| 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.
Relief money available for ag producers
Ranchers and farmers who lost livestock or property because of the December blizzards can now apply for part of $680,000 donated to help them. The money was generated by financial gifts after the blizzards and from the proceeds of the March 18 Operation Blizzard concert featuring country singing star Michael Martin Murphy. Applications are available at www.blizzardbenefit.org and are limited to agricultural producers in Baca, Bent, Cheyenne, Crowley, Huerfano, Kiowa, Las Animas, Lincoln, Otero and Prowers counties. The disaster relief funds only are available to producers who suffered losses not covered by insurance or for which no other disaster-relief funds have been paid. Money can be paid for lost or destroyed livestock, feed, buildings, fences and equipment or to pay for temporary pasture, according to Chad Vorthmann of the Colorado Farm Bureau insurance company and farmer advocacy group.
Farm Bureau Insurance to Sponsor Kid-Friendly Activities at Loons ...
With a major focus on kids and families, Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan will be a multi-year sponsor of the Great Lakes Loons. Farm Bureau's sponsorship includes the honorary bat kid promotion, youth baseball clinics and a chance to run the bases after every Sunday home game. In addition, every time the Loons turn a double play, Farm Bureau Insurance will make a contribution to the American Cancer Society through its "Double Plays for Life" program. "Farm Bureau Insurance is Michigan's insurance company and their support of Loons baseball, through this sponsorship, is further confirmation of their commitment to the region and to children and families," said Paul Barbeau, Loons' President and General Manager. Beginning the week of March 25, 2007, young Loons fans can sign up at participating Farm Bureau Insurance agencies in mid-Michigan to have a chance to be honorary bat kid for one of the team's 70 home games.
Zellers named to Nationwide board
Nationwide has announced the election of Jeffrey W. Zellers to the Board of Directors for Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Immediately prior to joining the Nationwide board, Zellers stepped down from his position as first vice president and state trustee for the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. As trustee he represented members from Columbiana, Mahoning, Portage and Stark counties. A special election to fill Zellers' OFBF trustee seat will be held May 29. Delegates from the four counties he represented will participate in the election. Zellers is currently Board Chair and President of K.W. Zellers & Son, Inc., a seasonal packer-grower-shipper of Arrow brand fresh salad vegetables located in Hartville, OH.
Farm Bureau Survey: Wisconsin Farmers Are Optimistic
Even though affordable health care and overall profitability continue to be the top concerns of Wisconsin's farmers, the majority of them say they are better off financially than they were five years ago; and feel strongly optimistic about the future. That's according to the results of a survey conducted the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation during several farm shows this winter.
WFBF Spokesman Tom Thieding says producers are also looking to expansion of renewable energy as one of the top ways to keep agriculture strong.
"Farmers recognize the tremendous role agriculture can play in providing renewable energy, and the prospects it holds for the future success of farming," Thieding says.
When quizzed about who in the farm household works off the farm, 44 percent of the wives, 20 percent of both and 10 percent of the husbands work off the farm.
AccessTN premiums pinch enrollees
When Patricia Crum received a letter informing her she'd been accepted into the new AccessTN health insurance program offered by the state, she thought she had found an affordable answer to her multiple medical needs. The Dunlap, Tenn., grandmother, like some others who lost TennCare coverage, hoped AccessTN would help her pay for diabetes and lymphedema treatment as well as eye surgery that would keep her from going blind. However, Mrs. Crum learned she would have to pay $567 per month for the coverage, which she said she cannot afford. "They made it out like it was for everybody, but it's really not," Mrs. Crum said. Laurie Lee, deputy executive director for state Division of Insurance Administration, said AccessTN was never meant to replace TennCare and will help only a small group of people who lost TennCare coverage as part of sweeping program reforms in 2005.
Many Fired Corporate Executives Retain Health Benefits Under COBRA ...
Documents filed this year with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicate that many U.S. companies continue to provide health insurance for CEOs and other executives who lose their jobs because of conditions in their contracts, "sometimes for years to follow," the Wall Street Journal reports. In the past, companies did not disclose information about the cost of health insurance for executives who lose their jobs, but SEC recently increased disclosure requirements. The companies purchase health insurance for executives who lose their jobs through the 1986 Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, or COBRA, which allows all workers who lose their jobs to retain employer-sponsored health insurance provided that they pay 102% of the premiums. For example, in the event that video rental chain Blockbuster fires Frank Paci, executive vice president for strategic planning and business development, the company could have to pay $27,202 for three years to purchase his health and dental insurance through COBRA.
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