| Flashpoint: Support of child health-insurance programs essential
The forecasted "perfect storm" for access to health care has arrived. No one can argue that the challenges of the uninsured and underinsured have to be addressed, as the statistics are staggering. Among the more than 1.6 million children in our state, one in 10 has no health insurance. That's 163,000 children statewide. Think about that number. That is the number of children that could fill 2,964 school buses or create 18,111 Little League teams. We also know that there are more than 500,000 adults who are uninsured. That, too, is one out of 10 adults, many of whom are working but do not have access to affordable health insurance.Statistics are a great way to illustrate the effects of this "perfect storm," but they are just one part of the picture. One child without health insurance coverage is one too many.
Phone laws to hit car insurance premiums
The new mobile phone laws will make it increasingly difficult for UK drivers to find competitive insurance premiums, a report has claimed.Drivers caught using a mobile phone at the wheel can now receive a £60 fine and three points on their licence, as part of the government's attempt to hammer home the importance of concentration in the car.Insurance broker Quoteline Direct believes that 10,000 drivers will be pushed into the non-standard insurance bracket as a result of convictions, as insurers take an unforgiving approach to this particular folly.Quoteline Direct's Paul O' Gorman said: "Insurers will be using this as an excuse to push people automatically into the non-standard insurance bracket. Three points on a licence for speeding or jumping a red light has always bumped up premiums slightly but I expect many insurers to take a harsher view of people convicted of this offence.
Las Vegas Insurance Firm Announces Full Support of the New Anthem ...
Knox Associates, a Las Vegas based Employee Benefit Insurance firm is announcing full support for the new Anthem Blue Cross EmployeeElect Product Line. “We have been waiting for this small group health insurance product for over two years" Explained Jennifer Knox, president of Knox Associates. “When WellPoint and Anthem merged in late 2004 we knew this offering would eventually make it to the Nevada market because it has been offered to California business's for several years – it's finally here!" The plan is being offered to small groups throughout Nevada (2-50 employees). It works by giving the employer the flexibility to create a benefits package that can be custom tailored to fit the employer's needs. Nevada small businesses now have the flexibility to construct their own package of plans, giving them the choice of how many and which plans to offer to their employees. The plan offers six traditional PPO plans, five Consumer Driven plans (including Health Savings Account qualified plans) and three HMO plans to build from.
Blue Shield of California Gives Californians’ Health Care Concerns ...
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Blue Shield of California, a not-for-profit health care company, is launching a new website, www.blueshieldca.com/chatbox showcasing video comments recorded by consumers who discussed their concerns and frustrations with the healthcare system during the recent grassroots "Chat Box" campaign throughout California. Throughout February and March, teams from Blue Shield of California hit the streets of Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego to take California's healthcare pulse, giving people a chance to sound off with video "Chat Boxes." Blue Shield is committed to making health insurance easier for consumers, and set up the "Chat Box" for a chance to listen to people's concerns, experiences and stories – the good, bad and unbearable – honest and uncensored.
Ping An Property enters Tibet
Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region is becoming an increasingly important market for property and casualty insurance companies. Ping An Property & Casualty Insurance Company of China (Ping An Property) opened its branch in Tibet yesterday, a move to spread its wings across the country. Approved by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, the company, the property and casualty insurance arm of the Ping An Insurance (Group) Co, set up the new branch with nearly 30 staff in management and sales, bringing the number of its branches to 40 in the country. "The Tibetan branch is the last provincial-level subsidiary Ping An Property set up in China. Its establishment demonstrates that Ping An Property has completed its network expansion across the country and will help improve the company's service qualties," said the company's general manager Wu Peng.
Stanford Looking To Split Series With Sacramento State Sunday
Other Series Notes: Stanford has won nine of the 13 games played between the clubs since 2000 but the Hornets have had their moments, including Saturday's 6-0 shutout of the Cardinal at Sunken Diamond. Sacramento State won back-to-back games over Stanford with a 2-1 victory on April 24, 2004, and a 4-3 triumph on March 25, 2005, before the Cardinal responded with a three-game win streak that was snapped Saturday. The Hornets also had a decisive 12-3 victory over Stanford in a game played at Raley Field on May 2, 2001. .
CoverRx is taking no new patients
In a move that demonstrates the limits of the state's new programs for people without health insurance, Tennessee has stopped enrolling new patients in CoverRx, a prescription drug plan for people with low incomes. CoverRx started late last year but since early February patients who applied to join have been placed on a waiting list due to budget concerns. .
Restaurant owners in Denver, MO lose their historic building to a fire
A 100-year-old building that housed the Bar X Ranch Restaurant in Denver, Missouri caught fire Friday morning. It left behind a pile of rubble and turning Easter Sunday into ruins for the owners. Baked birds were on the menu for Easter Sunday brunch but charred turkey wasn`t Charmayne Hughes` idea of a home-cooked meal.
"I just had in the back of my mind that I could get down here and maybe the turkey`s were flaming and that I could get the fire extinguishers and put the fire out," she said.
As the only restaurant open on Easter in Denver, Missouri Bar X was supposed to cook up hundreds of plates and cash in on the hard work.
"Thursday afternoon around 1:00 I had $6,400 worth of groceries delivered here from Cisco Food Services in Kansas City," Hughes said.
petrol prices soar on Easter's approach
DRIVERS have been warned to fill up their tanks today as petrol prices start to rise before Easter, with motoring bodies predicting they will climb towards $1.40 in some parts of the state. Tuesday is traditionally the cheapest day of the week, but unleaded fuel prices reached 129.9 cents per litre in Sydney yesterday and pushed higher than 130 cents per litre in Coffs Harbour. The president of the NRMA, Alan Evans, said people were baffled about why petrol prices rose before holidays, and could not understand why the Government did not do anything to stop it. "It's always amazing how the price seems to increase prior to Easter and Christmas," Mr Evans said. "You can set your watches by it. I wouldn't be surprised if it creeps closer to $1.40 than $1.30." Geoff Trotter, the general manager of petrol monitoring company Fueltrac, said the increase in the international price had boosted the wholesale price.
Making a Difference: McLain dedicates life to children and animals
WEST FRANKFORT - Gail McLain strives to make a difference - one child and one animal at a time.Involved with The Night's Shield wing of the Roan Center, a shelter for women and children who are victims of domestic violence, McLain said her goal is to break the cycle of violence and abuse.“I am only one of many people who are involved in this effort," McLain said. “We will be working diligently to ensure the safety of those who enter our doors. We want to change the lives of children, even if it is only one child at a time. .
Digging out of debt: Financial adviser helps 2 local families
Experts say discussing money is "the last taboo." Psychologists and social scientists agree that most people, particularly Americans, would rather talk about their sex lives or personal trauma than their finances.Most people are in debt, whether it is to a bank, a credit card company or a parent. Neighbors or fellow employees could be experiencing financial and psychological distress. Yet it's not likely they will share the problem with others.Two Longview families, however, have agreed to break the taboo and talk about their financial worries. And a local financial planner has volunteered to help.
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China and the Hedge Fund Dragon - Subprime Mortgage Market ...
This week we look at the possible latest entry into the hedge fund world, The People's Republic of China; review the cockroach principle of subprime mortgages; and investigate the possibility of whether we need more derivatives and not less than the $283 trillion or so we now have. It's a lot to cover, but it should all be interesting. And speaking of China, we all read the stories about the rapid growth of the economy, the increasing percentage of the growth in demand for commodities and energy that comes because of that growth, the increased trade deficit with the US, and the rapid increase in foreign reserves.
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Two home sellers get two $250000 exemptions
Q: Please clarify. You often mention a married couple filing a joint income-tax return can claim up to $500,000 principal-residence-sale tax-free profits, thanks to Internal Revenue Code 121. But what about two unmarried co-owners of a home who each meet the 24-out-of-last-60-months ownership and occupancy tests? Both are on the title. Can each claim a $250,000 exemption, or do they have to split the exemption? -- Mary O. A: There is no limit to the number of home co-owners who can claim the IRC 121 principal-residence-sale tax exemption up to $250,000 each. Theoretically, you could have three, four, five or six home sellers who each can claim up to $250,000 tax-free principal-residence sale profits if they each meet the 24-out-of-last-60-months ownership and occupancy tests in the same home.
Camping World Announces Opening of New SuperCenter in Wood Village ...
BOWLING GREEN, Ky.--Camping World, America's largest retailer of RV and outdoor supplies and accessories, today announced the opening of a new SuperCenter in Wood Village, Oregon outside of Portland. It is co-located with Olinger Travel Homes, part of the dynamic FreedomRoads dealer network. The new SuperCenter brings the number of the rapidly growing retailer's stores to 70 with plans to reach the 100 mark by 2008. Located at NE Sandy Blvd off of I-84 at exit 16, the new SuperCenter has over 4,000 square feet of retail floor space. With over 8000 sku's available from basic camping and outdoor accessories to hard to find RV parts, the full service, state-of-the-art store provides customers with all of their RV, outdoor, camping accessory and service needs. The Wood Village store sits at the edge of the Columbia River Gorge, a National Scenic Area, and the historic Columbia River Highway.
Padres give Merila the family treatment
SAN DIEGO ---- As Padres batting practice concludes at Petco Park, bullpen catcher Mark Merila abandons his post on a front bench in the far corner of the dugout and heads for the sanctuary of the clubhouse.It's a trip he has made countless times without a thought. His athletic grace automatically would carry him down those first five stairs away from the dugout and up another 11 to the clubhouse. Now, nothing comes easy. A brain tumor has robbed this athlete of his athleticism. .
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