| Wildwood man gets probation in insurance fraud
CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE — Wildwood resident Joseph Venziano was sentenced Thursday to five years' probation for insurance fraud. Venziano, 66, was indicted in November and pleaded guilty to theft by deception, a third-degree crime, in February. He previously admitted that between Oct. 18, 2002, and Dec. 30, 2003, he falsely represented that he remained married to his former wife so she would be eligible for spousal health insurance benefits. According to the state Attorney General's office, which prosecuted the case, health insurance benefits were provided through Venziano's employer by the Aetna Life Insurance Company, and the policy provided that those benefits would end if the marriage ended. Venziano was divorced in 1998, but Aetna paid $9,393 to various health care providers for services rendered to the former wife between 2002 and 2003.
Med center widens safety net
Almost once a day, a patient who can't pay walks into the Telluride Medical Center and receives deeply discounted treatment. The less money they make, the more aid they get.The medical center is now expanding its support system so individuals and families with higher incomes — as high as $70,000 to $80,000 — can qualify for assistance under its care support program."Health care can be such an incredible financial burden," said Gordon Reichard, the medical center's administrator. "It's really to aid the members of our community who don't have the income or are underinsured, so that health care isn't a problem for them." .
Head of John Hancock Financial Network's Largest Office Takes on ...
IRVINE, Calif., March 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Signature Resources, the largest independent firm of John Hancock Financial Network (JHFN)*, is making management changes as it advances its vision as a premier wealth management organization, announces Peter Gordon, President and CEO of JHFN. Gary Kaltenbach, CLU, ChFC, who has served as the firm's Managing Partner for 24 years, is moving up to a new role as Chairman of Signature Resources. His two sons, Greg and Geoff Kaltenbach, will take on additional responsibilities for the day-to-day operations of the firm as Co-Managing Directors. In his new position, Gary will focus on a number of initiatives that will position the firm for future growth and accelerated business development. Among these projects is the implementation of a Registered Investment Advisor platform, which will expand the firm's offerings in the investment advisory arena and broaden its ability to service the growing market demand for long-term retirement income strategies.
Peachtree Life Settlements Appointed Originator and Servicer for ...
Business Wire)-April 6, 2007 - Peachtree Life Settlements was recently appointed as an approved originator and servicer for a large German life settlement fund. This fund is the most recent in a series of funds marketed and managed in Germany by the fund initiator which is part of a multi-national European banking giant. .
Insurance: Nationality helps more than FDI
Is capital such a major issue for players in the Indian insurance industry for them to want to hardpress a politically explosive decision like hiking the FDI limit? Not really, argue Shaji Vikraman and Mayur Shetty. Large domestic firms have deep pockets and are even able to quietly raise capital overseas, without being hassled by FDI curbs. Even expertise is becoming increasingly available, making FDI not a compelling necessity. Perception of local character of firms, however, matters and this can be retained even as they access larger portfolio investments. Over a month ago, government interlocutors tried to engage the Left parties in a dialogue to convince them about the need to raise the level of Foreign Direct Investment in the insurance sector from 26 to 49%. It proved to be a wasted effort.
How will the bridge toll?
Bridge tolls will arrive in the Lower Mainland by the end of the decade, but unlike the Coquihalla Highway toll plaza, you won't have to slow down to pay. Electronic tolling is the way of the future with systems that will identify and automatically bill cars as they move at highway speed. Motorists here will see it in action first in 2009. That's when the first electronic tolls will be collected as TransLink's $800-million Golden Ears Bridge opens to traffic between Surrey-Langley and Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows. It will be followed by electronic tolls on the twinned Port Mann Bridge, set to open in 2013. Electronic tolls bring with them issues ranging from enforcement to accuracy to adaptability, but industry experts expect few problems. On the Golden Ears, motorists will pay a $2.85 toll if they have a transponder installed in their vehicle.
'Healthy Minnesota' a step toward fixing public health system
Editor's note: A coalition of organizations that includes the Minnesota Medical Association, Mayo Clinic and Blue Cross and Blue Shield presented a legislative proposal in St. Paul earlier this month that would provide universal health care for the state's residents. Today we present two differing views on the proposal. By Sheila Kiscaden Just about everyone agrees: We have to do something to control health-care costs and reform our health-care system. We should be getting better results for the money we spend. People without insurance don't get the preventive care they need, and sometimes end up in the emergency room with serious illnesses. Charity care, bad debt, and cost shifting add to health-care costs. There's duplication and waste.
Johns Hopkins Unveils New Car-Sharing System
(WJZ/AP) BALTIMORE A "smart' new alternative for students who do not have a car was unveiled at Johns Hopkins University Wednesday.As Jessica Kartalija reports, a popular car-sharing concept used in Washington D.C. has made its way to Baltimore.The Seattle-based company Flexcar has provided four hybrid cars at Johns Hopkins University for hourly rentals by students, faculty members and employees. Advocates for car-sharing say the new program decreases congestion on the roads and in parking lots. Students who don't have cars to use say the Flexcars will make it much easier to get from place to place."Transportation is pretty hard to find around here, so having a car is really convenient," said Harmonie Sahalov, a Hopkins student.Since Johns Hopkins is sponsoring the program, a $35 membership fee will be issued and then it will only cost $6 an hour for students, faculty and employees to use the cars.The membership fee will cover insurance, gas and parking."I don't have a car, so if I want to go to Target or Ikea, it's kind of hard to get there on a bus.
Markel Insurance Renews as Title Sponsor for USEF Young Horse ...
The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is pleased to announce the continuation of a multi-year partnership with Markel Insurance to sponsor the USEF Young Horse Dressage Program. This sponsorship also includes the Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage National Championship presented by Collecting Gaits Farm and the Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Selection Trials. "Markel came on board to sponsor this program early in our strategy to build our developing horse and rider programs which are critical to our future success in international competition," said John Long, USEF Chief Executive Officer. "This young horse program has been extremely successful and we thank Markel for their vision, enthusiasm and continued support." Whether you are dreaming of competing internationally at the FEI World Championships for Young Dressage Horses or aiming for the Markel/USEF Young Horse Championships in September, DressageDaily Young Horse Talent Scouts will be following your progress, throughout the year.
The Cost of (Not Getting) Cancer
Undergraduates who rush out to inoculate themselves with Gardasil, the new HPV or “cervical cancer" vaccine, are in for an unpleasant surprise. Through Harvard University Health Services (UHS), each Gardasil shot costs $154—and the full-course vaccination requires three of them. The total cost of the vaccination, $462, is prohibitively high. The University, through UHS, should follow the Massachussetts state government's lead in fighting cervical cancer and subsidize the vaccination's costs for women who want it. HPV is a common, sexually-transmitted disease caused by strains of the human papillomavirus group of viruses. The Center for Disease Control estimates that genital strains of HPV will infect over 50 percent of sexually active men and women at some point in their lives. Once someone is infected with the virus, he or she may remain asymptomatic or may develop genital warts.
Offer to Sauerbrun will be matched
The Patriots informed punter Todd Sauerbrun that they intend to match the one-year contract he agreed to with the Broncos last week. The 34-year-old Sauerbrun was an unrestricted free agent, but the Patriots had the first right of refusal, which was negotiated into the contract that he signed last December. Last Tuesday, Sauerbrun agreed to an incentive-laden deal with the Broncos that could be worth up to $1.4 million. The Patriots had a seven-day window to match, with today marking the deadline. Last week Sauerbrun told the Denver Post he hoped the Patriots would not match the offer so he could return to Denver. Even without Sauerbrun, the Patriots have three punters on their present roster: Josh Miller, Danny Baugher, and Tom Malone.
Health to Pay
As health care costs continue to rise, the calls for a single-payer system have become increasingly vociferous. Recent polls have even suggested that many Americans are receptive to the idea. But the arguments from single-payer advocates are riddled with misconceptions and half-truths. A single-payer system would treat a system of America's health care problem, while leaving the problem itself untreated. The most frequently cited statistic by those who favor single-payer health insurance is that the United States has similar or even lower life expectancies than other developed nations, despite spending more on health care as a percentage of GDP. But the use of life expectancy in measuring health outcomes is erroneous. Life expectancy, and overall health in general, is determined by a variety of factors, not merely how much one spends on health care.
NI houses lead price growth
House prices in Northern Ireland rose by 14.6 per cent in the last three months, the latest housing monitor shows, contributing to annual inflation of 9.5 per cent in Britain. Building society Nationwide says that the growth experienced in the province is the fastest since its own records began in 1973. Nationwide's last quarterly report showed that annual house price inflation stood at 9.3 per cent in the UK. In the last three months in London meanwhile, property values went up at their quickest rate for four years. But Nationwide warns that the overall yearly growth of 9.5 per cent is being fuelled principally by houses in Northern Ireland and the capital, with property values in the north of England increasing at half the rate of their southern counterparts. The building society's chief economist Fionnuala Earley explained that the "northern and north-west regions and Wales saw the biggest slowdown in the annual rate of house price growth".
SPARTANS HEAD TO BOWLING GREEN FOR MIDWEEK CLASH
Before opening up the Big Ten portion of the schedule this weekend at Indiana, the Michigan State baseball team heads to Bowling Green for a midweek match up against the Falcons Wednesday, March 28 at 2 p.m. The Spartans (7-8) are coming off a 6-3 victory over Concordia in their home opener last Saturday at Kobs Field. Bowling Green (10-11) was swept last weekend by Eastern Michigan and plays at Wright State on Tuesday before taking on the Green and White. John Dwan will get the start on the mound for MSU. Dwan is 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA and opponents are only batting .208 against him, the fifth-best mark in the Big Ten. The senior left-hander did not pitch last weekend. His last outing came at No. 21 Oklahoma on Sunday, March 18, when he gave up four hits and five runs (one earned) in seven innings of work.
Insure against a medical emergency on vacation
"Why me?" is an expression you often hear from victims of potentially fatal diseases or other calamities. Not meaning to be flippant or judgmental, the answer perhaps should be "Why not you?" Our senior years put us in the more frequent path of those events. A few months ago, a fellow passenger named Bob collapsed in the bathroom of his cabin on a river cruise on the Danube. It was determined after a hospital visit and several tests the next day that he had suffered a stroke. He spent the remainder of the 15-day trip confined to the ship, but that is not the end of the story. What is positive about the emergency is that he had the foresight not only to find out that his medical insurance covered such a calamity overseas, he had also signed onto the trip with a company that is prepared for just such a happening.
Peter Pitts: There's a caveat to cheap drugs
It's hard to believe that anyone would say "not me" to the above question. After all, no one wants to pay too much for anything, even the drugs that make healthy lives possible. But in the case of prescription drugs, lower costs in the near term threaten to cripple our nation's ability to invent new cures in the long term — a possibility that Democratic backers of "cheap drugs" are quietly hoping the public ignores. In recent weeks, Democrats have cynically used the public's natural preference for lower prices to bolster support for their latest foray into government-run medicine — a proposal that would allow the government to "negotiate" prices under the Medicare drug benefit. A vote on the measure is expected in the Senate soon, hidden in a bill on the federal budget.
Immune therapy so costly it has insurers thinking hard about coverage
If human blood is a valuable medical resource, then its derivative, immunoglobulin, is a precious commodity. The biological product, at about $100 per gram and up to $10,000 per treatment course, is among the most expensive therapeutic substances in the medical marketplace. And sufferers of any number of immunological diseases say that without regular intravenous immunoglobulin treatment, they would be severely disabled or worse. But the product's high cost -- and its growing popularity for use against conditions as varied as baldness and infertility, autism and Alzheimer's disease -- has insurers balking. Strict controls on reimbursement have left some patients without means to pay for the treatment. IVIG, as it is commonly known, is made up of antibodies derived from thousands of pooled blood donations.
Phillip Wasserman Announces California Life Insurance, Annuity and ...
SARASOTA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 8, 2007--Phillip Wasserman, recognized as a top authority on life insurance and annuities, has announced a special training session for insurance agents, financial planners, register investment advisors and other professionals to be held in Las Angeles, California on May 4, 5 and 6th 2007 at the Las Angeles airport Marriott hotel. Over 110 professionals have already signed up for this intense training to focus on the use of life insurance and annuities in aiding retirement income planning. A special focus will be on the recent surge in popularity of life settlements, and discussions on mortgages and reverse mortgages in aiding clients will be held. Phillip Wasserman is head of Phillip Roy Financial Services, a nationwide retirement income planning firm with over 500 affiliated representatives.
Insurance commissioner tours Columbus' damage, urges homeowners to ...
Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine examined tornado damage in Columbus Tuesday morning and brought two messages. The first was for people whose homes and businesses were affected by the March 1 storm. "If you have a problem with insurance, if you have any questions about what should be covered," he said, "don't hesitate to call us." The second was for people who escaped untouched by the heavy winds and rain. "This is just the beginning of tornado season in Georgia," he cautioned. "People need to check their insurance and make sure they are properly covered." For the latter group, Oxendine suggested taking a digital camera and photographing each room "so you can remember what you had." Standing near the rubble of a flattened home on Brookstone Boulevard, he said it's unlikely that the residents will be remembering just what they had, making it difficult to replace the lost items.
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