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The Danger of President Obama’s Insurance for Children (SCHIP)

Be Safe Insure — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 20:39:46 +0000

We have already written quite a bit about the changing Obama will be bringing to the world of insurance. The following press release sheds light on what is happening in the field of health insurance for children.

“The Danger of President Obama’s Insurance for Children (SCHIP)

Democrats are moving quickly to socialize American health care with the SCHIP expansion. Michael Tanner of the CATO Institute whined, “Shouldn’t we at least talk about it?” The cost to the federal taxpayers is enormous and President Obama has promised to reduce funding in Medicare to help pay for SCHIP’s expansion. Representative Steven King (R-IA) labels SCHIP expansion, “A Cornerstone for Socialized Medicine.”

The biggest problem with SCHIP is the danger to children who sign up for it. Millions of children have been terminated off of their SCHIP insurance on their 19th birthday regardless of their medical history. Ron Greiner of Save101.com warns, “My daughter has MS and the medication alone is $2,500 a month or $30,000 per year. You want insurance on your child that is permanent and portable with a high lifetime maximum benefit of at least $5,000,000.”

Millions of children are expected to switch to SCHIP from their parents’ employer-based insurance. Some employers charge workers $300 to $500 a month to insure a child. Ron said, “Employer insurance is too expensive. In Tampa, HSA ‘Individual Insurance’ for a child is less than $50 a month that pays 100% after the deductible on covered inpatient, outpatient and prescription drugs. Like many HSA plans it has a $0 deductible for preventative services.” In Des Moines a child can enroll on permanent HSA insurance for less than $40 a month. Parents can call 877-Save101 to determine their child’s cost.

Ron believes parents don’t need government to have a plan. He tells parents, “Insurance for children is inexpensive. Parents that choose SCHIP are gambling that their child won’t get sick or hurt.”

Save101.com specializes in HSA insurance for the self employed. Many families have HSA health insurance for less than $200 a month, then they grow their savings in their HSA. Ron says, “The HSA is great to save with because the HSA enjoys tax free deposits, growth and withdrawals. IRAs and 401Ks are old taxed accounts. Some people save more each year in taxes, with their HSA, than the cost of their insurance!”

(press release)

2008 Costly for Hurricane Insurance, Storm Insurance & Other Catastroph Insurance

Be Safe Insure — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 20:45:21 +0000

AMRE / Munich RE reports:

“The very high natural catastrophe losses incurred in 2008 again show the crucial importance of risk research for the insurance industry. In its annual review published today, “Topics Geo – Natural catastrophes 2008″, Munich Re’s geo risks experts take an in-depth look at Hurricane Ike – with losses of US$ 15bn, the industry’s most expensive natural catastrophe in 2008.

Hurricane Ike, which hit several Caribbean States, the USA and even Canada, although by then weaker, claimed 168 lives. Ike bore several distinct features:

* Primarily due to the enormous area it covered, Ike had the greatest destruction potential ever recorded in a tropical North Atlantic hurricane. Known as “integrated kinetic energy”, this factor is calculated from the wind speed and dimensions of a storm. It is also used as a measure for storm surge.

* The vast extent of the storm caused a very large storm surge in the Gulf of Mexico. In all, 50 oil platforms were destroyed, and nearly 100 more reported minor to severe damage. A 500-km stretch of the Gulf Coast between Texas and Louisiana was under several metres of water.

* Ike ultimately merged with a low-pressure system above the land mass, producing gale-force winds and torrential rain in the Midwest (primarily Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana) and even on the East Coast of the USA and in Canada.

Torsten Jeworrek, member of Munich Re’s Board of Management: “Hurricane Ike clearly illustrates the importance of thorough risk research in identifying loss potential. It is this which enables us to explore new and continuously evolving risk complexes so as to render them manageable and push back the frontiers of insurability. We will continue to insist on a commensurate price for the risks written, particularly since climate change and settlement dynamics will further increase losses due to weather-related natural catastrophes”.

The 2008 hurricane season, with 16 tropical storms well above the long-term average of 10.3 (1950–2007), confirms Munich Re’s assessment that the current warm phase will probably result in higher loss potential. However, Hurricane Ike also made it abundantly clear to the insurance industry that loss estimates undertaken in the immediate aftermath of complex individual events are particularly fraught with uncertainty.

Aggregate losses caused by Ike exceeded initial estimates by modelling firms and the industry. Since insurance companies’ first estimates were too low, Munich Re’s final claims burden was also higher than originally anticipated. Munich Re now expects a claims burden of approximately US$ 680m (after retrocessions). This claims burden is already taken into account in the preliminary figures published on 4 February 2009 for the financial year 2008.

The new “Topics Geo – Natural catastrophes 2008″ also takes a detailed look at the substantial loss potential from winter damage in China, and analyses the severe earthquake that shook the Chinese province of Sichuan in May 2008. According to Munich Re’s geo risks researchers, the insurance industry should interpret the Sichuan earthquake as a warning signal. This catastrophe shows that the risk of earthquake should on no account be neglected in comparison with that of typhoon and flood.

2008 loss figures

On the basis of figures adjusted for inflation, 2008 was the third most expensive year on record in terms of insured and economic losses. Overall losses came to US$ 200bn, a figure exceeded only in the hurricane year of 2005 and in 1995, the year of the Kobe earthquake in Japan. Last year’s most expensive catastrophe in macroeconomic terms was the earthquake in Sichuan, with direct losses of at least US$ 85bn. Insured natural catastrophe losses totalled US$ 45bn in 2008.

Click here to gain your own copy of “Topics Geo – Natural catastrophes 2008″ “

AIA Opposes State Catastrophe Fund

Be Safe Insure — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 19:18:55 +0000

The American Insurance Association (AIA) provided testimony today in opposition to Connecticut Senate Bill 530, legislation that would establish a state-mandated catastrophe (CAT) fund in Connecticut. The testimony was presented at a hearing before the Insurance and Real Estate Committee.

“Natural catastrophe remains a manageable and insurable risk for private insurers, provided they have the proper underwriting, rating, and risk mitigation tools,” said Laura Kersey, AIA northeast region assistant vice president. “Nonetheless, some state public policymakers have proposed supplanting the role of the private insurance system through the creation of state Cat Funds and other government solutions that would undermine efforts to reduce risk and to encourage personal responsibility.”

According to AIA’s written testimony opposing Senate Bill 530, all states face some natural catastrophe risk, but the type and magnitude of the risk varies greatly by state, by regions within a state, and by type of policyholder. “It is unfair to expect inland residents to subsidize coastal development and beachfront property, or small businesses to subsidize homeowners – yet such subsidies are integral to the design and financing of state CAT Funds,” said Kersey.

AIA pointed out that Florida is the only state that has taken the gamble that a government-imposed mechanism can provide coverage more effectively than the private market. However, in the aftermath of the devastating hurricanes of 2004 and 2005, the Cat Fund ran out of money. “The deficit is now being paid off by a hurricane tax on most policyholders in the state, including many residents and businesses that are located in less risky areas, and may not even have been in the state when the hurricanes struck,” explained Kersey. In some hurricane scenarios, those assessments could last up to 30 years.

“Fortunately, the private property and casualty insurance industry is well-positioned financially and operationally to manage natural catastrophe risk,” concluded Kersey.

AIA member companies write more than 40 percent of Connecticut’s homeowners’ insurance market and almost half of the state’s property insurance market.

# # #

The American Insurance Association represents approximately 350 major insurance companies that provide all lines of property and casualty insurance and write more than $123 billion annually in premiums. The association is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and has representatives in every state. All AIA press releases are available at www.aiadc.org.

Physicians Using Health IT in Hospitals Linked to Fewer Deaths, Fewer Complications, & Lower Costs

Be Safe Insure — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:55:03 +0000

When physicians in hospitals use health information technology (health IT) to its full potential there are fewer deaths, fewer complications, and lower health care costs. This is the conclusion of a study published last week in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The research examined physicians from 41 hospitals in Texas treating a diverse group of patients across a variety of conditions including heart attack, heart failure, and pneumonia. It directly measured physicians using health IT in a hospital setting.

Survey respondents were asked about their use of several different types of health IT including electronic notes and records, order entry, and clinical decision support.

Researchers found that relatively modest increases in technology use had dramatic results:

A 10 point increase in the use of electronic notes and medical records was associated with a 15%t reduction in the likelihood of patient death.
When physicians electronically entered their instructions for patient care, there was a 55% reduction in the likelihood of death for some procedures.
Increased use of health IT was also linked to lower costs: hospitals with automated test results, order entry, and decision support experienced lower costs for all hospital admissions (-$110, -$132, and -$538, respectively per admission).

“These findings tell us, straight from the physicians using it, that this technology works to improve quality of care for patients—the first priority of health information technology,” said Commonwealth Fund Vice President for Quality Improvement and Efficiency Anne-Marie Audet, M.D. “But, in order to save lives and keep costs downs, health information technology has to be used to its fullest extent. As President Obama and his health care team consider investing in this technology for the nation, it would make sense to factor in on-going support and training for health care providers so that the technology can live up to its potential.”

Two additional Commonwealth Fund publications, also released today, expand on how health IT can be successfully integrated to help the U.S. create a truly high performing health care system.

The study was supported by The Commonwealth Fund and led by Ruben Amarasingham M.D., M.B.A., Associate Chief of Medicine at Parkland Health & Hospital System and Assistant Professor of Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical School and Neil Powe, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Further Commentary

Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis calls health IT a critical component of efforts to reform the U.S. health care system, when implemented alongside other key strategies such as payment reform and an overall commitment to performance improvement.

“Just as investment in railroads, air traffic control, and interstate highways facilitated economic development and national prosperity in the 20th century, so too will the spread of health IT and the development of a national health information network bring long-run benefits and gains to the nation in the 21st century,” writes Davis. “It is crucial that our federal leadership move now to harness the power of information technology and put the nation on a path to high performance.”

David Blumenthal, M.D., director of the Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital/Partners HealthCare System and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, outlines federal policy options for overcoming the financial, technical, and logistical obstacles to getting hospitals and doctors to adopt health IT.

“The Federal Role in Promoting Health Information Technology,” recommends offering assistance for purchase and implementation of health IT to providers that lack financial means; financial support for information exchange in local communities; support for research to improve health IT capabilities; payment reform to hasten use of health IT; and creating national regulations and standards for data security and patient privacy.

Only 9% of Unemployed Obtain COBRA Health Insurance

Be Safe Insure — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 23:38:34 +0000

Anyone who has ever had to pay COBRA health insurance out of pocket, knows just how expensive these premiums can be. And they are to be paid at times when the family budget is tighter than usual.

Therefore, the results from a new analysis by the Commonwealth Fund comes as no surprise. As the rate of unemployment is as high as it has ever been in the last sixteen years, their study ‘Maintaining Health Insurance During a Recession: Likely COBRA Eligibility’ finds that only 9% of unemployed workers took up coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act in 2006.

Laid-off workers who also lose their health insurance would need substantial financial assistance, covering 75% to 85% of their health insurance premiums, for their premium contributions to remain at the levels they paid while they were working, said the report by Michelle M. Doty, Dir. Survey Research, and his team.

The report also highlights that low-wage workers are at a particular disadvantage. Only 38% of of low-wage workers are eligible to receive COBRA benefits, because they don’t receive health insurance through their jobs. They tend to work for small firms aren’t required to offer COBRA, or are uninsured to begin with. Coverage options for low-income workers remain limited especially for childless adults because most lack a public coverage option. The authors say that policymakers should consider temporarily expanding Medicaid and SCHIP eligibility to unemployed adults with low incomes, with assistance for premium shares, to provide critical support to families.

66% of all current workers, if laid off, would be eligible to extend their health insurance under COBRA But for most people, COBRA payments are unaffordable, about four to six times higher than the amount of money they contributed to their health insurance when they were employed. According to the report, millions of the eligible could keep their coverage if they could get assistance with their premiums, which average $4,704 per year for an individual and $12,680 a year for a family.

“Americans are losing their jobs at an alarming pace and this report clearly shows that many people cannot afford to take on the expense of COBRA just as they lose their income,” said Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis. “The number of uninsured Americans could grow markedly during this recession unless we take action to help unemployed Americans keep their health care coverage.”

Aetna Health Insurance Shows Personal Health Care Savings of Thousands of Dollars Annually

Lang Insurance Advisor — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 13:54:49 +0000

Aetna Empowers Members to Maximize Their Health Benefits And Minimize Their Personal Expenses, as research reveals: 71% of insured Americans are prepared to shop for health care savings of $250 per year

In response to a recent survey, Aetna is launching an educational campaign to help its members potentially save thousands of dollars annually on their health care spending. In their educational program Atnea will be showing customers how to make simple changes to their health care purchasing habits. The research that let to this campaign found that 71% of Americans say that they would be willing to shop for health care to save $250 p.a. This was a new survey of insured Americans conducted on behalf of Aetna.

“We are seeing a fundamental shift in consumer purchasing of health care,” said Laurie Brubaker, head of Integrated Health and Productivity Solutions for Aetna. “The weaker economy has made Americans more willing to shop around for savings. In fact, nearly a quarter say that they are more likely now than a year ago to ask about the cost of health care services before receiving them.”

Resources for Health Care Savings

The educational campaign includes new web resources for both members and non-members at www.aetna.com, resources for Aetna customers to share with their employees, and print and online advertising. Aetna conducted a survey of insured Americans in December 2008 to identify issues related to the economy and health care spending, and used the feedback to inform its efforts.

Health Insurance Survey Findings

Overall, almost 60% of Americans say that they would be willing to actively shop for health care to save money in the next year. When asked about specific savings, 71% are willing to shop for savings of $250, 77 percent for $500, 81% for $750, and 85 percent for $1,000 or more annually.
Families with children at home are more concerned about saving money:
- * 76% of families with children are willing to shop around for health care in order to save money (compared to 52% of families without children);
- * 48% of families with children have delayed getting non-urgent care to save money (compared to 22% of families without children);
- * 32% of families with children have asked about the specific cost of a service before receiving it (compared to 16% of families without children).
Almost 20% of Americans has stopped taking a medication because it was too expensive, in spite of the fact that 73% of Americans agree that prescription drugs reduce health care costs by reducing illness.
While 94% of Americans agree that preventive care reduces health care costs by preventing illnesses, many are not taking advantage of free or low-cost preventive services that may be available to them under their health plan like coverage for mammograms (53%), Pap smears (41 percent), and colonoscopies (71%).
10% of Americans is planning to delay discretionary care in the next year, including treatments for back pain, bunions and sleeping disorders.

Emphasis on Preventative Health Care

“We were most concerned to learn that Americans are skimping on their health in order to save money, particularly in areas like preventive care and prescription medications,” said Lonny Reisman, M.D., Aetna Chief Medical Officer. “That’s why we’re educating our members that preventive care, including well-baby and well-woman visits, as well as routine health screenings and immunizations, is either covered at 100 percent or available at low cost in most Aetna plans. There are also a number of ways to lower prescription drug costs that are well worth discussing with your physician.”

Tips for Maintaining Good Health

Aetna’s web resources and advertisements offer quick tips for saving money while maintaining good health. These tips include seeking care within Aetna’s network of more than 500,000 participating physicians, accessing free or low-cost preventive services such as mammograms and colonoscopies, choosing generic prescription drugs where appropriate, and taking advantage of discounts for common services such as gym memberships, LASIK surgery and nutritional counseling.

8 Ways to Save Money on Health Care

A flyer featuring eight ways that Aetna members can save money on their health care is available at www.aetna.com/healthysavings. The website also includes information on managing stress, eating healthy on a budget and securing health benefits after a layoff.

“The bottom line is that Aetna members who play an active role in shopping for health care can potentially put thousands of dollars back into their own pockets,” said Brubaker.

In addition to online information specific to Aetna members, Aetna offers general health benefits and financial planning information at www.planforyourhealth.com. Plan for Your Health, a partnership of Aetna and the Financial Planning Association, is currently helping consumers weather the economic downturn with tips for saving money on health care and advice for securing health benefits in the wake of a job loss.

About the Survey
Results are based on a survey conducted by DSS Research of 290 insured adults. Qualified respondents were at least 24 years old with commercial health insurance or Medicare (adults 65 and older). All data were collected via an online survey using an FGI consumer panel on Dec. 10, 2008.

About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 37.2 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities and health care management services for Medicaid plans. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see www.aetna.com.

Article from http://BeSafeInsure.com 2009

Aon launches Piracy Insurance to fill Loss of Earnings gap

Be Safe Insure — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:36:45 +0000

Global risk and insurance firm Aon has launched a new insurance policy for charterers, shipowners and cargo owners to cover loss of earnings from a ship being detained by pirates.

There have been over 50 reported attacks off the coast of Somalia, with 32 vessels hijacked, in the first eight months of 2008.

The average duration of vessel seizure is 60 days which means that charterers have been incurring the cost of paying charter hire for these additional days without receiving any extra income. Cargo owners are also facing the risk of cancellation of contracts due to the delay.

Relevant hull and war clauses cover physical loss or damage arising from piracy, and ransom is either dealt with by specific coverage or by owners attempting to recover as a sue and labor expense. However, there has been a potential void in cover for the financial impact of business interruption or loss of earnings.

This new policy is bridging the gap and is designed, for example, to cover:

· charterers, who are paying for hiring the vessel even though the vessel is detained;

· shipowners, who in the event of contract frustration, may lose out on charter revenues;

· cargo owners, particularly of seasonal goods, who face cancelled contracts if the goods are held up;

· all other interested parties to a venture with an insurable interest.

The cover is triggered from day one of the attack (with no deductible) and is a standalone policy to complement existing hull, war, cargo and P&I cover.

Peter Townsend, Aon’s head of marine hull, said: “The recent spate of pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden/Horn of Africa has highlighted how shipowners and charterers are incurring significant uninsured costs with no recourse. We decided to do something about it across the marine industry so all parties affected by an attack could recover their loss of earnings.”

Peter Dobbs, CEO of Aon’s UK marine team, added: “This year has seen our marine clients facing a raft of risks as shipowners face tighter margins in the credit crunch and hull rates begin to increase. Against this backdrop, Aon has stepped up its innovation to provide our clients with solutions that respond to the real challenges facing their businesses – such as piracy attacks.”

The piracy loss of earnings policy follows the suite of new products from Aon in 2008, which include protection for insurer insolvency and trade finance.

Latest News in Home Insurance – Sep 1,2008

Webmaster — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:03:32 +0000

Commerzbank to Buy Dresdner Bank for EU9.8 Billion (Update2) – Bloomberg

1 Sep 2008 at 3:03am
Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) — Commerzbank AG agreed to buy Allianz SE’s Dresdner Bank for 9.8 billion euros ($14.4 billion) in the biggest financial-services takeover in Europe this year, leapfrogging Deutsche Bank AG by customers and branches. Commerzbank …

Proper insurance coverage can protect small businesses in a disaster – Los An…

31 Aug 2008 at 11:28pm
Small-business owners dealing with damage caused by Hurricane Gustav or Tropical Storm Fay — or this summer’s Midwest flooding or California wildfires — probably are feeling some regret because they didn’t have adequate insurance coverage. And so …

Storm report: Insurance tips – The Daily Advertiser

1 Sep 2008 at 12:40am
Q: Do homeowners’ insurance policies cover flooding? A: Homeowners’ policies do not cover most flooding. You need separate flood insurance policy to protect your home and belongings against flood damage. Q: Do automobile insurance policies cover …

Renters insurance: Why it’s essential – Gainesville Sun

1 Sep 2008 at 3:17am
The population of renters across the country is growing, edged up in part by a slumping housing market. Yet as graduates and others enter the work force and set up their first apartments, renters insurance probably isn’t a burning issue. It’s …

U.K. Hometrack House Prices Fall Most Since 2001 (Update1) – Bloomberg

1 Sep 2008 at 12:11am
Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) — U.K. house prices fell by the most since at least 2001 in August as economic growth stagnated, and an end to the property slump is “still some way off,” according to Hometrack Ltd. The average cost of a residential property …

Satellite Imaging Company Hopes for Clear Skies – Washington Post

31 Aug 2008 at 10:02pm
On Thursday at 11:50 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, GeoEye chief executive Matthew O’Connell plans to be at Vandenberg Air Force Base, watching a Boeing Delta II rocket roar into the California sky, carrying GeoEye’s new imaging satellite — and the …

DROWNING IN BILLS AFTER WATER DAMAGE – Herald News

1 Sep 2008 at 1:59am
MOKENA — A water main broke behind a neighbor’s home Aug. 2, flooding Don Koefoed’s basement without any warning. “Water was coming in through the sliding door, the front door, the garage,” Koefoed said. According to his account, within about 20 …

No insurance policies to be written until after Gustav – Alexandria Daily Tow…

31 Aug 2008 at 11:43pm
Residents currently without homeowner’s, auto or flood insurance will have to wait until after Hurricane Gustav to get it. Louisiana Citizens Insurance, the state-sponsored home insurer of last resort, stopped writing new policies or increasing …

Deducting sales tax, insurance premiums – Baltimore Sun

30 Aug 2008 at 4:10am
Baltimoresun.com’s tax-advice column features three experts from the Hunt Valley accounting firm SC&H Group answering questions about preparing your return every Monday until April 16. Tony, Baltimore: If you itemize, is it legal to deduct the taxes …

Gainesville woman loses home to Fay – Gainesville Sun

31 Aug 2008 at 10:02pm
While many Gainesville area residents wrote off Tropical Storm Fay as a nuisance, Leona Anglin found herself without a home. Fay dumped rain and brought down trees in Alachua County. For Anglin, a nurse at the North Florida Regional Medical Center …

Today’s Home Insurance News

Be Safe Insure — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:09:54 +0000

AAA to offer point and insurance reduction program in August – Observer Today
AAA Western and Central New York will sponsor a six-hour Driver Improvement Program course on Aug. 5 & 6 from 6 to 9 p.m. both evenings at the Kosciuszko Polish Home, 252 Nevins St. in Dunkirk. Class participants will receive a 10 percent insurance …

Rework budgets, but don’t drop insurance – Bradenton Herald
My wife and I sat down this past week to work on our budget. Why? Let’s see, gas is $4 a gallon, so a trip to the grocery store can cause undue stress as well as sticker shock. Just the cost of daily living, which was once not even a thing to ponder …

Q&A on insurer’s plan for joint wind, flood policy – Chicago Tribune
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. is lobbying Congress for permission to allow insurance companies to include flood coverage in homeowner policies. The vast majority of flood insurance policies are currently sold by insurers but subsidized by the …

Shopping for Insurance – AOL Money
The residential mortgage market was a major contributor to an economic slowdown in the U.S. in 2007, and homeowners found themselves paying more for homeowner’s insurance — if they were able to find it. Homeowner’s insurance protects homeowners from …

3.25m to move home – In the News
Over 3.25 million Brits are planning to move home over the coming year, according to new research. Would-be …

In China, few are covered by earthquake insurance – Los Angeles Times
SHANGHAI — As a customer-service manager at China Pacific Property Insurance Co., Shen Jie paid visits to dozens of policyholders whose homes and cars were destroyed or damaged by the May 12 earthquake. After recording each case, he could only shake …

Insurer lobbies to sell flood coverage – Biloxi Sun Herald
One of the nation’s largest insurance companies is lobbying Congress for permission to sell policies that cover damage from both wind and flood water, a plan billed as a way for insurers and homeowners to avoid costly litigation after disasters such …

href="http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/banking/2008-06-25-mortgage-services-countrywide-lawsuit_N.htm">Homeowners fight for their mortgage rights – USA Today
Beset by financial problems in 2002, Eunice Anderson fell months behind in the mortgage payments on her four-bedroom ranch in Redford Township, Mich., near Detroit. Anderson, 48, a medical insurance auditor, says she was unable to refinance or …

Homeowners Rescue Plan Passes Key Senate Test – CNBC
A massive foreclosure rescue bill overwhelmingly cleared a key Senate test Tuesday, drawing broad support from Democrats and Republicans alike. The Senate voted 83-9 to speed up work on the $300 billion mortgage aid plan, putting it on track for a …

Insurance not required, FEMA told flooded town – CNN
GULFPORT, Illinois (CNN) — All roads in the town of Gulfport, Illinois, lead to nowhere. They all hit a dead end into Mississippi River floodwaters. Most businesses and homes in Gulfport, Illinois, are underwater. Only 28 residents had flood …

Insurer would cover flood – Biloxi Sun Herald
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. is lobbying Congress for permission to expand its homeowner policies to include flood coverage. The vast majority of flood insurance policies are currently sold by insurers but subsidized by the National Flood …

Non-Deductible Items – AOL
Some expenses related to owning your home cannot be deducted from your income taxes. The IRS does not allow you to deduct the following items: Insurance premiums you pay for comprehensive (homeowner’s) coverage, or for fire, mortgage or title …

Today’s Health Insurance News

Be Safe Insure — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:53:19 +0000

More Americans Delay Health Care – Wall Street Journal
An increasing array of Americans, many with health insurance, are delaying or forgoing medical care because of concern about cost, according to a report from the Center for Studying Health System Change. About 20% of the respondents in a 2007 survey …

Health insurance lags most in Southwest, CDC says – Journal Record
ATLANTA (AP) ? The Southwest has the lowest health insurance coverage in the country, with 30 percent of non-elderly adults and 18 percent of children uninsured, according to a new government study. New England ? with a rate of uninsured people …

Health-care scammer confesses – Macomb Daily
A former Macomb County employee admitted Wednesday she filed false claims for up to $230,000 in health insurance benefits paid by taxpayer dollars long after she left the county. Jackie Youhanian, 38, pleaded guilty in Macomb County Circuit Court to …

Tax relief on health insurance shares – ninemsn
Health insurance policy holders will get a tax break when their fund demutualises. Assistant treasurer Chris Bowen told parliament an amendment to the tax act would ensure policy holders who receive shares in a demutualised insurer would not have to …

Myths about insurance – Economic Times
For many people, insurance is just another form of investment. They buy one or two life insurance policies , and then forget all about them. Ask them about other insurance covers?accident , health, or household valuables?and they will tell you …

SCHOOL Board reverses stand on insurance – TriVallyCentral
��Belmond-Klemme school employees will now be covered by a Wellmark health insurance policy. The board had refused to act on the change to Wellmark at a special meeting May 28 despite pleas from the teachers’ union. The switch was approved …

Check health insurance coverage before doctor visit – Kansas City Star
B efore setting up an appointment, I asked Family Care Specialist Medical Center of Lee?s Summit if it accepted Great-West Healthcare. I was told yes. When I arrived, I asked the front desk if it accepted GWH and again was told, yes. I presented my …

Anorexia, bulimia may soon become part of mandatory health insurance … – C…
Melissa Traub has struggled for a decade with an eating disorder, her weight sometimes dipping below 100 pounds, her hair falling out by the handful. Today, the 24-year-old Naperville woman appears to be healthy?a tribute to treatment, tenacity and …

Study examines impact of poor, uninsured patients’ race in terms of …
A new study in Health Services Research tried to disentangle the impact of a patient’s racial and ethnic background, being poor and having no health insurance on the likelihood they would report having experienced racial or ethnic bias in the …