ATTENTION OBAMACARE SUPPORTERS: FOR PROFIT INSURERS ARE NOW GOOD!

Evergreen Health, one of six remaining Obamacare not-for-profit co-ops, announced this week that it is being acquired by a group of private equity investors. This move will make the insurer a FOR-PROFIT entity.

Under Obamacare, co-ops were given the opportunity to receive low interest loans. Evergreen received $65,000,000 to start up. In signing their contract it explicitly stated that all co-ops were prohibited from either being acquired by or converting to for-profit entities. That all changed in May when CMS issued new regulations allowing acquisitions and conversions to for-profit status.

In order for the acquisition to take effect the Maryland Insurance Administration and CMS must approve the deal. Which puts the Obama administration in a tough spot. Even if the loan repayment continues, how does CMS approve a deal where taxpayer funds with ultra low interest were used to start up the venture? On the other hand, if they don't approve the deal 38,000 people will lose their insurance.

One last thing that should be most important to CMS and members: who is the buyer and what was the purchase price? Neither of which were disclosed.

Hurricane Matthew News

Courtesy of the Insurance Information Institute:

[click embiggen pic]

Thursday Morning LinkFest

■ First up, co-blogger Bob tips us to this helpful state-by-state look at O'Care's individual marketplaces. Of note:

"[O]ne-third of all U.S. counties will only have one insurer offering plans on Affordable Care Act exchanges in 2017, leaving an estimated 2.3 million ACA marketplace enrollees in uncompetitive markets"

If you like your plan...

■ FoIB Holly R has a pair of North Star State items:

"Minnesota Hiking Obamacare Premiums At Least 50% To Avoid ‘Collapse’"

Methinks they've misspelled "3000% rate decrease." On the other hand:

"Minnesota health insurance market in 'emergency situation'"

So they've got that going for them.

Which is (Minnesota) nice.

■ Finally, FoIB Jeff M tips us to this article on how "[s]elf-funding employee health care pays off for some small businesses." We've touted these plans for a while (here, for instance): for some smaller groups there are tremendous savings available.

Yahoo, Data Breaches, and You

This seems significant:


"The account information may have included names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords (the vast majority with bcrypt) and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers"

Did that include your private info? And if it did, what can you do about it?

Well, if you have LifeLock, you can rest a lot easier at night knowing that they're helping to protect your information, backed up by their $1 Million Total Service Guarantee.

And through an exclusive arrangement, we can offer LifeLock services at a 10% discount (just **click here** for details).

Is Pella in Financial Straits?

Here's why I ask:

A dozen or so years ago, we replaced most of the windows in our home with Pella units, and we've been happy with them. Recently, we finally got around to replacing the last two sets, and again, pretty happy (once we got past the sticker shock. Probably shouldn't have waited so long).

Anyway, the way the process worked is that we went to the local showroom with our rough measurements, picked out the design and color we wanted, and got a preliminary estimate. A few days later, the Pella rep came out to our home to do a more thorough, official measurement, gave us a quote, and took a deposit for about half.

The rest would be due when the windows arrived and were installed a few weeks later.

Installation day came, and the two gentleman who did the actual work could not have been more professional: they removed the old windows and carted away the trash, and when they began to install the new ones asked me about how we would prefer the new trim to look.

When they were done, they handed me a form to sign that the work was complete, took my credit card info for the balance due, and off they went.

A few days later, I was effusive in my praise when we were called to see if we were satisfied with the job.

Nice, good feelings, lots of goodwill.

Which was then squandered last week when a Mr Charles Robinson called from Pella, claiming that we'd underpaid by $40. When I pointed out that I'd had nothing to do with any of the calculations and had merely signed the forms, he demanded that I provide him with a copy of the initial quote and other paperwork.

That's not how this works.

It seems to me that the only time a company would be willing to blow through all that goodwill for $40 (out of a job that included a comma), particularly when they did all the calculations is if that company is itself facing severe financial problems. Perhaps there's another explanation, but I've reached out to corporate - twice - offering them the opportunity to weigh in, and they've yet to respond.

YMMV.

Noted right-winger disses O'Care

It's a shame when politicians attack President Obama's signature achievement in such a vicious way:

"It doesn't make any sense. The insurance model doesn't work here"

Really, such partisan assaults have no place in civil discourse, and I call upon  this naysayer to offer a suitable apology.

Wait, what?

"Bill Clinton calls ObamaCare 'crazy system' while campaigning in Michigan"

Oh.

L'Shannah Tova 5777

This evening marks the beginning of the Days of Awe, starting with "Jewish New Year's" (Rosh HaShannah) and culminating in the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). This year, I thought I'd let Dr Amy Farrah Fowler Mayim Bialik and her friends do the honors of explaining some of the symbols and rituals.

May you and yours enjoy a happy, healthy New Year.