Family Health Insurance Missouri Plan

Veteran financiers flush with cash are turning their sights on industries shunned by the stock market, tapping into tax benefits, newfangled loans and an ability to borrow far more money than public shareholders would tolerate.

Congress seeks more money for children's health insurance

WASHINGTON -- Congress took the first step Thursday to double the budget for a program running out of money that provides health insurance for 6 million low-income kids.

The Senate Budget Committee voted 12-11 to approve $50 billion over five years for the State Children's Health Insurance Program, up from $25 billion. That would allow the program to cover an additional 6 million children.

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Church Community Organization optimistic about children's health ...

Church Community Organization members and supporters joined about 400 in Washington in mid-March to rally support for the Missouri health insurance plan that aids poor and uninsured children.The plan is part of the federal program called State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP. The program is up for renewal this year and speculation is a reduction in poverty guidelines could eliminate hundreds of thousands of children nationally from the program and at least 40,000 Missouri children could lose coverage.Long-time CCO leader, the Rev. Rayfield Burns, Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church, 2310 E Linwood Blvd., said he joined 75 other clergy as part of the People Improving Communities through Organizing national network. Then about another 325 active community members joined."We did not know how we would be received because it was a pretty big task," Burns said.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire Introduces Tonik

MANCHESTER, N.H., March 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Comprising almost 17 million Americans, young adults between the ages of 19 and 34 have one major thing in common when it comes to their health care -- they typically choose to go without health insurance. To help address this issue, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire, the state's largest health benefits provider, has introduced "Tonik" a unique health insurance option for New Hampshire's "young invincibles," those who have disposable income, but no health insurance. "Tonik is an important product that allows this growing demographic to purchase coverage on their own terms," said Lisa M. Guertin, president, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire. "Our company asked young people what they were looking for in a health plan, and we listened.

Medical liability firm acquired by California insurer

The Doctors Co., a Napa, Calif.-based malpractice insurance provider, will acquire the medical professional liability insurance book of business of TriState Medical Insurance Co., also known as TriMed.

CBA cashed up to spend on infrastructure plays

COMMONWEALTH Bank's asset management division has raised enough excess capital to spend on more infrastructure plays, as its insurance business approaches a decision on offering motor vehicle cover.

He said CFS's holding in the asset was going into a "number of different buckets" including an Australian infrastructure fund and a European infrastructure fund supported by European pension funds.

Hurricane suit against Allstate starts

Allstate Insurance Co. owes hundreds of thousands of dollars to a Louisiana couple who lost their home to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the couple's lawyer told an eight-member federal jury Monday.

At issue in this and other cases is whether damage was caused by wind or storm flooding.

Health chief pitches governor's care plan

MACOMB - Dr. Eric E. Whitaker, the state's public health director, was at Western Illinois University Tuesday afternoon to discuss details of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's new comprehensive plan to provide all Illinois residents access to affordable, quality health care insurance.Coming off of his "All Kids" plan to extend health care coverage to all children in Illinois last year, Blagojevich continued to display his dedication to improving state health care when he announced his "Illinois Covered" plan earlier this month.The plan aims to provide affordable health care to the 1.4 million Illinois residents currently uninsured from a private insurance provider by focusing on those populations that most often lack the resources to purchase health insurance.

After the Madness: UCLA and Loyola Marymount Student-Athletes get ...

HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--What becomes of student-athletes when their collegiate sports careers come to a close? With less than 1 percent making it to the professional level, the vast majority move on to work in the "real world" – most of them largely unprepared for the financial challenges ahead. Nearly half of student-athletes in California say they have not yet begun planning for their financial future, according to a survey by The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: HIG).

Student-athletes at UCLA and Loyola Marymount University will be setting aside their sports playbooks for a personal finance handbook this week, as The Hartford brings Playbook for Life, an award-winning national education program to the two campuses on April 10 and 11. Developed in collaboration with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA®), the program gives college students the basic financial knowledge required for personal success.

Women drivers 'saving their necks'

Female drivers may be less likely to have to make substantial claims on their women's car insurance after an accident as research has shown they are more likely to have their head restraints in the correct position to guard against injury.A study by car manufacturer Thatcham found that 43 per cent of female drivers - who may be entitled to cheap women's car insurance - have correctly-positioned headrests.Comparably, 75 per cent of men were found to be risking whiplash injuries by not adjusting their headrests properly.Across the board, 63 per cent of motorists were found to be making themselves vulnerable to receiving injuries.Matthew Avery, Crash Lab Manager at Thatcham, said: "The head restraint should be seen as every bit as important as the seat belt - yet people seem oblivious as to how to use it properly."He described the figures as "shocking", adding that some 125,000 injuries could be prevented every year by people making time to "save their necks".According to insurer Allianz Cornhill, a total of £1.25 billion is paid out for whiplash claims in the UK.Kwik-Fit Insurance was voted the UK's cheapest women's car insurance provider by research conducted in 2006.© Adfero Ltd
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The Road Home to offer appointment times in April

Homeowners who have yet to apply to The Road Home can do so by viewing this story online for a link to the program's Web site or by calling toll-free at (888) ROAD.2.LA (762-3252) or TTY (800) 566-4224.
After you apply, you can call to schedule an appointment at any of the Housing Assistance Centers in Louisiana or Houston. The program will have representatives in Shreveport on April 16-21 for people who have scheduled an appointment. They will be in Meeting Room 206 of the Shreveport Convention Center, 400 Caddo St. Morning and evening appointment times will be available.
Displaced residents residing in the Shreveport area or elsewhere in north Louisiana who have applied to the program but have yet to schedule their initial appointment may do so by calling toll-free at (888) ROAD-2-LA and choosing prompt #4.

American Cancer Society Addresses Access to Cancer Care during ...

ATLANTA, April 9 /PRNewswire/ -- As the nation observes National Minority Cancer Awareness Week (April 15-21, 2007), the American Cancer Society is raising awareness about the critical need for better access to quality cancer information, prevention, screening and treatment within the minority community. As part of this effort, the Society will mark the week-long initiative with a cancer disparities research conference featuring the Rev. Jesse Jackson, president and founder, RainbowPUSH Coalition, as keynote speaker. The focus of the conference, to be held in New Orleans April 18-20, is to lay the groundwork for progress in reducing and eliminating disparities in access to health care faced by minorities in the United States. For more information on the conference, visit http://www.cancer.org/cancerdisparities.

Research and Markets: Wellpoint, Inc. Is the Largest Publicly ...

Dublin - Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c53000) has announced the addition of WellPoint Inc. Business Intelligence Report to their offering The BusIntell Report provides the information and analysis you need on WellPoint, Inc. to gain an understanding of what makes the company the nation's leading health benefits company, and the largest health plan-owned PBM in the country. The BusIntell Report provides the following sections: Health Insurance Industry Overview, Pharmacy Benefit Management Overview, Medicare Prescription Drug Program Overview, Company Overview, Corporate Strategy, Internet Activities, Company Executives, Financial and Statistical Information, detailed Lines of Business, and Sources. WellPoint, Inc. is the largest publicly traded commercial health benefits company in terms of membership in the United States, serving approximately 34 million medical members.

Week in Review

MANCELONA — A man who was hurt falling out of a moving garbage truck apparently was trying to open and re-close the passenger side door.

Dimon remained hospitalized Wednesday afternoon at Munson Medical Center, where he was being treated for an ankle injury and cuts on his head, Bean said. He is expected to make a full recovery.

• WellPoint to Tie Health Improvements to Employee Compensation

Indianapolis-based WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE:WLP) says a new initiative will make it the first health benefits company in the nation to directly link success in improving the health of its members to employee compensation. The company is unveiling the Member Health Index, a program to measure the improvement of the health of its 34 million members. WellPoint says a portion of its employees' incentive income will be tied to improvements in the members' health index score.

Source: Inside INdiana Business
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MADD and Nationwide(R) Kick Off Prom With Music by Bow Wow at Sam ...

HOUSTON, April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company (Nationwide) kicked off prom season in Houston with a special celebrity performance by R&B music artist Bow Wow at Sam Houston High School (SHHS). MADD's THINK.Prom program, which is nationally sponsored by Nationwide, asks students to pledge to be alcohol and drug free during prom. Statistics show that traffic deaths among teens during typical prom weekends are higher than any other time of year. The SHHS junior/senior prom is April 27.

"We are proud to work with Nationwide to provide the THINK.Prom program because the choices students make today impact their lives tomorrow," said Glynn Birch, MADD National President. "We are asking teens to leave alcohol out of prom, never ride with someone who's been drinking and to buckle up.

$10000000 — Mason County budget to top mark for the first time

The Mason County Board of Commissioners will consider its first eight-figure preliminary county budget at Tuesday's board meeting.

County Administrator Fabian Knizacky said this is the first time the county's proposed budget has topped $10 million. The budget is nearly 4 percent larger than this year's budget, Knizacky said, mostly because of increases to wages and fringe benefits. .

Morning business file: Pipeline valued at $16.2M (9:10 am)

CALGARY (CP) — Imperial Oil (TSX:IMO) has put a mammoth $16.2-billion pricetag on the proposed Mackenzie Gas Project in the Northwest Territories and says the production startup will be ``no sooner than 2014.''
Imperial Oil today filed its updated cost and schedule information on the proposed project with the National Energy Board and Joint Review Panel.
The updated information submitted to regulators includes project costs of $3.5 billion for the gas-gathering system and $7.8 billion for the Mackenzie Valley pipeline. In addition, the estimated cost of the development of anchor fields is $4.9 billion.
The project is proposed by Imperial, ConocoPhillips Canada, Shell Canada, ExxonMobil Canada and the Aboriginal Pipeline Group.
The aboriginal group was formed in 2000 to enable ownership_interest by the aboriginal peoples of the Northwest Territories in_the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline.

Can taking vitamins be dangerous?

Two weeks ago, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study that not only questioned the efficacy of antioxidant supplements, but also their safety. TODAY nutritionist Joy Bauer breaks down the results and how you can take the right vitamins safely.

The objective of this study was to assess the effect of beta-carotene, selenium, and vitamins A, C, and E on mortality, i.e., whether these antioxidants help you live longer. And in terms of the outcome,… to quote the conclusions from the actual study…. it says: “Treatment with beta carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E may increase mortality.

Even a Realtor will tell you: Glut is huge

When the flood of fresh home listings stopped rising last fall, the Tampa Bay housing market appeared poised for a recovery.

Two years ago, during the peak of the last boom market, absorption was running beyond 50 percent, meaning half the homes on the listings sold in a given month.