Report: 9% of Tennesseans have no health insurance
The number of Tennessee residents without health insurance has dropped to just 9 percent, even though the state has rejected Medicaid expansion, reports WPLN. Tennessee was near 15 percent amid the recession and prior to Obamacare’s implementation.
Haslam, other govs pitch quick health insurance fix
Gov. Bill Haslam on Thursday urged Congress to “move quickly to stabilize” the nation’s individual health insurance market and then mount “a serious effort” to curb soaring health care costs as federal lawmakers seek ways to keep the Affordable Care Act from imploding, reports the Times Free Press.
TN workers’ comp insurance rates continue decline
Workers’ compensation insurance rates will drop again next year for most Tennessee businesses as safer work sites and non-judicial settlements of workers’ comp claims continue to cut the costs of insurance industry, reports the Times Free Press.
Alexander, Corker refrain from embracing Senate plan for Obamacare repeal and replacement
Tennessee U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker both stopped well short of embracing the Senate plan for repealing and replacing Obamacare – they label it a “discussion draft” – in official statements.
Alexander, who was involved early in drafting the plan, does list “benefits for Tennesseans” in the proposal, but says he’s going to continue reviewing the matter, see how cost estimates develop and watch for amendments. His statement is HERE.
Corker just says he will be reviewing the proposal, seeking input from a “wide range of stakeholders” and “make a final decision based on whether this legislation, on the whole, is better than what is in place today.” His statement is HERE.
All TN counties will be covered by Obamacare next year, but only one provider in many areas
Filings with the state Department of Commerce and Insurance released Wednesday show Chattanooga, Knoxville and two-thirds of Tennessee’s 95 counties will have only one insurance provider offering individual health insurance plans under the health exchange markets next year, reports the Times Free Press.
With Trump ‘shouting death spiral’ for Obamacare, TN insurance commissioner wonders who’s in charge
Tennessee’s commissioner of commerce and insurance and Sen. Lamar Alexander are both quoted in a New York Times article bearing the headline, “Trump, Shouting ‘Death Spiral,’ Has Nudged Affordable Care Act Downward.” An excerpt:
Frustrated state officials have ideas for stabilizing the individual insurance market, but they say they cannot figure out where to make their case because they have been bounced from one agency to another in the Trump administration.
“We have trouble discerning who has decision-making authority,” said Julie Mix McPeak, the Tennessee insurance commissioner and president-elect of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which represents state officials. “We reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services. They referred us to the Office of Management and Budget, which referred us to the Department of Justice. We reached out to the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.”
Haslam, Alexander defend Insurance Commissioner McPeak
Gov. Bill Haslam has come to the defense of Commerce and Insurance Commissioner Julie McPeak, reports WTVF-TV, which earlier aired a report on her extensive travel on the job – 120 trips since Haslam appointed her to the position in 2011 with expenses paid by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander also issued a statement supporting McPeak. Some of her travel has been to Washington, where she met with congressmen and testified before committees – including one chaired by Alexander.
From WTVF:
“Julie’s worked for me for six years. I am very convinced of her professional approach to this in terms of looking out for what’s the best interests of the state,” Haslam explained.
…The governor said someone in his office reviews all travel requests from commissioners. So someone there knew just how many trips McPeak was taking.
Said Alexander in a statement emailed by his staff:
“Julie McPeak has been very effective in working with Congress to solve a real emergency for nearly 200,000 vulnerable Tennesseans as she works to give them options next year and beyond. Unless Congress acts, these Tennesseans who have federal subsidies to purchase insurance in the individual market may have zero options for insurance next year. I’ve invited her to meet with me in Nashville, and at my invitation, she testified before the Senate health committee and again to brief senators.”
Note: Previous post HERE. The station reported McPeak was out of her office on trips for 117 days in 2015, 120 days in 2016.
TN insurance commissioner’s travel, work with industry association, questioned
Tennessee Commerce and Insurance Commissioner Julie McPeak, who is president-elect of of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, has made more than 120 trips for conferences and meetings around the nation and world since taking office in 2011, reports WTVF-TV — and some say she’s spending “way too much time away from her office.”
McPeak told NewsChannel 5 Investigates, “That (travel) absolutely is serving the taxpayers of Tennessee and our Tennessee consumers.” But, Bob Hunter of the Consumer Federation of America wasn’t so sure.
“I think what happens as a result of these trips is less consumer protection, not more,” he said.
BlueCross resuming health insurance in Knoxville region
Start of a Times-Free Press report:
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, which withdrew its individual coverage under the health care exchange market in 2017 in Tennessee’s three biggest markets, said today it will resume selling individual insurance plans under the exchange market in the 16-county Knoxville area where Humana announced plans to withdraw from the individual market next year.
In a letter to state insurance regulators, BlueCross President J.D. Hickey said BlueCross is showing improved results in the ObamaCare health exchanges this year after suffering more than $400 million in losses in such markets during the first three years in which the insurer offered such plans statewide.
“Though still very early, our 2017 performance has improved due to a combination of better claims experience and a more sustainable rate structure based on the medical needs of the members we’re serving,” Hickey said in a letter to state regulators. “With this in mind, I want to confirm that BlueCross is willing to serve the Knoxville region in the 2018 individual Marketplace.”
State regulators welcomed the decision by BlueCross to ensure that the Knoxville market has at least one provider of individual plans under the exchange markets.
“This is very much a glimmer of hope for those on the individual exchange in the Knoxville area so that they will have an option for coverage using their tax subsidies and tax credits for 2018,” said Julie McPeak, commissioner of Tennessee’s Department of Commerce and Insurance.
Gov signs compromise in doctors-vs-insurance companies lobbying fight
Without fanfare, Gov. Bill Haslam has signed into law a first-of-its-kind measure that places some restrictions on Tennessee health insurers when making mid-contract changes to doctors and other providers, reports the Times-Free Press.
The governor signed the bill, sponsored by Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, (SB437) in the upper chamber last Wednesday, according to the General Assembly’s website.
