What I did not know about Obamacare...

For those of you who have followed what I write, you know I have read the health care reform bill from cover to cover. You also no that I am not a lawyer or the smartest guy on the planet. So saying I read it is one thing, I understood most of it, but there were some things I did not know. I also DID NOT READ the stimulus bill. Apparently that is where this thing begins. DID YOU KNOW THAT??

I saw a YOUTUBE video this week. It is Dr. David Janda Speaking about Obamacare from October 13th of this year. He is speaking in part as a campaign message for Dr. Rob Steele who was running for Congress ( Dr. Steele lost the election). It was interesting however. He states on about page 600 or so in the stimulus bill. It created the Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research Board. It was funded for $1.1 billion. I think if you do a you tube search for Dr. Janda you will find it. You can take the campaigning out and he obviously does not like our President, so try to disregard those comments if you watch the video.

He goes on to say that how you practice medicine there will be a control and you transmit your diagnosis to Washington. It tells the doctor how to treat the patient. Now in his case, he asks what happens if he does not do it. He is expecting like a $100 fine. The fine is $100,000. So then he says ok what happens next time as he says he will do what is best for the patient. He is told he will go to jail. So he will stop practicing medicine.

He does an outstanding job explaining about Rationing care. He also believes that we will lose 46% of our doctors, because of this bill.

As always, I am just trying to educate.

Eric Wilson is President of I Sell Health Inc. A Chicago based, insurance agency.

Thanks for reading.

Medical Bankruptcy... Not due to lack of health insurance

We hear in the news that over half of bankruptcies in this country are due to Medical conditions. That statement is factual. In fact, 62% of ALL Bankruptcies in this country are due to medical conditions. You know what is not factual, that this is because of a lack of health insurance. Over 70% of the American who file medical bankruptcy are middle class families with health insurance. And yes, the health insurer did pay thier bills. We hear about the high deductibles and high out of pocket maximums. Some of that is accurate. You know what health insurance is not supposed to pay for?? Your loss of income.

If you get sick or injured, the odds are pretty good you are not going to work for a while. Since us as Americans go to work to get paid, not getting paid is what ultimately causes the bankruptcy. We still need to pay our mortgage, car payments etc.

This is where a product that is little known outside the insurance industry comes in. A product known as CRITICAL ILLNESS. Critical Illness is an indemnity product that pays CASH directly to you in the event you have a critical illness. A critical illness is usually defined ( depending on the carrier) as a heart attack, stroke, life threating cancer, severe burns or loss of a limb.

In these cases, you are paid a lump sum of cash as defined in your policy. Usually, between $10,000 and $50,000. This cash can be used for what you see fit. Paying bills, tuition, or even having a procedure done in another country if you think it will save your life.

Ask your insurance agent about the Critical Illness product that is right for you.


Thanks for reading.

Eric Wilson is President of I Sell Health, Inc. A Chicago based company. He covers people in Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana and New Hampshire. He can be reached toll free at 888-448-5370. You can visit online at www.isellhealth.net.

Know the facts when you vote Tuesday

Tomorrow's Election, might be the biggest of my lifetime, surely, for a non-presidential election. As you all know, we have a health care crisis in this country. We have for many years.

First let me say we have the best health care system in the World. In America, we have the shortest waits to see a doctor, also the best survival rate of cancer and heart disease ( Source: Dr. Jeffery English, MD,basil and spice). Dr. English states WHO (World Health Organization), or actually many of the countries ranked by WHO, do not count infants of low birth weight,nor do they try to keep premature babies a live like we do here. If you backed out those numbers our average live would be increased, and our statistics would look better.

Now I have been saying for months that our health care bill that was passed, and I am sure not read by most members of congress, was a bad bill for our country. I have read it and have been helping clients get the best plan for their needs for a decade. You can beleive me, Dr. English, or a politician who has not served a patient or read the bill.

The bill will ration your health care. It will make it more difficult to get treatment, and you will wait longer to see a doctor. That is just a few of the issues with the bill. I have voted for candidates on both sides, and I voted for an independent in Ross Perot, so I try to be open minded.

Now I do not blame the Democrats, Republicans, or anyone in Congress, for the current state that the health care system is in this country. I do blame the Democrats solely for passing OBAMACARE. We need to Repeal this bill and start over. I do not know if the Republicans can do better than the Democrats, but I am willing to try. I think the R in Republicans might also stand for RESTART, or REPEAL.

Remember to Vote on Tuesday. It might be a matter of life or death.

Thanks for reading.

Are these services Free?

I am always concerned when I hear something is free. I have always been taught there is no such thing as a free lunch, or phrases like nothing gets you nothing everything has a little price.

In the healthcare reform bill, some of the entitlements kicked in on September 23rd of this year. The biggest one in my opinion is in the preventative care section of the bill. This is where I hate the word free. I keep hearing... Mammograms are free, PSA tests are free, some immunizations are free.

Free at what cost??

When you add benefits, you have to add premium. I have seen premiums increase between 5% and about 15% since October 1 of this year. Now I am not sure the real difference if I have to pay more for the service and have no deductible or co-pay, or if I can pay less and have a co-pay or a deductible.

My personal belief with health insurance, car insurance, home owners insurance, whichever, is that INSURANCE should be for things you cannot pay for on your own. I have home owners insurance incase, I have a fire and I would have to re-build it. Auto Liability incase I heaven forbid rear end someone. I do not need coverage for something that costs $100. I can pay that. I do not think in the history of this country anyone has gone bankrupt for $100 or even $1000.

You need insurance to protect yourself and your assets against the CATESTROPHIC LOSS. Now we have to pay in the form of a higher premium for something I could pay for out of my pocket.

Something to think about, how many FREE SERVICES, do you want to pay for?

Another thing as that children can now stay on their parents policy until they are 26 years old. Not sure how I feel about this one. I think if the child ( and when you are 26 are you still considered a child?) is getting an advanced degree, that is a fabulous idea. If the child has a medical condition still fabulous, but everyone else, not so sure. Heck, I did not want to burden my parents at all at that age. Some States that is age 28 or 30. We all want the best for our children, but again we need some common sense here, if the child can get insurance on his own, he should regardless of who pays for it.

These are my thoughts of the week.

Eric Wilson is President of I Sell Health, Inc. A Chicago based Insurance Agency. He represents most carriers in Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and has just added New Hampshire. He can be reached toll free at 888-448-5370. You can visit online at www.isellhealth.net. You can email at isellhealth@gmail.com

Here's a good one!!!

I am watching a YOUTUBE video today with the first lady, Michelle Obama and she is talking about the new preventative care benefits that we are entitled to under the health care reform law. That was educational for most people. Then she says, go to www.healthcare.gov to compare pricing and see what health plans are available for you. I think the term she used was it is the first website that you can compare plans on. It looked remarkably the same as my website, www.isellhealth.net. You can compare plans and get the exact same pricing, I have had my site for at least five years, maybe more. So I am curious what was so good about it. The one difference is mine only has premiums for the States I am licensed to sell in (Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio and New Hampshire).

Also, what I find interesting about the new law is all of the preventative services that are FREE, well we will say free as there is no deductible or no co-pay, but there is an added premium.

I was listening to John Goodman, the president of the National Center for Policy analysis this morning, he had found a study from DUKE UNIVERSITY from I think he said 2003, in which all of the preventative services that are required now, as recommended by the United States Preventative Care Task Force, assuming every American took advantage of these services, Every doctor would take 1773 hours of their year to treat these patient. If I understood these numbers correctly, and I might have missed something, but I do not think I did, That takes each doctor 8 hours a day 221 days a year to treat nothing, but preventative services. I think the average person works 220 days per year. Our doctors will now have to work more to service more. One out of Five Americans, are already living in an area that is under served by doctors.

How will this affect us in the years to come. I guess we will not know,but I have a feeling your wait in the doctors office will increase.

I hope I have my math wrong!!!!!!

Thanks for reading.

Eric Wilson is an insurance broker in the Chicago area. He can be reached at 888-448-5370.

AND IT'S ONLY BEEN SIX MONTHS...

So here we are six months after the passage of what will be called "OBAMACARE". We are seeing the first affects of this historic bill.

Now all plans written after September 23rd of the this year, come with Preventative Services without a co-pay. All lifetime limits have been removed, and children cannot be denied coverage.

So here is the "aftershock" of the plan. These benefits mentioned above seem to have added between 6% and 9% to the premium as far as I can tell. Insurance companies are no longer going to write CHILDREN ONLY POLICIES, at least many of them have stopped. Group insurance could be going away. 3M Corporation announced it would eliminate it's private insurance plans for retirees. McDonald's, you know the hamburger chain has been in the papers almost everyday this week, considering dropping 30,000 employees on their franchise plans. I would guess that Burger King would follow them as that seems to happen a lot.

Insurance carriers are going away too!! Principal Financial is leaving 31 states, after sixty years of service.

I have also seen some other carriers do some unique things. In New Hampshire, the state told Celtic that they could not be in the state and drop Child only policies, they said great we will leave the State. I saw Celtic pull out of Maryland as well, though I do not know if that is the reason.

YOUR INSURANCE MIGHT BE AT RISK. Just a warning, please be prepared.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Wilson is the president of I Sell Health, Inc. a midwest insurance agency. The write business in Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and have just added New Hampshire to their portfolio. He can be reached toll free at 888-448-5370 or online at www.isellhealth.net. The email address is isellhealth@gmail.com

I Hate to Say I was RIGHT!

I spent a week in March, before the Health Care Reform Bill was voted on, calling Congressmen and Senators across the country telling them to vote NO on the bill. They would ask why, and I would site the page that I was opposed to stating that will increase my premium by roughly $200 per month. They all disagreed, or did not respond. I am guessing that they had not read the bill which I had read. I specifically remember Senator Burris of Illinois' office stating, Oh you have not interpreted the bill correctly, it will reduce costs. If you go back and read the blog of mine written to Senator Durbin of Illinois, when he responed to my letter to him, you will see where I challanged everything he said.

Well here we go. On October, 1 2010, we are seeing rate increases, larger than normal, to pay for the new federal mandates. Most insurers, that I have researched have stated they need 9% just to pay for the mandates. Most carriers go up about 4% per quarter, so I would expect 13% next month.

Karen Ignagni,President of America's Health Plans,the insurance industries lobbying group states, "Anytime you add a benefit, there are increased costs." That makes sense, kind of like when you add pepperoni to your pizza. I have been saying for years the industry and companies should make Health Insurance more like car insurance, meaning if you get your oil changed your insurance does not pay for it. Our new health law requires a ZERO DOLLAR CO-PAY for prevenative services, would that be like an "oil change" for your body.

So on ward and up ward we go. A new law that INCREASES cost of health insurance, and I think you will see companies dropping group health insurance so it might even INCREASE the number of uninsured Americans.

To anyone who runs for office, please try to take politics out of the discussion and do some research.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Wilson can be reached toll free at 888-448-5370 or online at www.isellhealth.net.

ERIC

Is this the end of my Profession??

Merrill Mathews, wrote an article this week for Forbes magazine entitiled " Health Insurance Agents RIP" Yes RIP still stands for Rest In Peace. It is what I have been saying since "Hillary Care" was discussed in the 90's.

Mr. Mathews does a great job of stating that the first Casualty of Obama Care are the Health Insurance agents. I think he is correct. However, who will help Tina Sawa??

On Tuesday August 24th, I met with a referred client of mine named Tina Sawa, in Palos Park, Illinois. Let me tell you, her health affairs were a mess. I spent THREE HOURS with her on that day. I could have spent more, but it was my kids first day of school, so I wanted to get home to greet them at the bus stop.

I the three hours I learned about her families medical conditions, how much she is currently paying for her insurance, how much she spends a month on medical care on top of her premium. I realized that she really needed me.

I set my second appointment for yesterday August 31. I spent another two hours with her. Now, I, like probably every other insurance agent in America, do not charge for my time. I was her FREE CONSULTANT, for FIVE HOURS, plus about 40 minutes of drive time each way ( twice). Ok so I have let say six and a half hours of drive time with this client.

Mr. Mathews writes in his article "Health Insurance agents help individuals and employers work through the maze of available health insurance policies to find one that meets their clients needs."

He continues to write the Democrats 17 years ago and still today saw the demise of the health insurance agent as an acceptable, even a desirable loss.

If this is what the Democrats want, and I do not disagree with what Mr. Mathews is saying, who helps Tina Sawa?

For what it is worth I advised Mrs. Sawa, to have her husband stay on the plan and have her and the children come with me. What is crazier, is that now under the health care reform bill, insurance carriers have advised us that they do not know what they are going to pay us going forward, so I spent 5 hours with this client and I have no idea what I am going to make on this. Would you go to work ( or would our Congress go to work) not knowing what you were going to get paid.

Well I did and I would do it again to help a customer. So, I hope for the Tina Sawa's of the world, there are people like knowledgable Health Insurance Agents to assist her.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Wilson is President of I Sell Health Inc. Located in the Chicago Area, he services clients through out the midwest. You can visit him online at www.isellhealth.net. You can reach him toll free at 888-448-5370

IS THIS THE END OF GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE

Caterpillar of Peoria, Illinois has said the new health care reform bill will cost them over $100 million per year, once it is implemented. General Motors, back in 2005, said that the cost to insure their employees added $1500 to every vehicle. In 2005, they spend $5.2 Million on health insurance.

With the new law that goes into effect corporations will be required to pay 85% of their employees health insurance costs, and 75% of their families health insurance costs, or be fined.

Caterpillar, has floated the idea of dropping health insurance and pay the fine, it would save them millions of dollars. The other option, and this is my thought and not the opinion of caterpillar, is to reduce your work force and build your equipment in some other country. Yes, we could support another countries economy in the process.

I purchased Paul Zane Pilzer's book back in I think 2005 "The New Health Insurance solution", on the first page he reccomended that everyone purchase and individual policy rather than a group policy. The reason was it is SAFER, you do not loose your insurance if you loose your job. He goes on to say that loosing job related insurance is how ONE MILLION AMERICANS every year end up in Medical Bankruptcy.

This was in 2005, now is the BEST TIME to purchase your individual health insurance plan. Until 2014, you still need to medically qualify, but do it now. You will see companies dropping thier group health insurance in 2014. It makes economic sense to do so. Also, when companies started to provide health insurance, it was a hiring benfit, to make their company more attractive to a perspective employee. Now with the costs of health insurance, the new rate structure that is in place, and the economy, many companies, will not be able to afford to pay for insurance.

GET IT WHILE YOU CAN!! You will probably never be healthier than you are today.

thanks for reading.

Eric Wilson is the President of I SELL HEALTH, INC. He is also a licensed insurance producer in Chicago, serving Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Indiana. His website is www.isellhealth.net. He can be reached toll free at 888-448-5370.

What do we do now??

In the wake of Health Care Reform, We, as Health Insurance Producers, find ourselves in an interesting place. Insurers, no longer know how to compensate us. Due to the medical loss ratio standards that go into effect on January 1, 2011, we are all in limbo.

Let me explain, as a producer, I get paid a monthly fee for service for every policy I write and is excepted by the policy holder. Now I get this amount every month for one year. Here is where it gets interesting. Most insurance carriers cannot meet the requirement beginning January 1, without adjusting "commissions".

As a Self-Employed business owner, I have to run my life and my business based upon what is coming in. If I know I am going to make say $20 per month on a policy for a year I know how many I need to sell each month. EXCEPT NOW, that $20 I get now, might be $9 come January 1. Take that times maybe 100. On these simple numbers it is a DECREASE in compensation of about $1100 per month.

Most of us would not go to work not knowing how much we get paid. But that is what the United States of America, Our CAPITALIST system, and our industry has to go to work for the next 5 months and not know how much we are getting paid.

The insurance carriers have said they will let us know on December 1, 2010. Now if it was on policies going forward from Januray 1 on, I could live with that. And for that matter, I guess I have to live with it anyway.

As producers, we are faced with a serious question... WHAT DO WE DO NOW???

We can go on as business as usual and HOPE, everything stays the same. We can not spend as much time with our existing clients and not give them the service they deserve, so we can find say 60% more clients next year to offset the pay decrease.

We can add more lines of insurance. Again, this takes time away from our existing clients, but maybe we can help the existing clients in another way.

Many have already left the business, creating some additional opportunities.

WHAT would you do??

Could this happen to your industry?? The Government has taken over the Auto Industry, and just passed a Financail Reform bill. What is next??

Could you be next??

Somethings to think about.


Thanks for reading.

Eric Wilson is the President of I Sell Health, Inc. A Chicago area company. He services clients in Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin. He can be reached toll free at 888-448-5370. You can email him at isellhealth@gmail.com or visit online at www.isellhealth.net

Consultants: Individuals Game Mass. Health Insurance System - Regulatory,Legislative and Tax Issues - Life and Health Insurance News

Consultants: Individuals Game Mass. Health Insurance System - Regulatory,Legislative and Tax Issues - Life and Health Insurance News

The First Reform Bombshell!!!

For those of you who have been following me, I have said that the reform bill was bad for the country and bad for anyone who had to purchase individual insurance or any small business.

I am a Health Insurance Broker, self-employed, and I guess you could say small business owner. Here is the part of the bill I did not think would affect me for at least four years. I mis-read this part I guess.

Beginning January 1, 2011, Insurance carriers will be required to spend at least 80% of every premium dollar to health care and quality enhancing activities, rather than administrative costs, profits or broker's commissions.

Now this will sound a little bitter, but I do not make a Congressman's Salary, I actually make NO SALARY, and I am compensated only by what I produce to a given insurance company. I do not have a pension, and I wonder if the thought ever came up that CONGRESS had to take a 60% pay cut to fund the health care reform bill? That is what will happen to the health insurance brokers.

As a broker, I work hard for all of my clients. I make sure that they always have the best plan I can find for them at the best premium to meet their needs.

Under this 80% rule, most insurance carriers cannot survive under those conditions, and why can't insurance companies make a profit, like every other business is hoping to do?

They still need to REFORM the cost of medical care, which is what drives insurance company premiums. Part of the cost of medicare is driven by the cost to cover Mal-practice insurance, as we have become a society that sues for everything.

I ask our elected officials... WILL YOU TAKE A 60% pay cut? You have forced me to take a 60% pay cut. So I have to find new products to sell, or eliminate the quality of customer service I give to my customers, because I have to spent at least 60% more of my day selling so I may have to cut the service time by 60%.

In the outstanding words from my father... "Aren't you proud of yourself?"

Thanks for reading.

Eric Wilson is the President of I Sell Health, Inc. He provides Health and Life Insurance products throughout the Midwest. He can be reached toll free at 888-448-5370 or online at www.isellhealth.net.

MY RESPONSE TO IL SENATOR DICK DURBIN

Senator Dick Durbin
309 Hart Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510

Good morning Mr. Durbin:

I am writing in response to the letter you send me via email dated April 26th 2010. I have chosen to dissect your letter in paragraph format to respond to the statement you made, which I assume are based on emotion and not fact. I will begin in the second paragraph in which you stated…

“When the new law is fully implemented, it will cut the federal budget deficit by an estimated $143 billion in the first ten years and $1.3 trillion in the second ten years. It will prevent consumers from arbitrary rate hikes and denials of coverage by insurance companies as broad insurance reforms are implemented, and it will extend the solvency of the Medicare program by nearly ten years and strengthen the Medicaid program.”

I am shocked that anyone in Congress is still stating that it will yield a federal deficit reduction of $1.3 trillion. To make a statement such as this you must be referring to the initial CBO score which is months old and did NOT include the following expenses…

1) $70 Billion for the “Class ACT”
2) $53 Billion that will be taken from the Social Security Trust Fund
3) $71 Billion in appropriations needed to enforce the purchase of insurance and administer the new legislation ($10 Billion for 16,500 new IRS agents and 159 new Federal Agencies)
4) $398 Billion that will be taken from the Medicare Trust Fund
5) $208 Billion for the “doctor fix” that was passed on April 1, 2010 AFTER the Patient Protection and Affordable Care act was signed into law on March 23, 2010.
When these expenditures are added back in to the cost of the PPACA, the legislation actually creates a $662 Billion NEW DEFICIT over the first decade alone. This being the case, it is fiscally IMPOSSIBLE for this legislation to cut the federal deficit by $1.3 Trillion.

In addition to this, the new legislation requires taxes and fees to begin immediately. However, the new health insurance purchase subsidies for families making up to $88,000 are deferred, so that the first decade of revenue is used to pay for only SIX years of spending.

In paragraph four you state “All plans will be prohibited from dropping people because they get sick.”

It is already illegal in ALL 50 STATES to “drop” a policyholder’s coverage when they make a claim or get sick. In fact, the only time a policy RESCISSION can occur is in the case of fraud. This means when the policyholder did not disclose a condition that existed PRIOR to the policy purchase. RESCISSIONS are ONLY ALLOWED by the State Insurance Commissioner if such a “pre-existing” condition was severe enough to have warranted that the applicant be declined coverage had he or she disclosed the condition at the time of application. To state that an insurance company can simply “drop” you, because you get sick is simply untrue.

In paragraph six you state “this legislation is a step forward that will expand coverage to Americans who would otherwise be uninsured while moderating the rising cost of health insurance and protecting those with existing coverage.”

We already have STATE RUN high risk insurance pools in 35 states. Ten states guarantee issue mandates. In our home state of Illinois, we have our own risk pool known as the Illinois Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan (ICHIP). If you visit www.chip.state.il.us. You will find a premium calculator. You will see that a 40 year old male can get coverage for as little as $235 per month regardless of health conditions.

As far as the “moderating the rising cost of health insurance”, the bill did little to address that. So little that on Tuesday April 27th Senate Democrats were trying to pass a new bill that would impose price controls on insurance. (Wall Street Journal Article). ObamaCare includes several new cost-driving mandates that take effect immediately, including expanding family coverage for children as old as 26 and banning consumer co-payments for preventive care. Democrats are bragging about these "benefits," but they aren't free and their cost will be built into premiums. And those are merely teasers for the many Washington-created dysfunctions that will soon distort insurance markets, says the Journal.

I do not know if you read the 2074 page bill or not, I would hope you did as my Senator. I for one DID read it. While there are some good things in the bill, overall this is a bad law for our country.



Respectfully,


Eric Wilson
Office: 815-372-1363
Toll Free: 888-448-5370
Mobile: 815-258-1140
www.isellhealth.net
isellhealth@gmail.com
“I work for you!”

NOW I CAN PROVE IT!!!!

When all of the health care legislation was going on. The one thing I said was, "How does this make sense, I currently pay over $4000 per year for health insurance, but If I opt not to buy under the new reform package, I will get a fine of around $900." Now especially if I can get guarantee issue health insurance. Why should I buy it when I am healthy, if I can get it when I am sick, and pay the same amount. Well I got some information about how things have been working in Massachusetts, who have a similar program. Please see the link below, and I thank the National Center for policy analysis for thier column. It was written by Merrill Mathews.

GAMING THE HEALTH INSURANCE MANDATE
The key to ObamaCare is the individual mandate, which requires individuals to have health insurance or pay a fine. The mandate is supposed to push nearly everyone into the pool to minimize free-riding on the system. But what if millions of Americans decide it's a better deal to pay the fine and remain uninsured until they need coverage? It appears that's exactly what's happening in Massachusetts, which passed its own ObamaCare-like reform with an individual mandate in 2006, says Merrill Matthews, executive director of the Council for Affordable Health Insurance and a resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation.

Last year, Charles Baker, former CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, one of Massachusetts's largest health plans, noticed some health insurance brokers posting comments on his widely read blog. They were suspicious that people were applying for health coverage after a medical condition developed, got the care they needed, and then dropped the coverage.

Coverage for an individual, noted Baker, now a Republican candidate for governor, might be $2,000 to $3,000 a year, while the penalty was only about $900. So he asked his finance people to see if they noticed any discernible patterns. What did the find?

From April 2008 to March 2009, 40 percent of the individuals who applied to Harvard Pilgrim stayed covered for less than five months; yet claims were averaging about $2,400 a month, about six times what one would expect.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts has now confirmed it is experiencing similar problems; the company says that in 2009, 936 people signed up for three months or less and ran up claims of more than $1,000.
The disparity between the cost of expensive coverage and the fine for not getting it encourages individuals buying their own coverage -- i.e., those not in an employer plan -- to game the system by paying the fine and remaining uninsured until they need coverage, says Matthews.

Insurers have long recognized this problem, known as "adverse selection," which is why every type of insurance normally restricts people from obtaining coverage after an incident has occurred. Someone can't, for example, buy a homeowners policy for a house that is already on fire. But Democrats have decided to do away with that basic actuarial principle with regard to health insurance, says Matthews.

Source: Merrill Matthews, "Gaming The Health Insurance Mandate," Investor's Business Daily, April 19, 2010.




It basically states what I said all along, all though worse. Because now people not only buy it when they need something, they cancel it after they have the surgery.

The system makes no sense. I wish our elected officials would not only read the bills that come through, really study them and think about what MIGHT HAPPEN, if you do not think it through.

If you want to fix the bill we do not need 2700 pages. We need about one sentence. When the HIPPA law was passed 14 years ago. It stated that if you went from one group plan to another group plan, the pre-existing condition clause was waived, because you had creditable coverage. They did not put that in if you went from a group plan to an individual plan or individual plan to individual plan, That is the only fix that was needed. Extend it to INDIVIDUAL HEALTH PLANS. One sentence that everyone understands.

THANKS FOR READING!!

Eric Wilson is an insurance broker in Chicago. He services Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana. He can be reached toll free at 888-448-5370 or online at www.isellhealth.net

The effects of Health Care Reform have begun!!

During the reform "campaigning" I kept hearing how, health care reform will make buying health insurance more affordable because they were trying to create more competition. Now, I do not know how many insurance carriers there are. I do know that I represent about 16. Some like Medical Mutual, write only in Ohio, and Consumers Life, is their sister company in Indiana and Pennsylvania. Either way, there were enough companies to have competition.

We are starting to see the NEGATIVE affect. In the last two weeks, Insurance Resouce Group, National States, and the big one of American Community, have stopped taking applictions. They will not be able to survive in a "guarantee issue environment". The law is not even in effect yet, and we are starting to see what will happen.

My belief is when it is said and done, most insurance companies cannot survive under the requirements of the health care reform bill. In four years, when the bulk of this goes in place, you will see a lot of carriers go out of business. I think in ten years, there will only be government run health care.

If you have followed my blogs, you know I am totally opposed to the government running anything, it destroys the capitalist society.

Stay tuned to see how it ends up.

I hope, we get this right!!

Eric Wilson is a health insurance broker in Chicago. He writes in in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio.

He can be reached toll free at 888-448-5370 or online at www.isellhealth.net.

Thanks for reading.

Aren't you proud of yourself??

I am going to take you back about 30 years. My brother was in 8th grade so he would have been 14, he is 40 now. He was playing a playoff football game, in the rain and it was cold and nasty. They were loosing the game 30-6 with about two minutes to play. All the player and fans by that point wanted to go home. The referree, then called a penatly, I do not remember what it was for, it was not unsportsmanlike conduct or any 15 yard penalty. One while, maybe the right call, not necessary toward the outcome of the game. I hear my Dad yell to the referree, "AREN"T YOU PROUD OF YOURSELF"?? It was an unpopular call.

That is how I see the health care reform bill. While the system needed to be fixed. It could have been done with some common sense and a bi-partisan fashion. The democrats, who most of them do not like the bill either, thought it was better to pass a bad bill, then pass no bill.

Fifty Five percent of Americans were against the bill while only 38% supported it. The remaining were undecided.

What I do know, is that I have to start paying more in taxes NOW, for an entitlement I can get four years from now. Seems like I have to pre-pay for health care for everyone else.

Here is how bad this bill is for our country.
1) It EXPANDS entitlement spending by over $1 trillion in order to "cover" 30 million more people.

2) It ADDS $500 billion in NEW tax INCREASES
3) It Robs Medicare and Social Security ( already BROKE, if you read my recent blogs). It is cut to FUND this new entitlement.
4) In order to keep the CBO score under $1 Trillion they count this TRANSFER from Medicare to the new entitlement a SAVINGS
5) $468 Billion in additional spending on subsidies to purchase GOVERNMENT APPROVED health insurance.
6)$48 BILLION, I am saying the word BILLION a lot in this, in additional Medicaid spending.
7) A HUGE new capital gains tax of almost 4%, that basically affects anyone with savings.
8) The bill has a DECADE of Medicare cuts and a DECADE of tax increases, but only SIX years of BENEFITS.
9) $70 BILLION long term care premiums will be collected under the "CLASS ACT" again to fund the $1 Trillion entitlement.
10)$132 BILLION in cuts to medicare advantage plans.

You know what is NOT IN THE BILL??? What it will take the Federal Government to ENFORCE the mandates. They are hiring 16,500 new IRS agents, which will cost at least $10 Billion and another $60 billion to enforce all of the mandates.

So I say to our congress.. AREN'T YOU PROUD OF YOURSELF??


Eric Wilson is a health insurance broker in Chicago. He can be reached at 888-448-5370. You can visit him online at www.isellhealth.net.

Thank you for reading.

Health Care Reform- what happens now??

I received probably a dozen phone calls today from my clients, some past clients and other insurance professionals wondering what the bill means.

Here is how I can answer it. Within six months the following will happen..

Children will not be subject to pre-existing conditions

A Government Risk pool will be established- You will have to be uninsured for at least six months to qualify for this.

The will be an EXTERNAL review on all rescission cases. A rescission occurrs when an applicant does not include important information on their application.

Prevenative services will be covered with no co-pay and no deductible.

Tax Credits based upon your income will become available

Children will be able to stay on their parents policy until they are 26 years of age.

In the year 2014 is when the big changes occur. In 2014, all policies will become guarantee issue. And you will be able to shop either through an insurance agent like you do now, or shop through what is being called an insurance exchange.

The insurance agent will be able to help you apply for the available tax credits.

WHAT YOU SHOULD EXPECT...


Expect your insurance premiums to go up substantially. I currently pay about $300 per month for myself and my children, I am expecting that number to triple. This is for a few reasons. Now my plan is more catestrophic in nature and I pay for my preventative coverage myself. That will be in the plan now. There also will be cost increases, since insurance carriers will be covering expensive conditions.


Should you have any questions on the reform bill, please call Eric Wilson, a Chicago based insurance agent. He can be reached toll free at 888-448-5370. You can visit online at www.isellhealth.net or email him at isellhealth@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading.

Call your congressmen NOW!!

I have spent the day calling not only my calling my congressmen, and for that matter every other congressmen. You can block this bill by calling. Catepillar Equipment announced the bill will cost them $100 million in the first year. How is that cost effective. Please visit the website www.barakhatesthis.com. This is the list of the 33 congressmen that are on the fence.

Please do your part to take back America!!

Eric Wilson is an insurance agent in Chicago. He can be reached toll free at 888-448-5370 or online at www.isellhealth.net

Do we want to trust the U.S. Government with OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM??

Here is something to think about...

The U.S. Postal Service was established in 1775. The Government has had 235 years to get it right and it is BROKE!!

Social Security was established in 1935. They have had 75 years to get that one right and it is BROKE!!!

Fannie Mae was established in 1938. That is 72 years to get it right and it is BROKE!!

The War on Poverty started in 1964. $1 Trillion of our money is confiscated each year and transferred to "the poor" and they only want more.

Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965. The Government has had 45 years to get that system correct and they are BROKE!!!

Freddie Mac was established in 1970. That is forty years- guess what?? BROKE!!!!!

The Department of Energy was created in 1977 to lessen our burden on foreign oil the department now has 16,000 employees and a $24 million budget per year. We now import more oil than ever before!! This one is 33 years and I would say it is well if not a failure at minimum a disapointment.

The GOVERNENT HAS FAILED in pretty much every "Government Service" that has been shoved down our throats, while at the same time OVERSPENDING our tax dollars.

My question to all of my readers is quite simple.

Should we really trust our government with a "Government Run Health Care System".

Please call your Congressmen!!


Eric Wilson is President of I Sell Health, Inc. in Chicago. He can be reached toll free at 888-448-5370. You can also visit online at www.isellhealth.net.


Thanks for reading.

HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS (HSA'S)- The future of health insurance

I get a lot of questions about HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS ( HSA's), these days. I am normally asked what are they and why are they good. What makes them unique.

So he we go, All about HSA's in a 10 minutes or less.

I refer to Health Savings Accounts as more like the Jiffy Lube of health insurance. I say that because with car insurance, if you need tires, your insurance does not pay for it, if you need an oil change your car insurance does not pay for that either. An HSA,kind of works the same way.

HSA's were created in Medicare legislation and signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 8th 2003. They were originally called Medical Savings Accounts (MSA) designed by Senator Bill Archer of Texas.

Mr. Archer realized that the two major benefits of health insurance that added the most cost were having prescription medication and doctor vist co-pays as part of the insurance policy. He believed if you eliminated that part of the plan,but still had the catestropic coverage, you would reduce premiums. He was correct.

IS IT WORTH GIVING UP DOCTOR VISITS???

The same question was proposed to Mr. Archer in the late 1990's. He said we have to make it worth it.

They came up with what in simplifed terms is a MEDICAL IRA. ( which is what the hsa is). It functions like an IRA, grows tax deffered and you fund it the same way. It is a 100% tax deductible account.

You can take the money you put into the account out for doctor visits or any medical expense. You put it in tax deferred, it comes out tax deferred ( for medical expenses).

For the year 2010 single policy holders can fund their HSA up to $3050 per year. A family plan can fund it up to $6150. Like an IRA if you are over age 55 you may add an additional $1000 per year.

The great thing about HSA's is you are not paying for benefits that you are not usings. If you do not see a doctor more than once a year, these plans are ideal for you. Of course, you save on premium.

ADDITIONAL FACTS:(sourse- Government Accountabilty Office)

In 2009 HSA's covered 10.5 Million lives in America

33% of all HSA participants have incomes of less than $35,000 per year.
36% of of all HSA participants did not previously have health insurance.
Consumers save and average of $1900 in the first year of owning the policy.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

www.treas.gov
www.irs.gov/publications/p52/index.html


Eric Wilson, is the owner of the insurance agency I Sell Health, Inc. in the Chicago area. He services, Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Illionis. You can reach him toll free at 888-448-5370 or online at www.isellhealth.net.

Let Me Reform the Healthcare System in America

For about a year now, we have heard almost daily about the Healthcare reform bill in both the house and the senate. We then saw Scott Brown win the Massachusetts Senate seat, which gave the Republicans enough votes to block the health care reform bill.

Let me take the politics out of the program and speak as an AMERICAN BUSINESS OWNER. Yes, I am a business owner who sells health insurance, but I think I could fix this thing in about 20 minutes.

Here are the issues that we need to discuss all encompassing health care reform, NOT JUST INSURANCE COMPANY REFORM.

First we need TORT Reform. We need to put aside some of these malpractice claims and let the Doctors do their job. My doctor in Illinois pays over $100,000 a year just for Malpractice insurance. Now do you think that effects what he charges for an appointment? You bet it does.

HOSPITAL CHARGES- it is interesting when you go to the grocery store you know what everything costs, or if you go to a car dealership, you know what it costs. Have surgery, have no idea what it costs. I am working with one of my clients right now who gave birth by C-section. That is not unusual. The epidural needle that my client was given, any guesses what that cost was? $14,000. I will say that again, $14,000. Now the insurance paid what they thought was "customary" and paid $5000. I think $5,000 is probably a fair price for a needle in the back. I do not know what the customary charges are for that, but $14,000 seems absurd.

PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS- this is one is a hard one for me. If you make covering pre-existing conditions mandatory, either the premiums go up for everyone, or I could go without insurance until I was really sick, so that really does not seem fair to everyone. How about this idea, If you HAVE INSURANCE either through a job or a private policy, you cannot be denied coverage because you played by the right rules, if you chose not to purchase insurance through either your job or a private plan, You can then be denied.

INSURANCE THROUGH YOUR JOB- This is part of the problem with the American System of health care to begin with. I do not know why it is my company's responsibilty to insure me. It is a nice perk, but if we eliminated the "GROUP HEALTH" through a job, Everyone would either buy a private plan when they got off their parents plan, or they would go without insurance. If you got insurance when you are 18 or 19 years old, in most cases, you are healthy enough to purchase a plan. What if we made buying health insurance like a medicare supplement policy. With Medicare Supplement you enter a Guarantee Issue period when you turn 65. You have basically six months, with no underwriting. We could do the same with the under 65 market. When you turn 18, or stop being a full time student, you get a guarantee issue period. If you choose to enroll at that time, you are insurable for the rest of your life, so long as you keep making your premium payments.

If more people purchase insurance especially at a young age, it will off set the sick people when they are older, that will keep premiums down. That combined with my other few topics, should be the blueprint our Congressmen should follow.

I have been writing now for about 20 minutes so I will stop. There are a lot of other good ideas such as allowing to purchase across state lines, making plans more catestrophic in nature, and tax credits for purchasing health care. All should be explored.

Eric Wilson is President of I Sell Health, Inc. He cover the Midwestern States. He can be reached toll free at 888-448-5370 or online at www.isellhealth.net

What is mortgage term insurance and should we buy it.

I had lunch with a friend of mine last week. He had just refinanced his home. He said it was amazing how many letters he received about purchasing Mortgage term insurance.

I gave him a reccomendation. DO NOT BUY MORTGAGE TERM INSURANCE. If you are smart, you can purchase a TERM LIFE insurance in the amount of your mortgage maybe even more for probably 10% less money, and you will be protecting you and not the bank.

With a mortgage term policy, if you die, your mortgage gets paid, that is it. The bank gets thier money, nothing left for the family.

With a TERM LIFE, if you die, and I really hope you do not. Your beneficiaries get the money to do what they want with it. Paying the mortgage off, might be what they do with it, or maybe they are paying tuition. Either way, there is more flexibilty in a term life product.

Eric Wilson is President of I Sell Health, Inc.
He is based in the Chicago area and covers 5 midwest states. He can be reached at 888-448-5370

Massachusetts is America!!

The Massachusetts Senate Election yesterday, was America taking its country back. It was great to see. A state known as the most liberal states, saw the independent voters come out and oppose what is going on in Washington. With it, the Senate lost the vote it needs to pass health care reform. I have been singing the Don Mclean song American Pie all day, but instead of the line "the day, the music died." I keep thinking the day health care reform died. At least the bills on the table now that are loaded with higher taxes, less choice and bribes to Nebraska and Lousiana.

I am a believer that the system needs fixed, but again, look at the poles, only 32% of Americans wanted the bill that was being rammed through Congress. We elect officials to be our representation to do what WE WANT, not their own liberal agenda ( or conservative agenda if that is the case).

Massachusetts sent a message yesterday to Washington, that America, and this still is America, a government for the people by the people, is tired of how things are being done in Washington.

I hope now they will listen.

Eric Wilson, is the president of I Sell Health, Inc. A Chicago area insurance agent who serves the Mid-west. He can be reached at 888-448-5370. You can visit online at www.isellhealth.net or email him at isellhealth@gmail.com.

Health Care Vs. Health Insurance

Some where, some how, our government got the notion that if everyone had health insurance we would have better health. That is what I am taking from health care reform. As far as I can tell, saying that everyone has health insurance does not mean anything. Britian has reported as recently as 2007 that at any given time between 900,000 and 1,000,000 people were waiting for admission to National Health Care Hospitals. Sweeden you can wait 25 weeks for HEART SURGERY, while a hip replacement could take a year.

Those who support Universal Health Care, fear people will be denied the care they need. Americans already have access to emergency care, regardless of their ability to pay. To see your local physician, you do not need insurance, they accept cash.

In 2006, the New England Journal of Medicine found that although too many Americans were not receiving the appropriate standard of care, "health insurance status was largely unrelated to the quality of care".

It has been stated recently that our reform to cover everyone will actually increase the cost of private insurance by 15%. I am really hoping to keep my costs down, and will I still get my tax deduction for purchasing my own insurance??

Some things to consider.

Eric Wilson is a health insurance broker in the Chicago area.
He can be reached at 888-448-5370