See if you'll save money on health insurance next year

Curious about what will happen to your health insurance rates after health reform? Our state Health Benefit Exchange, charged with creating a new online marketplace for health insurance, just launched a consumer-focused website, www.wahealthplanfinder.org and it includes a calculator for estimating your costs.

You can't choose a health plan until the site launches on Oct. 1, but you can use the calculator to see if you might qualify for a subsidy to help with your insurance costs. Keep in mind, it's only an estimate, but it should give you a sense of what to expect.

 

"Is there a grace period for a newly licensed driver to get insurance?"

Nope, not in Washington state. In order to operate a motor vehicle here, the driver must have the state minimum liability insurance. There is no grace period to obtain that insurance.

So parents, check with the insurance agent (or insurer) to see if your young driver is covered under your automobile insurance or if they need their own insurance policy.

New report on health insurance: 84 million in U.S. are uninsured/underinsured

The Commonwealth Fund this morning issued its latest report on uninsured and underinsured adults. Among the key points, in 2012:

• 84 million Americans were uninsured or underinsured.
• Due largely to the ACA, the share of young adults w/o insurance dropped by 1.9 million between 2010 and 2012
• 41 percent of adults ages 19-64 are having difficulty paying medical bills
• Costs prevent many Americans from getting needed health care
• Of the 55 million uninsured for all or part of 2012, 87 percent had incomes that would qualify them for subsidized health insurance under the ACA
• Of the 30 million underinsured, 85 percent would qualify for subsidies

Among the remaining challenges noted in the report:

 "...the law does not provide subsidized coverage to people who are not in the U.S. legally. Jonathan Gruber, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has estimated that of people who will remain uninsured in 2016, about 5 million will be undocumented immigrants. Second, both the Congressional Budget Office and Gruber predict that many Americans will not be insured, even though they are eligible for the new coverage options, whether because they are not aware of their eligibility, they are unable to find an affordable premium, or they elect not to enroll."

 

"I filed an insurance claim. How long will it take for the company to investigate?"

Here in Washington state, insurers should generally complete their claims investigations within 30 days unless there are good reasons why that cannot be done.

That said, all people involved in the investigation of a claim must provide reasonable assistance -- usually meaning providing information as requested -- so the insurer can process the claim.

The law that includes the 30 day standard is WAC 284-30-370.

If you have a claim that you feel is taking unreasonably long -- and you live here in Washington -- feel free to contact our consumer advocacy staff and we'll try to help. You can fill out an online complaint form 24/7, or you can call us toll-free at 1-800-562-6900.\

Here are more tips about filing an auto insurance claim, as well as tips on filing a homeowners insurance claim, and tips on how to file an appeal when your health insurer says no to a payment or treatment.

City Not Liable for Icy Boulevard

The City of London has successfully defended a slip and fall action that occurred following a winter storm.  In Bondy v. London (City), [2013] O.J. No. 1281 (S.C.J.), the plaintiff slipped and fell on the paved portion of the boulevard abutting the city sidewalk, which was used to access her driveway. The night before the plaintiff fell there was a heavy freezing rain storm, which continued throughout the night and into the morning.  Schools were closed and radio announcements recommended citizens stay off roads and sidewalks. The adjacent property owned salted the sidewalk but not the boulevard. The City decided to call in its sidewalk equipment operators at midnight and they were deployed at 4:30 a.m.  In the area of the plaintiff's fall, operators were deployed from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with the route taking 12-14 hours to complete.

The case involved a number of issues, including whether the boulevard qualified as an untravelled portion of the highway, whether adjacent property owner was liable for failing to salt the boulevard, whether the Municipal Act or Occupier's Liability Act applied, and the standard of care for the municipality.  Justice Gorman held that the boulevard was not part of the untravelled portion of the highway.  In addition, the City could not deflect liability onto the adjacent property owner in the circumstances, as they did not exercise control over the area.

Ultimately, Justice Gorman held that the City had met its standard of care.  It had complied with the Minimum Maintenance Standards for icy roadways. The plaintiff was entitled to expect a highway to be in a good condition, but "when the weather is so treacherous as to require the broadcast of public warnings, one travels at one's peril". Although the action was dismissed, the decision that the boulevard was not part of the untravelled portion of the highway poses a problem: are municipalities now expected to salt these areas?

Job opening: senior market analyst

We're recruiting for a senior market analyst to fill an opening in our main building in Tumwater, Wash.

The position is responsible for conducting market analyses of regulated entitites under the direction of our chief market analyst. The goal is to protect consumers' interests and promote a health business environment in Washington, both of which we help do by providing regulatory oversight of market interactions between consumers and insurance carriers.

For more specifics, including detailed duties, salary, timeline, etc., please see the full job listing.

We knew it! Actuary named best job of 2013.

The jobs website CareerCast.com has named the best (and worst) jobs of 2013. Topping the list (again, yes) is actuary.

The ratings, according to this summary in the Wall Street Journal, were based on physical demands, work environment, income, stress and hiring outlook.

And there are some surprises on the list. Dental hygienist came in among the top jobs, as did veterinarian. Actors, roofers and dairy farmers are among the worst, no surprise there, but so are senior corporate executives and military generals.