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Texas Health Insurance-Now that regulations about existing Texas employer-sponsored plans have been issued, it’s becoming clear that many of the 160 million Americans with job-based coverage will not, in fact, be able to keep what they currently have.

Republican critics of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act point to the Obama Administration’s own estimates that by 2013, 39% to 69% of employer plans will be subject to new regulations and not grandfathered in, or exempted from the new rules. House minority leader John Boehner issued a press release about the new regulations with the headline “New ObamaCare Tagline Should Be ‘If You Like Your Health Care Plan, Too Bad.’ “

While the reporter feels compelled to call GOP rhetoric “overheated,” she readily concedes that conservative critics have the facts on their side:

The truth is that employer-based plans, which many assumed would easily be categorized as grandfathered, will be subject to the full regulatory thrust of the new law if they are altered in ways that are standard practice in the industry. Plans that increase the percentage of costs patients must pay out of pocket — known as co-insurance — lose their grandfathered status. The same is true for plans that significantly decrease the percentage that employers contribute to premiums or those that significantly increase deductibles or co-payments. An employer that switches Texas health insurance providers also loses its grandfathered status. These kinds of changes are common year to year in the current marketplace, since employers are constantly looking for ways to limit their expenses in the face of rising costs.

The “keep your plan” hooey was as deceptive as the claim that ObamaCare would reduce the deficit. In short, ObamaCare was sold under false pretenses. In contract law, such a deal would be rescinded. In politics, the solution is for lawmakers to explain that the bill doesn’t do what it promised and repeal it so that they can start over. And what if Obama decides to veto the repeal of his handiwork? Well, there will be an election in 2012 and a campaign to debate just how misleading were Obama’s assurances.

-Time Magazine

Thanks for reading and be well!

Looking for the best information and the best rates on Texas Health Insurance–visit www.texashealthandlife.com or give us a call at or 512-246-9955

Texas Health Insurance -The federal medical care overhaul would limit contributions to health savings accounts and raise insurance costs for people including those with special needs, former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said at a fundraiser Tuesday for developmentally disabled children.

She warned that new rules aiming to raise $13 billion by limiting contributions to flexible spending accounts amount to a “hefty tax hike” for families of special needs children struggling with health care costs. And she said families will wind up with fewer care options.

“Our health insurance and our care choices will be diminished by this new program,” she said to an audience of several thousand at a suburban Atlanta arena. “The government’s taking over one-sixth of our economy and we expect the government’s going to do a better job than the private sector?”

Supporters of the health care overhaul say it will ultimately lower costs while expanding coverage to millions of uninsured Americans.

Palin, the former governor of Alaska who was John McCain’s running mate in 2008, said she felt connected to the audience because she has a young son, Trig, with Down syndrome.

She said that she was shocked when doctors told her the news when she was 12 weeks pregnant and wondered if she would be patient enough to handle the challenge. But she said she believed God prepared her heart for her son’s birth during the pregnancy.

“It was such an answered prayer the moment that Trig was born. It was the greatest, most obvious manifestation of a prayer when Trig was born,” she said. “He looked up at me like he was saying, ‘I’m here mom. Now are you going to trust that all is going to be OK?’”

The event was billed as a nonpolitical benefit hosted by the Gwinnett County ministry Zachariah’s Way, which helps churches serve disabled and special needs parishioners. But Palin couldn’t resist a few knocks on the Obama administration.

She said she would work to encourage Americans to treat special needs children with respect and that she was disappointed that one of Obama’s aides used the word “retarded.” White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel apologized earlier this year for using the word to describe liberal activists whose tactics on health care he questioned.

“America’s too good for that,” she said to applause. “We’re too good to have to put up with that.”

Thanks for reading and be well!

Looking for the best information and the best rates on Texas Health Insurance–visit www.texashealthandlife.com or give us a call at or 512-246-9955

The health-care overhaul gained popularity from May to June, according to a new tracking poll.

The Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury released interim final rules concerning grandfathered health plans under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA). Given the new details provided in the rules, BCBS has determined that a decrease in benefits (e.g., increasing deductible) will result in the loss of grandfathered status and that this change may result in a future premium increase that offsets any savings from the downgrade. As a result, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) is temporarily suspending the processing of all downgrade benefit changes for individual member Texas health insurance policies. Any applications for downgrades in benefits that were not received prior to June 14 will be returned to members, explaining in additional detail this temporary change in processing policy downgrades.

Please note this is a temporary change for 90 days while we are reviewing the regulations and determining what changes may be allowed in the future.

Please feel free to contact Texas Health & Life if you have questions. 

Looking for the best information and the best rates on Texas Health Insurance–visit www.texashealthandlife.com or give us a call at or 512-246-9955

Are you curious how your individual or small business Texas Health Insurance  plan is going to be affected with the first set of regulations starting on September 23rd since the New Healthcare reform bill passed.

Read the article below:

White House Issues Interim Final Rules on Provisions Effective Sept. 23
Interim final rules were issued Tuesday by the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and Treasury concerning implementation of the pre-existing condition exclusions, lifetime and annual dollar limits on benefits, rescissions, and patient protections provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) .

Grandfathered Plans
Last week Interim Final Regulations were issued from the Departments of HHS, Labor, and Treasury around “grandfathered plans” under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA). Health benefit plans in effect on March 23, 2010, are considered grandfathered health plans, which will not be subject to certain PPACA provisions. 

The new regulations allow insurers and their customers to make only certain types of changes to their existing health plans while maintaining their grandfathered status. However, if an employer, member or insurer wants to make any changes to their plan beyond those defined in the regulations, they would lose their grandfathered status and have to follow the new rules identified by PPACA. 

As shared with you last week, HHS included in its rules clarification that grandfathered plans:

• Cannot significantly cut or reduce benefits
• Cannot raise coinsurance charges
• Cannot significantly raise copayment charges
• Cannot significantly raise deductibles
• Cannot significantly lower employer contributions
• Cannot add or tighten an annual limit on what the insurer pays
• Cannot change insurance companies

We are currently analyzing the financial and operational impact of these regulations so we can help our customers understand their options and thus make their best decisions as they renew their coverage, as well as ensure our internal systems and processes are prepared for compliance.

Important Dependent Age to 26 Correction
In May, notice went out to all employers and producers stating that dependents to age 26 provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) would be automatically reinstated if their coverage expired from their parent’s policy from April 21-30. We have since received clarification that the reinstatement included those dependents whose coverage expired anytime in the entire month of April.

Thanks for reading and be well!

Looking for the best information and the best rates on Texas Health Insurance–visit www.texashealthandlife.com or give us a call at or 512-246-9955

Texas Health and Life would like to keep all Employers up to date regarding the Healthcare Reform,how it will effect group policies, & Texas health insurance.   Please click on either guide for an easy to follow PDF regarding changes and when these changes will go in effect.

Small Groups (<51 Employees) : http://www.broker.uhc.com/assets/images/content/UHCEW484380_SmallBusiness.pdf

Large Groups (>51 Employees) :

http://www.broker.uhc.com/assets/images/content/UHCEW484375_LargeGroup.pdf