While the phrase, "be careful what you ask for", may be somewhat appropriate, torrents of rain finally fell on drought-stricken and wildfire-prone Texas, but destructive tornados unfortunately, hitched a ride.

Three tornados spun forth by the needed thundestorms, including powerful winds and flooding that caused San Antonio authorities to rescue 14 rescues of individuals from their vehicles while nine inches of rain, deluged the city.

The squall of storms swept from north to south, first pounding Dallas and Fort Worth overnight and then moved toward San Antonio and south Texas. As the storms inched south and settled over Central Texas and Austin, record amounts of rain -- more than 5 inches in some areas of the capital -- drenched areas that just a few months ago battled the most devastating wildfires the state has ever seen.

The downpours were seen as a blessing in some regions, including Washington County, a rural area northwest of Houston that hasn't seen much rain this year and was scorched by massive wildfires in 2011.

Before tornado's strike near your clients, here's what you need to know about tornado coverage?

And look at this link to learn about flood iinsurance covwerage?

Its obvious that every health insurer is closely watching the implementation of the PPACA. In the Medigap sector they are watching to see how the medical loss ratio rules might be changed to impact them.

Some industry insiders are weary that recent proposals by Congress may hurt their businesses, while others are doubling down, according to Insurance News Net on the line of business as a potential profit center as baby boomers begin to retire.

The PPACA mentions Med-Sup only in passing, calling on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to develop recommendations about potential changes to cost-sharing requirements for the two most popular Med-Sup products: Plan C and Plan F. However, plossible changes have been proposed.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., introduced legislation that would require Medicare supplemental insurance plans, sometimes called Medigap policies, to meet the same medical-loss ratio standards as other health plans under PPACA. Under the PPACA, health insurance carriers are required to spend at least 80% of their premium dollars for individual and small-group plans on medical costs. The percentage increases to 85% for large-group plans. The rest of the premiums are left for administrative costs and profits.

The change proposed by the Kerry-Stark bills would mark a significant increase from the MLR most Med-Sup plans currently employ--65% for individual and small-group plans and 75% for large-group plans. Those bills did not gain traction in Congress during the most recent session, but insiders are worried they'll be introduced again.

Current Enrollment Figures

The latest Medicare Supplement membership figures show continued growth in the number of new policies being issued. The number of newer policies, those issued in the last three years, increased by 5.9% in 2010 when compared to the 2009 base, according to Mark Farrah. Growth increased compared to 2009 when carriers had experienced 1.3% growth in new policies. Termination of Medicare Advantage private-fee-for-services throughout much of the country and the introduction of new Plans M and N options have resulted in a resurgence of Medicare Supplement membership. Medicare Supplement plans covered 9.453 million seniors as of December 31, 2010, according to annual financial statements filed with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

The National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA) has now announced that the first six provider-based accountable care organizations (ACO) to seek accreditation from the ACO program NCQA launched back in 2011.

The six organizations are:

• Billings Clinic, Billings, MT
• Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
• Essentia Health, Duluth, MN
• Crystal Run Healthcare, Middletown, NY
• Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, Houston, TX
• Health Partners, Minneapolis, MN

NCQA says that these six organizations have committed to undergoing a full NCQA assessment per their recently estrablished guidelines of their ACO capabilities between March and December of this year.

With looming changes from health care reform on the horizon and increased cost-shifting to employees, voluntary benefits emerge as a bigger player in the benefit programs of the future.

According to Employee Benefit News, 2012 promises to be a huge year for voluntary benefits, according to Mark Roberts writing for BenefitsPro. Roberts argues that anyone who wants to protect themselves from runaway medical charges or unexpected health care bills needs to consider the following.

As employees take on more responsibility for paying for health care, voluntary benefits can provide much-needed additional coverage. Here's Roberts summary of key trends to help employers plan their voluntary benefits strategy going forward.

• Cost-shifting: The move toward employers shifting more health care costs on to employees is helping drive voluntary benefits sales. Employees need greater options, which is exactly what voluntary benefits provides.

Voluntary Benefits Basics

Voluntary benefits are insurance products that employees may choose to purchase through their companies at rates that are lower than they could get on their own. A few examples of voluntary benefits are dental, vision, life (mostly term), accidental death and disability, disability (short and long-term), supplemental health (i.e.- specified disease, critical illness, hospital only, etc.) and cancer insurance. Many employers offer voluntary benefits because they allow companies to provide a more robust benefits package at no cost to them.

Additional Voluntary Benefit Offerings

Typical examples offered through a voluntary benefits plan include: gym membership, retail vouchers, CDs, DVDs, travel insurance, holidays and travel, entrance to theme parks and other attractions, cinema and theatre tickets, and car parking.

In addition to employer cost-shifting health care refom is causing consternation among employers and the industry. Roberts sites the following from a recent Colonial Life survey, which shows employers are taking three concrete actions to deal with this double whammy:

• 51% are increasing their health insurance premiums.
• 48% are increasing employees' health insurance deductibles or co-pays.
• 49% are adding voluntary benefits.

So yes, voluntary benefits will be on the forefront this year but I'd aappreciate your thoughts, as always.