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Monday, January 14, 2013

Taiwan Family Trippin' 2012

Day 1: 15th December 2012


Was super excited for this trip because I LOVE Taiwan and I was going with my family and my aunt's family and the babies. The previous time we went to Taiwan was probably in 2009 and also with two of my cousins and it was so much fun! We took the morning flight and it's about 4hours so we arrived around 4pm. Had our private tour guide and another driver cuz we went around in a van and a cab. Didn't join the usual group tours like the previous time cuz we wanted more flexibility since we were with the babies, also cuz we didn't wanna see any temples.

Arriving in Taiwan! @ Taoyuan International Airport

The airport (before immigration)

The sun was setting already and it was like probably 4:30pm hahahaa.

My cousin in law is a little short so he decided to stand closer to the camera but my brother exposed him. HAHA.


Drove about 45minutes out to PLUCK STRAWBERRIES. I don't even. Most random thing ever hahahaha.


Strawberry Picking

The owner kept the shop open for us. Hahahahah. I still don't know why we went to pick strawberries really damn strange.

To make things even better it was super dark already and I couldn't really see shit. Anyway we just walked down the rows picking strawberries and popping them into our mouths. It was damn yummy.


Cldn't wash them first so it was abit gross but they didn't taste like dirt so it's fine. hahaha.


Some monster in the strawberry field

Dad & Korkor

The strawberry place was next to the road in the middle of nowhere.

Went next door to buy some cherry tomatoes

FengJia Night Market @ TaiChung

Drove to Taichung and we checked into the hotel (I wouldn't really call it a hotel but I dont know what else to call it) and went to the night market!!! Was starving.

Super crowded


Korkor buying a hotdog.

Hahahahah

BUBBLEEEETEAAA. The mandarin that Taiwanese people speak is abit different I think because I couldn't understand 80% of what they were saying. Most of the time I just stared back and laughed. Made me feel like a moron. Sian. Also my tour guide spoke to everyone in mandarin except me. 
Ta Ma De.

Bubbletea is damn cheap man. Actually all the street food is pretty cheap. The conversion rate is like 23NT= 1SGD. So I paid like... Less than a dollar for bubbletea. CRAY I TELL YOU. IT'S CRAY. Unfortunately, bubbletea was nicer when I was here the previous time. Now it's not the 'in' thing anymore and they have alot of shitass variations like grassjelly and other weird shit (like KOI and Gongcha) so the bubbletea standard damn low. I eventually just drank milk tea w/o the pearls.

One of the new 'in' foods in Taiwan. Roasted corn!!! Damn nice I luvvit. They sprinkle chili powder all over it. It's one of the more expensive street foods. The price ranges from like 2-4 SGD for this.

This girl wore her pants the wrong way round hahahahah. SO CUTE. Her mother really doesn't give two shits.

Ate the chicken cutlet but this one wasn't very nice.


 Korkor, my cousin and I shared a room so our beds were like this HAHAHAHA. Damn shiok. The bed was so nice ^^. It was the nicest out of the other rooms we saw. My parents' room had like Winnie The Pooh stickers on the wall and other strange shit hahahahahahaha. My aunt's room had TERRIBLE bedsheets. Like the kind with cartoons. She tried to scam us into swapping by saying she needs more space for the babies but there was no way the three of us were gonna squeeze into a King sized bed.

They had a CCTV channel hahahahHAHAH. 

At night we were about to sleep when I tried my cousin's inflatable neck pillow but it was strangling me. Then she asked for it back and started to body search me in the dark and suddenly grabbed my breast and I was like W.T....F. and she was like "Oh sorry I thought it was your ass." Tell me why my ass is below my neck. Tell me now.

Day 2:

Wine Museum

Our first stop for today was to visit some wine museum where they sell like alot of different wine items like wine ice cream. LOL. We were basically on our way to some hotel in the mountains so the drive was a bit long so we stopped at a couple of places to make the journey more bearable.

I can't read the shit on the signboard but it goes a lil' something like "Pi (or Jiu, not v sure but DEFINITELY either one) sth sth li" 


I bought a wine egg (which is like Tea Leaf Egg but with wine instead of tea) and iron eggs. which are like... preserved quail eggs I think. They are black and look like bubbletea pearls. hahahaha. Wanted to try the last time we came but I was scared. Anyway I ended up really liking them!

Korkor with the wine eggs (I hated them)

Wine Ice Cream. Damn shitty hahahaha


Wanted to show everyone my New Balance hahahaha

Kor bought ice cream while waiting for everyone. It was damn nice, surprisingly.


Dad & I

We gave Assthur some ice cream and she has this habit of SPITTING it out if she doesn't like it. So it went all over her shirt and all. I laughed like shit. She's too much. LOOK AT HER FACE.

Buying crackers and shit at the store

Paper Dome Church

Our next stop was a paper church which was beyond lame. HAHAHAHA. We just went to the cafe to have some drinks.

Mom & Dad outside the church

The church is damn small and not even entirely made out of paper (I think) But like I wasn't impressed at all. Please give this a miss if you go to Taiwan. Hahahaha


Biggest flower I've ever seen.

Peacock Enclosure

 We stopped by some peacock area also
So prettyyyyy


Ben looks so weird in this picture. I think he just woke up. hahahaha

ALBINO PEACOCK SO PRETTYYYYYYYYYYYY.


Damn funny. Assthur is huge.

Street Food Lunch

Ate a veggie burger and bought super nice mochi here!!!

Went to watch some aboriginal culture dance. These are my cousinssss- Jiejie Lydia and Jiejie Deb






The lake area was nearby.


Benbie's face is still red cuz of the rashes but it got significantly better cuz the weather there is not so humid.

These ladies are all above the age of 70. So cray.

SUPER cute doggy!!!!

My uncle decided he needed a time out from the family and sat at the opposite end. HAHAHAHAHA (he's the one with the crossed legs

They asked for volunteers to dance and my dad stood up followed by mom and my aunt. HAHAHAHAHAHA. I died laughing the next ten minutes.

hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Dad

Ah Yee

Mommy

Shao/Kao Shan Zhu Rou (not sure)
But anyway it means wild boar meat. Which we ate alot of. It's damn shiok.

Tea Leaf Egg Place

We stopped by some area which supposedly has damn good eggs, they sell like 8000 a day. CRAY. We went and bought 15.
Laughing like shit cuz my dad was initially looking straight ahead posing for god knows what when the camera was to his right. Unfortunately and as usual I end up being the only one who looks like a retard. HAHAHAHA.

15 eggs

 Hot Springs Hotel in the Mountains

It was a scary drive up because the sun set already even tho it was like 5pm and the roads were damn narrow and shit. Anyway I really don't know what the name of this hotel is hahahahaha. But they had a dog!!!!!! Her name is La Mei.
 Reached our Hotel!!!!!!!!!!! It was super nice. Check out our bags LOLOL

Went to feed the fish my feet. It was damn ticklish at first then pretty fun. My feet felt damn nice after that. 

Day 3:

 PUPPYYYY

 Sheep Farm

Assthur refusing to look at the camera. Hahaha super naughty.
The background like windows background. And it also looks photoshopped.

 
The sheep just roam around on the hills and all. Quite cute.

The sheep photobombed but made it a nice photo in the end! 

 I love this photo.

 Hahahahahahahahhaah. Gangsta Bensta


Hahahahahahahhah

Apparently Mini Horses aren't the same as Ponies. WTF is the difference??




My aunt slapping my cousin. LOLjk she's putting sunscreen. hahahaha

Hahahahahah Ben
Never realised this earlier but it looks like a gay couple and their son. HAHAHAHAHAHA
My cousin just happily buy food and feed the sheep don't care about anyone else. hahahahahaha

Hahahahahaha sorry baby you look terrible.

Paper also want to eat.

FATTY




Pamily Poto


We were pretty high up!

This is the result of "EH RARA TAKE PHOTO FOR ME"


My lovely parents~


I wanted to stand like the guy but my parents obviously said no and I was quite sure I'd fall anyway so I didn't protest. Hahaha




Cutie!!!!! This photo damn adorable. Jiejie Lydia N Assthur


They sell alot of goat's milk products there. I tried goat's milk and chocolate goat's milk and goat's milk ice cream. There's still a damn strong smell/taste but it was really fresh so damn nice. 

Had lunch at the market area outside

Had the best apples EVERRR



 
This is some tofu dish. LOVED IT. It's not chou tofu though. That's fried and smelly.

Wild boar rice again

My uncle with the monsters

Hahahahahhahahaaha

More wild boar
Laughed while drinking water and had to spit it all out. Hate when that happens. Hahahahahaha

Up the mountain! 

After lunch we went higher up the mountain to see the view.

Tour guide bought a bag of chips to show us how the air expands at higher altitudes until it explodes. I waited about 1hrs for it to explode and when it did I wasn't around. THAT. IS. GR8.






Plz look at how narrow the roads r.

Damn scary whenever another car comes.

TOUR BUS EVEN BETTER





I like taking photos of scenery but these shots I couldn't really be bothered because it was FREEZING.

Dad didn't let me bring the super pretty jacket kiron lent me cuz he said it wont be cold but it was mega freezing here but luckily my cousin had an extra jacket but that means I look like a frumpy garbage bag again :( This is my "I h8 u dad it's fucking cold why u always troll me" face. (Up till now everyone still laughs at my europe bag that Dad told me to bring)


My cousin and cousin in law. His face never maintain.

Speaking of faces that never maintain...................................... My hair also ahaha. The wind was SO strong.



Assthur really needa stop it ah.


 Dying in the cold


Back to Sheep Farm

Went back to the sheep farm otw down from the mountain to watch a horse show. hahahahahaha



This guy gave like a half an hour long introduction of the horse show. I kid you not we were all just like .................................................

MAI BAYBEE

Whipped the bowling pin off this guy's head



Whipped the flame off 


Doing some stunts. Horsing around. HAHAHA. shut up.

Upside down. I bet I cld do that too.

Ok this was impressive

Monumental moment- First time my cousin in law carried Ben

Eating my fave apple

Sunset while going home. I loveeeeeeeeeee sunsets

Hotel Room. 

We stopped by the 7/11 and like seriously bought the whole store. The tour guide told us to buy SOME food in case we got hungry since the mountain/hotel area didn't really have any convenience stores. Clearly what my family heard was WAR IZ COMING BUY EVERYTHING. 

Anyway Korkor Stephen came into our room cuz that's where the babies weren't + where the food was. He opened the packet of seaweed I bought and I left the room for 2 minutes to see the babies and when I came back he said he finished the seaweed and I was like wtf and didn't believe him but I rly cldn't find it anywhere it was damn funny. He inhaled it or something i don't understand how he demolished it so fast. Monstrous.

Our beds.
We had tea at the lobby area with the owners. They are a lovely couple. They love me also. I tied my hair into a plait and the aunty kept telling me it's damn nice and my hair colour is damn nice then she asked me if I'm a hairdresser. Dat is gr8. Then she said I'm damn pretty and my skin is very nice so Ok can forgive.
Went downstairs to the hotspring area at night!

Day 4:

 
Benbie sleeping in the morning. Everyone says I look like I'm breastfeeding. There is a special place in hell reserved for yall.

The Luce Chapel

Set off for Taipei today which is a loooongass drive away so as usual we stopped by a couple of random places
Went to some church in some University campus. The church is special cuz there's no roof. It's like if you put your hands together in a praying manner.


I love pushing Assthur when she's in the pram <3


The wind was damn strong here so it was really cold and my uncle one hero in his shorts hahahahaha. He looks like one of the three wise men 

 Twins. Dad & Ben formed a special bond during the trip. They were inseparable~~

 Looks like Pororo whom she fondly refers to as "lolololo"

Lunch at some place with wooden decor 

(My subheadings are terrible I know)

We came here with our tour group the last time we went to Taiwan!



It was Mom & Dad's 30th Wedding Anniversary!!!


This was SO yummy

This was really good too. Salted egg tofu and mushroom. I really should try to take pictures before they attack it but they all sure kaopei





Dinner at some Jap Place

We drove FOR HOURSSSSSSSS before reaching Taipei.
My hair was like this upon reaching the dinner table and nobody felt like they needed to tell me my hair was absolute shit. When i confronted them later on they thought this was the look i was going for. I can't even..........


Dad bought Mom black pearl earrings and a pendant. Ewww PDA






2nd Photo: Dad trying to point at mom's natural black pearl (HAHAHAHA) and failing (HAHAHAHA)
3rd photo: LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLwtf
4th photo: OKOKOKOKOK maintain

I spent the entire dinner picking up some ball that Assthur threw and running after her making sure she didn't bump her head on the corners of the table while everyone sat in the room eating happily. If i had a cage.................

Day 5:

Yomi Hotel @ Taipei

We stayed at Yomi Hotel which was really comfortable and I really liked it. It's about a 10 minute walk from the nearest MRT and there's a 7/11 and Family Mart and bubble tea shop right next door

 
^.^

Shopping @ Taipei 101

We took the train to Taipei 101 to shop today!!!
Split up at about 12pm and agreed to meet back at 1:30pm. At about 12:30pm after splitting into groups we all realised this wasn't Taipei 101 and we were all done with looking around but couldn't contact each other. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Sibei jialat.

Assthur is SO CUTE. I bent down so I would be same height as her and she bent down also. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. HOW CUTE IS DATTTTTT.

HEY I JUZ MET U

N I'M A MONSTER

Met up and went to the real Taipei 101. hahahahaha srsly losers. especially since we have all been to Taipei 101 the previous time.


Split up again and korkor, Jiejie Lyd and I went to roam around inside looking for Bernie's Christmas present. Spent AN ETERNITY but finally found something really nice at Dior.

Went to Eslite Bookstore which is a 24hr bookshop that's apparently very popular. I don't get the hype. It's like Kino. Nearly bought a Where's Wally book but I got a headache browsing through it. Sian really getting old.

Had an iced latte here.

Night Market

We all went out for dinner but split up cuz some wanted to go to the night market and others wanted a sit-down meal. I ate sashimi and my roasted corn at the night market. This night market was a really small one tho.


 
Went to look for the other members of our family and found them eating at this dilapidated place. Wat. Da. Faq. My brother and I LAUGHED our heads off when we saw them here. Cuz my parents are usually the first to flee from such places.

Wtf is going on really. hahahahahahahahahahahah


I went to Watsons everyday and even several times a day. HAHAHAHA. The make up removers damn cheap there so I bought about 10. And bought two BBcreams by Missha and Skin79 cuz it was like only S$22 there.

Day 6:

Shopping @ Xi Men Ting

Took the train to Xi Men Ting today to shop. Would have taken a cab because it's much faster and easier and comfortable and not very expensive either but Ben hates being in a car cuz he is slightly claustrophobic. 
Ben's sleeping position NEVER MAINTAIN AT ALL.

HAHAHAHA Bffs fo lyf

HI YOU. hahaHAHAHAHAHA.

I can't read a single thing on the signboard but this is a famous oyster mee sua place. My uncle is clearly very excited.

Saw these super fat doggiessssss


Hahahaha. I hate these kind of machines because I never get anything and it's really addictive. Also, PSY looks so bad. HAHAHA.

BENBENNN. Didn't buy anything from this place because it's like all winter shit and hats and they did sell some bags and earrings and that kinda stuff but I didn't like em. I did buy a face wash from The Face Shop though hahaha.

This is the junction near our hotel!

Shopping @ Wu Fen Pu

Went out at night to Wu Fen Pu which sells like wholesale stuff. But the clothes were mostly winter wear.


Raohe Night Market

Walked about 5 minutes from Wu Fen Pu to Ruohe Night Market which was way more interesting!

Ate super yummy Herbal Ba Kut Teh



And oysters!!!


Played some fish catching game. The paper is tracing paper and dissolves in water. Damn funny and difficult. My cousin managed to catch one tho!

Day 7:

ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I LOVE THE ZOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LIKE SERIOUSLY NOBODY UNDERSTANDS MY LOVE!!!
Singapore Zoo is the best so it kinda spoils the game for the rest of the zoos in the world but I still do love going to zoos overseas. The Taiwan Zoo is MASSIVE and it costs like SGD 1. Insane. AND they have pandas. AND they don't charge extra to see the pandas.

Korkor rocking jiejie Pam's longchamp bag

Entrance to the zoo

We had to wait for Jiejie Pam + Mom + Ben Ben who took the train. The others went elsewhere hahaha.

Went to Mc Donalds to get food and Assthur LOVES the fries

Assthur had flu so I had to take out her nose shit............. This is the biggest nose shit I have EVER seen.

Mc Donalds druggie. High on Fries. Snot + chocolate on her face. 

Look at my bro's eyelids. Mine r like that too which is why I have to put my eyelid tape. :(

Benbie <3 He looks so calm and tame compared to Assthur

HAI MY LITTLE SWEETIE

Dad was couldn't even wait for ben to come down he had to go up the escalator and wait at the train station. 
Too cute diz bromance.

Bought Assthur a froggie hat



KOALA BEARRRZZZ


Pundah

They have an extremely elaborate enclosure for the Pandas. Like an entire three storey building complete with a gift shop and a cafe. They have two pandas and when we went they were both sleeping with their backs facing us :(




Panda Cafe for Lunch. SOOOOOOOOO CUTEEEEEEEEEE

They sat in the chairs for about 2 minutes before they tried to climb out.

 SO happy after having her second ice cream of the day. She ended up eating icecream all three meals. LOL

Wearing the hat we bought at the gift shop

Pandas woke up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO KEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWTTTTTTT

They behave exactly like humans wearing a panda suit.

HIHIHIHIHIHIHIHI. wanted to hug them so badly


Hahahahahahaha 


Hahahahahaha


My mom took a look at this and said, "WOW What is this? The word Zoo in Mandarin is it?"
HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAH
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
In case yall are retarded too it's a freaking elephant and koala bear and other animals.

Croc

Pygmy Hippo

Hate Monkeys

Ewww so disgusting like some old man

The enclosure was really interesting tho

MASSIVE spider

Threw a leaf and it attacked it thinking it was an insect LOLdumbass.

Lololol really together forever these two.


Gloria from Madagascar


Assthur looks SO cute


We walked back after this even though we covered only about 10% cuz da babies were tired/sleeping. I was like OMG CAN WE GO SEE THE KOALA BEARS? And everyone was looking at me like wtf r u serious cuz I forgot that we already saw them. HAHAHAHA MA BADDDD.

HAHAHAHAA 

Yucksss

By the time we went to the "children's zoo" the children were all sleeping but I really wanted to go so I dragged and begged Korkor to go with me. HAHAHA. LOOK AT DA BUNNIES SO CUTEEEE. 


OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG


 
This was damn funny ahahahahahahah

Bought a hat for Coopcakes (Nut's nephew) so he and assthur can have matching hats when they have their first playdate

Drinking milk in her sleep


Dumped all the bags on the handles of the pram and even with Assthur sitting in it if we didn't hold it the pram would tilt back hahaha

Went to take the Gondola which is more like a cable car. Was damn cheap also like 2 SGD





Scenery was stunning!!!

Crystal Cabin- Glass floor. Which was lame cuz it's all trees below anyway.



LOVE this photo it's so beautiful and makes me so happy hahaha



The cable car brought us to the top which is Mao Kong Station and they had some food market there so we went to grab a quick bite

Pig's Blood. Idk how they make it like this. I didn't even know I ordered this. It came with my tofu. My Dad wanted to eat some tofu so I gave him some and his face was PRICELESS because it's apparently chou tofu and he didn't know and he HATES it and I didn't know so he glared at me for a good 10 seconds which is something he has never done before and my brother and cousin burst out laughing cuz korkor was like "Daddy just said fuck you with his eyes" 
Well said.




Dinner @ Sukiya Taipei 101


We had dinner at Bernie's restaurant!!! It was lovely. Steamboat buffet and they had ice cream also which was damn yums

Carried Ben while he slept but I really wanted to eat ice cream so..................... hahahahaahaha

Raohe Night Market again

Went to the night market again because my parents and aunt and uncle hadn't been there yet and I had to buy some presents for my friendsssss

Pacman frogs which my cousin fell in love with


Day 8:

Shi Fen Old Street

Drove up the mountains again to Shi Fen Old Street to walk around.

Awww

It started drizzling which was extremely annoying and it's quite narrow inside so carrying an umbrella is really a hassle. My aunt damn champion really there are no other words to describe this. hahahahahaha

"Erm............................ Do you need an umbrella Ah Yee?"
"Nono, I have my hat ^^"
Needless to say my brother and I LOST IT.

Went to this eatery and the walls inside were PLASTERED with the owner's face EVERYYYYYWHEREEEE.

Then went to find the rest of the family who were at some restaurant.



Hehe






Shi Fen Waterfall




Look at the fish!!!

I wasn't even ready...




Went to some town nearby to buy firewerqqqssss. It's legal in Taiwan and also FRIGGINASS cheap. Like the small ones were 1 SGD and the bigger ones that you normally see were only 10 SGD

Taiwanese tradition where they write wishes on floating lanterns



Bing Lang which is some kind of beetle nut or something that is very common in Taiwan. Usually they get sessymamas to dress like hookers and sell it to truck drivers and all who chew them so they don't fall asleep. We tried it last time I think. Sucked. And spoils your teeth if you consume alot. Our tour guide says they used to be naked. HAHAHA. 

Fireworks

Family Dramz back at the hotel before a couple of us set off to go play with the fireworks. Had to drive out about 45minutes to a less crowded area.
Obviously I couldn't light the fireworks because I am extremely scared of fire/lighters. 

Didn't know how to set my camera settings properly PLUS my camera was dying so the photos I took.......really............ wow.........................get ready.



Dat. Iz. Gr8. Luckily my brother took a video. (I'll put it at the end of the post) Anyway it was seriously SO cool. gr8 way to end the trip (minus the family fight hahaha)

Packing to go home! Our room was such a mess.

Day 10: 23rd December 2012

Going home!!! :)

Really fun and enjoyable trip spending quality time with my family but I think having the babies with us was really stressful so the adults didn't have THAT much fun. But it was still a really lovely trip!

Cuddle time before going home

For some reason the last day was the coldest like really 10 degrees or something and I was not prepared AT ALL. Ended up freezing even in the airport and had to wear gloves which my brother found extremely amusing. _|_

Flying back home. Yey!

My cousin fell after she lighted the fireworks. I didn't see it but we laughed like shit about it after that. HAHAHA.

Thanks for reading!
~End of Taiwan~


Saturday, November 24, 2012

Michigan Health Care Claims Tax Fight -- Additional Rounds Ahead

It�s been a tough fight thus far in opposition to the Michigan Health Insurance Claims Assessment Act, which imposes a one percent (1%) assessment on all health care payers, including self-insured employers and certain business partners, for medical services rendered to Michigan residents in the state of Michigan.

As this blog has previously reported, business groups in Michigan signed off on the legislation last year noting it was part of a larger budget deal that was not as bad as possible alternatives.   ERISA preemption concerns were outweighed by the belief that self-insured employers could absorb the new tax without much disruption. 

Then in August of this year, a federal district court in Michigan dismissed an ERISA preemption lawsuit, which contended that the administrative obligations imposed by the Act are unlawful.    

Game over?  Well, not exactly.

An appeal of the District�s court ruling has just by filed with the Sixth Circuit Court Appeals and incorporates some very strong arguments to justify a reversal.  And this time, the self-insurance industry will have an unlikely ally in this legal fight � organized labor. 

What has not been widely recognized is that the tax applies to self-insured Taft-Hartley plans and the ERISA preemption argument is even stronger as it relates to these plans.   So it is a positive development that at least two Taft-Hartley plans are expected file amicus briefs next week. 

But while more pressure is being applied in Federal Court, things are heating back up in the Michigan State Legislature to make the tax significantly more onerous.

The Act was structured based on the assumption that it would raise $400 in annual revenue from all payers.   Of course, government budgeting is often suspect and Michigan bureaucrats have lived up to this reputation.  Through the first half of 2012, the state collected only $109 million from the health claims tax, which means the annualized estimate is short nearly $200 million.

So it should not come as any surprise that the Michigan Legislature is now considering a proposal during a lame duck session to significantly hike the tax.  SB 1359, introduced earlier this month, would allow for an unlimited and variable rate on the claims tax so that it would float up and down to ensure that the tax generates $400 million annually.  The bill would also eliminate the proportional credit/refund provision should the tax collect more than the $400 million target amount.

Interestingly, state business groups who provided tacit approval to the tax last year have now launched an aggressive lobbying effort to defeat the proposed 2.0 version.   We�ll see if labor groups join the cause. 

While it�s certainly encouraging that there is strong push back against SB 1359, the opposition remains focused on the economic argument.    Yes, this is clearly important but arguably not as important as the ERISA preemption issue.

We�ll concede that the most self-insured employers in Michigan have figured out how to comply with this new tax obligation, but multi-state employers will also tell you that if other states implement a similar tax scheme this would greatly complicate compliance efforts.  In turn, this could make the self-insurance option much less attractive � a particularly troubling development in the post-ACA world where self-insurance offers a critical safe harbor.

Look around.  Most states have budget challenges, especially as it relates to health care obligations.  If the Michigan tax withstands legal and legislative challenges then we should not be surprised if other states attempt the same approach.

So the stakes are high in Michigan as it is now ground zero in the ERISA preemption fight.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Captives & Dodd-Frank -- Hitting the Right Target

The recent announcement of an industry coalition to push for federal legislation clarifying that the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act (NRRA), included as part of the Dodd-Frank law, does not apply to captive insurance companies certainly sounds like a positive initiative.  But despite good intentions, this blog is skeptical that it will acheive the desired result.

We have actually been tracking this issue for some time and is aware of discussions that have taken place with key congressional sources regarding the viability of a possible legislative fix (two conversations as recent as yesterday).  The consensus is that it could be done technically, but DC politics dictate that such an effort would be a heavy lift.

The political reality is that neither Democrats nor Republicans have the appetite to open up the Dodd-Frank Law for any changes at this point. 

Truth be told, congressional Republicans don�t want to do anything to help the law actually work, as this was a highly partisan piece of legislation, much like the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  The only way Republicans would be motivated to even consider amending the legislation is if such action would substantively lessen the administrative burdens on the banking industry and provide certainty to the business community, especially small business.

 Democrats, for their part, will be resistant to �technical amendment� legislation even if they support it in principle for fear that it would become a legislative vehicle where additional amendments would be grafted on with the intent of watering down the law.

And neither party wants to come back under fire from the powerful financial services industry lobby, which would surely happen if Dodd-Frank is opened back up � even for so-called technical fixes.   

But just for the sake of argument, let�s assume that legislation is introduced and some co-sponsors are lined up.  Does that mean success is any more likely?  Probably not.  To understand this assessment, we need to talk about the relative political power of interest groups in DC. 

While many of the larger lobbying organizations active in DC have the ability to block and/or shape legislation, there are far fewer who have enough political juice to get their own special interest legislation passed through Congress, no matter how limited. To be blunt, the captive insurance industry simply does not fit into this latter, more exclusive group.   

Finally, the country�s biggest captive domiciles simply do not have powerful congressional delegations with regard to insurance-related issues, which could potentially offset the deficiencies and complications described above.  That is not to say these members of Congress would not be forceful advocates, they simply are not positioned to move legislation envisioned by proponents of this approach.

So does all this mean that there will never be clarity relative to whether the NRRA applies to captives?  Well, it may not to come from Congress for the reasons we just explained, but it may come from federal regulators as part of the Dodd-Frank rule-making process. 

In fact, this avenue is now being actively explored by self-insurance industry lobbyists.   This strategy can best be described as a �surgical strike,� as opposed to an expensive and pro-longed �land war,� which the congressional route would surely become. 

We�ll see if the political operatives now engaged with the regulators can hit the target.  But at least an arguably clearer path has been identified.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Packaging Health Plan Fee Details for a Post-Election Launch

Self-insured employers have been waking up in recent weeks and months to the reality that they will soon be hit with new fees to finance a transitional reinsurance program provided for the in the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  But they are likely going to have to wait on the details until after the November elections.

As a quick refresher, the fees will be earmarked to capitalize reinsurance facilities in each state that serve as financial backstops for health insurance companies which offer individual coverage plans through public health insurance exchanges slated to come on-line in 2014.  Health insurance companies will also be subject to this fee.

What has caused some confusion is that the statute and a pre-curser rule finalized earlier this year references that third party administratorson behalf of self-insured plans will be responsible for paying the fee.   In private meetings over the summer, regulators clarified that it was not the intent that TPAs be financially liable for these fee, but rather they will be expected to assist in the collection of these fees from their clients.  Those details, along with the specific fee amounts, are still under wraps.

This blog has learned that an increasing number of large self-insured employers have been complaining directly to senior White House officials that the fee is fundamentally unfair because it helps to support the profitability health insurance companies, with no direct benefit for employers.  Responses have ranged from �we hear you but there is nothing we can do� to �there should be no complaining now because you (the employer community) signed off on this ACA provision during the legislative process.�

The former response is expected, but the latter response deserves some fact checking.

According to a source directly involved with drafting this section of the ACA, there is an interesting back story that is not widely known.  When legislative language was being developed, Democratic drafters did not understand the difference between independent TPAs with insurance company owned ASOs and did not understand that ASOs are typically separate business entities from their insurance company parents.

The reason why this is important is because ACA legislative drafters recognized that it did not make sense to impose fees on self-insured plans to subsidize insurance companies but they figured by referencing TPAs they would exclusively tap the fully-insured marketplace on the assumption that all TPAs were owned by insurance companies.

Only later in the legislative drafting process did they come to understand that many self-insured employers had no insurance company connection.  But by that time there was no turning back and there was no alternative to collecting the necessary revenue � all self-insured employers were going to have to pay.  No wonder that that the regulators have been slow with details on how this is all going to work.

So this brings back to the timing of when these details will be published.  Clearly if the Administration thought that employer community was going to be happy with the new rules, they would be released prior to Election Day.  But the best intel suggests that the proposed are done and are sitting right now at the Office of Management & Budget (OMB) awaiting a green light for release, likely shortly after election day.

The one positive detail is that the rules will be coming out in proposed form, so there will be an opportunity for formal stakeholder input -- just another thing to look forward to as we enter the holiday season.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Michigan Health Care Claims Tax May Just Be The Opening Bid

This blog has previously reported about the one percent health care claims tax that the state of Michigan has imposed on all payers, including self-insured group health plans.  We have also commented on the refusal of most within the employer community to support a legal challenge to the law, which should be preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

While one prominent Michigan employer has privately been a big financial supporter of this self-insurance legal defense initiative, the state�s largest employer organizations, as well as at least one major national association focused on ERISA preemption issues have been on the sidelines.

Now, it�s probably unrealistic to expect that the average self-insured employer will take the time to think about the longer term implications of ERISA preemption erosions.  Significant as these implications are, those employers are more concerned about the immediate financial implications.

 Fair enough.  Let�s talk about this shorter term perspective. 

 We have just learned from a very reliable source that the revenue collected so far this from health claims tax is much lower than projected -- so much lower, in fact, that the state Legislature will likely consider a proposal to raise it early next year.

 For employers who ran the numbers and determined that they could absorb a one percent tax, they should get ready to do a new set of calculations, perhaps on a yearly basis going forward, should a federal appeals court not strike down the law.  At some point it would seem that this health care tax could become an important factor as employers consider whether self-insurance is as cost effective as it otherwise would be,

 And in case you think this issue is contained to Michigan, think again.  Other cash-strapped states are watching how things play out in Michigan and at least some are likely to follow-suit if they believe such action will go unchallenged.

 When a camel gets its nose under the tent the occupants should not be surprised that the damage often cannot be contained.  For self-insured employers with workers in Michigan, they may soon learn this important lesson.

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Stop-Loss Regulation and the Coming Zombie Apocalypse

Key regulatory officials made some interesting comments about their interest in self-insured health plans utilizing stop-loss insurance at an American Bar Association event last week in Washington, DC

 Phyllis Borzi, assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Labor, said her agency is working on two ACA-required studies, one on wellness that is due in 2014 and an annual report to Congress on self-insured plans.

 �To try and help get information on self-insured plans, a couple of things have happened. Probably most recently what we asked for was we put out a tri-agency request for information (RFI),� Borzi said.

 George Bostick, benefits tax counsel at the U.S Treasury Department, said the RFI �produced a number of paranoid responses,� but Borzi then assured the audience that there were no ulterior motives to the RFI.

 �It is what it is. We don't have enough information, we think.. It's not like we have some hidden agenda, pro- or anti-stop-loss; we just want to find out what's going on out there,� Borzi said.

 Another panelist, Amy Turner, senior adviser and special projects manager in EBSA's Office of Health Plan Standards and Compliance Assistance, echoed Ms. Borzi's comments about the departments needing more information on stop-loss insurance and wanted feedback from a �broad group of stakeholders.�

 The departments are sifting through the comment letters responding to the RFI, but Turner said not to expect any stop-loss guidance in the near future.

 �To the extent that some people maybe saw the RFI and thought, �Oh my goodness! Is something like the zombie apocalypse going to happen?' I think we're just working on the comment letters. I wouldn't expect any major guidance from the departments very quickly on this,� Turner said.

 This blog will give Ms. Turner the benefit of the doubt that a zombie apocalypse is probably not in the offing regardless of any further regulatory action that may be taken.

 That said, the regulators will have to forgive the �paranoia� expressed by self-insurance industry stakeholders.  After all, the current administration has proven to be very adept at sidestepping normal legislative procedures and inclined to give the green light to regulatory agencies to test the bounds of statutory authority when political needs arise.

 Speaking of political needs, it�s worth reminding everyone of how the regulators explained the reason for the RFI.  The following is an excerpt from the RFI introduction:

 It has been suggested that some small employers with healthier employees may self-insure and purchase stop-loss insurance with relatively low attachment points to avoid being subject to certain consumer protection requirements while exposing themselves to little risk.  This practice, if widespread, could worsen the risk pool and increase premiums in the fully-insured small group market, including the in the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) exchanges that begin in the 2014.

 If, in fact, the regulars reach these same conclusions, is it reasonable to believe they will simply sit on their hands?  We�ll be sure to keep an eye out for zombies as these developments continue to play out just in case.