| Insurance Law Fuels Confusion
Bill Bartram is one of more than 38,000 residents in Florida who are receiving notices from Nationwide Insurance that their homeowners policies will not be renewed. Like others, Bartram, a retired cop from Washington, D.C., who has lived in his Bradenton home for the past 28 years, thought recently passed legislation protected him from receiving such a notice. He was wrong. Actually, the law states that once insurance companies submit rate-reduction filings with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation - as Nationwide and others have done - then those companies can deliver nonrenewal notices to customers. Still, Bartram thinks someone's not keeping his word. "From what (Gov. Charlie) Crist's office said, if they (companies) sell insurance in Florida, they're going to have to continue to offer coverage," says Bartram, who has been with Nationwide for 25 years and also has automobile and life insurance with the company.
High-Deductible Health Plans Cost More for Women, Study Finds
Women are more likely to pay more than men for health care when enrolled in high-deductible health plans -- which have low premiums and in some cases include health savings accounts and health reimbursement arrangements, according to a study published in the April issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports. For the study, Harvard Medical School researchers led by Steffie Woolhandler examined data from the 2003 federal Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, which included responses from almost 33,000 U.S. residents. Based on 2006 dollars, the study found that the median cost for men younger than age 45 enrolled in high-deductible health plans was less than $500, compared with more than $1,200 for women. The study also found that one-third of men younger than age 45 with health insurance had more than $1,050 in annual medical costs, compared with 55% of women.
Huskies End Losing Streak With Senior's Help
Storrs, CT (CSTV U-WIRE) -- The No. 18 Huskies said goodbye to their three-game slide and along the way got a new all-time career points leader in their 17-12 victory over Boston College at the Sherman Complex Thursday. The Huskies (6-4) win was the first since March 14 against Harvard. With the loss, the Eagles (4-7) have now dropped four straight. Head coach Megan Cersosimo expressed quite a bit of satisfaction after the victory. "It felt great," Cersosimo said. "A win is a win, let's put it that way. We were very happy to get back on track today." Midfielder Shannon Burke led all scorers with 8 points on the day on 4 goals and 4 assists. With those points, Burke moved into first all-time in UConn history for most career points with 205, eclipsing the old record of 203 set by former All-American Tracy Mullaney from 2002-2005.
Officers concerned, city officials looking at new applicants
At least that is what DeAnna Boling, Richmond Police Advisory Board member and program coordinator for the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council, has heard from officers who have approached her regarding their pay."They just want to feel like they're appreciated," Boling said. "These people aren't going out and picking up garbage, or getting in a car and driving somebody around. They are people putting their life on the line every day they are on duty for $28,000 and no incentive from there. They need to feel special. They need to feel appreciated."For most officers, it is not just about pay. Richmond Patrolman Rob Sadler said for him, it's about growth."I enjoy where I am," Sadler said. "I like everybody I work with, but in order to grow with the department we need to be compensated. We need to be competitive with other departments.
Lawmakers Should Trim Retirement Health Care
Suppose there were jobs that would provide workers, after only six years of service, with lifetime health insurance coverage. Who wouldnt want to get in on that? You can. All you have to do is get elected to the Michigan Legislature and serve six measly years. Then lifetime health insurance coverage kicks in -- at taxpayers expense. These are taxpayers who, for the most part, can only dream about that kind of job benefit. As unbelievable as it may seem, despite Michigans desperate economic climate in which workers are losing jobs and benefits, in which the state budget is repeatedly in the red, state lawmakers still have this extravagant perk. This Legislature has been talking about getting unionized public school teachers to make concessions in health care and pension programs. Thats fine.
Hospira Introduces 5GHz Advanced Wireless Security Platform For ...
4/10/07 - Hospira, Inc. (NYSE: HSP) introduced a new wireless platform for its medication infusion devices that incorporates leading-edge authentication standards and encryption protocols to assist hospitals in securely transferring data and complying with patient confidentiality regulations. The new technology also provides the first three- in-one wireless multi-band module for an infusion system, enabling hospitals to select any of three frequency modes for communication. The platform's expanded security options help ensure only designated, approved hospital staff access clinical data transmitted between the devices and hospital information technology systems as part of the intravenous (I.V.) medication administration process. This can help healthcare providers more readily comply with patient confidentiality regulations, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, in securing patient data against inadvertent release.
AM Best Affirms Ratings of Kanawha Insurance and KMG America ...
OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 29, 2007--A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of "a-" of Kanawha Insurance Company (Kanawha) (Lancaster, SC). A.M. Best has also affirmed the ICR of "bbb-" of Kanawha's parent holding company, KMG America Corporation (KMG) (Minnetonka, MN) (NYSE: KMA). The outlook for all ratings has been revised to negative from stable. The revised rating outlook reflects A.M. Best's uneasiness with the recent significant increase and reliance on stop-loss premium for the company's new business production; continued concerns with the performance of Kanawha's sizeable, legacy long-term care business; and the challenges the company faces in building its group benefits and voluntary segments. Additionally, even when excluding the recent reallocation of KMG's expenses to Kanawha, Kanawha has reported weak statutory results for a number of years.
Providers, businesses deliver access to low-cost care
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 12.4 percent of Missourians had no health insurance as of 2005, up from 11.8 percent the year before; that works out to about 60,000 Show-Me State residents. Many area groups realize the need to provide adequate and affordable health care to those residents, as well as the underinsured, and are offering programs to do just that. Family Medical Walk-In Clinics is offering Affordable Care Solutions, a new program for patients without health insurance or with high deductibles for their existing coverage. The clinics began offering the program through a soft rollout process in November with a few businesses who have used the facility for other services, including workers compensation benefits. For $50 a month, participants have access to office visits including everything offered in the clinics, from laceration repair to X-rays to intravenous medications for a $30 flat rate.
Aetna Announces Appearance at Lehman Brothers Tenth Annual ...
HARTFORD -- Aetna (NYSE: AET) announced today that Ronald A. Williams, Chairman and CEO, is scheduled to make a presentation at the Lehman Brothers Tenth Annual Healthcare Conference on March 20, 2007, in Miami Beach, FL. Aetnas presentation is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time. Investors, analysts and the general public are invited to listen to this presentation over the Internet via Aetnas Investor Information link at www.aetna.com/investor. To listen to this presentation live on the Internet, visit Aetnas web site prior to the presentation to download and install any necessary audio software. A webcast replay will be available via Aetnas Investor Information link at www.aetna.com/investor, beginning approximately two hours after the event, for 14 days. Anyone listening to the presentations is encouraged to read Aetnas 2006 Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, for a discussion of Aetna's historical results of operations and financial condition.
New business leads Standard Life charge
STANDARD Life has unveiled a strong set of profits, boosted by record-breaking new business, within maiden results which pleased the City. The Edinburgh insurance giant posted an operating profit of £614 million on the European embedded value basis, an increase of 55 per cent on 2005 and well above analysts' estimates of around £500m. .
Waiting for C. Wright Mills
Editor's Note: On the forty-fifth anniversary of C. Wright Mills's death, the president of the National Assembly of Cuba reflects on the American sociologist's writings and their significance in these times. This article is also available in Spanish.
"I am for the Cuban revolution. I do not worry about it, I worry for it and with it."
--from Listen, Yankee: The Revolution in Cuba
C. Wright Mills suffered a heart attack at the age of 45 while at home in New York on March 20, 1962. Fifteen months earlier, his doctors had warned him that the next one would be his last. And it was. An intense, creative and noble life ended in one swift blow. His life, however, would continue beating within a new generation that had found in Mills a shining example.
In the midst of McCarthyism and the cold war, he published a half-dozen books vital to understanding contemporary US society.
SAGU sweeps Paul Quinn
The SAGU baseball Lions came into Saturday's doubleheader with Paul Quinn College at the Waxahachie Sports Complex with the chance to even up their conference record to the 3-3 mark.The day opened with temperatures in the upper 30's, wind steady out of the north, and periods of rain, sleet, and primarily snow. No it was not February, but Easter Eve. SAGU would have to plow through the elements if their goal was going to be achieved.SAGU 10, PQC 9 .
Pet Owner Says Pet Insurance May Have Helped Save Beloved Cat
SAN ANTONIO -- A local pet owner wishes he would have known about pet insurance before his cat, Stitch, died from renal failure after eating recalled pet food, he said. Instead, Frank Zavorski said he paid a hefty veterinarian bill to try to save his beloved cat to no avail. "I never knew about pet insurance," Zavaroski said. "I found out about it from a brochure at the vet's office." .
Florida Group Health Insurance At Lower Costs
Florida Group Health Insurance is very difficult to compare with individual health insurance. Recent polls taken by the Washington Post said that "33% of the consumer population didn't realize that group and individual health plans are different". How do I get a group health insurance policy? And what are my options to get lower cost health insurance? Group health insurance plans allow you to participate in a good policy, based on your inclusion in a specific workplace group of people. If you're a business owner, then offering a good group health insurance plan is the best idea for a many reasons. Do you qualify for one of these plans? Many employers think that, with just a few employees, their businesses are too small. To the contrary, even a two person company can qualify for a group health plan.
Concurrent Health Problems Take Heavy Toll On Seniors
In the later years of life, chronic diseases and other health problems tend to accumulate and negatively affect an individual's health, according to reports published in the latest issue of The Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences (Vol. 62A, No. 3). In a special section devoted to the presence of coexisting medical conditions - known as comorbidity - this edition of the journal features four separate articles on the topic.
New diagnoses of common health problems add complexity to an older person's health status, which is usually characterized by preexisting problems. In 1999, 24 percent of Medicare beneficiaries age 65 or older had four or more chronic conditions. The proportion was 31.4 percent among those 85 or older.
The authors outline a need to improve the understanding of the role of multiple comorbid conditions in the health of older adults.
•Insurer's handling of fire has Ossining condo owners fuming
Ask some distraught people in Ossining and they'll tell you emphatically that integrity went up in smoke on April 7, 2005, when a basement electrical fire destroyed, or badly damaged, six townhouse condominiums. Since the fire, they haven't been able to return to their homes. That's two full years ago Saturday. And the way things are going, it could conceivably be another two years before life is back to normal at Building G of the Cedar Garden Townhouses. The Cedar Garden condo owners blame the delay on their insurance carrier, the Insurance Company of Greater New York, whom they claim has scandalously low-balled the estimated cost of reconstruction. No one from GNY Insurance could be reached for comment yesterday. I tried their marketing and legal departments in New York City without luck.
Cancer in family led him to job
MISHAWAKA -- I cant think of any worse three words than you have cancer, said Paul Szrom, area executive director of the American Cancer Society.
Although he has only been in his position with the Cancer Society since December, Szroms experience with cancer is much more extensive.
After losing a brother and his father-in law to cancer and helping his sister, who is a cancer survivor, Szrom decided he wanted to do my small part to help. This lead to his leaving his job with Hoosier Lottery to work for the Cancer Society.
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Senate Deciding Whether to Kill Humans; Waste Taxpayer Dollars
Why should our tax dollars be used to kill others to find cures that are already found in adult stem cells and cord blood stem cells? There are over 70 cures using these ethical use stem cells so why do we waste tax dollars in the billions of dollars to fund something that even the proponents of embryonic stem cell research admit may take even decades to find life saving cures?" Biblical Family Advocates, BFA, strongly encourages Americans to contact their Senators immediately and denounce this outrageous attack on human life and its incredible waste of tax payer dollars. As Mr. Magnan has stated in a California State Senate hearing in September of 2004 regarding the funding of ESCR, that he himself would refuse any medical treatment derived from embryonic stem cells as it would be highly unethical to benefit from killing others.
Series Review: Diamondbacks Sweep Nats
OK, so sweeping the Washington Nationals is about the least impressive series sweep a team could make, seeing as how most people expect the Nats to lose 110+ games this year. But great teams win the games that they are supposed to, and at the very least, this year's Arizona Diamondbacks haven't done anything to disprove the possibility that they are indeed a great team. .
Your Opinions
Ronald Grantland submits a guest column about the need for campaign finance reform, after he votes himself a 62 percent legislative pay raise. That's an oxymoron, if I ever heard of one. Sort of like talking out of both sides of your mouth at the same time. But, one must remember, he's a politician. I agree with him that there is a "veil of secrecy" in Alabama politics, but the secrecy is more like a tarpaulin, than a veil. This applies to Hartselle's politics, as well.
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