Insurance Quotes & Advice

Massachusetts has had difficulties looking for ways to pay for it’s mandated universal healthcare system but the increase in coverage has lowered the cost the state has had to pay for the uninsured.

Between Oct. 1, 2006, and Dec. 31, 2006, some 396,000 people sought free care. During the same period last year, that number fell to 248,000 — a decline of 37 percent.  State payments for treating those people fell from $166 million to $98 million - a drop of 41 percent.

“To have insured nearly a half-million people in less than two years is nothing short of remarkable,” Gov. Deval Patrick said in a statement. “The significant reduction in free care through the Health Safety Net provides further evidence that health care reform is having its intended effect.”

Massachusetts is the only state in the union which has mandated that every resident must enroll into a healthcare plan.  Residents that didn’t have health coverage by December 31st of last year, suffered the loss of their personal exemption from their state tax returns which was valued at $219.

The state is still seeking additional Federal assistance as healthcare costs are expected to rise in upcoming years.  Before the state’s new cigarette tax took effect on July 1st, it was estimated that the state had a $100 million shortfall for their healthcare system.

Costs could rise further as there are still at least 100,000 individuals that are uninsured and a large portion of them will be eligible for the state’s subsidized health plans.  Still the widened coverage is having the expected impact on what the state paid out to hospitals for medical care for the uninsured.

Some weather models had shown Tropical Storm Fay possibly reaching as a high as Category 3 Hurricane before making landfall but luckily the storm veered east.

Florida was spared from potential damages that could have cost as much as $2 billion when Tropical Storm Fay veered away from Tampa to make landfall in a sparsely populated area, according to Risk Management Solutions. 

The storm is poised to weaken as it moves inland, across the state’s sugar-cane fields and orange groves. Fay was moving north-northeast at 9 mph about 30 miles east of Fort Myers, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said in an advisory on its Web site at about 11 a.m. local time. Almost 11 million people may feel the storm’s effects, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Most weather experts agree that Florida dodged a bullet this time.  If  Fay had continued on a north or northwesterly track, it would have given the storm a longer opportunity to gain strength over warm tropical waters, as well as giving it a chance to make landfall in a more populated area.

On it’s current track Fay should reach open water again sometime Wednesday, where it is expected to gain strength before turning back northwest again.  It is not expected to reach hurricane status before making landfall for a third time in Florida.

But this storm has proven highly unpredictable so far and it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Fay could stay over open water and gain in strength.  Depending on how much the storm strengthens, it could cause even more damage the next time it makes landfall.

On Friday, Allstate reached a settlement with Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation(OIR) and will be forced to pay $5 million fine.  Allstate has been in a longstanding dispute with regulators over rate reductions and the subpoena of the company’s internal trade documents.

As part of the agreement, Allstate is required to lower its homeowners insurance rates throughout the state by 5.6 percent within 30 days of this agreement. The total rate cut amounts to 19.8 percent, including the 14.2 percent reduction that took effect June 1, 2007.

Allstate also must write 100,000 new homeowners insurance policies during the next 36 months and its Northbrook, Ill., corporate office must cancel a $175 million surplus note it issued to the Florida Allstate companies.

Back in January, the Florida’s insurance commissioner Kevin McCarty suspended Allstate from writing new policies in the state for failing to comply with a court order.  Then in April, a Florida Appeals Court ruled against Allstate when it alleged that the OIR had exceeded it’s authority.

This isn’t an isolated incident either, the insurance industry has been on the defensive ever since the public’s backlash stemming from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  State regulators across the country have been exerting their power, which is why it comes as no surprise that the industry is in favor of the creation of the Optional Federal Charter.

Allstate couldn’t win this fight but at least it can finally get back to the business of insurance instead of court battles.