| Honeymoon couples warned of travel insurance traps
Graeme Trudgill, manager of technical services at BIBA, believes that honeymooners in particular should ensure they have travel insurance policies. This is because many take valuables received as wedding presents and family heirlooms passed on to them one their big day, and he urged all newly married couples to ensure their policy is up to date before travelling abroad. Mr Trudgill also stressed that travel insurance is needed to provide cover in the event of injury, illness and cancellation. "Travel insurance is as important as your suitcase," he advised. "Don't go without it, whatever you do. Even if you get a European Health Insurance card if you're going to Europe, it still doesn't cover cancellation of your honeymoon if you break a leg, or many, many things." "Lots of people, on a wedding day, hand down a valuable family ring, or something, we see that quite often.
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.
Nigeria: UNIC Insurance Adopts New Strategy, Enlarges Board
A rising from last month's recertification of Unic Insurance Plc by the National Insurance Commission [NAICOM], the company has commenced plans to foster rapid growth of its clients base in the life and health operations which she has been licensed to operate. Already, a company wide extensive training programme has commenced for all the staff inorder to prepare them for the new task. The training is also geared towards updating and sensitizing the staff on the thinking of the organization and adequately equip them on the vision, operations, and other strategies to be adopted. Experienced professionals in the health and actuarial circle are facilitating the training. .
Audit gives insurance a clean bill of health: Questions remain as ...
DECATUR - An audit of the city's health insurance program shows no major problems, City Manager Steve Garman said.But important questions appear to remain unanswered about why taxpayers are footing the bill for one of the most expensive plans in the region, Councilman Dan Caulkins said.The Decatur City Council last year approved spending $59,225 for Segal Co. to study the city's health insurance plan.Caulkins advocated the study to find ways to control surging health insurance costs for city employees.The report indicates the city should remain self-insured, and Consociate Group, the third-party administrator, has gone above and beyond expected performance.Garman said the report is reassuring."We continue to assert, as we have since the fall of 2004, that the pressing area of concern lies within the area of city employee contributions to health care costs," Garman wrote in a memo to council members.Nonunion employees recently switched to a plan in which they contribute more for health insurance.If all city employees paid what nonunion employees pay on average, the city would have saved more than $800,000 last year alone, Garman said.Union employees currently pay nothing per year for single coverage and $276 for employee contributions, Garman said."While we understand and appreciate the fact that employee groups bargained for these benefits in the past and we do not hold that against them, the time has come to seriously evaluate whether the taxpaying public should continue to shoulder these costs for the benefit of represented city employees," Garman wrote.A 2004 city study showed Decatur pays substantially more on average for city employees' health insurance than do Bloomington, Champaign, Danville, Normal, Quincy, Springfield and Urbana.
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.
eHealth: Bring us your uninsured
Vip Patel still isn't sure what made him sick shortly after he graduated Stanford University in 1985, but he does know why he didn't go to a doctor: He had no health insurance. Stricken with what he believes was food poisoning, Patel stayed on his college roommate's floor and grew a lot sicker before recovering. That experience laid the groundwork for eHealth Inc., which Patel founded in 1997 as a tool to deliver health care to the uninsured by helping people find medical insurance over the Internet. According to the Census Bureau, 46.6 million Americans don't have health insurance. That number is climbing as more businesses cut workers off from employer-provided health care because of escalating medical costs. In 2000, 69 percent of employers bought health insurance for their employees -- last year, that proportion fell to 61 percent.
State plan must cover just the basic services
The Oregon Legislature is considering two significant health care reform proposals. Senate Bill 27 and Senate Bill 329 both aim to reduce the number of Oregonians who have no health insurance. Both warrant serious study. The Oregon Office for Health Policy and Research puts the number of Oregonians who, in 2006, did not have health insurance at 575,000, or 15.6 percent of the state population. Who are these uninsured? • Approximately 182,000 of the uninsured have incomes of 2 1/2 times the federal poverty level or less. The health policy office concludes that these people can't afford to purchase health insurance. The Oregon Health Plan, the state's system of Medicaid coverage, essentially uses the federal poverty level as the cutoff point for eligibility. • Approximately 393,000, or 10.7 percent of the state's population, have incomes greater than 2 1/2 times the federal poverty level.
Local Medical Leaders Develop Plan for Physician-Owned Insurance ...
In response to the growing health insurance crisis, local medical leaders have developed plans to create The Physicians Assurance Corp. (TPAC). The intended goal of TPAC is to provide a fair, equitable, and shared insurance solution primarily owned and managed by local physicians for both the medical community and small employer members. "Group medical insurance premium rates are not stable for small employers, especially in the central Ohio market. It is not uncommon to see price increases two to three times the trend," said Dr. Alice Epitropoulos, founder of The Refractive Center of Ohio and board member of TPAC. "This variance leads to significant employer uncertainty and in turn, uncertainty to their employees." "Small employers see larger premium rate increases because they lack the purchasing power of larger employers.
Wells Fargo Insurance Services Opens New Office in Milwaukee
Wells Fargo Insurance Services announced today the opening of its first office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The new Wells Fargo Insurance Services office is located at 100 E. Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, and offers both commercial and employee benefits insurance programs and services. David Pautz has been appointed Senior Vice President and Director of Insurance Services for the Milwaukee and Michigan offices. Joining Pautz at the new Wells Fargo Insurance Services office in Milwaukee is Mark E. Lambrecht, CPCU, Vice President/Director and Business Development Officer; David Wierkiewicz, Vice President and Director of Health and Benefits; Kevin Miller, Vice President and Relationship Manager; and Brigitte E. Binder, Vice President, Administration and Relationship Manager. Pautz is responsible for overseeing and managing the team of insurance specialists in Milwaukee and Michigan.
John Giblin Named BlueCross Chief Financial Officer
The board of directors of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, in their April 6 board meeting, has confirmed John Giblins appointment to chief financial officer for BlueCross and its affiliated companies.
Most recently, Mr. Giblin served as CFO of Amedisys, Inc., a leading home health nursing company based in Baton Rouge. Prior to that, he worked for 17 years with Crawford & Company in Atlanta, serving as executive vice president and CFO. Crawford & Company is the worlds largest independent provider of claims management solutions to insurance companies and self-insured entities with a global network of over 700 offices in 63 countries. Mr. Giblin, a certified public accountant, began his career with Arthur Andersen LLP in Atlanta.
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Health Benefits Direct Announces Addition of Aetna Coverage to ...
RADNOR, PA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- March 12, 2007 -- Health Benefits Direct Corporation (OTCBB: HBDT), a leading innovator in the direct marketing and distribution of a wide range of health and life insurance products to individuals, today announced that Aetna has joined Health Benefits Direct's online insurance portal as an official health insurance carrier partner. The addition of this leading provider expands the company's consumer selection to include coverage availability from four of the largest major medical insurance carriers in the nation. "Selective carrier mix expansion is a key component of our organic growth plan, and this addition marks a significant achievement in the ongoing development of our interactive online insurance agency," said Alvin H. Clemens, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Health Benefits Direct.
Children's health care bill held up in committee
Future health-care coverage for more than 60,000 Mississippi children hinges on a bill now in the hands of a committee in Congress where House and Senate members are to work out differences. But even if the bill eventually passes, funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program in more than a dozen states is still in jeopardy. .
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