Tuesday, November 13, 2007

769- MORE STUPIDITY!

THE CNMI GOVERNMENT IS NOW GOING INTO THE HEALTH INSURANCE BUSINESS
What will they dream up next?
Another reason not to be here, come here or stay here. We can go without power, that don't kill us, but do you want the same bumbling numbnuts that can't run the power company to be in charge of your health and well being? Are they even competent enough to do this? Not!
I'll say NEVER! How would you feel if you need medicine and they say "we can't afford it now, the legislature lowered the prices and our expenses exceed our income, so we are broke, we pity your sorry ass but there is nothing we can do, you will be discontinued. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. I just can't fathom anymore just how stupid these 'leaders' are.
$42.00 dollars per month, per guest employee.. Do the math for a company with 15/20 employees.. a stake to the heart... If businesses aren't dead now this is the final blow...
Just friggin stunning these guys, friggin stunning! I'm at a loss.
Do you smell a scam?
.....GED.....

12 comments:

Lil' Hammerhead said...

Hasn't it been the law that medical coverage for contract workers be provided by the employer?

glend558 said...

Isn't it a law the company be a sound finincial company as the provider though. To have enough assets to cover claims? Isn't there rules as to the finincial stability an organization must have before taking on insuring people?..This is kinda like the bonding companies they used to secure the guest workers, one claim and they go under. Is our government capable of covering hundreds of people in case of a epidemic or pandemic outbreak, the reasons for insurance? You don't have to answer that. It's not. This is irresponsiability at its worst! This is a money generating scheme and nothing less. Question: Would you want to be in the good hands of the CNMI government or go elsewhere?

glend558 said...

A little more on that thought.. When you have a government making laws to require companies to have insurance then becomes the provider of the of the same requirements, does that throw up a red flag to you?

Pragmatic Plato said...

Lil',

The law states that an employer of a guest worker must cover all associate medical expenses. It does not mandate that the employer provide medical insurance.

All,

Perhaps you have found another of the main reasons that this bill was rushed through. I have not fully analyzed the bill yet but from what I briefly saw, the new law does require that all guest workers be signed onto this NEW guest-worker medical insurance plan. Now I have to do the research to find out if it is a sole source provider of this low cost coverage. Can you imagine an insurance company in the CNMI getting every guest worker signed onto a coverage plan with them? Are we talking about 16,000+ guest workers? Holy Moley. All signing up on January 1st to perhaps one insurance provider plan. That is nearly a million dollars a month in coverage fees.

I am willing to place a $5 bet on the assumption that this sole insurance provider that will get this NEW guest worker insurance plan is a Tan Insurance company.

As I said I still am going over the lengthy law and will get back with fully details but how is that for a hidden agenda and personal gain?

Boycott Porky's!

PP

glend558 said...

PP be sure to post your evaluations here as I'm interested in this 'scam' it is outrageous.
I don't think it will be a Tan company but the government itself...

Lil' Hammerhead said...

I understand that an employer by law is responsible for an employees medical expenses, and not necessarily insurance.

While I don't think that the government should be getting into the insurance business, I also don't think it has been reasonable to expect, under the realities with which businesses have operated here, that without insurance they address the health concerns and expenses of their employees.

I have on a number of recent occasions seen employees turned away at the hospital because they couldn't pay upfront. They were told to speak to their employer. I'll bet they didn't come back to the hospital.

Insurance will address this. Employees will go when they need to go and the hospital will get paid.

Now the government shouldn't be running any insurance operations, but they should mandate this.

Everyone should have healthcare insurance.. most definitely the employed.

Lil' Hammerhead said...

Sorry Glen.. I wasn't by my first comment on this post, agreeing that the government should be an insurance provider. Far from it.. look what they're doing with retirement, and power, and the hospital, etc.

They should mandate that employers provide medical insurance for workers making below a certain level per hour ($10.00 for example). Above $10.00 per hour, employees should have to contribute in a fair cost-sharing scheme (i.e.-60%-40% or something).

There are plenty of private insurers.. the insurance business should be left to them.

glend558 said...

The issue is not providing insurance to workers but who is the provider. This cannot be by this broke government, that is a catstrophe waiting to happen...
If the government gets in a jamb guess who will pay...
I don't have a lot of details on this issue at this point..I'm hopeing PP will come forth with some...

Pragmatic Plato said...

An update (still looking into it myself):

Tamara said...
PP,

I'm still doing my own Homework on how the law was written and waiting to see what type of Rules and Reg's the put out on this. Off the top of my head I can tell you this much..

Medical Insurance Section 4932 gives you 3 options. One is to self Insure...No company that I know of can afford to self insure..not even Continental self insures..health care costs are just too expensive. The second option is to obtain insurance from an Insurance Company carrying a "national rating", yet there is no definition in the law as to what “national rating” is required..could be AM Best, could be Moody's could be something else..who knows? As far as I know there is no nationally rated health Insurance provider on Saipan (although I'm still looking into this) I don't think Staywell, SelectCare etc. are nationally rated...However, I'm wondering if the company is partially underwritten by a "nationally rated" carrier would they be considered acceptable? For example, TakeCare, I understand is partially underwritten by Century Insurance and Century Insurance is rated, so does that mean TakeCare would be considered "nationally rated"???? I don't know...A national rating does not guarantee that a company will not default on its claim payments by the way. Staywell has been in business for over 20 years and they are not "Nationally rated" to my knowledge.
Option #3 seems CRAZY at best to me...Pool Insurance.. The cost, the risk factor, experience..according to the Law The Secretary of Public Health is going to promulgate the regulations to implement this section...I have heard several numbers thrown out as to how much this is going to cost each worker..$45..$50..I have no clue if that's a monthly cost, yearly, or where that figure even came from...????? So what happens if a company does not have the financial capability of option #1, and #3 and there are no "nationally rated" companies to provide coverage in the CNMI? There are still too many unanswered questions I have regarding this section...Will keep you posted on what I can find out though..

November 14, 2007 2:36 PM

Pragmatic Plato said...

Comments on the Labor Law from Cinta, Jim, others:

http://pragmaticplato.blogspot.com/2007/10/its-just-terribly-drafted-up-piece-of.html

Boycott Porky's!

PP

bigsoxfan said...

Not that I care, although I have played a caring indivual on tv, my personal physcian attempted to fill out the sex position survey, while using my computer and his new google account. Your page came up with the previously filled in survey. Should I consult the boys in Redmond about this, suggest he use his well earned foreign currency to buy his own, or is there another fix for a shared computer. Ah crap, never mind. I figured it out; sign on as different user..

To the point of this post; this is what the gov't is trying to do. Take cash money in for bills they can't recieve. Payable or deliquent. I wish they would get around to billing me for my ankle surgery back in '06, I stand to make some money, ONCE I recieve a bill and pay them. Complicated solutions to simple problems, CHC, CuC is us.

Bruce A. Bateman said...

Sounds like a $600 per year per worker cash generating scheme to me. Pay CHC now., we'll fix you later (if we hire a doctor).

When private individuals do it is called extortion. When governments do it, they call it progressive social programs. Both use a gun to enforce the extorted sums.

If we wind up with 20k workers next year at $50/mo ea that is a cool million a month. It leaves plenty of room for a nice healthy rake.