Holiday heads' up: Drone insurance to-do's

As we head into the Christmas (and Chanukah) gift-giving season, lots of folks have drones high up on their wish lists (SWIDT?). But before you fire up and fly your new gizmo, there are some important insurance-related issues you'll want to consider.

As we blogged at this time last year:

“Almost no one is thinking about insurance coverage when they’re opening the box,” says Jeff Antonelli, a Chicago attorney who specializes in federal regulations for unmanned aerial systems."

But that was then, and this is now, and there's been some progress. Our Guru of all things P&C, Bill M, tips us to this recent article in an insurance trade journal:

"[Here] are insurance coverages and how they are likely to apply. Keep in mind all claims are handled on a case-by-case basis, and there may be more exclusions and conditions that apply as drone technology evolves."

These include homeowners and renter's policies, auto and even commercial plans, too.

Have fun, but speak with your agent about how to protect your financial well-being if things take a dive.

Deadlines Schmedlines

HHS blames the website. I blame Bush.

Either way, you have four more days to #getcovered.

Last Minute O'Care PSA

As pretty much everyone knows, today is the final chance for folks to enroll in a 2017 ObamaPlan with a January 1 effective date.

So that means if you miss out, you miss out, right?

Well, not necessarily:

If you miss today's deadline, you can still apply for a plan with a February 1 effective date, so long as you apply by  January 15. And if you miss that one, all is not lost: you still have until the end of January to sign up for a plan that starts March 1, which still means you avoid the penalty fine ObamaTax.

Of course, that also means that you'd be uninsured for up to two months, in which case you could take your chances, or look into a Short Term Medical plan.

Good luck!

Open Enrollment Heads' Up

From HHS:

Tick, tock...

Going Bare: Making the Case

As we've long noted (here, for example), some (many?) folks have made the perfectly rational decision to forgo ObamaPlans (or health insurance of any kind). For one thing, the fine penalty tax is nominal (particularly in comparison to non-subsidized premiums). Recently, FoIB Dr Gerard Gianoli tipped us to this well-researched and written article expanding on the idea:

"There are necessities of life, but insurance is not one of them."

That's Dr Jane Orient's opening salvo, and it gets even better from there:

"It might be a ticket to get you into certain medical facilities, but in these days of narrow networks, it will keep you out of others."

This in reference to how restrictive networks have become; I'd add that there's another dimension, as well: HMO vs PPO models.

Until this year, many (most?) plans were built on the PPO (Preferred Provider Organization) chassis. That is, one got the best bang for their premium bucks by staying in-network for care, but there was still a safety net for out-of-network claims. This is no longer the case: all the plans I've seen (in this market) are for HMO model plans; that is, zero coverage for non-emergency non-network expenses.

So what's the big deal? Well, what if your oncologist is out of network?

I particularly appreciated this observation:

"If most bills were paid directly instead of through a third party, medical care would cost far less. Wouldn’t that be better for everybody?"

This comes as she makes the case for a return to truly catastrophic coverage, which she favors as the best O'Care alternative.

As they say: Read the whole thing. You'll be glad you did.

Wing, Prayer, Healthcare

It's long been my belief that there's a direct, intrinsic connection between prayer and healing. Although the healing prayer group in which I'd participated for so many years is now defunct, I continue to believe in the healing power of those prayers. And of course I'm far from alone in this.

Recently, FoIB Holly R sent along this interesting article that discusses the link between health care and spirituality:

"Dr. Christina Puchalski is familiar with death ... Several years ago, [she] went into a checkup with a patient previously diagnosed with a terminal illness ... We’d gotten to the heart of the visit, and it wasn’t about the medication or the pain. The real issue was the bereavement and the fear of losing each other.”

And it's not really about religious faith, per se: the focus is primarily on one's “search for ultimate meaning.”

I recall a few years ago, a dear friend (who, perhaps not coincidentally, was the founder of our own healing prayer group) was scheduled for a procedure. Like me, he was also Jewish, and his Christian doctor asked if it would be alright if they could pray together. Of course my friend immediately agreed, and everything went well (which may or may not have had anything to do with the prayers, but they certainly did no harm).

In fact, this practice appears to be more widespread than one might believe:

"In 1998, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) published a report called the Medical School Objectives Project, which included sections on spirituality."

Kudos (and prayers sent).

About Those ACA Signups (GIGO)

As the first phase of Open Enrollment v4.0 winds down, it may be helpful to get a sense of how successful the whole effort's been thus far (for certain values of "success"). ObamaCare proponents like to boast that the train-wreck insured some 20 million Americans.

But is this really accurate?

It will come as no surprise to IB regulars that the answer is a resounding 'No:'

"The Department of Health and Human Services claims that 20 million people have gained health coverage ... 17.7 million people gained health insurance from Obamacare’s first open enrollment period."

Which is all well and good, except that these numbers are based entirely on survey data, not actual, verified enrollment numbers. When one examines those, a very different picture emerges:

"Just over 14 million people gained coverage from the end of 2013 to the end of 2015. Of those 14 million, 11.8 million gained their insurance through Medicaid."

So roughly 85% of those being counted are not, in fact, insured: they're enrolled in Medicaid, which is not insurance. So less than 15% of the folks who ACA proponents claim became insured under the ObamaTax actually did so.

Of course, they'll never admit this, because: #Narrative.