Daily Record Financial News &
Monday, July 10, 2017
Vol. 104, No. 169 • One Section
35¢
www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Blue Cross: Rates could jump 20 percent Executive says if tax subsidies are left out of new health care law, it could make “coverage unaffordable for quite a few.”
By David Cawton Staff Writer Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Inc., the state’s largest health insurance provider, will increase rates if cost-share reduction and tax subsidies in the Affordable Care Act don’t carry over to new health care legislation being debated in Washington.
Darnell Smith, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida market president for North Florida, said if those cost-share reductions and tax subsidies are left out of the next health care law, the company would raise rates by 20 percent. “If those go away, the coverage that we provide could become unaffordable for quite a few folks,” Smith said.
Smith said if customers decided not to buy insurance because it was too expensive, it would put additional short- and long-term financial strain on the overall health insurance market, causing rates to rise. Cost-share reductions, or CSRs, help pay for deductibles, co-pays and other out-of-pocket expenses for lower-income Americans who sign up for indi-
vidual plans through the state’s health insurance marketplace. Smith said about 1 million of the company’s 5 million customers purchased an individual plan through the state marketplace this year. Floridians can buy coverage through the state exchange if they don’t receive insurance Blue Cross
continued on
Page 4
Florida Bar President Higer sets priorities
Photos provided by The Florida Bar
With his wife, Bobbie, and children Samantha and Adam looking on, Berger Singerman partner Michael Higer, right, was sworn in June 23 as the 69th president of The Florida Bar by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Jorge Labarga.
Five ‘pillars’ will guide the state legal organization. By Max Marbut Associate Editor Michael Higer, partner of the Dispute Resolution Team at the Berger Singerman law firm in Miami, was sworn in June 23 as the 69th president of The Florida Bar. Higer, 56, received his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida and his juris doctorate with honors in 1985 from the University of Miami School of Law, where he was executive edi-
At his induction ceremony, The Florida Bar President Michael Higer made it clear he’s a lifelong fan of baseball in general and the Los Angeles Dodgers in particular. He concluded his inaugural address at the Bar’s annual meeting by saying “baseball will be the official language of the Bar and the Dodgers will be our team.”
tor of the Law Review. After he was admitted to the Bar, he joined Fine Jacobson Schwartz Nash Block & England as a commercial litigator and then joined Coll Davidson Carter Smith Salter & Barkett before forming Higer Lichter & Givner in 2006. He joined Berger Singerman in 2015. A few days after he took over the Bar’s highest elected post, Higer talked to the Daily Record about Higer
continued on
Page 4
No surprise: CSX leads pack for double-digit gains The first half of the year was good for stocks, with a number of Jacksonville-based companies producing double-digit gains. But it was Jacksonville’s big-
Public
gest company that produced the biggest gain. As everyone knows by now, CSX Corp. soared on the news that Hunter Harrison was seeking the CEO job in January, and he eventually got the job in March. Investors expect a big improvement in the railroad’s operations from Harrison, who left as CEO of Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. to pursue the CSX job.
legal notices begin on page
8
Harrison
So, it’s no surprise that CSX led all Jacksonville stocks in the first six months of the year, with its price jumping
51.9 percent. CSX next week will report earnings for the second quarter,
its first full quarter since Harrison took over. According to one analyst, the report should show a lot of activity already. “Since Hunter was named CEO in late 1Q, CSX has already shut down 6 of its 12 hump yards and reported meaningful improvements in train speeds, train counts, and on-time performance,” Wolfe Research analyst Scott Group said in a research
Published
for
27,230
note before the holiday weekend. “Train speeds have increased about 10 percent, on-time arrivals have increased about 36 percent, and active train counts have come down about 20 percent,” he said. Group, like everyone else, has high expectations. He has a year-end price target of $60 for Basch
continued on
Page 3
consecutive business days