More than 3 million individual policyholders will reap rebates of $426 million, averaging $127 apiece. These are consumers who are not covered through an employer and buy their policy directly. Consumers in Texas, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Arizona are most likely to be eligible.

Insurance companies must notify policyholders, and the rebates are due by Aug. 1. Some companies have already begun to pay.

In the small-employer market, plans covering nearly 5 million people will receive rebates totaling $377 million.
Employers do not have to pass pass their rebates on to workers, and can also take them as a discount on next year’s premiums.

According to projections made last year by the Texas Department of Insurance, of the 34 Texas carriers subject to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act rule that they spend no more than  20 cents of every premium dollar collected on administrative expenses, 23 will pay rebates based on the 2010 data.   TDI believes that these rebates could absorb the net underwriting profit for the entire individual market and result in carriers pulling out of Texas.

In a wavier filed last year, the TDI requested an adjustment of the MLR standard to 71%, 74%, and 77% for the reporting years 2011, 2012, and 2013, respectively.  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) denied the request.  In addtion to Texas, it also denied a waiver for Guam, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Oklahoma, North Dakota.  It has granted six waivers: Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, and Nevada.  I

According to a post on the TDI website "In denying Texas' application, HHS stated that it took into account each carrier's MLR and profitability…and asserted that few issuers are reasonably likely to exit the individual market in Texas. The department's application clearly showed otherwise.

Major Changes in Life Products And LTC

The insurance market is undergoing major changes in both pricing and benefits due, in large part, to the lower interest rates we have experienced for an extended period of time.

Life Insurance Products - Sales Suspended  

Genworth

ColonyTerm UL 15 - 3/25/2012

ColonyTerm UL 30 - 5/7/2012

ING

GDBUL II UL - 6/25/2012

TermSmart 25 & 30 - 7/30/2012

John Hancock

Core Care LTC - 8/13/2012

Protection VUL - 6/8/2012

Legal & General (Banner Life)

Life Change UL - 8/16/2012

Protective

Survivorship SUL - 6/25/2012

Transamerica

TransTerm - 6/18/2012

TransACE SUL - 6/8/2012

United of Omaha

Living Care Annuity - 8/31/2012