| Blue Cross Of California Health Insurance - Clear Answers To Tough ...
Northridge, California (FV Newswire) - Blue Cross of California health insurance provides clear answers to tough questions. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently proposed a plan to provide affordable health insurance to everyone in the state under the age of 18. The ultimate goal, according to Chuck Mondrus of American Health Insurance / Blue Cross California, is for everyone in California to have affordable health insurance.
"Blue Cross California," Mondrus adds, "shares the Governor's concern with California's cost and coverage challenges, and we view many components of the Governor's proposal as very positive. Theoretically, if everyone is insured, the cost of insurance would be less on a per-person basis."
He adds that, until a finished proposal exists, it's impossible to know the legislation's real impact.
County revisiting partner perks
Nearly two years after an effort to extend health benefits to unmarried partners failed on a party-line vote, Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson is resurrecting the idea.
But this time, instead of focusing solely on health benefits for domestic partners, Wilson wants to broaden the program to "adult designees" such as siblings, long-term roommates and parents of county employees. The Salt Lake County Council is scheduled to discuss the plan Tuesday.
"This seems like a win-win," Wilson said. "I really believe that anything local governments can do to provide health insurance through government pools and by getting other family members and other people involved is a good thing."
Council Chairman Mark Crockett, a Republican, cast the deciding vote against a July 2005 plan that would have given domestic partners and their children the same benefits granted families of married employees, including health, dental and life insurance, extended funeral leave and sick leave to care for a dependent.
As Health Costs Soar, More Find Care Overseas
WHEN SHE WAS diagnosed with a fibroid tumor last year, Kathleen Dodds found herself in a bind. She didn't have health insurance because she couldn't afford it. With no insurance, the surgery she needed was prohibitively expensive. "They were quoting me $30,000, tentatively, paid out of pocket," says Dodds, 42, a Portland, Ore.-based horse trainer. "There was no way I could afford it here." But 7,200 miles away in India was an affordable solution. Through IndUSHealth, a company in Raleigh, N.C., that arranges medical care in India for U.S. citizens, Dodds flew out to the Apollo hospital in Delhi, where she had a successful hysterectomy that allowed her to return to her horseback riding students just two-and-a-half weeks later. The total cost: just under $10,000, including round-trip airfare, transportation to and from the hospital, a one-week hospital stay where she says she was treated with more care and attention than she had ever experienced in the U.S., capped by 10 days at a "gorgeous hotel." "It was actually a pleasant situation, considering that I was having major surgery," she says.
Coalition plans rally in support of universal health care bill
TRACY A coalition of local organizations in support of universal health care will be staging a rally in front of the post office today. The demonstration is intended to raise awareness for Senate Bill 840, the California Health Insurance Reliability Act, which would provide universal health coverage for every resident of the state, regardless of their ability to pay. Today's event is being organized by the San Joaquin Coalition for Universal Health Care, as part of the statewide "365 Day One Care Now Campaign." The goal is that each day, one community in California will host an educational/informational activity to raise awareness and offer solutions for the skyrocketing costs of health care. According to One Care Now, the bill would "create one plan and one public trust fund which would pay all health care bills and collect all the monies already being spent on health care and insurance plans." If enacted, the bill would "replace all health premiums, taxes, deductibles and co-payments now paid by employers, employees and individuals with one affordable premium." The organization states that more than 5 million Californians have no insurance at any time during the year, with an additional 2 million lacking insurance for part of the year.
Marchers rally for state health care
TRACY - Supporters of a health care plan to create a state-run single-payer system covering all California residents took to the streets of Tracy on Wednesday afternoon. About 30 children and adults took part in the rally, which sought to build support for state Sen. Sheila Kuehl's California Universal Healthcare Act. Kuehl's proposal would create a statewide fund into which employers and employees would pay. That fund would pay medical providers for health services they provide to residents, including the estimated 6.5 million uninsured. "I feel like we should all have insurance, regardless of our money situation," said marcher Josie Lopez, 75, of Tracy. Support for the bill is not universal. A number of business groups, including the California Chamber of Commerce, oppose Kuehl's bill.
Hospitals joining push for universal insurance coverage
While the year is still young, serious proposals for universal health insurance already have been issued by two states (California and Pennsylvania), one U.S. senator (Oregon's Ron Wyden), a former U.S. senator and current presidential candidate (North Carolina's John Edwards), and one influential insurance association (America's Health Insurance Plans).
And now the Federation of American Hospitals has weighed in. Late last month, the group representing the country's largest commercial hospital chains unveiled its "Health Coverage Passport," which the federation estimates would cover 96 percent of Americans.
The plan would leave alone those currently covered by health insurance while requiring all other legal residents to have health insurance -- with government subsidies to help the uninsured obtain affordable, basic insurance.
State insurance laws keep costs too high for young adults
During six months of meetings, the governor's Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care Costs and Access learned that 51 percent of Washington's 593,000 uninsured are young adults, ages 19-34. They're also the fastest-growing segment of the uninsured. What's preventing those young adults from buying health insurance? Simply put -- it's too expensive. Although they're a healthy population, young adults do understand the value of health insurance. The problem is, when weighed against the cost of buying health insurance in this state, they opt to take the risk of going without. The costs are a result of Washington's heavily regulated insurance laws. Insurance carriers have told us time and time again that they could design and market more affordable health insurance plans for people in this age bracket if they were given flexibility with our state laws -- the same flexibility they already have in Connecticut, Colorado, California, Texas, Illinois, Georgia, Nevada and New Hampshire.
GPPI Hosts Roundtable on Universal Health Insurance
Georgetown Public Policy Institute and the O'Neill Institute on Health Law at the Georgetown Law Center will host Getting from Here to There, a roundtable discussion on the renewed interest in universal health insurance, on Monday April 9, 2007. The session will feature presentations by Katherine Baicker of the President's Council of Economic Advisors, Stuart Butler of the Heritage Foundation, and Jeanne Lambrew of the Center for American Progress, and will be followed by a roundtable discussion by other experts on health finance. The event will take place from 9 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. at the National Press Club. Every year approximately one million people are added to the rolls of the uninsured. As the number of firms offering health benefits declines, growing health costs stymie growth in earnings. Many insured Americans are seeing their benefits dwindle while health costs consume their wages, leaving some unable to pay their medical bills and others going without much needed care.
Affordable health insurance for all Americans
Americans need access to health insurance, but there are divergent philosophies on the best way to provide it. Some believe the federal government should insure everyone and use tax dollars to do it. The result would be long waits for treatment, lower quality and higher taxes. There is a better way. Government should continue to provide insurance for the poor, elderly and disabled through Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP. The private insurance market in each state must be organized so everyone else is offered a choice of basic plans at affordable prices. If the world has learned anything from the 20th century, it is that an efficient marketplace beats government at delivering value and controlling costs. The power of consumers to drive quality up and prices down needs to be used in government-sponsored programs as well.
MousePlanet's weekly mailbag compilation
This week's mailbag devotes a lot of space to answering questions about vacationing at Walt Disney World. First up, staff writer Lani Teshima answers some reader questions about Disney's Magical Express service to Walt Disney World Resorts. Margaret Z. writes: In October of 2006, my family visited Disney World and participated in Disney's Magical Express. One of our 4 pieces of luggage was lost. Magical Express took 2 days to determine that the lost luggage was not within the Magical Express system and then filed a claim with Southwest Airlines on our behalf. Southwest airlines has subsequently denied my claim for reimbursement since the preliminary claim was not made within 4 hours of our arrival. Note that none of our bags were delivered to our room at the resort within the 4-hour timeframe.
Chartiers-Houston comes out swinging
HOUSTON - One team is a regular in the WPIAL softball playoffs, but is still building toward becoming a top program. The other is, simply put, a proven winner. Bentworth High School has made playoff appearances each of the past four seasons, but hasn't advanced past the quarterfinals. Chartiers-Houston, meanwhile, is the two-time defending WPIAL Class A champion and has been in the semifinals each of the last eight years. When the two met on a blustery Wednesday afternoon at the Allison Elementary School field, each had something to gain from the key early-season Section 1-A matchup. Bentworth wanted to prove it can play with one of Class A's best, and Chartiers-Houston wanted to show it's still the team to beat.
Benefit cheats to face 'lie detectors'
Lie detector tests are to be used by officials as part of a new government effort to clamp down on suspected benefit fraudsters. Use of the special "voice-risk analysis" software will initially be piloted by a north London local authority to identify fraudulent housing benefit and council tax claims, work and pensions secretary John Hutton has announced. Mr Hutton has stressed that the technology, which will be trialled by Harrow Council, will also help speed up the claims process for honest benefit claimants. The introduction of the new software marks the latest stage in the government's fight against benefit fraud, which has already been reduced from around 2 billion in 2001 to an estimated 0.7 billion in 2005/06, according to official figures. Under the new system, council staff will be able to use the technology to try and detect possible fraudulent claims when they are initially made.
Surviving Without Health Insurance Part 1
"There are 49 million people in the US without health insurance. We've added a new subject page for "health insurance deprived" individuals. We want to hear from you if you are in that category. How do you cope?" Around 1980 I graduated into the "health insurance deprived." As many others, it was not by my choice; although I was a semi-pioneer I am merely a fly-speck on the deprived landscape. .
AXA Equitable Encourages Consumers to Overcome Retirement Planning ...
NEW YORK, April 2 /PRNewswire/ -- AXA Distributors, LLC is launching a new marketing campaign to encourage consumers to overcome their inertia and focus on retirement planning. The company has developed materials to facilitate the retirement planning process that registered representatives can use to help clients plan for their futures. To encourage reps who sell its annuity products to initiate such conversations with their clients, AXA Distributors is offering to buy both of them a Grande Latte or their beverage of choice. "Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on financial services advertising every year but very little of it actually provides consumers with practical information," said Jamie Shepherdson, President of AXA Distributors and Executive Vice President of New York-based parent company AXA Financial, Inc.
Hawaii Lawmakers Realize Welfare of Malpractice Victims More ...
Gov. Linda Lingle's attempt to place a cap on non-economic damages when medical malpractice awards are determined, failed. Kudos to those legislators who realize that the welfare of medical malpractice victims is important. Obviously doctors have reason to be concerned about outrageously high medical malpractice insurance premiums. Fortunately there is a way to address their concern and to protect victims. Tort reformers persist in presenting California as the poster boy for medical liability caps. Either they haven't done their research or they are purposely misleading the public. Doctors' premiums increased by 450 percent during the 13 years after medical liability caps in California were imposed and only declined after voters enacted comprehensive insurance-industry reform and rate regulation of insurance companies, known as Proposition 103.
Del Webb's Sun City Peachtree in Atlanta Keeps Up with the ...
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Even as companies struggle to keep up with today's YouTube generation, another audience segment is evolving quickly and creating an equally dramatic need for a strategic shift. As Baby Boomers move into the 55+ category, they are also moving past the "senior citizen" terminology and the Florida retirement stereotype. As Del Webb, the active adult brand of Pulte Homes, prepares for the opening of Sun City Peachtree, an active adult community in the Atlanta area, the company is sharing insights into its philosophy for meeting the demands of a population aging with attitude. Aging with attitude: Last year, the first wave of Baby Boomers hit the 60 mark. The number of people age 55 and better in the United States will grow from 69 million to 97 million by 2020.
More oversight of evaluation process is critical
A former professor at the UI College of Law recently raised eyebrows throughout the academic community because of allegations that he tampered with student evaluations, which play a major role in dictating professor salary increases. While the then-faculty member, Kenneth Kress, has admitted to doctoring evaluations, the university has taken no action to look into other possibilities for such acts of impropriety to occur. The UI must be vigilant in its observation and work to ensure that integrity of the evaluation process remains intact.
Are there mechanisms in place to ensure that professors do not tamper with the evaluation process? The answer to this question is unclear, but the potential for abuse is apparent. And a professor's career is on-the-line as a result of the outcome of student evaluations.
Available for Immediate Release 'The Life of a Soldier' by GW Grant
The Life Of A Soldier begins with a young man named Bill Miles who enlists in the Army fresh out of college. After finishing his Officers Basic Training, he received his commission, and then shipped off to a secret base located somewhere in the Middle East. Anderson, IN (PRWEB) April 9, 2007 -- The Life Of A Soldier (ISBN 978-1-4303-1555-1), written by G W Grant and released buy Lulu Press, is about the lifestyle a soldier must endure while serving their country and about the hardships they deal with everyday, from government corruption and betrayal, to love and romance. Later, as the commander of the newly formed top-secret Counter Terrorism and Hostage Rescue Unit, known only to a select few government officials, Miles and his men would remain ready to be deployed anywhere in the world in a matter of hours, and arrive ready to take whatever action necessary to complete their assigned mission.
US secures South Korean trade deal
The US has reached agreement with South Korea on its largest trade deal since the 1992 North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta). Estimates suggest that an additional $20 billion (10.14 billion) of goods will pass between the two countries as a result of the deal, adding to the existing $70 billion (35.48 billion) currently traded. The deal comes at the end of a ten-month negotiation period in which both the vehicle and agriculture sectors proved points of contention. Talks continued up to a deadline imposed on the White House which allowed it to lay trade agreement proposals to Congress without the legislative branch being able to place amendments on the deal. In a letter to Congress, US president George Bush said: "The US-South Korea free trade agreement will generate export opportunities for US farmers, ranchers, manufacturers and service suppliers, promote economic growth and the creation of better paying jobs in the US and help US consumers save money while offering them greater choices." Congress will now vote to accept or reject the trade agreement.
|
