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Analysis: The rollout is over — Obamacare now the law
Recently in Portland, Ore., at the beginning of
nearly every segment, KXL radio talk show host Jim
Villanucci warned his vast audience to make sure their
insurance is active before visiting a doctor, hospital or
medical facility. Obamacare is in full swing and Villanucci and others
in media quoted horror stories of people wanting care
being rejected by doctors because their insurance
isn't valid. People are confused. Doctors and hospitals are confused.
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| Industry News from PIA Western Alliance |
Coming up: Obamacare 2014
In 2013 the Obama administration stumbled all over the place
with the rollout of the Affordable Care Act. Though the website
— HealthCare.gov — is said to be running smoothly, insurers
say the back end is a disaster and they're not getting a lot of
information about insureds. Or payments for the insurance.
AM Best on 3/4 of 2013: Very good
A.M. Best is impressed with the results of the
first nine months of 2013. The rating firm found
the underwriting profits for commercial, personal
and reinsurance lines in fine form. Here's what
A.M. Best found.
2014 — a buyer's market?
Lockton took a look at the results of 2013 and did an
analysis of how things look for 2014. It's an interesting
picture.
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Autos 1: Vehicle technology, Gen Y and more
Generation Y are those born in the 1980s to the early 2000s. They're also known as
millennials. Technology is almost second-nature to them. They grew up with it where
other generations grew into it. These days you're hearing a lot about new technologies from auto manufacturers. The
biggest deal is the driverless car. If you want to know the reason behind the driverless
car and the big auto technology push, look no further. It is Gen Y.
Autos 2: The best holidays to steal a vehicle
Assuming you're into that sort of thing, the National Crime
Information Center says New Year's Day is the best
holiday of all to steal a vehicle. In 2012 there were 2,228 vehicles
stolen on the first day of the year. Labor Day is second with 2,158. New Year's Eve is third at 2,152.
Cyber risks increase around the new year
Three major cyberattacks occurred during the
holidays. Target, Skype and Snapchat got hit with data
breaches. The Target attack netted credit and debit
card information for 40 million customers. Snapchat got
hit and 4.6 million users had their personal information
compromised. Skype said no personal information was
compromised in its attack.
Missed last week's issue? See which articles your colleagues read most.
The state exchanges — still a disaster
The Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act gave states
the right to operate their own
health insurance exchanges, to
partner with the federal
government to run one or to opt
out of the law completely. In the end, 36 states said no and
the federal government is doing
the exchange for them.
PCI, ISO on the 1st 9 months of 2013: Improvement continues
Property-casualty insurers had a positive first nine months of 2013. Or so says the
quarterly report from the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America and
the Insurance Services Office.
Obamacare closes 2013 with negative opinion, including Michael Moore
Just before 2013 ended CNN/ORC International and
Rasmussen Reports did surveys on public opinion
of the Affordable Care Act. To no one's surprise, the
newly and almost fully implemented law is not very
popular. Also chiming in on Obamacare is documentarian
Michael Moore who did a 2007 attack on health insurance in the movie "Sicko."
Sen. Tom Coburn's annual wastebook
It's not a story you see in prime time news or even on some of the
more commercial news channels. Each year, a few of the main
stream publications carry the story, but it's never highlighted.
More conservative news outlets pay close attention. In late 2013, Sen. Dr. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.,
— who is the ranking member of the Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee — released the annual
"Wastebook 2013." It shows 100 examples of wasteful government spending.
This year’s total is $30 billion.
NAIC's new board of directors
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners
has a new president. He is Adam Hamm who is North Dakota's
insurance commissioner. Sharon Clark of Kentucky is the new
secretary treasurer. Also in leadership roles at the NAIC are
Julie Mix McPeak of Tennessee and Wayne Goodwin of North
Carolina.
The term of Louisiana commissioner Jim Donelon has expired.
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Around the PIA Western Alliance States
Continuity and context in 2014
Insurance Networking News
In insurance technology, it often seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Despite the rapid changes in technology across the economy, the main story of 2014 when it comes to insurer IT budgets and project priorities is one of continuity. However, the rapid changes in the context in which insurers are operating are having an effect on strategies and priorities as well.
Ideas to promote your LinkedIn profile
By Mayur Kisani
 LinkedIn, with its user base of 260 million-plus professionals worldwide, has become a hub for business people from all walks of life who are on the lookout for new opportunities. Such a vast digital space can be the source of your next great opportunity, whether it be for your business or a great job. When you search for yourself on Google, observe that your LinkedIn profile is at the top of the search results. This in itself proves how powerful a tool LinkedIn is. Here are a few ways to promote yourself and your personal brand on LinkedIn.
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