Another Health Cooperative Bites the Dust

December 21, 2022 / By / All Posts, Health Insurance, In The News

When the ACA passed in 2010 it included the creation of state based co-op’s. With very few choices in the marketplace 23 states created their own co-op giving a reprieve to consumers hoping to pay lower costs. Each of the co-op’s are start-up companies and are having to hedge their way in a market with several large carriers that have decades of market presence. Many of the co-ops have come in with lower costs to gain high enrollment for the first few years of opening the doors. A strategy that has worked against several co-op’s like Louisiana’s Health Cooperative (LAHC) which …

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Teeth Chattering Cold at Work

December 21, 2022 / By / All Posts, Small Business

There are five women in our office and there are days where you can hear our teeth chattering from the cold and not just in the winter. I have my space heater on more in the summer months than I do in the winter. Well, apparently it’s scientific ladies! My office isn’t the only office where the women’s teeth chatter, it’s an epidemic. The majority of office work spaces are kept at a global standard temperature. The temperature standard is based on a metabolic rate for a man in his 40’s who weighs around 155lbs and was adopted in the 1960’s My take on …

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Largest Insurance Merger in History

December 21, 2022 / By / All Posts, Health Insurance, In The News

Last Friday news was buzzing with the announcement that Cigna and Anthem will in fact be merging. The $54B deal won’t be finalized without Federal approval, but after long awaited negotiations an agreement has been met. Currently there are five major health insurance carriers, Aetna, Cigna, Anthem, United Healthcare, and Humana. Although three weeks ago Aetna acquired Humana bringing the large carrier count to four. Now this merger takes the count down to three. Speculation as to why these carriers feel the need to merge has been a heightened topic, but a substantial reason has yet to presented itself. Dan Diamond who …

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The ACA is Under a Magnifying Glass

December 21, 2022 / By / All Posts, In The News

The Affordable Care Act is being looked at by government officials and agencies this week. When the law was implemented a large amount of tax funds were allocated to different programs. Subsidies were given, co-ops were started, and state based exchanges went into operation. Now the ACAs use of funds is being looked at with a fine tooth comb. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) created fictitious enrollments to see how well the system works in providing subsidies to Americans. The problem was eleven out of twelve of those accounts were approved for subsidies with fake documentation, which means the system failed …

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Will The Co-Ops Survive?

December 21, 2022 / By / All Posts, Health Insurance, In The News

When the Affordable Care Act was passed several Health Insurance Co-Ops were created to move away from the traditional healthcare insurers. Grace-Marie Turner with the Galen Institute states, “The co-ops were founded on the idealistic belief that community members could band together to create health insurance companies that would be member-driven, service-oriented, and would not have to answer to shareholders or turn a profit.” This ideal is wonderful, but each of these co-ops are startup companies that are having growing pains. They are each trying to find the balance of premium cost versus losses taken. Several of the co-ops had a …

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Happy Independence Day Weekend

December 21, 2022 / By / All Posts

We hope all of you and yours had an amazing Independence Day weekend! The DesignTM Health Team enjoyed time with family and friends in beautiful sunny Colorado! Wishing you a blessed Sunday!!!

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