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Just now via email:

"UnitedHealthcare and Optum, the health benefits and services companies of UnitedHealth Group, are taking immediate action to support people affected by the recent mass shooting at a nightclub in Orlando. The company is opening Optum's Help Line, providing affected residents access to specially trained mental health specialists.

Optum's toll-free help line number, 866-342-6892, will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for as long as necessary. The service is free of charge and open to anyone."

Also available online here.

Kudos, UHC.

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1 - LifeHealthPro's AllisonBell has some disheartening news about critical illness plans:

"Officials are ... thinking about the possibility of banning the sale of critical illness policies and other policies that cover two or more specific diseases"

The Bureauweenies in DC© see these plans as some kind fo threat to ObamaPlans, as if they were an alternative when in fact they are useful supplements.

2 - FoIB Holly R reminds us that even pot-smokers need life insurance, but what effect will marijuana use have when they apply for a policy? As always, this will depend on the carrier, but some companies are more, um, liberal than others when it comes to Mary Jane:

"29 percent classify marijuana users as nonsmokers, potentially allowing them to qualify for the best nonsmoker rates:"

Sweet.

3 - Last we looked, so-called "Junior Doctors" working for the Not So Vaunted National Health Service© had called for a major work slowdown. So how'd that work out?

Oh:

"The NHS is paying junior doctors to learn how to land lucrative new jobs outside medicine"

Fewer doctors, better health care.

Got it.

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Not much has changed since last week, as the DOI is still noodling through how to proceed. One issue which had flown under the radar has to do with the ObamaTax:

As we've previously noted, placing the $500,000 claim cap on IH policies renders them ACA non-compliant, which means that folks will lose their subsidy if they stay. But it also means that they'd be subject to the ObamaTax if they stay on longer than 90 days. And they have but 60 days to make a switch.

Talk about rocks and hard places.

Still, I have at least one client that's already met her out-of-pocket for the year, and would have to start over again mid-year if she switches. She's going to have to decide how that will play out for her financially.

Oy.

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As The ObamaTax continues to auger in, the Rocket Surgeons in DC© have the perfect solution: Less choice!

"The government's move would limit short-term health coverage for an individual to less than three months each year and bar renewal."

There is so much wrong with this that it's difficult to know where to begin (not that that's going to stop me, of course).

First, Short Term plans (STM's) are never "renewable." The term has a specific meaning, and it doesn't apply to STM's. They are often re-writable (that is, one can buy another plan after the current one expires), but this is very different.

And no, I'm not splitting hairs:

Short Term plans don't cover pre-existing conditions (one of the reasons they're inexpensive, plus non-O'Care compliant). If they were "renewable," then anything I was treated for under one plan would be covered when I re-upped. But this is not the case, nor has it ever been. Rather, when the initial coverage period is up, one buys a new plan, and anything that was covered under the previous one is now pre-ex, and excluded.

Second, how in the world would the gummint enforce the "3 month rule?" It's not like there's some secret Washington database of STM clients. The most they could do is prohibit carriers from issuing plans that last more than 3 months. Okay, rocket surgeons, but what's to stop me from then going to another carrier for another 3 month stint, and on and on? Nothing, that's what: as noted above, there's zero reason not to, since there's no inherent value in sticking with the same carrier (no continuity of coverage).

Perhaps the Powers That Be should instead look at the reason this has become a problem: ObamaPlans have become unaffordable, and we have as many - perhaps more - uninsured as we did before this train wreck.

But that's just me.

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So I received an interesting response to my recent post on Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). I had lamented that it's "sad is that there aren't any Medicare HSA options. One would think they'd be ideal for healthy seniors," and noted that it was an "opportunity lost."

The response came from someone on LinkedIn who'd seen the post:

"Opportunity found! The Health Matching Account - HMA has no age limits, no underwriting, and is the same contribution regardless of age Assuming no claims to to reduce the account balance, accounts double after 3 years"

Intriguing, no?

So what is a Health Matching Account (HMA), exactly? Well, it purports to be "the ultimate medical savings account available ... the HMA awards our cardholders up to $3 in medical benefits or more for every $1 contributed into their HMA account balance as the program progresses."

They further claim that the plan is "a medical savings account governed by the requisites of IRS Publication 969 and 502, as they relate to medical care for reimbursement of medical expenses under IRS Code Section 213(d)."

All well and good, but here's the rub:

I'd specifically commented on the lack of a Health Savings Account option for seniors; HSAs are characterized by a number of requirements and benefits:

■ An HSA-compliant high deductible health plan
■ Tax deductible deposits
■ Tax advantaged growth and withdrawals

They also typically generate some form of growth, be that in a bank savings account or a mutual fund (or, perhaps, some kind of investment). I have no particular objection to the HMA idea, but I was a bit put off by the way it's marketed.

For one thing, the IRC cite seems to lend HSA authenticity to the HMA concept, but it really doesn't. All that does is confirm that certain medical expenses may be reimbursed tax-free from a qualifying account. But the HMA folks state upfront that "reimbursements or payments made to an individual [from the HMA] are tax-free given the fact that they were paid with after-tax dollars."

Neat sleight of hand there.

I had some other concerns, as well, so I reached out once again to the Gurus of All Things HSA at FlexBank for their take:

"It sounds to me like I could open a master bank account, have employers funnel contributions to my bank account vs one they own (like we do now). I give employees a debit card for eligible expenses, manual submission for in-eligible (i.e. plastic surgery as they mention). I then get all of the interest credited on the master account and then "actuarially" credit some sort of interest back to each person individually based on their own account balance.

Not sure why someone wouldn't open their own savings account.”

Which pretty much echoes the conversation we had when I first mentioned this concept to them.

I couldn't find anything about the costs of this plan, other than a cryptic reference to "small maintenance fees." That's not really a big deal: if folks are interested, they'll call up for a quote. What I did find disturbing was their comparison of HSAs to HMAs: there are some very disingenuous claims there. For example:

"HSA: Allows member balance to carry over to next year" [emphasis added]

Um, no: Health Savings Accounts by definiition belong to the owner (insured), there's no "may" about it.

And this:

"Provides little to no interest crediting on member account balances."

This is also problematic: it's up to the individual to decide where (or if) to either save or invest (or both) their funds, and they're also free to move them to another  vendor (bank, investment firm, etc). There is no such freedom with the HMA.

All in all, while I appreciate that the HMA folks offer another alternative to more traditional plan design, I remain skeptical because of the rather dubious manner in which they're being touted.

YMMV.

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Via co-blogger Patrick, some interesting news on the InHealth front, clarifying some things we already knew:

"Today, the Ohio Department of Insurance announced the approval of a 60 day Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for InHealth enrollees due to its recent financial problems which resulted in Lt. Governor/ODI Director MaryTaylor being appointed liquidator of InHealth."

Since the DOI took over the troubled carrier on May 26, the SEP will run from that date to July 26. There were two other items in the announcement that I found interesting:

First, as we suspected, it look like it will be up to individual carriers as to whether or not folks will have to satisfy a new deductible if they switch:

"[Y]our deductibles and out of pocket maximum may reset and your benefits and provider network may change"

"May" reset. My money's on "will."

The other item is one I hadn't really considered, but answers questions raised in the comments to the last post we did on this:

"If you choose not to obtain other coverage, your current deductibles may stay in place but your overall coverage will be subject to a $500,000 maximum. As a result, this option may cause you to be subject to the individual mandate penalty. You should contact the IRS or a tax professional to discuss further."

Since the ObamaTax lifted the cap on a person's claims, and the state's Guaranty Fund puts one back on, it renders the IH plan non-compliant, and therefore subject to the penalty tax fee.

And there's this:

"In addition, any subsidy that you may have been receiving will not apply to continued coverage."

Which is probably self-evident, but probably best to point it out.

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The folks at CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) emailed to let us know that they have an updated list of the 6 Special Enrollment Period triggers. These are all pretty routine, but I thought this was interesting.

Moving to a location to love has always been a legitimate trigger, and apparently enough folks used that as a way to game the system that the Rocket Surgeons in DC© have finally figured it out:

"Note: Starting July 2016, you must prove you had qualifying health coverage for one or more days in the 60 days before your move, unless you’re moving from a foreign country or United States territory. Also, moving only for medical treatment or staying somewhere for vacation doesn’t qualify you for a Special Enrollment Period."

Who says bureauweenies have no sense of humor?

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