which takes place October 9 at the Edison Ballroom in New York City.
via https://www.naifa.org/news-publications/naifa-blog/august-2018/investment-news-recognizes-naifa-for-advancing-div?feed=blogs
Adviors can help young workers set and acheive financial goals and improve financial literacy.
via https://www.naifa.org/news-publications/naifa-blog/august-2018/young-americans-are-optimistic-about-their-finance?feed=blogs
Restrictions on the use of the titles "advisor" and "adviser" would result in greater consumer confusion, NAIFA says.
via https://www.naifa.org/news-publications/naifa-blog/august-2018/naifa-suggests-changes-to-sec-best-interest-propos?feed=blogs IRS Proposal Clarifies Pass-Through Income Taxation Provides Exemption for Insurance Agents8/10/2018
Proposed rule for pass-through income allows businesses, including insurance agents and brokers, to claim tax deduction.
via https://www.naifa.org/news-publications/naifa-blog/august-2018/irs-proposal-clarifies-pass-through-income-taxatio?feed=blogs
Expanding the maximum duration of STLDI Plans gives advisors and consumers greater flexibility.
via https://www.naifa.org/news-publications/naifa-blog/august-2018/naifa-applauds-hhs-rule-on-short-term-health-insur?feed=blogs |
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