With Six You Get Genworth

Not sure what to make of this, but:

"China Oceanwide agrees to pay $2.7 billion for Genworth"

Oceanwide already owns a securities brokerage and a P&C insurer, so one supposed this makes sense in terms of "fit."

The deal still needs Delaware regulators' seal-of-approval.

I reached out to Randy G, one of my favorite LCi gurus to see what he thought of this development, and he replied that it was "kind of a surprise for sure. It’s almost like AT&T buying Time Warner for $86Billion….another surprise this morning! Don’t know much about this merger other than it provides Genworth with about $1.0 Billion dollars immediately."

Which may be badly needed; back in February, we reported that the company seemed to be in some serious financial straits.

So, wait-and-see, for now.

Another 1,000 Words on #ObamaCare

 [click graph to embiggen ]

(Full story here)

And to add insult to injury, FoIB Jeff M alerts us that:

"Obamacare Rates to Skyrocket 50-75 Percent in Arizona"

Funny way of spelling "3000% rate decrease," no?

North Star State vs ObamaCare

A few weeks ago, we reported on Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton's explicit acknowledgement that the ObamaTax wasn't working as advertised:

"Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton on Wednesday said that the increase in health insurance costs in Minnesota highlights “some serious blemishes right now and serious deficiencies” in the federal health care law known as Obamacare."

Now, we learn that there's more here than meets the eye:

"What’s not widely known is that taxpayers are also being gouged for millions of dollars a year on their property tax bills because of ongoing problems with MNsure, the state’s health insurance."

Turns out - #Surprise - that because the state's Exchange has never actually worked as planned, they've been shoveling in major bucks to keep it going:

"The Minnesota Association of Counties estimates taxpayers spend an additional $27 million annually to work around the flawed online METS technology."

And that's just this year. how's that saying go again?

Oh, yeah:

"That which can't go on, won't."

[Hat Tip: Powerline]

Un(?)Intended Consequences: Deathwatch edition

Last spring, we noted a new Golden State law essentially legalizing assisted suicide. At the time, we remarked only that it served as a convenience for those so inclined to save the airfare to Switzerland.

But of course, slippery slopes are, well, slippery, and now we have an insurance carrier who took the new law to its logical (if macabre) conclusion:

"[O]ne young mother says her insurance company denied her coverage for chemotherapy treatment after originally agreeing to provide the fiscal support for it, but indicated it would be willing to pay for assisted suicide instead."

This really shouldn't come as any great surprise: after all, it's simply the logical outcome of the ObamaTax's IPAB provision. How's that, you ask?

Well, as we've noted before, that feature is really just our version of the MVNHS©'s Liverpool Pathway. Admittedly, that's actually the heavy hand of government implementing the law as written, but is it demonstrably different in this case? After all, the insurer is simply following the guidelines set forth by the state as to whom is worthy of life-extending treatment.

O Brave New World, indeed.

[Hat Tip: Ace of Spades]

Exit, Stage Right

So after (literally!) losing sleep for several weeks, I finally came to a decision about Open Enrollment v4, and sent this to my ACA insureds:

"To my valued clients:

As we enter the 4th annual Open Enrollment season, I've had to make some difficult decisions. Due to the significant changes carriers have made to their compensation schedules (aka commissions), I don’t believe that I can continue to offer the kind of comprehensive service to which I, and you, have become accustomed.

On the other hand, I'm loathe to just leave folks, many of whom I've had the pleasure to serve for many years, just "twisting in the wind."

The good news is that one of my valued partners, Cornerstone Brokerage, has a terrific program to which I can refer most clients. They're equipped and staffed to offer the same kind of help and support that I've provided, and I've worked with them long enough (20+ years) to trust their judgment and integrity. And the best part is that I'll still be able to help with any service or claims issues that you might have.

And now, the logistics: as your renewals come in, I'll forward your contact information (email and phone number) to the folks at Cornerstone. Please let me know as soon as possible if you'd prefer that I not do that, and of course I’m happy to answer any of your questions about this new process.

Thank you all so very much for the opportunity to have been of service."

Thus far, the response has been positive, with clients expressing their disappointment but appreciating that I'm not just walking away from them. As to next year's season, well, we'll see.

Can we believe anything the Administration tells us about health care?

You'd have to be Rip van Winkle not to know medical insurance premiums rise sharply for 2017.  As they have each year ever since full implementation of Obamacare in 2014.

"President Obama calls this a “transition” because insurers aggressively priced too low to get healthy people to sign up."

Oh, rilly?

This must be why Obama's healthcare advisor Ezekiel Emanuel accused insurers back in 2013 of aggressively increasing their prices before Obamacare went fully into effect.

"Ezekiel Emanuel, brother of Rahm Emanuel and President Obama's health care advisor during the Obamacare debate, conceded last month [February, 2013] that medical insurance premiums are rising.  But, he suggests, the reason is a sinister insurance industry money grab because, don't forget, ACA will make them lower their medical insurance premiums next year."

So which is it?  Did insurers increase their prices before Obamacare as Emanuel claimed?  Or reduce them, as Obama claimed?  

You just can't believe a thing Obama or his administration says.

Not a damn thing.

Misspelling "3000% rate decrease" Part #8392

Sheesh:

 

[click pic to embiggen]

[Hat Tip: FoIB Jeff M]