Insurance Litigation and Regulatory Law

Many 2020 Democratic contenders for the presidency have endorsed plans to provide healthcare and insurance benefits to all Americans — and all undocumented immigrants who are already living in the country, legally or not. No, they don’t already have free health insurance. But the cost of providing them healthcare on the taxpayers dime would certainly be “expensive” depending on your frame of reference, what plan you’re using, and how many people enroll.

The Republican argument is simple: they’re against nearly all entitlements across the board regardless of whether they’re going to actual United States citizens or undocumented immigrants. According to them, giving out freebies will make people less likely to contribute in the future. They also contend that the free “handouts” will lure immigrants into the country who wouldn’t otherwise want to come.

Many arguments that can only be seen as scare tactics have suggested that our population could double or even triple if such laws were to go into effect, and of course they contend that America can’t possibly pay for it. But that’s not true, either.

For most Americans, the argument holds quite a lot of weight — but it’s never held much truth. There’s an incredibly strong stigma surrounding those who survive on handouts. In general, those who rely on help from the government really do need that help. Few people actually choose to live that way for no reason, and the government severely restricts handouts to further reduce the number of those who do.

But of course increasing the number of people who are entitled to free healthcare (no one is yet), would increase the costs of those programs. According to the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), there are about 4.9 million undocumented immigrants living “below 400 percent of the poverty threshold.” They don’t have access to insurance.

Were they given access to programs, taxpayers would pay at least $10 billion per year according to CIS. At the high end of the spectrum, it could cost $23 billion per year.

To put big numbers we cannot even comprehend into perspective, the 2019 U.S. federal budget requested expenditures of $4.407 trillion. Over $693 billion of that is discretionary spending that goes to the military. Much of all spending is mandatory, but well under half is based on discretion. Over half of that goes to the military (not including veterans’ benefits). Other big pieces of the discretionary pie are government, education, healthcare, housing, and international affairs.

But none of those programs come close to costing as little as what we would pay to expand what Democrats see as universal human rights toward undocumented immigrants. And here’s another aspect to consider: the amount we provide individuals and companies in tax breaks slightly exceeds all discretionary spending. Stop giving out tax breaks — and suddenly the United States would see a budget surplus once again.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the number of uninsured Americans has risen since Obamacare was introduced a decade ago. The number of uninsured went from 7.9 percent to 8.5 percent in 2017 and 2018. That means about 2 million more people are now without health insurance thanks to the Trump administration’s relaxed regulations and gutting of previous Obamacare laws.

Also relevant, this is the first time uninsured rates have increased since the recession hit hardest during 2008 and 2009. It’s important to note because the economy is continuing to grow, while the unemployed and poverty rates continue to fall. In 2018, about 27.5 million people went without health insurance. The number will likely grow during Trump’s presidency. Even with years of inflation, the median household income is staying the same.

Some have attributed the increasing rate of uninsured to the repeal of Obamacare’s health insurance mandate, which penalized those who went without with a stiff fine. Other critics say that the law didn’t really motivate anyone to seek health insurance anyway.

One of the more concerning aspects of this increased rate of uninsured is the children who fall within that statistic. According to Census data points, about a million young people aged 18 and younger are now without insurance compared to the same time two years ago.

Joan Alker, the executive director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, said: “Prior to the Trump administration assuming office, reducing the number of uninsured children was a national success story. Unless things change immediately, this progress is at risk — and our children and their families will pay the price.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “President Trump’s cruel health care sabotage has left two million more people without health insurance, forced to live in constant fear of an accident or injury that could spell financial ruin for their families.”

Some analysts believe that Trump’s “public charge” rule is also compelling immigrants to stop seeking coverage or drop coverage they already have, rather than risk being deported from the United States because they need help.

The Kaiser Family Foundation’s Rachel Garfield explained, “We’ve heard a lot of anecdotal reports and even started to see some data that either immigrant families are declining to renew their coverage or not enrolling.”

The Trump administration has sought to reduce Obamacare standards by approving Medicaid work requirements in nine states to reduce the number of people who are eligible. 18,000 people in Arkansas lost their Medicaid in 2018 as a result of Trump’s changes. More states will see the new regulations go into effect soon.

The Trump Administration intends to roll out a new way to calculate flood risk in the next comings weeks under the National Flood Insurance Program which could cause flood insurance premiums to rise and property values to fall. Instead of focusing on whether or not a property is inside or outside of the 100-year flood plain, FEMA plans to use private sector data to calculate the “real” flood threat for each home and set the costs of flood insurance based on that data.

The change can be a good and bad thing for homeowners. On one hand, it would be the first real major advancement to improve the understanding of flood risk giving homeowners a proper evaluation of the likelihood of a flood in their home. On the other hand, communities that weren’t in the flood zone or near the flood zone could be facing the need to have flood insurance by the government. An unexpected cost that many families might not be able to handle.

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) currently covers 5 million people as of 2017. Even with the increase in flooding due to climate change, that’s 10% lower than properties covered in 2009. The House Committee on Financial Services will hold a hearing tomorrow on reauthorizing the NIFP. In 2012, the government tried to reform NIFP but failed to do so after a public outcry. The reason for the reform is that claims often outpaced premiums which caused the NIFP to have a debt of $30 billion in 2017. The current model that determines rates do not take into consideration flooding from intense rainfall. The new risk assessment system will take things like that under consideration when determining rates.

The goal is to have more transparent rates so people will get insurance coverage. The impact on what this will have on property values has yet to be seen but it will be interesting once the new premiums roll out.

As you age, you start to understand the increased importance of having life insurance. No matter how well you have planned for your financial future with Lenzo and Reis, New Jersey Employment Attorneys, you cannot sufficiently prepare for unexpected death without proper life insurance coverage.

1. Protect Your Loved Ones.

The main reason you are going to want to adequately prepare for an unexpected death by getting life insurance for yourself is to properly protect your loved ones. If your loved ones are relying on you for their financial support, it is going to be absolutely necessary to get the right life insurance coverage. This is particularly important if you have young children that rely on your financial support because they will be vulnerable if something were to happen to you and you could no longer provide for them. Additionally, it is equally important for those families that might find it difficult to sustain a certain standard of living if one of the partner’s incomes disappeared overnight.

2. Leave More For Your Children.

Another big reason you would want to consider investing in something like life insurance is to provide a greater inheritance for your children. Being able to leave an inheritance for your children is one of the main reasons you would want to purchase a life insurance policy. By naming your children as beneficiaries, you will be able to help them secure a better future for themselves if something were to happen to you. This alone is going to allow your children to have a much more stable financial future which can really help them in the long run.

3. Avoid Being a Burden.

If you are someone that has a lot of debt, you are going to want to be sure to invest in the proper life insurance coverage to adequately cover them. Otherwise, any debts that you might have are going to be forced on to your family. You don’t want to leave a financial burden on your family if at all possible. By getting adequate coverage that is going to sufficiently cover any and all debts that you might have once you die, you should be able to alleviate the burden of debt. Along with this, your death is going to come with a lot of foreseen and unforeseen expenses including but not limited to burial expenses, funeral costs, and more. Thus, you will want to be sure that you have the proper insurance coverage that can help cover all of the expenses.

Overall, there are plenty of reasons you will want to make the investment in life insurance. Not only is it going to help reduce the financial burden on your family, but it can help you set up your children for a better and much more secure financial future. If you have a family, there is absolutely no reason to go without proper life insurance coverage with the affordable options available to choose from.

Sometimes it can seem like insurance is a silly creation only meant to make businessmen a lot of money. Maybe it is, and maybe it does. Other times it can come in quite handy, and not always in the situations you think. Here are a few uncommon–but (sometimes) helpful–situations in which you might be covered by your homeowners’ insurance!

• Space Shuttles. If you survive an emergency space shuttle landing or the debris from a lost vehicle high above, then your homeowners’ insurance has you covered. You’ll be able to grab a hotel and eat on the dime of your insurance company, so don’t let these unlikely scenarios get you down. You’re also protected from blimp and helicopter accidents. And other homes.

• Bikes. You have to opt-in to this kind of coverage. If you do, your bike is protected up to 3,000 miles from your home. In other words, if you take your bike on vacation in the states, chances are you can get a replacement if it’s stolen. The same kind of coverage protects you from lost luggage.

• Dogs. Depending on the breed, your homeowners’ insurance will cover a family-owned dog bite. Considering these attacks are relatively commonplace, this is definitely one to keep in mind.

• Accidents. You can be held personally liable for accidents that affect a neighbor’s property, but your homeowners insurance will likely help pay medical, funeral, and legal expenses incurred as a result. A tree in your yard might have fallen on their house, but at least you won’t have to pay for it.

• Children. Kids are also sort of treated as if they fall under the accident clause. If your children haven’t reached thirteen-years-old, then any damage they cause to your property is covered by your insurance. Who knew?

• Children, again. If your kids are in college, chances are they’re going to have to deal with stolen property sooner or later. It happens. The good news is this: your homeowners’ insurance covers that property.

• Stones. Not the normal kind, but the graveyard kind. If someone vandalized a family grave away from home, you’re still covered for thousands of dollars of damage. Another one to remember.

The list goes on, so do some research when looking over your homeowners’ insurance policy. Take advantage when you can!