| VA director advocates for 'families initiative'
DECATUR - Tammy Duckworth knew she could quote statistics all day, but sharing an account about meeting a woman who is without health insurance and can't afford prostheses for her amputated arms and legs told the true story."We need to make sure all Illinoisans have access to affordable coverage," said Duckworth, director of that Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, who also is an amputee. "What kind of country have we become when good families are now without health care insurance?"Duckworth addressed a small crowd on Thursday morning at the Illinois Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 974 building to advocate for Gov. Rod Blagojevich's "Investing in Families Initiative," which is the proposed budget for fiscal year 2008.The initiative includes the "Illinois Covered" plan to provide insurance to all Illinoisans, the "Helping Kids Learn" plan to invest an additional $10 billion in Illinois schools over the next four years and requiring big businesses to pay a "gross receipts tax," as well as a plan to address the state's longtime pension deficit for thousands of retired state workers."This is a historic budget proposal; it's time to invest in the schools - improve the environment and make it better for students, better for teachers and administrators," said Bob Arya, senior adviser to the governor."We need to reform our tax system; it's broken, doesn't work and is not fair.
State Broadens Generic Drugs Program Search
(AP) DENVER Starting next year, the state will negotiate discounts on generic drugs for Coloradans who don't have insurance but earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid.A bill signed into law by Gov. Bill Ritter earlier this year directs the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to seek the discounts. The law makes Colorado one of the few states to include people who don't qualify for Medicaid in the prescription drug program.Ritter also signed an executive order that puts Colorado in a pool of states negotiating discounts on generic drugs for people who qualify for Medicaid. Former Gov. Bill Owens vetoed similar measures on grounds that it would be harder for the disabled to get brand-name drugs they need at a reasonable price.Generic drugs are marketed after the original patent has expired.
Eco-friendly car insurance said to cost more
Products marketed as eco-friendly car insurance can cost up to 44 per cent more than standard policies, it has been claimed. Moneysupermarket has warned that motorists who are concerned about their impact on the environment may be "stung" by expensive premiums. The group stated that although insurers who offer green policies promise to offset 20 per cent of the driver's carbon emissions, they also charge up to 21 per cent more for insuring the car. Richard Mason, director of insurance at the price comparison group, said that as drivers are increasingly concerned about their environmental impact, many are tempted by eco-friendly car insurance. He added: "But until insurers make green premiums more competitive, my advice is to shop around for the cheapest deal that meets your needs and give some of the money you save direct to eco-friendly causes." In related news, a recent survey conducted by More Than found that 80 per cent of drivers are trying to minimise the use of their cars due to the rising price of petrol.
Young motorists could find car insurance out of reach
Young drivers may find it difficult to get motor insurance companies to cover them if nothing is done to cut the number of people being killed or injured on the UK's roads, an insurer has warned.According to Co-operative Insurance (CIS), motorists aged under 25 are involved in 35 deaths and serious injuries every day.Because of the high figures, car insurance premiums may be affected, David Neave, CIS Director of General Insurance said."If this trend continues many young car owners will be unable to afford insurance and that will inevitably lead to a rise in the number of uninsured motorists on the roads and that would have major consequences for us all."Road safety charity Brake said that it would welcome the addition of road safety education to the national curriculum, which could potentially help young drivers keep their motor insurance premiums intact.Additionally, the charity called for the rapid introduction of Graduated Driver Licensing to spread the process of learning to drive over several stages, allowing young people to develop their skills over time.On February 20th, CIS and Brake launched an educational resource pack for the classroom entitled Too Young To Die with the aim of cutting road deaths and potentially helping youngsters learn how to avoid making a claim on their car insurance.Drivers could save up to £231.92 on their motor insurance with Kwik-Fit Insurance, according to research conducted last year.
State health care reform worth another try
When the state legislature actually did its job in September and passed a real solution to the health care crisis (the California Health Insurance Reliability Act), The Record claimed this could be the beginning of an inefficient bureaucracy similar to the Department of Motor Vehicles. The current system we endure is inefficient - with 6,000 insurance plans and 69 government agencies attempting to deliver care to 37 million Californians. Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed last year's bill, claiming it was socialism. This year, he has his own universal health care proposal. A step in the right direction, his plan leaves many exemptions and assumptions that don't add up to universal care for all Californians. Health-insurance company profits soared 246 percent from 2000 to 2004.
Aspen Appoints Richard Houghton Chief Financial Officer
HAMILTON, Bermuda--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited ("Aspen") (NYSE:AHL) (BSX:AHL BH) today announced the appointment of Richard Houghton as Chief Financial Officer, effective April 30th, 2007. Mr. Houghton will report to Chris O'Kane, Aspen's Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Houghton joins Aspen from Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc ("RBS"), where he was Chief Operating Officer, RBS Insurance since 2005 responsible for driving operational efficiency and excellence across the finance, IT, risk, HR, claims and actuarial functions of this division, which generated over $1.8 billion in annual profits. Previously, he was Group Finance Director RBS Insurance. Mr. Houghton was also Group Finance Director of Ulster Bank, another subsidiary of RBS. He began his professional career as an accountant at Deloitte & Touche where he spent 10 years working in audit, corporate finance recovery.
News From USW: USW Condemns Appalachian Regional Healthcare Claim ...
Pittsburgh - PITTSBURGH -- News From USW: Appalachian Regional Healthcare made public a proposed contract yesterday despite the fact that it had promised the United Steelworkers additional information that could significantly change what ARH is offering. "This just isn't right," said Ernest R. "Billy" Thompson, director of USW District 8. He has led negotiations for the 2,700 striking workers in Kentucky and West Virginia since January and said that until yesterday, ARH never gave the steelworkers a comprehensive written proposal, and this one can't be considered complete because ARH has promised USW additional information that may well alter health insurance and other aspects of the document. "They offer us something, then take it back, offer it again later. This is the craziest bargaining I've ever been involved in.
Life Insurance Becoming A Better Bargain
Think about college tuition, health care and your electric bill, and it's easy to assume that prices only move in two directions: up and way up.
But you might not have noticed that one important financial product is significantly cheaper these days: term life insurance. Industry experts estimate that term premiums have fallen 40 percent or more in the past decade alone.
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Prescription drug help on the way for county
FARMINGTON — When it comes to financially disadvantaged families, every little bit of savings helps. Thanks to San Juan United Way and others, help is on the way. More than 1,000 free FamilyWize prescription drug discount cards are available through San Juan United Way to help defray the cost of prescription drugs to people without health insurance. Prescription drug costs are soaring — the national average price per prescription in 2003 was $52.97, according to the Center for Public Integrity. Meanwhile, the percentage of Americans without health insurance continues to climb; 15.7 percent of the population did not have it in 2004, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. As a result, paying for prescription drugs can be difficult for many families. Nancy C. Nelson, executive director of San Juan United Way, said the truth is there is a real problem with health insurance in this country.
Million Dollar Producer And Leader In The “Online “Health ...
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Barack Obama Calls For Investigation Into Long Term Health Care ...
Ontario, CA (AHN) - Analysts of the nation's healthcare system say long-term care is the crisis of the 21st century and 3 out of 5 people will need it, while 2 out of 5 will require nursing home facilities. According to Frank N. Darras, widely regarded as one the nation's leading disability and long term care insurance lawyers, the number of Long Term Care policyholders has increased 21 percent annually and now there are approximately six million LTC policies in the United States. "Barack Obama has it right, and it is encouraging to see a presidential candidate focusing on truly helping hard working senior Americans. His call for an investigation into the fraud that is running rampant in the long-term care business is a step in the right direction," says Darras.
Report Finds Fault With Health Insurance
THURSDAY, March 22 (HealthDay News) -- Having health insurance is no guarantee that an illness or injury won't leave you in dire financial straits, a new report contends. "Our interviews found that health insurance did not fulfill its primary purpose," study author Carol Pryor, a senior policy analyst at the Boston-based Access Project, said during a teleconference. "When people got sick, insurance did not protect them from overwhelming financial losses or allow them to access needed care." "The only thing worse than being uninsured is paying to be uninsured," Joseph Ditre, executive director of Consumers for Affordable Health Care, said during the teleconference. "And that's what high-deductible plans are doing." The report, The Illusion of Coverage: How Health Insurance Fails People When They Get Sick, was issued Thursday by the Access Project and Brandeis University.
Threat of Fines
A new UnitedHealth Group Inc. policy that threatens to fine doctors for referring patients to out-of-network laboratories for tests is mushrooming into a bitter dispute between the health-insurance giant and many of the 520,000 physicians in its networks nationwide. Most health plans are designed so their members pay more when they go to an out-of-network doctor or take a nonpreferred medication. But the financial sanctions -- which UnitedHealth has yet to impose -- mark the first time a physician could be fined by a health insurer if he or she directs a patient to seek out-of-network care or testing, the ... .
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