Myth: ObamaCare

Otherwise known as "ObamaCare" by its detractors (who thereby reveal they have never read the act), the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is one of the few bills excreted by Congress with congruence between its name and what it actually does.  The "ObamaCare" label is inaccurate because- after massive tinkering by the health care industry & Congress -the bill is vastly different from the White House's initial "principles".  Much miraculously made it through unscathed, however.
OK, Gary, what DOES it actually do?  (I recommend you review the whole thing on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patient_Protection_and_Affordable_Care_Act)
Well, of many great provisions, one resounding success of the PPACA is reduction of Medicare/caid fraud.  At a cost of $9.0 million last year (and with the help of 5000 volunteers), the bill's enforcement provisions returned over $4.0 billion to the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, IRS & other agencies.  Let's see.  Isn't that a 44,444% return on the dollar?  Not bad for government work.  Naturally, Congressional puppets of the health "care" industry fought this provision tooth and nail.

I'll look at other great parts of this bill in future blogs.

Clients Prefer Financial Specialists- NOT

Financial services marketing powerhouse, Genworth Financial, conducted a recent survey- the LifeJacket Study -to assess what you and I think.  The numbers below surprised me . . . because they support what I've always believed:  most of us want a one-stop shop when it comes to financial services, and, many of us let things slide until it's too late.  (Genworth Financial is probably best known for its life and long term care insurance.  They are usually in the top three when I do my Top 12 company search for life and long term care clients.  They have the best rates for tobacco users too.)  Here are the numbers.

Genworth's LifeJacket Study revealed surprising statistics about the current life insurance marketplace:

• 52 million Americans with household incomes between $50,000 and $250,000 do not have coverage [they think they're immortal]
• 40% of those who have insurance don't think they have enough
• $155,000 is the national average death benefit [better than nothing!]

According to the study, consumers have specific expectations about the role they expect advisers to play.

• 66% of consumers believe that a financial adviser should offer life insurance as part of their overall financial strategy [emphasis mine]*
  
• 60% of respondents who own life insurance want to meet with their adviser at least once a year [I must have the other 40%!]
• 77% indicated that they don't expect their annual review to be a lengthy meeting – an hour or less will do  [ I feel the same way.  Honest. I'm military about ending on time.]

The LifeJacket Study reveals valuable insights needed to educate and motivate yourself to help secure your financial future, to preserve your wealth.   Download the study to learn more.
I'm a firm believer in self-education!

*The way regulatory trends are going, I think soon only licensed financial advisers will be able to recommend life insurance to the public due to the inherent & profound fiduciary responsibility such a recommendation entails.  Few of us have the patience to find & evaluate the top dozen policies in any given State.  And the Top 12 will vary widely for each individual because each company has its marketing sweet spot, the segment of the population in which it thinks it can best compete.