| Bill Brosius Underpaid teachers? You decide
Throwing money at education does not improve results. I showed that two weeks ago. The local situation? Government has a virtual education monopoly (only 12 percent of students attend private schools or are home schooled - an insignificant influence on public schools); there is little opportunity for competition in pay scales. Most jobs are in markets where worker and employer can shop among many choices. Not so with teachers. One measure is comparison among professions, while accounting for all factors, giving each fair value. Each benefit, such as employer-paid Social Security, has value to the employee. Other benefits are 401k and pension contributions, unemployment insurance, workman's compensation, life insurance, continuing education expense, and teacher's health insurance (medical, dental, eye, drugs and preventive), which is about the best anywhere, costing the employer $8,863.
VA director advocates for 'families initiative'
DECATUR - Tammy Duckworth knew she could quote statistics all day, but sharing an account about meeting a woman who is without health insurance and can't afford prostheses for her amputated arms and legs told the true story."We need to make sure all Illinoisans have access to affordable coverage," said Duckworth, director of that Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, who also is an amputee. "What kind of country have we become when good families are now without health care insurance?"Duckworth addressed a small crowd on Thursday morning at the Illinois Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 974 building to advocate for Gov. Rod Blagojevich's "Investing in Families Initiative," which is the proposed budget for fiscal year 2008.The initiative includes the "Illinois Covered" plan to provide insurance to all Illinoisans, the "Helping Kids Learn" plan to invest an additional $10 billion in Illinois schools over the next four years and requiring big businesses to pay a "gross receipts tax," as well as a plan to address the state's longtime pension deficit for thousands of retired state workers."This is a historic budget proposal; it's time to invest in the schools - improve the environment and make it better for students, better for teachers and administrators," said Bob Arya, senior adviser to the governor."We need to reform our tax system; it's broken, doesn't work and is not fair.
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.
Yee touts universal health care
The likelihood of Californians receiving universal health care was just one of many hot topics discussed during the first of several town hall meetings featuring state Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco/San Mateo. The South San Francisco meeting Saturday led off a series of meetings to be held in both counties designed to allow residents the opportunity to voice their concerns to their representative. Lee focused on health care and discussed a series of recently introduced bills that could improve the health of kids, help stop dead-beat parents, provide emotional education to young students and stop citizens from using major roads as their own personal used car sales lot. Many Californians have no health care at all and those that make up the "working core" are steadily receiving less and less health insurance, Yee said.
College student health-care plan to improve
Under Governor Rod Blagojevich's proposed "Illinois Covered" plan, college students will not only have the opportunity to remain dependents on their parents' insurance plans until they are 29 years old but will also enjoy improved insurance later in life.
Under the plan, three elements - Illinois Covered Choice, Illinois Covered Rebate and Illinois Covered Assist - will help enable affordable health care for all Illinois residents. In the Illinois Covered Assist portion, students who have jobs offering benefits and insurance will receive help in paying off high premiums.
"Oftentimes, students in college getting ready to graduate may not be hired right away for that great job that offers medical benefits," Blagojevich said in a March 27 press release. "They may end up taking a lower-paying job without benefits and being unable to afford to buy their own health insurance."
Dr.
EDITORIAL: Students' insurance plan should cover HPV vaccine
It's a staggering statistic: 45 percent of 14-to-19-year-old women are infected with a human papillomavirus, according to a study published last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Here's two more: Four forms of HPV, a sexually transmitted infection that can be passed on even if partners use a condom, are the culprits in about 70 percent of cervical cancer cases and 90 percent of genital wart cases.
But there's some good news. A new vaccine protects against those four forms of the virus. The bad news is that it's expensive, totaling $360. And the worst is that our student insurance plan-which we are required to purchase if we don't carry coverage that meets the state's requirements-doesn't cover it.
In fact, the Qualifying Student Health Insurance Plan, run by MEGA Life and Health Insurance Plan, doesn't cover any preventive immunizations, despite well-established evidence that they improve health while lowering long-term healthcare costs.
Price of pill to rise for students
Due to the increasing cost of participating in Medicaid, many drug companies will no longer sell birth control to colleges at discounted prices, causing the cost of the pill to increase on campus. As a result of a federal deficit-reduction bill, drug companies must now pay more to participate in Medicaid, the federal health insurance provider for low-income families, said Susan Quillan, chief of clinical services at the Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center. Drug companies have historically sold contraceptives to colleges and universities at significant discounts, but the higher cost of participating in Medicaid has prompted many to halt these discounts, which translates to higher prices for students. The price of two contraceptives, NuvaRing and Estrostep, will jump immediately at the Ashe Center, from $15 to $30, Quillan said.
Health insurance is mandatory starting this fall for all full-time ...
When uninsured or underinsured students become seriously ill or injured, their academic careers can be extensively impacted by substantial health care debt or disability. The vast majority of University of St. Thomas students have health insurance coverage, but those few who do not carry insurance are at a much greater risk. This will be changing for all full-time UST students this fall. Achieving affordability and increasing access to medical care are among our primary goals, and these align appropriately with the institutional strategic priorities of access, excellence and Catholic identity. In keeping with the university’s mission and convictions, the President’s Staff and Academic and Administrative Leadership recently approved implementation of mandatory health insurance starting in fall semester 2007 for all full-time students.
Utah State University Student Health Insurance Costs Decline
LOGAN, Utah (AP) -- The price of student health insurance at Utah State University will decrease about 15 percent next school year, university officials said. The lower costs are a result of fewer claims being made in 2005 and 2006. The school's least expensive health insurance plan will drop from $2,093 per individual to $1,780, and from $7,305 per couple to $6,210 for the 2007-2008 school year. USU insurance coordinator Noell Hansen said he hopes insurance costs will remain stable. "I hope that we wouldn't see a significant increase where the price would jump right back up in a year," Hansen said. "It's hard to say because it will depend on usage (of the system)." The lower insurance costs come as student leaders discuss asking administrators to make student health insurance mandatory.
Texas Children Must Have Health Care Coverage
Nearly 400 Texas physicians, medical students, and hospital leaders rallied state legislators today to pass legislation that would provide health insurance to thousands of Texas children.Physician and hospital leaders from across the state joined state Reps. Sylvester Turner (D-Houston); House Bill 109 author, John Davis (R-Houston); Elliott Naishtat (D-Austin); and Patrick Rose (D-Dripping Springs) to encourage their colleagues to pass HB 109. The bill would restore 12 months of continuous coverage for kids in the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), establish a more realistic asset test for working families, and remove the 90-day waiting period for uninsured children.Health care leaders believe restoring the cuts made to CHIP in 2003 is a critical and important first step in reducing the number of uninsured children.
Surge of NC College Graduates Face Insurance Coverage Dilemma
As college graduation approaches, parents and graduates concerned about their upcoming lack of health care coverage turn to local NC health insurance agencies for solutions. With spring graduation just around the corner, a swell of college graduates, and particularly the parent’s of graduating seniors, have expressed concerns about NC health insurance coverage. "Every year we receive a large number of calls from parents and students looking for solutions. Because students have not often found employment yet, they need individual coverage but many times have had no experience evaluating health care coverage outside of an employer plan," says Andrea Hunnicutt Grater, Account Manager at NC health insurance agency IBD Insurance Services Inc. With the rising cost of health care coverage, the concern is a valid one. However, Grater says that there are very affordable plans for the graduating demographic. "Generally, they are looking for something cheap—but also something that will protect them well. High catastrophic coverage deductibles and a mid-range co-pay’s of around $25 to $30 for doctor visits are generally the best plans for this of young people." For many graduating seniors, college graduation marks the first time in their lives that they are not eligible for inclusion on their parent’s health care coverage. Grater says that most of the inquiries come from concerned parents. "Young people often feel like they are invincible, last thing they are thinking about is that something could possibly happen to them, but their parents are concerned about protecting themselves financially if the unexpected and unfortunate does occur." IBD Insurance Services, centrally located in close proximity to NC State University, UNC at Chapel Hill, Duke and several private women’s colleges including Meredith, St.
Ready or not, new graduates push into the real world
In this area, most high school seniors are preparing to go off to college and a good number are joining the military. They all have set plans for at least a couple of years if not longer. College students are still under their parents' wings, whether they like it or not. These young adults have a sense of security. Despite living in a dormitory or a rented house, they still have a home to go back to during school breaks. Many people are still covered by their parents' health and auto insurance plans, and receive financial help from Mom and Dad, as well as the government. Graduation changes everything. Leaving college is an exciting time in anyone's life, but it's also a somewhat scary era, too. Even if you don't have children or own property, you still get tied down at some point after college.
China plans to expand urban health insurance system - report
BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - China plans to expand its basic health insurance system in urban areas as part of the government's efforts to improve the nation's social welfare system, state media reported. At present, all firms must establish basic health insurance for their employees, but China lacks an enforced program for non-workers. Citing a decision by the State Council, the nation's cabinet, the official China Daily said trials will start this year in a handful of cities to expand coverage to children, students and the unemployed. Healthcare has become a major issue in China since the dismantling of the cradle-to-grave social security system, resulting in high levels of precautionary savings by families concerned about the costs of medical care. Beijing has recognized that bolstering the social security system could increase consumer spending as it would offset fears of high medical and other costs.
Got insurance?
The premiums for USU's student health insurance are dropping 15 percent next year due to decreased claims during the 2005-2006 school year, according to the Health and Wellness Center's insurance coordinator.
Noelle Hansen said the insurance company that USU contracts with wanted to help the students out since USU had a year with lower-than-usual claims.
"Since we actually had a good year, the insurance company wanted to give back," Hansen said. "We hope this move will help students feel like they can purchase the university's insurance."
USU offers a basic health insurance plan through FirstUnderwriters, which is available to all university students taking six or more credits and their dependents, according to the Student Health and Wellness Center Web site.
China expands basic health insurance
China has decided to start the trial of an expanded basic health insurance from urban workers to all urban residents in the latest move to improve the country's health care system. This year, the country will select one or two cities from certain provinces for the trial of the new basic health system for urban residents that covers major illnesses, according to a decision of a State Council meeting presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao. The primary and middle school students, children and other unemployed urban residents who are now excluded from the basic insurance system could choose to be part of the initiative in the trial cities, according to the State Council. .
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