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Strategies & Market Trends : Waiting for the big Kahuna -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Larry S. who wrote (90273)	9/10/2009 5:04:02 AM
From: GROUND ZERO™	2 Recommendations Respond to of 94695

Larry, I appreciate you comments, and you make some very valid points on some issues, but I'm under the clear impression that these programs are near bankrupt, of so it seems from all the news reports I see and hear, although you may well be very right... but how do private insurers compete. That's easy, by allowing people to shop for coverage across state lines... we can shop for cars or for for anything nationwide, why not insurance? This would eliminate within state monopolies... there there any wonder why our premiums are so high, because these health care companies have a lock on you and me... GZ

To: Larry S. who wrote (90273)	9/10/2009 12:10:27 PM
From: puborectalis	Respond to of 94695

From 2008......... Purchasing insurance across state lines: a good idea? Is it a good idea to let Americans buy health insurance across state lines – something that isn’t allowed currently? Sen. John McCain thinks so and said so last night in the presidential debates. Giving consumers more choices will help them find affordable policies that meet their needs, according to the Arizona senator. It’s a proposal that makes a lot of sense, intuitively. If I can buy a car or a college investment account in another state, why can’t I purchase a health insurance policy in Alabama or Alaska? Today, I asked Sandy Praeger to share her perspective on the issue. Praeger is insurance commissioner for Kansas and president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Praeger told me she was against lifting restrictions on the sale of insurance across state lines. If the change was implemented, here’s what she predicts will happen: Insurers will set up shop in states with few regulations and market low-cost policies to people across the country. These policies will offer minimal coverage and appeal primarily to younger consumers. “It will be a race to the bottom,” Praeger said, and there will be “very few consumer protections. … You’ll have plans that don’t cover the benefits that people need. … And healthy people are going to buy those less costly plans, because they don’t think they need [the protection].” That may be a good deal for young people who don’t have health problems, but it would probably become a bad deal for everyone else, Praeger said. The policies that sell comprehensive coverage would draw a sicker, older customer base, becoming more and more expensive. The end result will be a segmenting of the insurance market into the “haves and have nots,” Praeger said. One segment of the market will become more affordable, but the other segment will become less so, disadvantaging those who need coverage most. How would a national insurance marketplace be regulated, I asked the insurance commissioner. It’s confusing, she admitted. As an example, she talked about a hypothetical consumer from Kansas who might buy a health insurance policy in New Jersey. “Does my Kansas consumer who buys that product have to go back to the New Jersey commissioner [of insurance] if they aren’t getting the benefits they think they’re entitled to? Do I have the authority to intervene on their behalf?” Consumers may end up being referred to federal authorities if they have complaints, as is already the case for people who get health insurance from companies that are exempt from state regulation. Large companies that fund their own health plans rather than purchasing insurance fall in this category. But the reality is that regional offices of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services aren’t set up to handle consumers’ insurance concerns in a timely fashion, Praeger said. “It’s very difficult for consumers to get their complaints dealt with,” she said. newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/triage/.../purchasing-insu.html

To: Larry S. who wrote (90273)	9/10/2009 1:47:51 PM
From: Peter V	3 Recommendations Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 94695

SS is not broke? Not so sure about that. Take a look at this. So far it has not been confirmed by other sources, so it may be questionable. Message 25926743 I don't know a lot about Medicare parts A and B, but Medicare Part D (part of the MMA), is a fiscal disaster. Former US Comptroller General David M. Walker has called this "...probably the most fiscally irresponsible piece of legislation since the 1960s... because we promise way more than we can afford to keep." en.wikipedia.org