Guaranteed issue coming to your neigborhood soon

[Crabcake Johnny]

Health Care Plan Costs Up 7.1% | Worcester Business Journal

Play this out - health insurance is mandatory in MA - both for individuals and for businesses to provide it to their employees.

7.1% increase. Now - play that out 10 years and remember it's mandatory.

So after 10 years of this, how will MA cope with employers and individuals paying around 70% more? That fun has yet to come.

If my family moved to MA, by law I'd have to get coverage. My rates? I'm a family of 3 making more than $52K a year which means I pay 100% of the cost.

Here are my choices. Hmmm, so I'd have to pay close to $800? Wow. And what will that rate be in 5 years?

 

[TXINSURANCE]

John you are extremely rich (according to Obama) just cough up the money and quit complaining!

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

See above rates - I have to pay if I make over $52K. Let's do some math, play devil's advocate and assume I make $53K

Federal, state local taxes - I'll be on the low side and say 20% - takes me to $42,400.

Almost $800 per month or $9,600 of that goes to health insurance? Ok - left with $32,800.

Mortgage
Electric/gas
Cable
Food
Car
Car insurance

and keep going on $630 a week. My prediction? MA crashes and burns within 5 years.

 

[Frank Stastny]

I think we are experiencing a preview of what will happen if the govt mandates GI with what is going on with the Medicare Part C plans.

They are, in essence, GI are they not? How can the govt on one hand be pushing for GI and on the other state that they are going to cut the funding of those same kind of plans for seniors?

There are those out there that want to look on the dark side of this issue. Rob said it best with his reference to "Chicken Little". Nothing has happened but a bunch of rhetoric to this point.

John summed up my feelings and probably those of a lot of agents when he said "until it actually happens who cares". Or, in one of his more "to the point" posts when he said "ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ".

Trying to project today what may happen tomorrow is a huge waste of time and energy. Time that could be better spent selling the insurance we have available to us today.

There will always be insurance, there will always be insurance companies and there will always be insurance agents. And, there will always be a place for insurance agents who are both creative and flexible.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

Well it certainly thins the herd regarding competition:

"I don't know if I should get into health insurance now, universal's right around the corner."

Me: "Good call, I'd definitely stay out. I hear agents are making $500,000 a year with annuities."

 

[Frank Stastny]

Well it certainly thins the herd regarding competition:

"I don't know if I should get into health insurance now, universal's right around the corner."

Me: "Good call, I'd definitely stay out. I hear agents are making $500,000 a year with annuities."

Good answer! That would be my recommendation.

You were referring only to new agents weren't you? Those who have been selling them for a couple of years are making a lot more than that.

 

[Winter_123]

Trying to project today what may happen tomorrow is a huge waste of time and energy.

Gas is $1.70 today. Trying to project what may happen tomorrow is a waste of time and energy. If it goes up, we will deal with it when it happens.

 

[somarco]

How can the govt on one hand be pushing for GI and on the other state that they are going to cut the funding of those same kind of plans for seniors?

You are assuming the gov't makes decisions based on logic.

Given that we are in the mess we are in due to Congress allowing Fannie & Freddie to buy up "toxic assets" (loans to people who would not otherwise qualify) then turn around and pass a bailout package which included 20% "pork", there is no reason to think any future decisions will be logical or rational.

And let's not overlook the fact that the current funding for money to various companies and individuals exceeds half the GDP for the year.

Pretty scary, huh?

That being said, I do agree with this.

Trying to project today what may happen tomorrow is a huge waste of time and energy. Time that could be better spent selling the insurance we have available to us today.

There will always be insurance, there will always be insurance companies and there will always be insurance agents. And, there will always be a place for insurance agents who are both creative and flexible

 

[Guest]

You must be fun at parties, reading your posts is like watching the news, all negativity. Unless I'm interpreting this incorrectly, if so, my apologies.

Gas is $1.70 today. Trying to project what may happen tomorrow is a waste of time and energy. If it goes up, we will deal with it when it happens.

Absolutely Frank!

 

[Winter_123]

You must be fun at parties, reading your posts is like watching the news, all negativity. Unless I'm interpreting this incorrectly, if so, my apologies.

Could be that you find some information scary for personal or professional reasons. Can't help you with that. My point for the last two years has consistently been that health care reform in not gong to blow over and go away as so many here have predicted and that guaranteed issue is coming- period.

Every time guaranteed issue has been mentioned there have been some that launch into a big diatribe about how a universal single payor health system will never come. They are reacting to something that is not being said but I dont expect that black and whiter, binary reaction to end anytime soon. That is how they process things. Also, there is the faction that interprets things to mean that someone is saying that the insurance industry is coming to an end and that is not true because people will always need insurance and agents can always adapt. Ahh, no kidding. No one was invited to roll over an die just because a statement is made that guaranteed issue is coming.

And then there is the faction that processes it by blanking out ZZZZZZ and saying that nothing can be done and we will just have to wake up and see what happens otherwise we lose out on all of todays sales. That may be right for some but for others who can act today and think and plan about tomorrow then they can do both. To each his own.

Guaranteed issue is coming and health care insurance reform is coming and it will a gamechanger. That could mean that some people's game will improve or it could mean that some peoples game will either end or wither away.