- 15,041
Frankly, I hope the government is stupid enough NOT to advance the subsidy. That would kill this faster than anything. The fact it hasn't even been mentioned yet suggests they might not realize this simple fact.
MLR Discussions
- Thread starter stuy119
- Start date
- 14,808
It would have been in the first 5 minutes of any discussion, that it would fall under "duh" that people earning 200% of FLP can't have $1,000 a month floating around.
- 15,041
Remember, this is Congress we are talking about.
- 14,808
That would be the point remembering it's the Dems that passed this. I wonder how voting would go come next election if everyone under 400% FLP had to pay in full and wait for a check? I have a good guess.
- 10,830
It already states that the subsidies for the existing year will be calculated on your previous years income, and that they will be calculated in advance and included with your premium payments.
Basically the HI company will send two bills, one to the client, and the other to uncle sam...
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I never said that it would be enforced, all I said is that "legally" they would be liable for paying the fine if they did not have a Qualified Health Plan.
As of now, the only way to enforce the fine is by docking your tax returns.
The majority of people who receive tax returns will be subsidized or are on Medicaid.
But I have a feeling that even with the subsidies a lot of people below the $40K income line will still not be able to afford coverage and will opt to have their tax returns docked instead.
(of course they can just change their W-4 and they can eliminate their returns..)
So we will see...
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- 14,808
It'll all be very interesting. It specifically states in the bill that the IRS cannot lien or levy income or property. They can recover the fines out of people's tax refunds...unless you don't get a tax refund in which the fine is all but unenforceable.
- 4,096
It comes down to "essential benefits" or something like that term in the health care reform.
HHS has not even started to address this issue but if a plan meets the essential benefits requirements then it can be sold outside the exchange.
There will be products to sell out side the exchange. Since these product will go through underwriting the premium should be much cheaper than the exchange. Even with a tax credit you still have to have the money to pay for it.
If agent comp is outside the MLR we are golden. If it goes to the MLR most health agents will exit the industry. The large health agency will shrink significantly. The small shops that have low overhead could stay in business.
You are dreaming. Even if comp is outside the MLR (which I can't imagine it really will be, or else, what was the point?), there will be tremendous pressure politically, publicly and industry wise, to cut comp pretty significantly.
Face it, if a plan outside the exchange pays anywhere close to a 20% commission, then it will add a lot to the cost of that plan, perhaps making it more comparable in cost to a plan in the exchange.
I figure half the comp, but at the same time, half the agents, so I write twice as much, for the same money. I can live with that. I'm just trying to decide which half of the agents I want to get rid of...
Dan
Most consumers as well as politicians have no idea how much we make or even how the numbers shake out in a carrier. I have talked to consumers that think I get half the premium and others want to know how much more they have to pay to use my services.
Many of those same folks say the reason why health insurance costs so much is because of the profits or the executive salaries.
They have no clue.
If profits were zero, premiums would drop about 3% or $6 per month on a $200 premium. If all the top execs worked for free the premiums might come down another $0.50 or so.
They have no clue.
Cut our comp in half, premiums drop another 4% at best.
Total it all and you are looking at cutting premiums maybe $14 on a $200 premium IF the carriers made zero profit AND the execs worked for free AND we worked for half pay.
No one believes it and as long as they have their heads up their butt they never will believe it.
The MLR is an issue and a thorn but carriers make money on float as well as margin. They can (and often do) also make money off reinsurance reimbursements.
But I would not expect the public or politicians to understand that.
Many of those same folks say the reason why health insurance costs so much is because of the profits or the executive salaries.
They have no clue.
If profits were zero, premiums would drop about 3% or $6 per month on a $200 premium. If all the top execs worked for free the premiums might come down another $0.50 or so.
They have no clue.
Cut our comp in half, premiums drop another 4% at best.
Total it all and you are looking at cutting premiums maybe $14 on a $200 premium IF the carriers made zero profit AND the execs worked for free AND we worked for half pay.
No one believes it and as long as they have their heads up their butt they never will believe it.
The MLR is an issue and a thorn but carriers make money on float as well as margin. They can (and often do) also make money off reinsurance reimbursements.
But I would not expect the public or politicians to understand that.
- 3,863
Cut out the attorneys, mandates, and illegals how much does the premium drop? Ohhh wait that wasn't part of the bill.
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