America Needs Independent Health Insurance Agents : The Unsung Heroes of Health Care

Comment

Comment by Jason Powers on August 30, 2011 at 4:18pm

Recent article that substantiates our agency's decline in revenues:

 

http://www.lifeandhealthinsurancenews.com/News/2011/8/Pages/GAO-MLR...

Comment by Yvonne Starks on August 23, 2011 at 12:46am

TOO LONG.....so, here's ending to The Washington Examiner article below...   :)

 

Congress will have to find some way to help these families. Congress must
also find a long-term solution to the Medicare reimbursement problem. Not to
mention the impending backlash from the millions of Americans who will be
forced to pay $38 billion in health exchange fines just because they managed
to get a raise.

And we haven't even touched the inevitable controversy and litigation that
will come when the Independent Payment Advisory Board begins making cuts to
Medicare and refusing to reimburse providers for selected procedures.

Obamacare has never been popular. It debuted with a barely 50 percent
favorable rating, which sunk to the low 40s by the time it passed, and
stands in the high 30s today.

The law is unmanageable, unsustainable, unpopular and, according to the 11th
Circuit, unconstitutional. If the justices on the Supreme Court have any
sense of mercy, they will officially put the law out of its misery and
invalidate the entire act.

Comment by Yvonne Starks on August 23, 2011 at 12:43am

Thought this might be a good place to place this from The Washington Examiner....

Obamacare is already on its deathbed
http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/article/obamacare-alread...
thbed     8/22/2011    By Conn Carroll

When the United States Supreme Court examines the individual-mandate
provision of the Affordable Care Act sometime next spring, it will
undoubtedly give great weight to the text of the United States Constitution
and relevant Commerce Clause case law.

But, whether or not any justice will ever admit it, some on the court may be
hesitant to invalidate the new law because of the significant strain it
would place on an already divided Congress.

These worries are misplaced. Obamacare is already a very sick patient whose
symptoms will inevitably require major action by Congress. A Supreme Court
decision invalidating some, or all, of the law would only hasten the
inevitable.

The signs that Obamacare was never long for this world began to appear soon
after the bill became law last spring. Reports began leaking about large
employers securing waivers from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Seems many firms were considering dropping their insurance plans since their
policies didn't meet the new law's minimum annual benefit requirements.
Almost 1,500 waivers have been granted since then, covering more than 3.2
million Americans.

Obamacare's next blow came in December when Congress needed money to prevent
Medicare reimbursement rates for doctors from falling by almost 30 percent.

Earlier versions of Obamacare had included a permanent fix for the doctor
reimbursement issue, but the provision was stricken from the final bill
because Democrats were unwilling to reduce spending elsewhere in the federal
budget in order to pay for it.

The $19 billion Congress used to pay for the one-year fix in December came
from increased penalties on consumers whose eligibility for Obamacare health
insurance subsidies decreases midyear because of income fluctuations.

Then in May this year, Congress increased the Obamacare health exchange
subsidy penalties by another $19 billion. This time Congress had to pay for
the repeal of the law's 1099 provision, which would have required
small-business owners to file tax-reporting documents for almost all of
their vendors.

Fast-forward to Aug. 12, when the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals found
Obamacare's individual mandate unconstitutional. That same day, the Treasury
Department issued new regulations rendering millions of Americans ineligible
for health insurance subsidies based on a technical definition of
"affordable."

Judy Solomon of the liberal Center for Budget Priorities think tank said,
"The proposed rule would mean that many spouses and dependents who are
uninsured today because they can't afford family coverage would remain
uninsured in 2014."

Treasury promised to mitigate the problem by exempting affected families
from the law's insurance mandate. But while these families might not have to
pay penalties for violating the mandate, they still have to cope with an
insurance market where premiums will be much higher because of Obamacare's
other insurance regulations.

Congress will have to find some way to help these families. Congress must
also find a long-term solution to the Medicare reimbursement problem. Not to
mention the impending backlash from the millions of Americans who will be
forced to pay $38 billion in health exchange fines just because they managed
to get a ra

Comment by Karen Randall on August 22, 2011 at 7:30pm

Alex, I agree.  My Doctor said his dad (also a doctor, tho now deceased) told him one time that Having doctors in cahoots with companies to provide health insurance for their employees, was the worst things doctors ever did....he said they (the doctors) cut their own throats, and as it turns out, those of their patients.  My insurance broker told me that Kansas (because of Sebelius) was the hardest state to sell insurance in.  Like I said earlier, we have to somehow get the government out of it, Nullify Now, tho I am not sure how to go about it, they didn't tell us that at the day long meeting.  So much to do to roll this monster back.....so little time.  Somebody, much smarter than me, has to know how to turn this thing around.  If we beat back Obama Care there is still a lot to undo.

Comment by Alex Poulter on August 22, 2011 at 11:43am

The dirty little secret about the insurance industry is that the Federal Government has infiltrated nearly every aspect of the “Free Market” dating back to the early 1990’s when Bill & Hillary decided that taking baby steps to universal care was the only way to get there.    This is already an industry that is highly socialist in many respects PRIOR to Obamacare.    Kathleen Sebelius, the witch of the Midwest, has successfully partnered with BCBS more than a decade ago to plot out the foundation for a universal system.   Many of the most reputable insurance companies were forced to fight ObamaCare on one side of the equation while positioning themselves behind the scenes to get any slice of the pie that they may be able to get.    I remind everyone of the basic fundamental principle of health insurance.   It’s purpose is to protect you from a large unforeseen catastrophic injury or illness.     What it has become is a means to pay for or reimburse Americans for decades of voluntary or intentional abuses to their own bodies.  In closing, I will share with you some words of wisdom from my Canadian Uncle who resides in Toronto, Ontario.     The 3 best ways to avoid the Canadian Healthcare system is to eat healthy, exercise, and pray to God that you do not get sick! 

Comment by Karen Randall on August 22, 2011 at 11:08am

All I can say is, it is time for the government to quit picking winners and losers.  Let the market decide.  They need to quit manipulating the system....This control thing...stinks.