Breaking news on health insurance
Dr. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, President Of The American Action Forum, To Give Presentation At Healthcare Reform Conference, Washington, DC, Nov. 8-9, 2010 published
Mon, 06 Sep 2010 04:00:00 PDT
Dr. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, President of the American Action Forum and former Director of the Congressional Budget Office, will give a presentation at the upcoming Healthcare Reform: Dealing with Hurdles and Building Up Successes Conference, to be held in Washington, DC, Nov. 8-9, 2010, by GTCbio...
Life Insurance Doesn't Have To Be So Complicated published
Mon, 06 Sep 2010 04:00:00 PDT
This week an insurance research firm reported that ownership in life insurance has reached a 50-year low, with nearly a third of U.S. households not having a form of this financial protection. As the benefits industry begins Life Insurance Awareness Month in September, Unum (NYSE: UNM) shares the concern that this decline exposes working Americans to financial uncertainty...
Myths, Controversy Surround Health Reform Law published
Mon, 06 Sep 2010 01:00:00 PDT
News outlets are following the politics and rhetoric surrounding the new health law. NPR reports on six myths perpetuated by some critics of the law. They include: the law helps President Barack Obama raise a private army and that those who want public coverage have to have a microchip implanted. That began with a provision in House-passed bill, which was not in the final bill...
Survey: Modest Rise In Health Coverage Costs, But Employees Assume Bigger Burden published
Mon, 06 Sep 2010 01:00:00 PDT
The Washington Post: "Amid high unemployment and a weak economy, employers have been shifting health care costs to workers, according to a study released Thursday. The premiums that employees pay for employer-sponsored family coverage rose an average of 13.7 percent this year, while the amount that employers contribute fell by 0.9 percent, the survey found...
Almost Half Of All Americans Use Prescription Drugs Each Month published
Mon, 06 Sep 2010 01:00:00 PDT
Nearly half of all Americans used at least one prescription drug per month in 2008, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Bloomberg reports. That's a 10 percent increase over the preceding decade. Over that time, yearly spending by Americans on drugs doubled to $234 billion. "The two biggest-sellers last year were Pfizer Inc...
Today's Opinions: Berwick On Medicare 'Illusion,' Wall Street Journal Sees Wyden Defecting On Health Law published
Mon, 06 Sep 2010 01:00:00 PDT
Surer Footing For Medicare The Washington Post Under the act, Medicare is stronger than it has been in years, and seniors will get new benefits. That's no illusion; that's progress (Dr. Donald Berwick, 9/3)...
Workers Paying 14% More For Family Health Coverage This Year, USA published
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:00:00 PDT
The US worker is paying an average of $482 extra this year for family health coverage, 14% more than last year, even though total premiums - including what employers contribute - only rose 3% to an average of $13,770 in 2010, according to a survey released by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust...
States And Firms Seek Health Reform Funds While Opposing Law published
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:00:00 PDT
News outlets are reporting that some states and businesses who oppose parts or all of the health reform law are applying for the financial relief it provides...
Study: Health Overhaul's Tax Credit For Small Business Could Affect Millions published
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:00:00 PDT
A new Commonwealth Fund report estimates that "about 16.6 million workers are employed by small businesses that are eligible for health insurance tax credits" under the new health law but only 3.4 million of them are at companies that will take advantage of the credits, The Washington Post reports, adding that those businesses already offer their employees health insurance...
USA Today: Unprecedented Drop In Medical Spending published
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:00:00 PDT
The growth rate of health spending is at its slowest in a half-century, "a sign that people are forgoing medical care during the recession," according to an "analysis of government data" by USA Today. "Spending on doctors, hospitals, drugs and other medical care climbed at a 2...
N.Y. Senator Adds Voice To Concern About Credit Cards, Echoing Cuomo's Health Credit Probe published
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:00:00 PDT
MarketWatch: More warnings about credit cards - including those to pay for health care services - are coming from New York's elected officials. Sen. Charles Schumer sent a letter to the Federal Reserve noting a 256 percent leap in solicitations to consumers for professional and business credit cards...
Target Stores Join Field Of Retail Medicine published
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:00:00 PDT
Chicago Tribune: "Target Corp., renewing its push into retail medicine, will open eight new clinics in the Chicago area and Palm Beach, Fla., giving a boost to a form of health care delivery that has seen slower growth amid the economic downturn. The Minneapolis-based retail giant launched its first health clinic four years ago but has not been as aggressive as rivals CVS/Caremark Corp...
Report Finds Foreclosures Harm People's Health In California; Wash. Small Business Health Insurance Program Starts To Sign Up Members published
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:00:00 PDT
San Francisco Chronicle: "A report released Wednesday found foreclosures have not only economic consequences, but create health problems for the people and families involved -- and those effects can ripple throughout a community...
Today's OpEds: Medicare Private Plans And The Health Law's Impact On Employer Coverage published
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:00:00 PDT
Debunking Medicare Myths Kaiser Health News What's needed most today in American health care is innovative change which drives up productivity and value. With the right incentives, that's what the private sector can deliver, even as it's been clear for some time that the federal government cannot do likewise (James Capretta, 9/2)...
Family Health Premiums Rise 3 Percent To $13,770 In 2010, But Workers' Share Jumps 14 Percent As Firms Shift Cost Burden published
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:00:00 PDT
Workers on average are paying nearly $4,000 this year toward the cost of family health coverage an increase of 14 percent, or $482, above what they paid last year, according to the benchmark 2010 Employer Health Benefits Survey released by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET)...
Americans Saving More For Health Care In Retirement, First Command Reports published
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 02:00:00 PDT
Concerned about rising medical expenses, middle-class Americans are bumping up their monthly retirement savings to cover future health care costs. The First Command Financial Behaviors Index® reveals that average monthly savings solely for health care costs during retirement climbed to $245 in July, up 42 percent from $173 a year ago...
ACA Provisions Could Benefit 16.6 Million Small Business Employees, Starting This Year published
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 01:00:00 PDT
16.6 million small business employees work in firms that will be eligible for tax credits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to a new Commonwealth Fund report. The credits, designed to offset health insurance premium costs and help small businesses afford and maintain health insurance, are available in taxable years beginning in 2010. Researchers estimate that by 2013, 3...
Health Reform Politics: Florida Court On Ballot Question; Repeal Campaign Touted By Conservatives; Nebraska Flap published
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 05:00:00 PDT
Health News Florida: "The Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that targeted the new federal-health reform law, ruling that state lawmakers included misleading wording that could not be fixed. Justices, in a 5-2 ruling, upheld a circuit judge's decision to strip 'Amendment 9' from the November ballot. ...
Calif. Allows Safety-Net Coverage Cost Increases; Georgia Illegal Immigrant Dialysis Agreement Reached published
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 05:00:00 PDT
The Los Angeles Times: "As state leaders blast giant health insurers for raising rates, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration has quietly allowed hefty increases for thousands of sick or jobless Californians who must rely on expensive safety-net coverage -- if they want insurance at all...
Today's Opinions: Pawlenty's Order Against The Health Overhaul, Repealing The Health Law And More About Health Care Costs published
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 05:00:00 PDT
Pawlenty's Order Pure Politicking The Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer The move can be explained in no other way than in being a totally partisan decision, intended to shore up his conservatism in what will be a 2012 battle of who is more conservative to wear the Republican mantle for president (9/1)...
Pawlenty Instructs Minnesota Agencies To Snub Health Law's Discretionary Funds published
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:00:00 PDT
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, issued an executive order Tuesday instructing state agencies to reject discretionary federal funds that stem from the health overhaul, The Wall Street Journal reports. That makes "Minnesota the first state to formally restrict itself from taking some federal dollars under the law" and carries "political overtones for a possible presidential candidate...
Employers From Nearly Every Sector Of Economy Applying For Health Overhaul's Early Retiree Subsidies published
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:00:00 PDT
Seven states that are suing the federal government to throw out the health overhaul are also preparing to take subsidies that will help them afford medical costs for retirees, The Associated Press reports. "An administration official said Tuesday seven states suing the federal government are among 16 already approved for subsidies to help with the health care costs of early retirees...
PruHealth Set To Grow Following Approval Of Standard Life Healthcare Acquisition published
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 03:00:00 PDT
PruHealth has become a competitor of scale in the UK Private Medical Insurance (PMI) market following the completion of the acquisition of Standard Life Healthcare by Discovery Holdings* of South Africa...
Nearly 2,000 Employers And Unions Approved Into New Program published
Wed, 01 Sep 2010 06:00:00 PDT
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today announced the first round of applicants accepted into the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program. Nearly 2,000 employers, representing large and small businesses, State and local governments, educational institutions, non-profits, and unions have been accepted into the program and will begin to receive reimbursements for employee claims this fall...
Michigan, New York Roll Out High-Risk Pools published
Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:00:00 PDT
States are rolling out their new high-risk pools, including Michigan and New York. In Michigan, enrollment begins today and is open to adults 19 to 64, the Detroit Free Press reports...
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