Yesterday, the Federal Appeals court agreed.  They voted down rule 151A.

A federal appeals court has sided with agents and others
who want the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to classify indexed
annuities as insurance products rather than as securities.
A 3-judge panel at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has granted the plaintiffs’
request for a rehearing in American Equity vs. SEC because the panel agrees with
the plaintiffs’ view that the SEC “failed properly to consider the effect of the rule upon
efficiency, competition, and capital formation.”
“The SEC argues it is likely to reissue Rule 151A but it also acknowledges it is in the
midst of analyzing the effect of the rule upon the law of each state,” the panel says.
“As the petitioners point out, the commission cannot know whether that analysis will
support reissuing Rule 151A until it has been completed.”
The panel included justices David Sentelle, Douglas Ginsburg and Judith Rogers.
The decision to grant the request for a rehearing revises a decision the same panel
issued in July 2009. The said then that the SEC’s efforts to analyze the effects of
Rule 151A on securities market efficiency, competition and capital formation were
“lacking.”
The SEC has been trying to split jurisdiction over indexed annuities with state
insurance regulators. SEC officials have argued that indexed annuities act like
securities and ought to be regulated the same way securities are; SEC critics have
asserted that the products are backed by insurers’ general account investments and
expose holders to no risk of principal loss due to investment market fluctuations.
The SEC issued Rule 151A in January 2009, but it was not planning to enforce the
rule until Jan. 12, 2011. Insurers sued to block implementation of the rule.
In July 2009, the D.C. Court of Appeals panel held that the SEC had authority to
classify indexed annuities as securities, but it sent the rule back to the SEC for
further work because of its conclusion that the analysis of the rule’s effects had been
faulty.
Old Mutual filed a petition for a rehearing in December, asking the court to stay the
rule 2 years after any new rule was reissued. But, after receiving comments from the
SEC on the agency’s plans to conduct an analysis by this spring, the court today
acted to throw out the rule entirely.
The panel says in its latest decision that the SEC “cannot justify the adoption of a
particular rule based solely on the assertion that the existence of a rule provides
greater clarity to an area that remained unclear in the absence of any rule.”
“Whatever rule the SEC chose to adopt could equally be said to make the previously
unregulated market clearer than it would be without that adoption,” the panel says.
“The fact that federal regulation of EIAs would bring ‘clarity’ to this area of the law is

not helpful in assessing the effect Rule 151A has on competition.”
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, recently persuaded a congressional conference committee
to add a provision to H.R. 4173, the financial services bill, that would classify indexed
annuities governed by standards developed by the National Association of Insurance
Commissioners, Kansas City, Mo., as state-regulated insurance products.
The House already has passed H.R. 4173, and Senate leaders tonight announced
that they have the votes to get the completed bill through the Senate.
WHAT IT ALL MEANS
A SEC spokesman says, “Today’s Court order maintains the status quo as the rule
had not yet gone into effect.”
The SEC “will study the court’s order, as well as the legislative changes under
consideration by Congress in the financial reform legislation to determine how best to
proceed,” the spokesman says.
Eric Marhoun, general counsel of Old Mutual Insurance Company, Baltimore, one of
the leaders of efforts to fight Rule 151A, welcomed the appeals court ruling.
“Most likely this means that the SEC will drop efforts to regulate this product,”
Marhoun says. “We are very pleased by the court’s action because it wipes the slate
clean and clarifies that Rule 151A is null and void. This was a big victory both for
agents and for consumers who have come to rely on the guarantees provided by
FIAs, but we plan to stay vigilant until we’re sure the threat has passed.”
The fact that the court vacated the rule “was a nice bonus,” says Phil Bartz of
McKenna, Long & Aldridge, Washington. Bartz, Old Mutual’s outside counsel, filed
the petition on behalf of Old Mutual.
“We felt the court needed to do something to protect the agents and companies
writing [indexed annuity] products, and so we conservatively asked for a 2-year
implementation period,” he says.
Because the court vacated Rule 151A, the SEC must completely start over. The SEC
can now rethink the rule and may simply drop it, Bartz says.

HHS Secretary Sebelius Announces New Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan

Affordable Care Act Program to Provide Temporary Coverage
For Americans Without Insurance Due to Pre-Existing Conditions
Now Through 2014 When the New Insurance Exchanges Are Established

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today the establishment of a new Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) that will offer coverage to uninsured Americans who have been unable to obtain health coverage because of a pre-existing health condition.

The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, which will be administered either by a state or by the Department of Health and Human Services, will provide a new health coverage option for Americans who have been uninsured for at least six months, have been unable to get health coverage because of a health condition, and are a U.S. citizen or are residing in the United States legally.

Created under the Affordable Care Act, the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan is a transitional program until 2014, when insurers will be banned from discriminating against adults with pre-existing conditions, and individuals and small businesses will have access to more affordable private insurance choices through new competitive Exchanges. In 2014, Members of Congress will also purchase their insurance through Exchanges.

“For too long, Americans with pre-existing conditions have been locked out of our health insurance market,” said Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “Today, the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan gives them a new option – the same insurance coverage as a healthy individual if they’ve been uninsured for at least six months because of a medical condition. This program will provide people the help they need as the nation transitions to a more competitive and fair market place in 2014.”

The Affordable Care Act provides $5 billion in federal funding to support Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plans in every state. Some states have requested that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services run their Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan. Other states have requested that they run the program themselves. For more information about how the plan is being administered where you live, please visit HHS’s new consumer website, Health Care.

“Health coverage for Americans with pre-existing conditions has historically been unobtainable or failed to cover the very conditions for which they need medical care,” said Jay Angoff, Director of the Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (OCIIO) which is overseeing the program. “The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan is designed to address these challenges by offering comprehensive coverage at a reasonable cost. We modeled the program on the highly successful Children’s Health Insurance Program, also known as CHIP, so states would have maximum flexibility to meet the needs of their citizens.”

In order to give states the flexibility to best meet their needs, HHS provided states with the option of running the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan themselves or having HHS run the plan. Twenty-one states have elected to have HHS administer the plans, while 29 states and the District of Columbia have chosen to run their own programs.

Starting today, the national Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan will be open to applicants in the 21 states where HHS is operating the program.

All states which are operating their own Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plans will begin enrollment by the end of the summer, with many beginning enrollment today.

“The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan is an important next step in the overall implementation of the Affordable Care Act,” said Richard Popper, Director of Insurance Programs at OCIIO. “We have been working closely with the states and other stakeholders to make sure this program reaches uninsured Americans struggling to find coverage due to a pre-existing condition.”

The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan will cover a broad range of health benefits, including primary and specialty care, hospital care, and prescription drugs. The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan does not base eligibility on income and does not charge a higher premium because of a medical condition. Participants will pay a premium that is not more than the standard individual health insurance premium in their state for insurance that covers major medical and prescription drug expenses with some cost-sharing.

Like the popular Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Pre-Existing Condition Plan provides states flexibility in how they run their program as long as basic requirements are met. Federal law establishes general eligibility, but state programs can vary on cost, benefits, and determination of pre-existing condition. Funding for states is based on the same allocation formula as CHIP, and it will be reallocated if unspent by the states. Unlike CHIP, there is no state matching requirement and the federal government will cover the entire cost of the Pre-Existing Condition Plan. While it took more than 6 months for a small number of states to establish their CHIP programs, we anticipate that every state will begin enrolling individuals in the Pre-Existing Condition Plan by the end of August.

Information on how to apply for the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan is available at Health Care. Americans who live in a state where the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is running the Pre-Existing Condition Plan will be linked directly to the federal application page. Those living in states running their own programs will also find information on how and where to apply on Health Care.

To learn more about the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan and options available to residents of your state, visit Health Care.

An informational pamphlet on the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan can be found at: Page Not Found.

States by Pre-Existing Insurance Plan Administration

29 states plus the District of Columbia have chosen to operate their own plans.

1. Alaska
2. Arkansas
3. California
4. Colorado
5. Connecticut
6. District of Columbia
7. Illinois
8. Iowa
9. Kansas
10. Maine
11. Maryland
12. Michigan
13. Missouri
14. Montana
15. New Hampshire
16. New Jersey
17. New Mexico
18. New York
19. North Carolina
20. Ohio
21. Oklahoma
22. Oregon
23. Pennsylvania
24. Rhode Island
25. South Dakota
26. Utah
27. Vermont
28. Washington State
29. West Virginia
30. Wisconsin

21 states elected to have HHS run their plan.

1. Alabama
2. Arizona
3. Delaware
4. Florida
5. Georgia
6. Hawaii
7. Idaho
8. Indiana
9. Kentucky
10. Louisiana
11. Massachusetts
12. Minnesota
13. Mississippi
14. Nebraska
15. Nevada
16. North Dakota
17. South Carolina
18. Tennessee
19. Texas
20. Virginia
21. Wyoming

Will you be able to keep it going?  Will you be able to make changes to it, and still get the tax credit you’re hearing about?  Is it better to just not offer a plan, and let your employees go out on their own?

Well, the government is not making it easier on you.  There are about 20 news laws that will go into effect, that will determine whether or not your company is “grandfathered” in.  This includes covering dependent children up to age 26, or increasing the plans deductible a certain amount.  Most businesses will be in a Catch 22; they want to raise the plan deductible, but won’t be grandfathered in if the increase is too high, according to the new regulations.

Some insurance carriers state that their small business rates will increase anywhere from 15% to 28%, some higher.  The defense the insurance companies are putting up is that the new health care overhaul did not touch on costs of administering the medical care – doctors, drugs and hospital costs.

So, as it stands now, if you are a small business owner, you are going to have to pay the 2014 prices, without getting the all the 2014 benefits.

With all that’s gone on as of late, people don’t know where to turn, or what to do, when it comes to their finances, insurance decisions, or their business.  More times than not, they are stuck in a “paralysis of analysis”, and feel caught like a deer in the headlights.

This blog was established to help them out.  Give them clear information.

So, whether it is information  about taking care of a loved one, answering questions about your business set up, or just a “what if” situation, feel free to check us out.