President Obama announced on November 14th that individual and small group health insurance policy holders will be allowed to keep their “current” 2013 policy for an additional year.  While that is a lovely sentiment, the practicality of that statement is clearly not well thought out.  There is not a simple switch that insurance companies turn on and off to change rate tables, plan documents, ID cards etc.  Although I do wish there were!

Our insurance companies are working with federal and state agencies to determine how this will be implemented and to comply with the new requirements.  We will keep everyone posted as tangible information becomes available.

~Heather McGregor, RHU

The Obama administration unexpectedly announced Tuesday it is delaying the employer mandate under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act until 2015.

The mandate — which requires mid-sized and large employers to offer health insurance coverage to their workers — was one of the main requirements of the health care overhaul that was set to go into effect Jan. 1, 2014.

But the Treasury Department announced Tuesday that it would delay its enforcement an entire year after hearing numerous concerns from employers about the challenges of its implementation.

Mark J. Mazur, assistant secretary for tax policy, wrote in a blog post: “We have heard concerns about the complexity of the requirements and the need for more time to implement them effectively.”

“We recognize that the vast majority of businesses that will need to do this reporting already provide health insurance to their workers, and we want to make sure it is easy for others to do so. We have listened to your feedback. And we are taking action.”

The one-year delay, he wrote, “will allow us to consider ways to simplify the new reporting requirements consistent with the law.”

Within the next week, Mazur said, the Treasury department will issue official guidance to insurers, self-insuring employers and other parties that provide health coverage. Formal rules will be proposed later this summer, he said.

McGregor Insurance Group is committed to staying on the forefront of legistlative changes to the law and will provide more information as it becomes available.

Happy Independence Day!  Our office will be closed on Thursday, July 4th 2013 and Friday, July 5th 2013 for the 4th of July to allow our staff to celebrate the holiday safely with their loved ones.  We are, as always, available by text/cell phone and email if you have an emergency and need assistance.

While many of us have been lucky enough to have been outside the path of the recent round of weather destruction, nearly all of us know someone personally who was affected.  Unfortunately even those who aren’t directly hit by the wind and hail will still feel the impact of the storms in our wallets as the insurance companies rates rise to cover the claims.  We have been fortunate to have had many years of historically low insurance rates with little to no rate increases; however, I am confident in saying those days are behind us for a while.

So get ready for large rate increases for your property insurance, and higher deductibles as well.  And trust me I don’t like paying for insurance any more than you so I am right there with you cursing the storms and the companies!

Heather McGregor, RHU