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Humana, Cigna To Tennessee: Our Original Double-Digit Obamacare Premium Estimates Are Even Higher Now

written by MATT VESPA for DOWNHILL

At the recent annual RedState Gathering in Denver, Colorado, Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey discussed on a panel about Obamacare the possibility that we’re facing a total collapse of the law, which is conveniently not really going to impact President Obama himself. This is a huge homework assignment, along with Russia, Syria, Iran, and Yemen, which he’s passing onto the other guy (or gal). We know the losses incurred by health insurers are astronomical and unsustainable. It’s the reason why many are pulling out of the market across the country. Premiums for every plan, including the so-called low-cost plans, are projected tor rise by double-digits. And even those projections are set to almost double in states like Tennessee.

In an effort to keep insurers involved in the exchange, Tennessee allowed health care insurers Cigna and Humana a chance to revisit their earlier premium projections, which on average were set to spike 26 percent. Now, both companies have re-filed their rates—and they’re even higher, almost doubling their original projections (via The Tennessean)

Cigna and Humana each filed revised, and higher, requests for premiums on the 2017 Obamacare exchange after the state’s insurance regulator granted them the chance to revisit earlier requests in a bid to keep the insurers in the market.
In its latest filing, Cigna is proposing an average 46 percent increase — double its first 23 percent increase request.

Humana, which requested a 29 percent average increase in June, is requesting an average 44.3 percent increase, according to a filing with the state regulators.
The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance is set to approve rates for next year on or before Aug. 23, but decided to allow insurers to revise requests after hearing concerns from Cigna and Humana that proposed increases would not cover claims.

Kevin Walters, spokesman for the agency, said Monday that the possibility of the insurers leaving over projected losses was “too great a risk.” The TDCI stipulated that insurers with revised requests would have to meet with state officials in person to explain.

Aetna, UnitedHealth, Blue Cross Blue Shield—all have incurred losses and found this model unsustainable. In North Carolina, Blue Cross Blue Shield was mulling whether to pull out of the market entirely in February, after five percent of their affordable care customers consumed $830 million in heath care costs in 2014, but only collected $75 million in premiums. That’s with the subsidy. They’re the only health insurer that sells plans to all of the state’s 100 counties.

Be sure to be on the lookout for Guy’s post about Aetna’s decision on Obamacare. Let’s just say the trainwreck never ends with this law.

Jackson Kelly PLLC Attorneys Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America For 2017

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Aug. 18, 2016) — Jackson Kelly PLLC is pleased to announce that 67 of the firm’s lawyers were recently named in the 2017 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©. Lawyers from across the firm’s twelve offices were honored in the publication.

In addition, 10 Jackson Kelly PLLC lawyers were named as Best Lawyers’ 2017 Lawyers of the Year. Only a single lawyer in each area of practice in each community is honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.” Those who received this honor are: Mark W. Bernlohr (Litigation – Construction), Laura E. Beverage (Energy Law), Marcia Allen Broughton (Trusts and Estates), Robert F. Duncan (Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants), Lucinda L. Fluharty (Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers), Samme L. Gee (Public Finance Law), Thomas J. Hurney, Jr. (Health Care Law), Charles W. Loeb, Jr. (Corporate Law), John Philip Melick (Administrative / Regulatory Law), and R. Henry Moore (Mining Law).

First published in 1983, Best Lawyers is based on an annual peer-review survey. Leading attorneys cast votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in the same and related specialties. Because of the methodology used by Best Lawyers and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered an honor. The lawyers being honored as “Lawyers of the Year” have received particularly high ratings in surveys by earning a high level of respect among their peers for their abilities, professionalism and integrity.

AKRON, OH
–Mark W. Bernlohr (Commercial Litigation; Litigation – Construction)

BRIDGEPORT, WV
–Marcia Allen Broughton (Litigation – Trusts and Estates; Tax Law; Trusts and Estates)

CHARLESTON, WV
–Robby J. Aliff (Commercial Litigation; Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants)
–David A. Barnette (Information Technology Law; Litigation – Intellectual Property)
–Christina T. Brumley (Energy Law)
–Christopher L. Callas (Energy Law)
–Gretchen M. Callas (Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants)
–Ellen S. Cappellanti (Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law; Bet-the-Company Litigation; Corporate Law; Litigation – Bankruptcy; Mergers and Acquisitions Law; Real Estate Law)
–Michael T. Cimino (Mining Law; Natural Resources Law)
–Stephen R. Crislip (Legal Malpractice Law – Defendants; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants)
–William F. Dobbs, Jr. (Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law; Litigation – Bankruptcy; Litigation – Mergers and Acquisitions; Mergers and Acquisitions Law)
–Charles D. Dunbar (Banking and Finance Law; Corporate Compliance Law; Corporate Governance Law; Corporate Law; Financial Services Regulation Law; Litigation – Banking and Finance)
–A. L. Emch (Bet-the-Company Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants)
–Michael M. Fisher (Criminal Defense: White-Collar)
–Michael D. Foster (Employee Benefits [ERISA] Law)
–Samme L. Gee (Corporate Law; Project Finance Law; Public Finance Law)
–Gary W. Hart (Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants; Product Liability Litigation – Defendants)
–M. Shane Harvey (Environmental Law; Mining Law)
–Timothy E. Huffman (Administrative / Regulatory Law; Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers)
–Thomas J. Hurney, Jr. (Health Care Law; Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants)
–Barbara D. Little (Environmental Law)
–Charles W. Loeb, Jr. (Corporate Law; Energy Law; Mining Law)
–Elizabeth Osenton Lord (Corporate Law; Securities / Capital Markets Law; Securities Regulation)
–Erin E. Magee (Employment Law – Management; Labor Law – Management; Litigation – Labor and Employment)
–John A. Mairs (Tax Law)
–J. Rudy Martin (Arbitration; Insurance Law; International Arbitration – Commercial; International Arbitration – Governmental; Mediation; Reinsurance Law)
–Jill McIntyre (Electronic Discovery and Information Management Law; Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law; Legal Malpractice Law – Defendants; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants)
–Robert G. McLusky (Energy Law; Litigation – Environmental; Mining Law; Natural Resources Law)
–John Philip Melick (Administrative / Regulatory Law)
–Laurie K. Miller (Health Care Law; Product Liability Litigation – Defendants)
–Ann B. Rembrandt (Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers)
–Al F. Sebok (Employment Law – Management; Labor Law – Management; Litigation – Labor and Employment; Mining Law)
–James R. Snyder (Environmental Law; Litigation – Environmental; Mining Law)
–Louis S. Southworth II (Corporate Law; Government Relations Practice; Mergers and Acquisitions Law; Tax Law)
–Brian R. Swiger (Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants)
–Pamela Dawn Tarr (Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants)
–Kenneth E. Tawney (Energy Law; Oil and Gas Law)
–James W. Thomas (Health Care Law)
–Robert G. Tweel (Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law; Tax Law)
–Michael B. Victorson (Commercial Litigation; Litigation – Environmental; Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants)
–Roger A. Wolfe (Employment Law – Management; Labor Law – Management)

CRAWFORDSVILLE, IN
–Diana L. Wann (Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers)

DENVER, CO
–Laura E. Beverage (Energy Law; Mining Law; Natural Resources Law)
–Christopher G. Peterson (Energy Law)
–John S. Zakhem (Government Relations Practice)

EVANSVILLE, IN
–Marc D. Fine (Corporate Law)
–Blair M. Gardner (Environmental Law; Litigation – Environmental; Mining Law; Natural Resources Law; Water Law)
–James D. Johnson (Appellate Practice)
–Timothy A. Klingler (Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers)
–L. Montgomery Porter (Health Care Law)

LEXINGTON, KY
–Robert F. Duncan (Commercial Litigation; Litigation – Construction; Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants; Product Liability Litigation – Defendants)
–John W. Hays (Construction Law)
–William A. Hoskins III (Health Care Law)
–William S. Mattingly (Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers)
–Kevin M. McGuire (Environmental Law)
–Jeffrey J. Yost (Tax Law)

MARTINSBURG, WV
–Robert E. Glenn IV (Real Estate Law)
–E. Leslie Hoffman (Criminal Defense: White-Collar)
–William J. Powell (Criminal Defense: White-Collar)

MORGANTOWN, WV
–Seth P. Hayes (Commercial Litigation)
–Stephen M. LaCagnin (Commercial Litigation; Employment Law – Management; Labor Law – Management; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants)
–George E. Roeder III (Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers)
–Kathy L. Snyder (Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers)
–Taunja Willis-Miller (Health Care Law; Public Finance Law)

PITTSBURGH, PA
–R. Henry Moore (Mining Law; Natural Resources Law)

WHEELING, WV
–Larry W. Blalock (Employment Law – Management; Litigation – Labor and Employment)
–Lucinda L. Fluharty (Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers)

FOOTNOTES:  The U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer reviews from leading attorneys in their field and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process. To be eligible for a ranking, a law firm must have at least one lawyer listed in the 21st Edition of The Best Lawyers in America© for that particular location and specialty.

Client Focus, Industry Insight, National Reputation. Jackson Kelly PLLC is a national law firm with more than 175 attorneys located in twelve offices throughout Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Washington, DC. Focusing on clients’ industry-specific needs, the Firm serves a wide variety of corporate and public clients and enjoys a national reputation in business, labor and employment, litigation, government contracts, tax, safety and health, permitting, natural resource and environmental law. The Firm’s clients and peers recognize its commitment to providing superior client service as Jackson Kelly has repeatedly been selected as a Go-To Law Firm for the Top 500 Companies in the U.S. and is regularly named to BTI’s Client Service A-Team.