■ First up, the newest from the MIB (Medical Information Bureau, no aliens involved)(that we know of):
"U.S. individual life insurance application activity was 2% lower in May than it was in May 2016 ... activity dropped 2.8% for consumers ages 60 and older, and 5.2% for consumers ages 45 to 59."
Keep in mind that these things tend to run in cycles, and there's really no way to know why these numbers have declined. Interestingly, "[a]ctivity for consumers younger than 45 held steady."
Hunh.
■ From FoIB Holly R, news that the Evergreen State's insurance market's shrinking (again). This time, though, the implications are more dramatic: next year, two of the state's counties will have no health insurance carriers to choose from at all. It appears that Premera Blue Cross has seen the writing on the wall.
■ Finally, Aetna's bailing on Connecticut. No, not (necessarily) the insurance market, but the actual state itself:
"Aetna, one of Connecticut’s largest employers, confirmed this week that it is leaving the state ... has been in Hartford for over 150 years."
And pays some big dollars into both Hartford's and the Nutmeg State's coffers. Enough dollars, in fact, that this may be a tipping point for Hartford's very future:
"[E]normous fiscal challenges at the state and city level, which, in Hartford’s case, have prompted open discussion of bankruptcy."
Gulp.
"U.S. individual life insurance application activity was 2% lower in May than it was in May 2016 ... activity dropped 2.8% for consumers ages 60 and older, and 5.2% for consumers ages 45 to 59."
Keep in mind that these things tend to run in cycles, and there's really no way to know why these numbers have declined. Interestingly, "[a]ctivity for consumers younger than 45 held steady."
Hunh.
■ From FoIB Holly R, news that the Evergreen State's insurance market's shrinking (again). This time, though, the implications are more dramatic: next year, two of the state's counties will have no health insurance carriers to choose from at all. It appears that Premera Blue Cross has seen the writing on the wall.
■ Finally, Aetna's bailing on Connecticut. No, not (necessarily) the insurance market, but the actual state itself:
"Aetna, one of Connecticut’s largest employers, confirmed this week that it is leaving the state ... has been in Hartford for over 150 years."
And pays some big dollars into both Hartford's and the Nutmeg State's coffers. Enough dollars, in fact, that this may be a tipping point for Hartford's very future:
"[E]normous fiscal challenges at the state and city level, which, in Hartford’s case, have prompted open discussion of bankruptcy."
Gulp.
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