| Foreign travel for health care?
For a travel writer, there is no surer way to attract a barrage of hate mail than to suggest foreign travel for the purpose of obtaining medical or dental treatment. Immediately, dozens of U.S. doctors and dentists accuse you of putting people's lives at risk, since only U.S. doctors and dentists are able to safely treat us. And U.S. medical and dental treatments, as we all know, are the absolute best. If the United States had universal medical and dental insurance, and every American was able to afford treatment here at home, I would not be disposed to argue the matter. But more than 40 million Americans are without such insurance and are unable to afford many elective treatments here at home. The proposed remedy will, therefore, not go away. Outside the United States are medical facilities and a myriad of doctors and dentists willing to charge modest sums within the financial reach of nearly everyone.
Dental Insurance, Caregivers' Preventive Dental Visits ...
Children's dental insurance and caregivers' preventive dental care visits play a significant role as determinants of underserved African American children seeing a dentist, according to a study in this month's Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA).
The objective of the study, according to University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) researchers, was to investigate determinants of dental care visits among young, low-income African American children. They found that children with private dental insurance were five times more likely and children receiving Medicaid were about two times more likely to have visited a dentist than those without dental insurance.
Caregivers' preventive dental visits related to their children seeing dentist The researchers also found an association between a caregiver's prevention-oriented dental visit and their child seeing a dentist.
A Reason to Smile: Health Net of California Launches 'Health Net ...
Providing Low-Cost Coverage Healthcare Editors/Insurance Writers WOODLAND HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 29, 2007--Health Net of California is giving Healthy Families participants a reason to smile: low-cost dental insurance is now available in nine additional counties in California. "Tooth decay is a leading cause of missed school days among school-age children," said Robert Shechet, D.D.S., chief dental officer for Health Net of California. "We need to make every effort to ensure that all children have access to dental care, and it cannot be understated: Access to dental care is dependent on access to dental coverage. We need to help children get access and preventive treatments." The new dental counties are: Fresno, Imperial, Kern, Sacramento, San Diego, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tulare and Ventura.
Huckabee campaigns in NH
CONCORD, N.H. Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee is talking about health today in New Hampshire. Speaking this morning at a dental insurance company in Concord, the former Arkansas governor said Americans must do more to take care of their own health. Huckabee says Americans should be offered lower cost health insurance polices that give incentives like credits for those who stay healthy. When asked for his thoughts on national health coverage for all, Huckabee said such a system would be a "disaster." As big a national disaster as it was, Huckabee says the number of people killed in the September 11th terrorist attacks is smaller than the number who die everyday of chronic disease. Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Low-cost dental clinic to close
Akron Community Health Resources announced Wednesday that it can no longer afford to operate its cash-strapped dental center, which caters primarily to low-income people without any dental insurance. The Arlington Street facility has stopped scheduling new appointments and is notifying current patients about the impending closure. ``It's a sad day for our patients and the community members who need access to oral health care,'' said Joyce Tate, chief executive of Akron Community Health Resources. ``There aren't many options out there for them.'' The group's adjacent, federally funded health clinic will stay open, Tate said. The city of Akron started the state-of-the-art dental clinic in 2003 with money from the state's Tobacco Settlement Funds.
Public Safety News & Events
The California Conservation Corps is now accepting applications for its upcoming "Conservationist I" crew supervisor exam. Salaries range from $2,525 to $3,895 per month; benefits include health and dental insurance, vacation and sick leave, and enhanced public safety retirement benefits. .
County expands new discount dental program
Macomb County officials have expanded their discount dental program to include nearly 600 additional dentists in Macomb County who offer deep discounts to subscribers. For an annual fee of $69 per household, the program provides 20 percent to 50 percent savings on a long list of dental procedures, including cleanings, fillings, X-rays, crowns and orthodontics. Since the service began last July, more than 660 households -- representing more than 1,600 subscribers -- have enrolled. When enrollment in the expanded program began last Monday, JoAnn Daniels of Shelby Township was one of the first to sign up. She and her husband are recent retirees who lost their dental insurance coverage last year. "I was aware of the program and I had been tossing it around and I thought for $69 I should give it a try," said Daniels, 63.
Many Fired Corporate Executives Retain Health Benefits Under COBRA ...
Documents filed this year with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicate that many U.S. companies continue to provide health insurance for CEOs and other executives who lose their jobs because of conditions in their contracts, "sometimes for years to follow," the Wall Street Journal reports. In the past, companies did not disclose information about the cost of health insurance for executives who lose their jobs, but SEC recently increased disclosure requirements. The companies purchase health insurance for executives who lose their jobs through the 1986 Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, or COBRA, which allows all workers who lose their jobs to retain employer-sponsored health insurance provided that they pay 102% of the premiums. For example, in the event that video rental chain Blockbuster fires Frank Paci, executive vice president for strategic planning and business development, the company could have to pay $27,202 for three years to purchase his health and dental insurance through COBRA.
Find funds for PeachCare
IT MIGHT take the Wizard of Oz to rectify the state Houses plan to fix PeachCare by kicking thousands of children off the eligibility rolls. The scheme lacks both brains and heart. PeachCare is aimed at insuring the children of the working poor who cannot afford private insurance. The House plan, backed by Speaker Glenn Richardson, would tighten income eligibility for PeachCare from $40,350 for a family of three down to $34,340 in annual income. Thats expected to force 22,000 children into the ranks of the uninsured. For those who are left on the rolls, the House bill would require new premiums for dental and vision care. In his wisdom, Speaker Richardson noted that when he was a kid, his parents had no insurance and simply paid for health care when the need arose. Of course, when Mr.
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