| Medicare That Works to Your Advantage
Joe Cameron, 78, pays $93.50 a month for health insurance through a Medicare Advantage HMO. That's the same premium he would pay for Medicare Part B alone -- and he doesn't need to buy a Medicare-supplement policy and separate prescription-drug coverage. Five years ago, Cameron, who lives in Fort Worth, suffered a massive heart attack and was flown to Dallas for a bypass operation. His medical bills totaled more than $1.3 million -- but he paid only $2,300 out of pocket. Cameron now requires medications that could cost him more than $900 per month. But with generic substitutes and the coverage provided by his UnitedHealth SecureHorizons plan, his monthly cost is about $120. Cameron, who is back to playing golf twice a week, says that with all the complications, he's glad he didn't have to submit claims to multiple insurers.
Entertainment and Technology Feature Summary for Week Ending Mar. 30
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Mar. 31 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- The weekly news feature summary from the Send2Press Wire Service includes this week: ReachMD Channel launches on XM; Power Arts Company release an album series for the kindergarten and pre-K crowd by a new cartoon band 'The Blankies'; and a lawsuit (Anne Martinez v RegisterFly, ICANN et. al.) filed by Attorney E. Clarke Dummit alleges that RegisterFly has systematically defrauded its customers for domain registration services. Selected News Stories for Week Ending March 30th, 2007: * to read these and other stories in complete detail, with images, please visit: www.send2press.com/newswire/ * Group Travel Planet Marks Seventh Anniversary with New Site for Groups PIGEON FORGE, Tenn., March 30 -- Group Travel Planet, LLC, the pioneer and leader of online group travel booking, today announced the launch of GroupAbout.com, a new community site for groups on the go that combines the power of the company's advanced group-booking engine with new collaboration and social networking tools that make it easier for groups to plan and share information.
Music Alive! Presents the fourth season's finale concert titled ...
The Sierra College Foundation presents Chamber Music Alive! in the third and final concert of the season, on April 14 and 15, 2007. Titled "Genius Time," this concert includes Mozart's great masterwork, Duo for Violin and Viola in G, and the sublime Quintet for Strings in C Major by Schubert. The latter, considered by some as the most beautiful and moving of all chamber works, will feature several great performers including the returning French cellist Jean Michel Fonteneau, his wife, the accomplished cellist Dana Putnam Fonteneau and famed violist, Helen Callus. "We are so excited to have Helen join us," said Dominitz. "She is one of the finest violists in the world and is the first woman to be elected president of the American Viola Society. Helen will also perform a rarely heard work by Robert Schumann." Now finishing its fourth season, Chamber Music Alive!, is underwritten by the Sierra College Foundation, Fidelity Investments and other individual and corporate donors.
Nigeria: Igbo Monarch - How I Was Seized By Gunmen, Taken Away in ...
"TODAY, when you come to Umuchukwu town, it is clear that God's eyes are upon the community. Anyone who visits the area will know that God's favour is really upon us because I believe that in communities where the devil is in control, there is usually anarchy and progress would be retarded. Those who are willing to be used by the devil will always make themselves available to do his will but others who have the fear of God and love their community will not allow this to happen. This is just what we are witnessing in Umuchukwu." These were the words of Igwe Michael Ukaegbu, traditional ruler of Umuchukwu in Orumba South local government area of Anambra State. The royal father was recently abducted by unknown assailants from his palace at Umuchukwu following a feud between minority traditional worshippers and the majority Christian population in the community.
Galileo to Europe’s taxpayers: I will survive!
In Toulouse they are probably belting out Gloria Gaynor's 1979 hit song "I will survive!" as they try and finish work on the first "real" satellite in the Galileo satellite navigation constellation. As the project's in service date is pushed further and further into the future and the cost of the program begins to rise, Europe's aerospace industry is getting more than a little nervous. They were expected to pick up most of the bill for building and operating the system while Europe's governments were going to simply pay to help get things started. It's not working out that way. Leaving aside the predictable cost overruns, the business case is just not there. The calculations were based on some very shaky premises, including the idea that Galileo's precision and reliability would be so valuable and unique that users would be willing to pay for it even if they could get GPS for free.
Texas health care gets welcome House call
This week's vote on the state's Children's Health Insurance Program demonstrated a refreshing bipartisanship among members of the Texas House, who came together to pass reasonable measures to improve the health care of Texas children. Now it's up to the Senate to finish the job of expanding health coverage for lower-income children. .
Subprime mortgages: a double-edged sword for borrowers
Although hard numbers are tough to find, it appears that subprime mortgages are a double-edged sword for Native people. On one hand, they bring an access to mortgage credit routinely denied (at least on tribal homelands) until the very recent past. But they also can bring the price gouging and sharp practice of predators.
With the liquidity crisis under way, the closing of dozens of subprime lenders and the sale and bankruptcy of others would appear to have a limited impact on their Native borrowers, except for rumblings growing louder that many subprime borrowers were sold unsuitable mortgages. Specifically, these are adjustable rate mortgages (called interest-only and payment-option mortgages) set to re-price this year or next to higher interest rates that borrowers will find hard to afford.
Flexcar Delivers Philadelphia Freedom — From Car Payments
Flexcar (www.flexcar.com) today announced it has expanded to the city of Philadelphia with an initial fleet of 30 low-emission vehicles, growing to more than 100 by year's end. The vehicles are available to residents and businesses by the hour for a simple fee which includes gas, insurance, parking, maintenance, 24×7 roadside assistance and 150 free miles per day. The fleet includes hybrids, sedans, minivans, pickup trucks and sporty cars, including MINI Coopers. Philadelphia becomes Flexcar's 11th U.S. city, extending the company's national footprint. Flexcar gives its members the freedom of owning a car without the cost and hassles. Flexcar's “point-click-drive" system lets members have a car just when they need it, paying for it just when they use it. Initially, vehicles will be located primarily in downtown garages.
'Dirty' auto rates? No thanks
STRIDENT CALLS to scrap Massachusetts' auto insurance system are giving way to a more thoughtful discussion about how to stimulate competition without driving premiums through the roof for young and urban drivers. A recent report by a study group convened in January by Governor Patrick manages to point the way toward reform while maintaining basic protections for the drivers of the state's estimated 4 million private cars. The seven-member study group, chaired by state consumer affairs director Daniel Crane, argues for measured change in the only state where the commissioner of insurance sets the annual rate that all insurers use to calculate premiums. But this is not an invitation to large national insurance companies to waltz in and set rates as they please. The authors encourage Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes to maintain subsidies for urban and inexperienced drivers who might otherwise hit the road without insurance.
Panel Discusses Universal Health Coverage Proposals, Massachusetts ...
Massachusetts can serve as a political model for states considering universal health coverage proposals, but other states might not be able to replicate Massachusetts' methods for expanding access to affordable health insurance, a panel of experts said Wednesday, Dow Jones reports. The panel discussion, convened by the Kaiser Family Foundation and National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, was the first in a series examining the elements of state health reform. Ed Haislmaier, senior research fellow in health policy studies at the Heritage Foundation, said, "The promise of what Massachusetts is doing, both the piece about reforming the insurance market... and reforming the subsidies... each of those pieces has a great deal of attraction to lawmakers at the state level simply because it's saying, 'Here are some creative ways of trying to do more with what you've got today.'" However, "[a] lot of what Massachusetts did is very specific to Massachusetts," he added.
High Point and Prudential Announce 5 Year Extension of ...
RED BANK, NJ -- (MARKET WIRE) -- March 13, 2007 -- High Point Auto Insurance, a leading provider of personal automobile insurance in the State of New Jersey, and Prudential Financial announced the extension of the existing distribution agreement between High Point and Prudential Insurance Agency, Inc., an affiliate of Prudential Financial that manages retail agency sales of High Point individual personal lines property and casualty products by Prudential Agents. The original agreement commenced on November 1, 2003 as part of the Palisades Group's purchase of Prudential Financial's New Jersey property and casualty insurance companies. Upon purchase, the Palisades Group renamed the companies the High Point Companies. Since the sale, High Point has sold its products through an extensive network of over 300 Prudential Agents throughout the State of New Jersey.
Q4 2006 Conseco, Inc. Earnings Conference Call - Final
OPERATOR: Thank you for holding, and welcome to the Conseco teleconference. We will begin an address by Dan Murphy, Conseco's Senior Vice President of Investor Relations. During the presentation, all teleconference participants will be in listen-only mode. A question-and-answer session will follow the presentation. [OPERATOR INSTRUCTIONS] Thank you for your attention and here is Dan Murphy. DAN MURPHY, SVP, IR, CONSECO, INC.: Good morning, and thanks for joining us on Conseco's fourth quarter earnings conference call. I'm pleased to have several key Conseco executives on the call with me today, including Jim Prieur, Conseco's CEO; Gene Bullis, Chief Financial Officer; Mike Dubes, President of Conseco Insurance Group; Scott Perry, President of Bankers Life; Greg Barstead, President of Colonial Penn Life; and John Wells, Senior Vice President of Long Term Care.
Tom Eagleton's last words Les AuCoin
BlueOregon is a place for progressive Oregonians to gather 'round the water cooler and share news, commentary, and gossip. Learn more about BlueOregon and meet our contributors. (Huh? What's this?) BlueOregon Sponsors Advertise on BlueOregon LEGAL STUFF This site is published by Kari Chisholm at Mandate Media, but copyright to and responsibility for all posts and comments are owned by their respective authors. Obviously, the posts and comments here are the views of their authors, and not of anyone else. While we're strong believers in free speech, we reserve the right to delete comment spam or other offensive material. Our contributors, however, reserve the right to embarass themselves in public.
Health insurance fails to protect Americans from financial risk
Boston, MASickness or injury can leave people in serious financial jeopardy even when they have health insurance, according to a report released today by The Access Project and Brandeis University. The Illusion of Coverage: How Health Insurance Fails People When They Get Sick, reports findings based on in-depth interviews with dozens of insured Americans in seven states. "Widespread debt and access problems among insured people represent major product failure in our private health insurance market," stated Carol Pryor, Senior Policy Analyst at The Access Project and co-author of the report. "Confusing and complex insurance policies, routine denial of claims that should be paid, and poor customer service plague the insurance industry. These problems call for the establishment of clearer rules and standards of accountability for health insurers." "For too many Americans, health insurance fails to protect them from the costs of medical care," said Jeff Prottas, coauthor and professor at The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis.
Long Term Insurance: Many Customers Unreasonably Denied Claims
New York, NY: Reaction to a New York Times article (March 26, 2007) highlighting problems with the long term insurance has been widespread, with people across the US condemning the actions of companies like Conseco. From Hillary Rodham Clinton asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to look into the matter, to individuals filing lawsuits against dishonest long-term insurers, people are taking action against companies that take advantage of seniors. The article gave numerous examples of the ways in which long term insurance companies deny seniors' claims, leaving the seniors without a way to pay for their long term care, even if they have no way of looking after themselves. In some cases, families of the seniors wind up paying thousands of dollars to ensure that their loved ones are cared for, even though the seniors have faithfully paid into a long term insurance policy.
|
