Health Care Reform's Effect on Supplemental Health Insurance?

[jlite]

I'm curious as to people's thoughts on what health care reform is going to do to companies such as Colonial Life and Aflac that only offer supplemental health and life insurance products. Will the federal government offer subsidies on these supplemental products for the very poor? Will these supplemental policies qualify individuals for government tax credit? Will this reform give these companies a competitive advantage or is this business model going the way of the dinosaur?

I know at this point everybody is pretty much guessing what the long-term ramifications of this yet-to-be-finalized reform is going to be. I'm still very interested in hearing what some of you more veteran people have to say about this. Let the wild speculation begin!

 

[HomeService]

If you study the euro plans- they have universal insurance provided by the government {sometimes administered through a health company} and the agents sell supplemental plans. As a matter of fact- the governments of these countries often state that the health companies are not to make a profit at all from health insurance- yet they may profit from supplemental plans. We are headed this way. Obama wishes to put health companies out of business. Hopefully he "allows" the sale and profit from supplemental plans- but he seems to think profits are evil.

 

[Winter_123]

If we follow the Canadian experience, then in the long run there is a supplemental market. Of course, in Canada it was banned by law for many years until a fairly recent High Court ruling. But it may take some time to get their under the Mao Bill just passed because people's hopes have been set in a way that leads them to believe that supplemental plans will not be needed.

Here is another shortfall in comparing it with the Canadian and European experience though: Under Obamacare premiums will rise substantially and they are plenty high already. The libs here disagree with that but just play along with me. The Canadians and the Europeans already have most of their health care costs paid for by the government (yes, i know the dollars come from the people but just play along). So they are more likely to have some discretionary dollars to put toward a critical illness plan. Whereas the family now paying 1200 a month will be paying 1200 a month plus and with higher deductibles. Are they going to go with a critical illness plan if they have extra dollars or are they going to stay with their same plan but invest in a lower deductible plan instead? Canadians and Europeans mostly do not fact this decision.

Also, when you mention "supplemental" that can be many things. It could be a high end critical illness plan to support major events or a low-end aflac/colonial collection of baby benefits. Different markets, different dynamics, etc, etc.

And of course it is one thing to figure out what there will be demand for. It is another thing to figure out what the government will allow even if there is demand. Again, this is what the canadian had to work through and still are.

 

[MrMack]

AFLACs largest market is in Japan. It is where they make their profits. 1 in 3 Japanese has AFLAC insurance. They even sell it in through banks and post offices.

One problem with AFLAC policies, they pay for preventative services, PSA, Mammogram ($125 on cancer plan) if you are billed for it. If it is provided free from the gov't then you will likely not be able to collect on it. There will still be a need and AFLAC will adapt to whatever the govt does.

 

[Winter_123]

There will still be a need and AFLAC will adapt to whatever the govt does.

However ill-advised it may be, the reality is that many sign up for aflac because they have no other coverage and something is better than nothing, or so their logic goes. Should their be a health insurance mandate, one has wonder whether they would still sign up for it. Yes, we know that it is used for other purposes such as to fill in deductibles and for extra benefit above and beyond existing insurance. Just sayin it will be a game changer for them.

 

[arnguy]

Winter, what is the menu at Bolsheviks' dinner?

 

[Winter_123]

Winter, what is the menu at Bolsheviks' dinner?

Fruits and nuts from California.

 

[Full Throttle]

Supplemental will be huge for those who decide to pay the penalty instead of premiums, but don't want to face financial ruin from an unexpected car accident or heart attach. They will then enroll in the exchange the next day.

 

[Mr. Bill]

Winter, what is the menu at Bolsheviks' dinner?

Enquiring minds want to know (or something like that) - an interesting spot on the blogosphere:

Obama Foodorama

 

[Winter_123]

Supplemental will be huge for those who decide to pay the penalty instead of premiums, but don't want to face financial ruin from an unexpected car accident or heart attach. They will then enroll in the exchange the next day.

Yup could be. Other possibility is that supplemental interferes with the MaoCare plan so the government simply ends them of tells people they cant sign up for supplemental unless they already have a MaoCare plan for it to supplement.

This is not your father's government anymore.


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Enquiring minds want to know (or something like that) - an interesting spot on the blogosphere:

Obama Foodorama

Omamma has apparently appointed herself as Food Czar for the country yet she is always beating her chest about celebrating her newly found slave roots. Fine, how about celebrating food that has its origins in slave cooking/poverty/economical eating and knock off all the government attempts to get us on tofu and soy milk.

She isnt exactly a laiissez les bon temps rouler type of woman.

You want to work with the food police Mamma? How bout you just say no to the yuppie stuff and work on child hunger in this country instead.