Obamacare unaffordable for low-wage workers

The Affordable Care Act or Obamacare health care law may be unaffordable for many low-wage workers, which includes big chain restaurants, hotels, retail stores, and other businesses.

Yes, the law requires medium-sized and large employers to offer affordable coverage or they will be penalized. However, some policy experts say businesses can get off the hook while the employees could still face a federal requirement to get health insurance.

Still many are expected to remain uninsured and would rather risk being penalized because the law states that  workers with an offer of "affordable" workplace coverage are not entitled to new tax credits for private insurance, which could be a better deal for those on the lower income middle class.

Ron Pollack, president of Families USA (liberal advocacy group) said: "Some people may not gain the benefit of affordable employer coverage. It is an imperfection in the new law. The new law is a big step in the right direction, but it is not perfect, and it will require future improvements."

Andy Stern of the Service Employees International Union said: "The provision is an avoidance opportunity for big businesses."

The law requires businesses with 50 or more full-time workers to offer coverage that meets certain basic standards and costs no more than 9.5 percent of an employee's income. Failure to do so means fines for the employer.

For an employee making $21,000 a year, 9.5 percent of their income could mean premiums as high as $1,995 and the insurance would still be considered affordable.

Even a premium of $1,000 close to the current average for employee-only coverage could be unaffordable for someone stretching earnings in the low $20,000's.

With such a small income, "there is just not any left over for health insurance," said Shannon Demaree, head of actuarial services for the Lockton Benefit Group. "What the government is requiring employers to do isn't really something their low-paid employees want."

Based in Kansas City, Mo., Lockton is an insurance broker and benefits consultant that caters to many medium-sized businesses affected by the health care law. Actuaries like Demaree specialize in cost estimates.
Another thing to keep in mind: premiums wouldn't be the only expense for employees. For a basic plan, they could also face an annual deductible amounting to $3,000 or so, before insurance starts paying.

"If you make $20,000, are you really going to buy that?" asked Tracy Watts, health care reform leader at Mercer, a major benefits consulting firm.

And low-wage workers making more than about $15,900 won't be eligible for the law's Medicaid expansion, shutting down another possibility for getting covered.

It's not exactly the picture the administration has painted. The president portrays his health care law as economic relief for struggling workers.

"Let's make sure that everybody who is out there working hard and doing the right thing, that they're not going to go bankrupt because they get sick, that they're going to have health care they can count on," Obama said in a Chicago appearance last summer during the presidential campaign. "And we got that done."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/coverage-may-unaffordable-low-wage-workers-151922273.html

Dangers Texting While Driving

Courtesy of: OnlineSchools.com

Texting-while-driving can result to deadly consequences. Before an accident, drivers usually spend five seconds looking at their phone, which is enough time to cover more than the length of a football field going normal highway speeds, according to the Auto-Owners Insurance release.

According to a survey conducted by End Distracted Driving, 52 percent of drivers admit that they still text and drive today. This is true even though 93 percent of those same drivers agreed that texting and driving is dangerous.

The distraction involved in completing one text while driving is the equivalent of consuming four alcoholic beverages while driving.

There is a significant increase rate of accidents, injuries and deaths that have occurred because of texting and driving. Check out the infographic above, eliminating this practice will save lives and promote safe driving practice.

*Site to visit: Worldwide Insurance Database

Rate Shock in Insurance Premiums by 64-146%

A news report warns of a Rate Shock on Insurance Premiums by 64-146% in California. The serious flaw of Obamacare is it has too much regulations and mandates that shoot up the cost of insurance for people who buy it on their own.

The impact of this problem will be felt when the law’s main provisions kick in on January 1, 2014, leading many to worry about health insurance “rate shock.”

However, Peter Lee, executive director of the California exchange claims that there won’t be rate shock in California. But critics and experts are doubful about his claims.

"If you’re a 25 year old male non-smoker, buying insurance for yourself, the cheapest plan on Obamacare’s exchanges is the catastrophic plan, which costs an average of $184 a month. (That’s the median monthly premium across California’s 19 insurance rating regions.)

The next cheapest plan, the “bronze” comprehensive plan, costs $205 a month. But in 2013, on eHealthInsurance.com (NASDAQ:EHTH), the average cost of the five cheapest plans was only $92. In other words, for the average 25-year-old male non-smoking Californian, Obamacare will drive premiums up by between 100 and 123 percent.

Under Obamacare, only people under the age of 30 can participate in the slightly cheaper catastrophic plan. So if you’re 40, your cheapest option is the bronze plan. In California, the median price of a bronze plan for a 40-year-old male non-smoker will be $261. But on eHealthInsurance, the average cost of the five cheapest plans was $121. That is, Obamacare will increase individual-market premiums by an average of 116 percent.

For both 25-year-olds and 40-year-olds, then, Californians under Obamacare who buy insurance for themselves will see their insurance premiums double."

check full story here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2013/05/30/rate-shock-in-california-obamacare-to-increase-individual-insurance-premiums-by-64-146/

How to pay Health Insurance without bank accounts?

If you are a person who don't trust banks or don't want to deal with their unreasonable bank charges like overdrafts then you are in trouble, you can't pay your health insurance without a bank account.

Next January federal health law will require Americans to carry health insurance, but most health plans accepts credit cards for first month's premium then pay the succeeding monthly premiums with check or an electronic funds transfer from a checking account. To those who don't have bank accounts this will be a real problem.

I think the government should require the health insurance providers to implement a reasonable payment options for everyone.

You can read more about it here. http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/05/17/184814772/latest-health-hurdle-buying-insurance-without-a-bank-account

Robert Hurdman's Financial Thinking

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What does Standard Home Insurance cover?

Unplanned home repairs can ruin your budget, especially if it is a major repair. It can break you financially. A standard home insurance policy will not cover mold damage or earthquake damage.

A Standard Home Insurance covers damage and loss of the structure of your home in the event of hail, hurricane, lightening or fire (structural components). Standard Home Insurance policies do not cover mold damage due to neglected maintenance, such as faucet or pipe that are leaking. In case of flood and earthquake, a separate policy is required. The location of the property is taken into account if it is prone to natural disasters. Other detached buildings on your property like garages or gazebo get the typical coverage of 10%.

The Personal Property coverage included in a standard home insurance policy covers your personal items (jewelry, cash, collections, clothing) and household contents (furniture) if they are stolen or destroyed by fire or hurricane. It will only cover to a certain extent like $5,000 for personal belongings. You will need to pay more to get additional coverage.

Automobile insurance policy will cover the loss of your car or damage to it, but will not cover personal belongings that are inside like briefcase, laptop, suitcase, purse, wallet, GPS, iPod, sunglasses etc.

Home insurance covers theft of your personal belongings from a vehicle, even if the crime occurs away from your property. Whether you are a homeowner, condo owner, or tenant, personal items will generally be covered under your property insurance policy.

The personal property that is temporarily away from your home is usually insured for up to 10% of the amount of your personal property insurance or $1,500 or whichever is greater.

Personal liability protects you or your covered family members if you injure another person or cause damage to someone else's property. It's also known as third-party insurance because it protects you if a third party files a claim against you. Personal liability insurance can be purchased as part of a package policy. Pets are also included in this portion of your policy protecting you against bodily harm or property damage that they may cause to others.

Simplified Homeowner Insurance Policies

No more gibberish insurance talks and hiding conditions by using terms ordinary people are unfamiliar with, and that are usually in the middle of a thousand-word fine print.

Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill (S-2502) that requires insurance companies to provide a one page summary and description of the terms of policies to homeowners together with the fine print. It should explain what will it cover and will not cover.

This law is designed to avoid the confusion that happened after Hurricane Sandy, were many homeowners discovered the limited coverage of their property insurance, most of them did not include flood insurance.

The law still requires the Department of Banking and Insurance to establish first a timeline for implementing the requirement. They will issue a proposal for public comment before they can finalize it.