Most North Dakotans get their insurance through some sort of group plan, usually through an employer, but our state is also a unique place. We have a lot of self-employed entrepreneurs, people like ranchers and farmers and other small business owners, and they’re responsible for purchasing their own insurance. The only news most of us…
Guest Post: Legislative Session Gave Insurance Department Resources, Authority to Make Things Better for North Dakotans
This guest post was submitted by North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread, a Republican first elected in 2016. It isn’t always easy to be transformative in state government due to the confines of certain laws, policies or financial structures. Change certainly happens, but often slowly. Yet, I am happy to report that with the close…
Audio: Godfread Says Medica Leaving Obamacare Exchange “A Sign of Things to Come”
Yesterday Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread ripped Congress for their inaction on healthcare reform while announcing that the insurance company Medica was leaving North Dakota’s iteration of the Obamacare exchanges. “This situation is one the Department understood to be a possibility but we were hopeful that Congress would come to a resolution regarding health care reform…
Jon Godfread: Congress Should Reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program
The current National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) reauthorization expires on September 30, 2017. As flood insurance is an important issue for the North Dakota Insurance Department, for our state and for the thousands of consumers in North Dakota who are affected by the decisions being made at a federal level regarding flood insurance, I want…
The Federal Government Should Do Less, and the States Should Do More, on Health Care and Insurance Policy
“Let states take over health reform from federal politicians” is the headline for my print column today (here’s the version in the Jamestown Sun). The genesis for the column was my interview with North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread on my radio show earlier this week (full audio below). “Turn this back over to the states,”…
James Kerian: North Dakota Showcases The Power Of Competition
North Dakota’s elected officials like to take credit for our state’s booming economy. Their challengers like to point out that no incumbent every put oil in the ground. Some of North Dakota’s policy makers say that if other states did things our way the country would be in much better shape economically. Others retort that…
Your Local Library Soon To Become Obamacare Enrollment Center
The Obama administration is shifting into high gear to roll out Obamacare, and the latest conscripts are your local librarians who are being tasked promoting the law, especially in conservative states where the law is acutely unpopular. The nation’s librarians will be recruited to help people get signed up for insurance under President Barack Obama’s…
From The Left: The Surprising Results Of Health Insurance Exchanges
I have been a fan of health care reform for over 25 years. I remember arguing in the early 90’s that if the Clinton administration did not do something about Health Care costs, health care would approach 15% of the GDP. Well, as it turns out, Republicans got their way, and nothing was done until…
Does The Immigration Bill Create An Incentive To Hire Illegal Immigrants Under Obamacare?
“Under Obamacare, businesses with over 50 workers that employ American citizens without offering them qualifying health insurance could be subject to fines of up to $3,000 per worker,” reports Phil Klein for the Washington Examiner. “But because newly legalized immigrants wouldn’t be eligible for subsidies on the Obamacare exchanges until after they become citizens –…
What's The Worst That Could Happen: Obamacare Data Hub Will Centralize Your Financial, Health Care Information
With the NSA scandal in the headlines, Americans are becoming a little more sensitive about what data the government collects on us. But it’s not just the NSA that’s collecting our emails, and documenting our phone calls. Thanks to Obamacare, the federal government will soon have a massive central database containing our financial and health…