Bigger better?
This is interesting:"An unnamed Silicon Valley billionaire has purchased the world's most valuable life insurance policy."First, Mazel Tov to the anonymous buyer for his foresight, and to Dovi Frances, the agent who put the deal together. The premiums for the $201 million of coverage apparently run into the "low ... millions of dollars," which is actually a pretty good deal: even $5 or $6 million (what most would consider the high end of the low end), represents a very small fraction of the total amount at risk.I do take exception to the characterization "most valuable," however: perhaps "the biggest" or "the largest face ...
Source: InsureBlog - March 16, 2014 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Source Type: blogs
Hospital Quality Measures: Value Based Purchasing 2.0 (The Funny Version).
For years, hospital quality measures have been tracked by private and government insurance programs to try and improve the healthcare services received by their beneficiaries. The most recent example is the Value-Based Purchasing Program (VBP) initiative by The Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). How does CMS describe VBP?"Under the Program, CMS will make value-based incentive payments to acute care hospitals, based either on how well the hospitals perform on certain quality measures or how much the hospitals' performance improves on certain quality measures from their performance during a basel...
Source: The Happy Hospitalist - March 14, 2014 Category: Internists and Doctors of Medicine Authors: Tamer Mahrous Source Type: blogs
Smoke 'em if you got 'em
The ObamaTax has evicerated the concept of underwriting, at least so far as medical insurance is concerned. About the only thing for which carriers can levy a surcharge is tobacco use. In fact, the law allows them to charge up to 50% for tobacco users.Two questions spring immediately to mind: first, what's the definition of "tobacco use" and second, what if you lie about misrepresent your tobacco use when applying for coverage?The first seems simple enough. According to HHS (as included on ACA plan applications):"Tobacco Smoker definition – the legal use (other than religious or ceremonial) of any tobacco product on aver...
Source: InsureBlog - March 10, 2014 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Source Type: blogs
A Principal of Underwriting
Buying life insurance can be a daunting experience. First of all, who wants to think about being dead? Then, one has to consider all the financial considerations and problems facing one's family when one passes on, and make some determination about how much coverage to buy. Finally, one has to then decide what type of plan is appropriate (term, whole life, etc).And then, one most likely has to "face the needle:" undergo a paramed exam including blood and urine samples.But what if there was a way to avoid that last step?The Principal Financial Group has introduced their "accelerated underwriting" process that could dramatic...
Source: InsureBlog - March 6, 2014 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Source Type: blogs
Cavalcade of Risk is up at Life Insurance by Jeff
Check out the latest Cavalcade of Risk blog carnival at Life Insurance by Jeff. (Source: Health Business Blog)
Source: Health Business Blog - February 19, 2014 Category: Health Managers Authors: David Williams Tags: Announcements Blogs Source Type: blogs
Health insurance exchange for employers: Interview with ConnectedHealth (transcript)
This is the transcript of my recent podcast interview with Joe Donlan, co-founder and president of ConnectedHealth.
Joe Donlan, co-founder and president of ConnectedHealth
David E. Williams: This is David Williams, president of the Health Business Group. I’m speaking today with Joe Donlan. He is president and co-founder of ConnectedHealth. Joe, thanks for joining me.
Joe Donlan: Glad to be here. Thanks, David.
Williams: Joe, what is ConnectedHealth? What’s the idea behind it?
Donlan: ConnectedHealth is a private health insurance exchange. We’re focused on helping employers grow their business by of...
Source: Health Business Blog - January 22, 2014 Category: Health Managers Authors: David Williams Tags: e-health Entrepreneurs Health plans Podcast health insurance Joe Donlan Source Type: blogs
An Insurance Expert’s Perspective on Insurance Exchanges: Q&A with Disruptive Woman Stephanie Cohen
Disruptive Woman Stephanie Cohen recently spoke with DW’s Alex Masi to discuss an update on the state of health care reform (or ACA) and specifically, Young Adult’s participation in the insurance exchange marketplace. With more than two decades of experience in group and individual health insurance, disability programs and life insurance, Cohen is the co-founder of the Gaithersburg, MD, health care benefits firm Golden & Cohen. Her firm has grown into one of the largest among female-owned companies in the Washington metropolitan area.
DW: Do you have any anecdotes you can share about how you have helped Young Adult...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - December 26, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Consumer Health Care Cost Coverage Policy Disabilities Uncategorized Young Adults Source Type: blogs
Hiv/aids Patients Will Have To Pay Higher Premium For Life Insurance
He said a few insurers have already introduced cover for HIV/AIDS infected patients. I am sure more companies will bring policies, Vijayan said. The IRDA had in October come out with a draft circular, asking all insurers to provide life-insurance cover to HIV/AIDS patients. (Read: HIV/AIDS Causes, Symptoms, Tests, Treatment & More ) The circular on policies for people with HIV/AIDS is likely come into effect from April 2014 and insurers would be required to put in place procedures for underwriting and claim settlement, and proposal form before that. You will find the original content at this website http://health.ind...
Source: aids-write.org - December 16, 2013 Category: HIV AIDS Authors: aidswrite Tags: current news hiv Source Type: blogs
Cavalcade of Risk #198: Short and sweet edition
Welcome to edition #198 of the Cavalcade of Risk blog carnival, the last for 2013. We’ll keep it short and sweet for you.
Which way to the Cavalcade?
Danger, danger!
It turns out that nursing is one of the riskiest professions when it comes to on-the-job injuries. Nurses and nurses aides are right up there with construction workers when it comes to danger. Julie Ferguson of Workers’ Comp Insider has the story.
Kicking healthcare.gov while it’s down
Hank Stern is a real gentleman, and Louise Norris is a classy lady, but you wouldn’t guess it from the way they pile on the punishment to the much malign...
Source: Health Business Blog - December 11, 2013 Category: Health Managers Authors: dewe67 Tags: Blogs Source Type: blogs
My new article is up
At Answers.com:"Life insurance is an invaluable risk management tool, providing the insured with a cost-effective way of providing for his or her legacy at death. Consumers with major health problems, though, have to find creative ways to affordably obtain this coverage."Original content copyright © InsureBlog (Source: InsureBlog)
Source: InsureBlog - December 10, 2013 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Source Type: blogs
Meet the McCoy's: Unintended Winners in Obamacare
An investment advisor I know referred me to one of his clients. Last week they came in to discuss how their individual plan was going to be impacted by Obamacare. I hadn't been given much information on the couple other than they are both in their late 50's and retired.
When they came in the first thing we went through was learning a little bit more about them and their history. It's a sad story with a very happy ending. Both are widowed and lost spouses at a fairly young age. One to a tragic car accident and the other to a work related accident. The only thing that wasn't impacted in their lives was on the financial side...
Source: InsureBlog - November 4, 2013 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Source Type: blogs
Why insurance is the wrong model for health care
Insurance, in its traditional form, is the wrong model for health care financing. It is the wrong commodity to be bought and sold. We don’t need health insurance, and I will tell you why. I will also tell you what we do need.
Insurance is something you buy, and then hope you never have to use. It is a hedging of your bets against bad outcomes. Term life insurance is the best model for insurance as a commodity. When you buy term life insurance, you are placing a bet with the insurance company. They are betting that you will not die before the end of the term of the policy. You are betting that you will; or really, that yo...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - November 2, 2013 Category: Family Physicians Tags: Policy Health reform Source Type: blogs
Cavalcade of Risk is up at Insurance Writer
Nancy Germond hosts the “Gallops Into View” edition of the Cavalcade of Risk blog carnival. You can read top risk-related posts about health care along with a piece on poultry and another on the use of social media in life insurance underwriting. (Source: Health Business Blog)
Source: Health Business Blog - September 19, 2013 Category: Health Managers Authors: dewe67 Tags: Announcements Blogs Source Type: blogs
Layers and Layers of Fact-Checkers
The Lame Stream Media prides itself on its unerring accuracy and commitment to getting the facts straight. As it turns out, at least when it comes to life insurance, this pride is, in fact, unjustified. As we pointed out almost 4 years ago, they can't even get the relatively simple suicide exclusion correct:"...it appears that this may well have been an elaborately staged suicide, the point of which was to leave the proceeds of a life insurance policy to the victim's son ... “There’s no such thing as suicide insurance."Which is true, but as we pointed out, irrelevant. It would have taken the reporter five minutes to in...
Source: InsureBlog - September 17, 2013 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Source Type: blogs
Unusual and Interesting Insurance News
Over the years, we've chronicled such things as virginity and alien abduction insurance (different posts), the risk posed by superheroes simultaneously destroying much of a city while trying to save it, and hole-in-one coverage for sporting events.And now for more:■ Terrorism Risk insurance - Back in 2009, we interviewed Chris Klein, Global Head of Business Intelligence for Guy Carpenter (major risk and reinsurance specialists), who explained why government involvement was necessary in providing reinsurance for major terrorist acts.Four years later, The Cato Institute argues that the Federal Terrorism Risk Insurance Act ...
Source: InsureBlog - September 13, 2013 Category: Medical Lawyers and Insurers Source Type: blogs
