40 years and Pfft! The HealthSpan Story

"We’ve been helping Ohio families be healthier for more than 40 years"

That's the claim of small-time health insurer HealthSpan (located in scenic Cleveland, Ohio). The carrier offers (well, offered, bear with me) Medicare supplements, and individual and group health insurance plans.

That is, until it ran into the ObamaTax buzzsaw.

From email a few minutes ago:
 

After carefully assessing its Small Group business and its volatility, it is adjusting broker commissions for its 2016 Small Group Plan policies on and off the exchange.

• New Small Group business:
• No Broker commissions will be paid effective February 1, 2016.

• Existing Small Group business:
• No Broker Commissions will be paid after the contract renewal date. This is effective starting February 1, 2016.
• No Renewal Plan Options will be made available for renewing small groups. There will be no options or changes allowed for renewal, only the existing plan will be presented.

To be fair, they did give agents who represent them the requisite 30 days notice, which is nice.

Some questions arise, of course:

■ Since it will no longer be paying commissions, will HealthSpan now refund the portion of its clients' premiums that represent that cost?

■ How are agents already on the hook (ie with HealthSpan clients) supposed to be paid for their service work? Or are they required to provide this for free?

■ How long will HealthSpan survive?

Inquiring minds want to know.

[Hat Tip: Cornerstone]