If you haven’t been oversaturated with the discussions on development of Alaska’s oil resources and the taxing of that resource, then you have a splendid opportunity to learn more from both sides of the argument. Is Alaska’s tax structure on oil too progressive and thus limiting production from old wells? Does the ACES tax structure encourage mostly development from newly discovered wells? There are many questions and it is very difficult to determine where the truth lies.

If the ACES tax is modified, as suggested in HB 110, will the petroleum companies be encouraged to produce and develop more of Alaska’s oil resources? Or will they just take the money and run? One almost needs a ouija board to decipher the discussion. By the way, the State gets 90% of its operating budget funding from oil revenue. What would Alaska do if this revenue stream disappeared? Every person in the state, man, woman and child, would have to ante up more than $14,000 annually to pay for the state’s current spending levels.

The Anchorage Tea Party is hosting “The Future of ACES” on Thursday, January 12 at 6:30pm. The event will be held at 3801 Centerpoint Drive, 1st floor. Talk show host Glen Biegel will moderate the panel which will consist of Senator Bill Wielechowski, Senator Cathy Giessel and Rebecca Logan (AK Industry Support Alliance). So, both sides of the issue will be heard. Following the discussion, there will be a Q&A and an ACES straw poll.

So, bring your ouija boards and help untie this Gordian Knot!

We have heard much about Alaska’s film tax credit incentive and whether or not it benefits the State as a whole or only special interests. Forty states offered similar tax credits in 2010. Many of these states have now abandoned these credits because they do not create the promised jobs for their citizens.  The glamour and Hollywood hype are there but are the financial benefits? The Legislature needs to closely audit the investment and the returns for our economy before it reauthorizes the film tax credit. The Tax Foundation’s Joseph Henchman has reviewed the status of these credits and reports that many states have abandoned them.(read more...)

(New England Journal of Medicine) Massachusetts was the first state to enact near-universal health care coverage in 2006. Since then, premiums have increased and employment in the health care occupations (excluding nurses) and patient care occupations has risen dramatically. This rise in administrative/ancillary occupations may be caused by the administrative burden caused by this reform. But did patient wait times increase and was access to health care better or worse before this change? (read more…)

Grace-Marie Turner outlines ten reasons she thinks that the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, is unraveling:

1. State pushback

2. Voter rejection

3. Lawsuits

4. Rising costs

5. Towering deficits

6. Seniors hit hard

7. Millions losing coverage

8. Job-killing mandates

9. Companies searching for exits

10. Lower quality, higher costs

The article is worth the read and includes some useful links to keystone articles written on the subject. (Read more…)

Starting 90 days from the passage of the health care bill, whether you have kids or not, consumers will be required to purchase with any health care coverage they obtain, plans which cover dependents living in the home up to age 26.

The legislation instructs state exchanges to require insurance carriers seeking certification as qualified health plans to submit a justification for any premium increase prior to implementation of the increase. The exchange is then required to take the information into consideration when determining whether to allow the sale of the plan through the exchange. The legislation requires state insurance commissioners to provide data on premium trends and make recommendations to the HHS secretary about whether certain insurance carriers should be excluded from the exchange based on a pattern of excessive premium increases. In addition, the legislation requires the secretary in conjunction with the states to monitor premium increases inside and outside the exchange beginning in 2014. In considering whether to open the exchanges to large employers (more than 100 workers) in 2017, states must consider trends in premium growth outside and inside the exchanges.

Source: The Common Wealth Fund

The legislation authorizes $6 billion in funding for the Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP) program to foster the creation of nonprofit, member-run health insurance companies. Health care cooperatives are nonprofit, consumer-governed organizations that provide insurance and deliver health services. The grants will be available to new co-ops. Priority will be given to plans that operate on a statewide basis, utilize integrated care models, and have significant private support. The secretary shall ensure that there is sufficient funding to establish at least one qualified nonprofit health insurance issuer in each state.

Source: The Common Wealth Fund

The state exchanges will be required to certify qualified health plans, operate a toll-free hotline and Web site, rate qualified health plans, present plan options in a standard format, inform individuals of the eligibility requirements for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, provide an electronic calculator to calculate plan costs, and grant certifications of exemption from the individual requirement to have health insurance. Exchanges will be required to be self-sustaining by 2015 and will be allowed to charge assessments or user fees to participating health insurance issuers or otherwise generate funding to support their operations. The exchanges also will award grants to “navigators” who will educate the public about qualified health plans, distribute information on enrollment and subsidies, facilitate enrollment, and provide referrals on grievances. Navigators may include trade and professional organizations, farming and commercial fishing organizations, community and consumer-focused nonprofit groups, chambers of commerce, unions, or licensed insurance agents or brokers.

Source: The Common Wealth Fund

Creates a temporary reinsurance program for employers providing health insurance coverage to retirees

over age 55 who are not eligible for Medicare. This program would reimburse employers retrospectively

80% of claims between $15,000-90,000, which will be indexed for inflation. It will end on January 1, 2014

and be financed by a $5 billion appropriation.

Source: NAHU

Penalty for use of Health Savings Account Funds for withdrawal goes from 10 to 20%

Source: NAHU