Changes to Health Insurance Coming in 2014

Changes to Health Insurance Coming in 2014

            There are sure to be winners and losers as the federal government finalizes new rules for health insurance plans in the coming months.

            Starting in 2014, the federal health care overhaul will limit the factors that insurance companies can use in setting rates, allowing premiums to be based only on a person’s age, history of tobacco use, family size, and geographic location.  And even those disparities in premium rates will be limited.

            Also, the law requires health insurers to provide “essential benefits” as part of their coverage, ranging from mental health services and prescription drugs to preventive and pediatric services.  That will provide a greater degree of health care security for people who buy health insurance on their own, but is will also increase the cost.

            The rules, proposed in late November 2012, are likely to have the greatest impact on those who buy health insurance on their own.  An estimated 350,000 Ohioans bought their own health insurance in 2010, but the number is expected to increase to 537,000 by 2014, according to a report produced by Milliman Incorporated last year for the Ohio Department of Insurance.

            In Ohio, overall premium rates for those who buy individual policies are expected to rise by 55 to 85 percent.  For employers with fewer than 100 workers, premium increases are expected to be 5 to 15 percent.  At employers with 100 workers or more, the increases, if any, should be less than 5 percent, according to Milliman.

            Young, healthy men are likely to see the biggest premium hikes under the new rules.  In part, that is because women can no longer be charged more than men for health insurance, and men who buy individual insurance will effectively subsidize the premiums of women, said Milliman.

            Currently, premium rates for those on the cusp of Medicare eligibility are about six times what they are for young adults, according to Milliman.  Under the new rules, those rates can be only three times as high.  That is likely to lower premiums for older workers who are ill.

            Health insurers are concerned that some young people will find that it is to their advantage to decline the purchase of health insurance and pay a penalty instead.

            “You need the young and healthy people in the system for this to work,” said Robert Zirkelback of America’s Health Insurance Plans, which represents insurance companies.

            There will also be implications for choice; those who are older than thirty won’t have the option of buying an individual health plan that provides only bare-bones, catastrophic coverage.

            Fabien Levy, press secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said alternatively that young adults will benefit from the law in several ways.  Those who don’t have health insurance coverage available elsewhere can remain on a parent’s health plan until age 26.  Also, tax credit subsidies of premiums should defray the cost as well, according to Levy.

            Aetna said the proposed rules’ limits on deductibles and their minimum coverage requirements will change the mix of plans it offers.  Kelly McGivern, Aetna’s senior director of government affairs, said the health insurer sees opportunities to customize its products and plans to meet its members’ health and financial needs even after the new rules take effect, however.

            “For instance, we could see a product that could be offered in the marketplace that has a more narrow network design focused on the highest quality providers,” which could result in lower premiums for consumers, McGivern said.

Information taken from the Middletown Journal, December 2012

Newsad Insurance Services has been providing insurance and financial services in the Middletown community for over 20 years and is affiliated with over 60 different companies.  Tom Newsad and Elaine Dominy cover the areas of Middletown, Trenton, Oxford, Dayton, Monroe, Liberty Township, greater Cincinnati, and beyond.

            

Top Ten Most Expensive Health Conditions

Top 10 Most Expensive Health Conditions

Life insurance rates are determined by many factors including age, health, gender, and lifestyle. Life insurance underwriters put applicants in risk classes based on the likelihood of death before policy maturity. The higher the risk, the higher the rate class, and the more expensive a policy will be.

These are the top 10 health conditions that are most likely to affect your life insurance rate class:

1.)    Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)

·        High blood pressure that is not well controlled is a concern to underwriters because it can lead to vascular complications

·           T he industry takes individuals who have well-controlled and well-managed high blood pressure into consideration and often underwrites them very favorably 

2.)    Type 2 Diabetes (Adult Onset)

·        The potential complications that can result from diabetes affect risk class

·        Youth does not work in favor of the Type 2 applicant. The younger a person is when they are diagnosed, the higher the risk for a life insurance company as the person gets older

·        The important factor in getting affordable life insurance coverage with diabetes is good control and management

3.)    Sleep Apnea or Narcolepsy

·        Severe sleep apnea can be associated with high blood pressure and coronary artery disease

·        If sleep apnea is well controlled and well managed, applicants can still get a good underwriter rating

4.)    Heart Disease

·        Heart disease encompasses a wide range of diseases and conditions from atherosclerosis to a prolapsed mitral valve

·        Underwriters consider family history in heart disease assessments…they look at immediate family members- father, mother, brother, sister- who may have developed heart disease or had a stroke

5.)    Asthma

·        With asthma, underwriters are concerned about the severity of the condition and how well it is managed

·        An individual with well-controlled asthma should be able to be favorably underwritten

6.)    Cancer

·        The word “cancer” will flag any life insurance underwriter but its ultimate effect on an applicant's rate class can vary from negligible to substantial

·        Just as each cancer is individual, every insurance company will underwrite it differently

7.)    Obesity

·        Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics indicate that more than 1/3 of adult Americans are overweight and another 1/3 are clinically obese

·        Insurance companies calculate an applicant’s BMI when determining their risk class

·        Most carriers have build tables to determine which weights can qualify for each rating

8.)    Organ Transplants

·        Insurance companies treat organ transplants on a case-by-case basis

·        Kidney transplants are the most common and can be insurable but liver and heart transplants are rarely insurable

9.)    Depression

·        The rating for individuals with depression depends on the degree, the severity, and how well it is managed

10.)            High Cholesterol

·        Life Insurance companies are concerned with high cholesterol because it is a risk factor for the development of a lot of vascular conditions, including coronary artery disease, stroke and other atherosclerotic kinds of disease

·        Underwriters tend to treat high cholesterol like they treat high blood pressure…favorable ratings can exist if it is controlled and well-managed

-From Bankrate.com “Top 10 Health Hazards for Life Insurers”

Tom Newsad of Newsad Insurance Services has building relationships for over 20 years through insurance and financial services.  Newsad Insurance Services serves Middletown, Trenton, Hamilton, Franklin, Dayton, Centerville, Oxford, and surrounding areas.  For more click on www.newsadinsurance.com

Now More Than Ever

Now More Than Ever

Market volatility. Pension Plans being killed off. The future of social security in flux. All of these factors-and more-conspire against. Consumers, who are trying to create a solid stream of income for their retirement, enter or, perhaps better phrased, re-enter annuities.

 According to LIMRA (Life Insurance Marketing Research Association), an organization that does life insurance marketing and research, “will retirement assts last a lifetime?”

 One in five retirees receives income from individually purchased annuities! While data from LIMRA recent “sources of retirement income.” Studies show that just 4 percent of retiree’s income currently comes from annuities (most come from pension plans-38 percent, and social security 34 percent.) It’s becoming clear that annuities will have a growing place in consumer’s plans for retirement,

 At Newsad Insurances Services we guide our clients through an education process on current plans and designs. “Fear of the unknown is a bug reason clients have a version to annuities.” So I try to explain to people you need to know what you’re saying no to.

Everybody has two forms of expense in retirement Living Expenses and Life Style Expenses.

Our goal at Newsad Insurance Services is to provide financial information to our clients so they don’t make income retirement mistakes!

Tom Newsad of Newsad Insurance Services consults with clients in the surrounding areas:  Middletown, Trenton, Franklin, Miamisburg, West Carrollton, Hamilton, Preble County, Lebanon, and more.

We currently offer Life Insurance and Financial Services with over 60 companies.

Feel free to call Newsad Insurance Services at (513) 424-6871 or contact Tom Newsad directly at (513)348-9573, or click on www.newsadinsurance.com for more information

Low Interest Rates Raise Term Life Prices 

Term life is becoming costlier and a bit harder to find.  Following a decade in which prices fell to all-time lows, premiums for new term policies last year rose on an average of 3%, according to Tom Newsad of Newsad Insurance Services.  Newsad forecasts more increases for the coming year.  The culprit?  Sickly yields on bonds in which insurers invest most of customers’ premiums.  Hit hardest are policies offering longer term plans such as those for twenty and thirty years.  Term rates are up 5% on those carriers offering those rates.  Shopping your rates with an independent agency such as Newsad Insurance Services will give you the best chance to shop rates across the board.  One should only consider buying policies with A rated companies or better.

Tom Newsad offers insurance and financial services in Middletown, Monroe, Franklin, Trenton, Hamilton, and West Chester, Ohio.  See www.newsadinsurance.com for more information or contact Tom directly at tom@newsadinsurance.com .