Dedicated Insurance Professionals you know and trust...like Family
Issue No. 50

December 10,  2013

 


 

 

 

Inside the race to rescue healthcare grows frantic efforts aimed at rescuing not only the troubled insurance portal and President Obama's credibility, but also the a philosophy that an activist government can solve complex social problems. 

 

Outside the race to rescue healthcare, there are is no need for software fixes or hardware upgrades. We are ready and available to assist with questions regarding consumer information. TACT is thriving and turning challenges into successes. You have focused on the future and you have focused on thriving! We are happy to help you do that by meeting your health insurance needs. 

 

 

You are a partner in health care decision making and you are partnered with a coverage provider that is thriving amidst pending change.

 

 

Now serving ALL of Texas Agriculture -

Contact us for more information

 

 

 

 

 

TACT - Dedicated Insurance Professionals
you know and trust...like Family.  

 

 

 

  

Tis the Season

 

 

Tis the season for talking healthcare reform, water woes and food, fiber and fuel needs in our Lone Star State.  

 

Tis also the season for celebrating the people and places we have encountered throughout this past year, whether as colleagues, friends or as consumers.

 

Tis the season for celebrating years of serving Texans and their healthcare needs. And, tis the season for looking forward.

 

Participation has its benefits. Participation equals ownership. Tis the season for sharing and caring as we reach out to our now broadened market of agriculture. 

 

Tis the season.

  

 

 

 Healthcare In The News

 

 

Health Law Dealt Another Setback

website for small business delayed

 

Associated Press - Chicago - The Obama administration is delaying yet another aspect of the healthcare law, putting off until next November the launch of an online portal to the health insurance marketplace for small businesses.

 

The move, announced last Wednesday, was needed because repairs are still underway to the troubled HealthCare.gov website, which is the primary way for individuals to apply for insurance, and that has priority, federal officials said.

 

In a conference call with reporters, administration officials said employers who want to buy marketplace plans for their workers now will need to go through an agent, broker or insurance company this year, instead of using the government website. The administration said the plan will still allow small businesses to buy coverage but avoid slowing technical repairs to the hobbled federal online site.

 

Under the law, most small businesses do not have to provide coverage. But firms with 50 or more employees face a mandate to offer insurance or risk fines from the government in 2015.

 

The HealthCare.gov site, where individuals without employer-sponsored health care can shop for insurance, is now smoothly handling 25,000 users at the same time and is on track to meet its goal of handling 50,000 simultaneous users by Saturday, said administration spokeswoman Julie Bataille. "We have a lot of work left to do in the next few days," she said.

 

The small business marketplace, also called SHOP, was supposed to provide employers a new way to shop for coverage. The website was to make comparison shopping easier while promoting competition and keeping premiums down. The delay, which doesn't affect states running their own marketplaces, was met with frustration.

 

"It's disappointing that the online portion of the federal small business marketplace through Healthcare.gov will be delayed, and it's important it get up and running as soon as possible," said John Arensmeyer, CEO of Small Business Majority, an advocacy group that supports the health care law. "However, it doesn't change the fact that the marketplace can offer the most competitive combination of price and quality for small businesses purchasing health insurance."

 

The National Retail Federation, which has been working to ease the law's requirements for its members, was less generous.

 

"If the law is so burdensome for the administration to implement, just think how hard it is for small businesses, which are focused on growing a company, hiring new employees and assisting customers," said Neil Trautwein, the group's top health policy official, in a statement.

 

Ohio's insurance director, Mary Taylor, a Republican who is also lieutenant governor, said in a written statement that the delay adds to the struggles of small businesses and "only further complicates an already chaotic insurance market."

 

Small businesses buying coverage will still be eligible for tax credits to bring down the cost, according to the administration. Starting next year, small businesses can claim a credit of up to 50 percent of their contributions to premiums for insurance purchased through the SHOP, and the administration is telling business owners that buying marketplace plans through brokers, agents and insurers will count for that tax credit.

 

The setback was the latest in a stream of missed deadlines, including a postponement for a Spanish-language sign-up tool. The administration also recently pushed back the enrollment deadline for individuals: People who sign up by Dec. 23 can get coverage that starts on Jan. 1. In an earlier delay, businesses with more than 50 workers were given until 2015 to meet the requirement to provide health insurance without paying a penalty. And the deadline date for individuals to avoid penalties for failing to get coverage was pushed back six weeks.

 

Last week, the administration also announced a schedule change in next year's open enrollment season. It will start on Nov. 15, 2014, a month later than originally scheduled, and finish on Jan. 15, 2015, about five weeks later than originally scheduled. The midterm congressional elections are Nov. 4, and congressional Republicans accused the administration of shifting the dates for political reasons, to hide any spike in 2015 premiums.

 

The administration earlier had announced it will allow insurance companies to extend for another year coverage under individual policies that don't meet new coverage requirements. That move was a response to anger over a wave of more than 4 million policy cancellations.

 

The series of delays was seized upon by Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., chairman of the House Small Business Committee.

 

"In the midst of the angst and uncertainty that small businesses and Americans feel about Obamacare, today's news of yet another last-minute delay is just more proof that the law is unworkable and bad for small businesses," Graves said in a statement.

 

 

 

 

What Does This Mean For You?

 

With the delay in SHOP, need arises. And, with need, TACT is readily available to serve facets of agriculture in need of health care coverage. With the scope of TACT's service now broadened and with the competitive market having widened, the ability to provide yields much to an industry in need and, too often, underserved. At TACT, our customers are our business - YOU own your insurance company. You have a say in your coverage and you help in keeping premiums, minimum. So, we ask...what does this mean for you? And, we extend the offer of, how can we help meet your healthcare needs?

 

 

 

Notice to Texans with 

Pool Coverage

 

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Texas Insurance Commissioner has elected to delay termination of Pool coverage from January 1, 2014 to March 31, 2014. During this extension period, Pool policyholders whose coverage is in force as of December 31, 2013 can continue their Pool coverage as long as they continue to meet Pool eligibility criteria and pay their premiums on a timely basis when due. The Pool will continue to enroll eligible applicants until December 31, 2013. If more information is needed, click here.

 

 

 

Agriculture News
  
Farm Bill Talks Continue
  
Courtesy: Washington Post  

Failure to meet a Jan. 1 deadline won't rattle stock markets or spoil the nation's credit rating, but a new farm bill is more than two years overdue, and congressional leaders have so far been unwilling to consider passing another short-term extension.

 

Failure to meet the deadline or pass a stopgap measure would mean that "breakfast in the United States is going to be significantly more expensive," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack warned in a recent interview.

 

The Agriculture Department is preparing to take steps that could prompt a series of changes affecting several commodities and grocery prices. Changes could begin shortly after New Year's Day with the price of milk, which could rise to more than $3 per gallon because federal dairy policy would revert to a 1949 law.

 

Vilsack has warned that congressional inaction would eventually affect the price and supply of other staples, including rice, wheat and corn.

 

But there seems to be little worry on Capitol Hill because lead negotiators believe they can meet the deadline, and some of their aides suggest privately that a new farm bill could be passed as part of a broader budget agreement, which must be enacted by Jan. 15 to avoid another government shutdown.

 

Last Monday, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) didn't rule out packaging a farm bill with other must-pass legislation.

 

"I'm taking this one step at a time. That's how we've gotten as far as we've gotten," she said in an interview. "I believe this can be done by the end of this year if there's the political will to do it."

 

Click here to read the story in its entirety.

 
  
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 Healthful Hint

  

Tips to Banishing Winter Skin

 

 

For many people, the cold clear days of winter bring more than just a rosy glow to the cheeks. They also bring uncomfortable dryness to the skin of the face, hands, and feet. For some people, the problem is worse than just a general tight, dry feeling: They get skin so dry it results in flaking, cracking, even eczema (in which the skin becomes inflamed).

 

"As soon as you turn the heat on indoors, the skin starts to dry out," Bonnie LaPlante, an esthetician with the Canyon Ranch resort in Lenox, Mass., tells WebMD. "It doesn't matter if you heat your home using oil, wood, or electricity. The skin gets dry."

 

 

Sound familiar? Read on to get WebMD's top 10 tips for boosting your winter skin care regimen, so that your skin stays moist and healthy through the winter months.

 

1. Seek a Specialist

If you go to your local drugstore, you'll be hard put to find a salesperson who can give you good advice. That's why going to an esthetician or dermatologist even once is a good investment. Such a specialist can analyze your skin type, troubleshoot your current skin care regimen, and give you advice on the skin care products you should be using.

 

But that doesn't mean you'll be stuck buying high-end products. "Inexpensive products work just as well as high-end ones," says David Voron, MD, a dermatologist in Arcadia, Calif. "In fact, the extra price you pay for the expensive stuff is often just for packaging and marketing. What's most important is how your skin responds to the product -- and how you like its feel, not how much money you paid for it."

 

2. Moisturize more

 

3. Slather on the sunscreen

 

4. Give your hands a hand - wear gloves

 

5. Avoid wet gloves and socks

 

6. Hook up the humidifier

 

7. Hydrate for your health and for your skin

 

8. Grease up your feet

 

9. Pace the peels

 

10. Ban the superhot baths

 

click here to read more in depth

 

 

 
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TACT Holiday Schedule:
 
In celebration of the Christmas Holiday, the TACT office will observe the following holiday hours:
 
Monday, December 23 - closing at noon
Tuesday, December 24 - closed
Wednesday, December 25 - closed
Thursday, December 26 - opening at 8 a.m.

 

   Refer Us!

Click above to learn more or

 to contact the TACT office.

In This Issue
Tis the Season
Health Law Dealt Another Setback
What Does This Mean for You?
Pool Coverage Information
Farm Bill Talks Continue
Tips to Banishing Winter Skin
TACT Holiday Schedule
Refer Us!
Facebook Feature 
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industry-related information.
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Contact Us
Texas Ag Coop Trust
1802 East 50th St., Ste. 107
Lubbock, TX 79404
806-747-7894

  

Texas Ag Coop Trust
Officers, Board of Trustees
 
Kimberly Tullo-Holcomb
TACT Executive Director
Lubbock, TX
 
George Reed, Chairman
United Farm Industries
Plainview, TX

Bret Brown, Secretary/Treasurer
Sunray Coop
Sunray, TX

Jim Turner
Dalhart Consumers Fuel Association
Dalhart, TX
 
Paul Wilson
United Cotton Growers
Levelland, TX

Cary Eubanks
Slaton Coop Gin
Slaton, TX

Dean Sasser
Farmers Coop Elevator
Levelland, TX



 

Texas Ag Coop Trust
is endorsed by:
  
 Texas Grain  & Feed
 Association
 
Texas Cotton Ginners Association
 
 

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TACT Dental - You Are Eligible  

  

 YOU are eligible to participate in the TACT Dental Plan.

 

December is open enrollment for TACT Direct Pay Dental Plan.

Run on a calendar year basis, all groups to renew on January 1 each year

Favorable claims experience and growth during the past year, yield -

 

NO RATE INCREASE for 2014!

 

NOTE: December is the only month of open enrollment for the plan.

 

Material will be arriving by mail. Please review and consider joining other TACT members in providing this very valuable benefit to your employees. All forms must be completed and received in the TACT office no later than December 20, 2013. No new enrollment forms or change forms will be accepted after this date. We appreciate your business and look forward to providing this benefit for you and your employees.

 

 

 

 Remember, with TACT, YOU are our business.


 

What can we do to help you? What questions do you have?  We are here to answer your questions.

 

  

 

  

 TACT - Dedicated Insurance Professionals
  you know and trust...like Family. 
 

 

Next Issue: MONDAY - December 23, 2013
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