New statement on best practice for critical illness insurance

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has issued a new statement regarding best practice for providers of critical illness insurance, which will have to be implemented by the end of next year at the latest.

The move by the industry body should mean greater clarity for people taking out critical illness cover, as it introduces changes that take into account previous issues regarding the insurance type, especially in terms of total permanent disability cover in critical illness policies .

Although total permanent disability cover is only involved in 3 per cent of all claims under critical illness, according to the ABI, it does present a much higher proportion of claims that have not been accepted in the past.

The statement therefore brings in a new set of standard definitions for total permanent disability cover, as well as replacing the old wording of the terminal illness definition, including changes to definitions for cancer and Parkinsons disease . In addition, the pre-existing conditions exclusion for policies involving children’s critical illness has been standardised.

Nick Kirwan, assistant director of health and protection at the ABI, said "The work on developing standard definitions for TPD and children’s cover will help ensure that critical illness policies are clear and pay out in line with customer expectations."

Save money on insurance premiums by quitting smoking

This Wednesday 9 March is No Smoking Day and maybe the incentive some are looking for to stop smoking .

By stopping smoking it’s not the health that’s benefits but it can help finances . If an average packet of 20 cigarettes costs approx £6.85, those who smoke one packet a day could potentially save £2,500 a year.

It isn’t just the cost of the cigarettes where money can be saved. Savings can also be made on life and health insurance premiums, but only 12 months after quitting.

According to LifeSearch non-smokers can pay up to 50 per cent less in premiums. By getting in touch with your insurance company or a financial adviser, you could be making big savings.

However Matt Morris, senior policy adviser at LifeSearch advises, "It is important to make sure you have a new policy in place before cancelling the existing one, as a new policy could turn up some nasty surprises in underwriting and may even be declined if your health has changed."

U.S. Appeals Florida Health Care Ruling

The Justice Department filed notice on Tuesday that it was appealing a decision by a federal judge in Florida who struck down the new health care law, saying it was unconstitutional for the federal government to require Americans to obtain health insurance. The judge, Roger Vinson of Federal District Court in Pensacola, voided the entire law after finding that the insurance requirement was “inextricably bound” to other provisions of the statute. The Justice Department said it was asking the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, in Atlanta, to provide an “expedited review” of the decision.

Simplyhealth unveils health plan to support over 70s

Affordability is crucial to maintaining the health and wellbeing of the nation's ageing population, according to the results of a recent survey carried out by health insurance provider Simplyhealth .

Almost 45 per cent of over 70s said that if access to healthy living was more affordable, it would help them keep fit and active. With 16 per cent of the UK's population aged 65 and over, its necessary for improvements to be made to the affordability of healthy living if Britain is to manage this growing demographic. Paying heed to this, Simplyhealth has introduced a new health plan, the Simply Cash Plan 70 Plus, for individuals aged 70 and over.

Clare Lee, spokesperson for Simplyhealth, said: "According to our research, 58 per cent of over 70s do attend regular health appointments. Yet, 26 per cent of those surveyed said that they needed extra encouragement to regularly attend routine health appointments. That's why we've launched Simplyhealth's new Simply Cash Plan 70 Plus, to help those over the age of 70 better budget for their everyday healthcare needs."

Repeal The Health Care Law? Not So Fast

Republicans regained control of the House on Tuesday in part with a pledge to "repeal and replace" the new health law. But carrying out that campaign promise won't be as easy as making it was.

"Republicans cannot repeal Obamacare with President Obama wielding the veto pen," says Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies for the libertarian Cato Institute. "I mean that's not within a set of possible outcomes."

That's because as large as the new GOP majority will be come January, it's still not large enough to override a presidential veto. In addition, the Senate will still be controlled by the Democrats, who are unlikely to go along with the repeal effort.

But Cannon, who is no fan of the new law, says House Republicans are not without weapons to do battle with the measure. "They're going to do everything they can to try to cripple the law, throw sand in the gears and make it even more unpopular than it has been for the pass 18 months," he says.

One major way they can do that is by holding oversight hearings. Using subpoena power if necessary, Republicans could end up forcing Obama administration health officials to spend nearly as much time on Capitol Hill as they do in their offices actually trying to implement the law.

Cannon says a barrage of hearings and investigations by Republicans could help solidify public opinion against the measure. "The more they keep the law in the news and the more of a steady drumbeat of bad news they create about this law, the more likely it is that eventually someone with the power to overturn or repeal this law will do so," he says.

Threats Could Backfire

But all those hearings could also have the opposite effect — giving the administration a chance to make its case in favor of the law, a case that often got drowned out during the election campaign.

"The next round of this, while there will continue to be the broad sloganeering on both sides, will presumably get a little bit more into the detail," says Martin Corry, a health care lobbyist and former official at the Department of Health and Human Services during the Bush administration. "So if you're a family with a 22 year old still in college, you may not want to see that provision [that lets grown children stay on their parents' health plans] repealed."

Corry says other threats — such as trying to starve the new law by holding back its funding or preventing agencies from writing regulations needed to implement it — could also backfire.

That's because, he says, "many provisions in the law take effect, regulations or not, implementation dollars or not," so simply cutting off the money or the regulations could end up leaving those who must still comply with the law with even less certainty about what they should do.

Former Republican Sen. Dave Durenberger of Minnesota says he thinks the Democratic-led Senate could try to dampen the House repeal efforts by holding a series of hearings of its own. Among other things they could give health care groups a chance to tell Congress what things in the law they want to see fixed.

"And just putting that 'here are some things that could be improved' on the table, takes some of the wind out of the sail for repeal," Durenberger says.

At a news conference Wednesday, President Obama signaled he was open to some changes to the health law. He even suggested one of his own — repealing an unpopular provision increasing the number of 1099 forms small businesses must file with the IRS.

"It was designed to make sure that revenue was raised to help pay for some of the other provisions," the president said, "but if it ends up just being so much trouble that small businesses find it difficult to manage, that's something that we should take a look at."