| Universal Health gets reprieve
A judge in Tallahassee has given Universal Health Care Insurance Co. additional time to come up with more capital to bolster its financial reserves. Judge Thomas Bateman III of the Second Judicial Circuit Court of Leon County granted Universal's writ of mandamus, a move that gives the company a minimum of 60 days to comply with a Feb. 21 consent order with the state Department of Financial Services, according to a release from Universal. .
‘We are the world’s number one producers of boron’
The greatest figure we ever reached in export was $338 million in 1995, a figure that represented the total sale of all mines: aluminum, silver, copper, gold; all the mining that you could think of. Now the income we have from boron exports alone is $390 million. How did this happen? We have taken two complementary steps simultaneously: we have both increased our production capacity, and gravitated toward niche products. This company produces boron chemicals. However I'm, sad to say, the first director general who is also a chemical engineer. Everybody seems to think that this company operates in the field of mining. Don't you deal in mining? In fact, a major part of our sales happen through a physically enriched product, 35 percent of which is concentrated.
Folks who make Memphis work
We have written about a culture of corruption in Memphis politics, about deadly pit bulls terrorizing neighborhoods, about a local utility's practice of giving special treatment to politicians while turning off the power of everyday people. This is part of what journalists must do in service to a community. But the Jefferson Awards are part of what we do, too. These awards, and the people who earn them, help balance out the equation of what kind of place Memphis has become. Yes, we have our challenges. And yes, we have our passionate citizens who want to make things better. The local Jefferson Award winner I introduced at The Peabody is an example of how hard some people work to improve lives here. Laura Greinke lives a comfortable life and has sent two of her sons to college.
New health plans: better than what's out there
IN THE DISCUSSION of the new health plans that will be available to uninsured people in Massachusetts starting May 1, one important detail has been missed: These plans are far better and more affordable than any plan uninsured individuals can purchase right now. Under the plans announced last week, the typical individual who is uninsured -- a 37-year-old living in Greater Boston -- will be able to buy health insurance from the Connector for as little as $175 per month. That's about half of the $335 premium individuals would pay now if they tried to buy insurance on their own. Currently, people don't have a lot of choice if their employers don't offer them insurance and if they earn too much to qualify for state-subsidized insurance. All of their options are expensive, as is the alternative of forgoing coverage and paying all medical expenses out of pocket.
Your wits. Don't leave home without them
SOMETHING in our brains changes when we go on holidays. Household bills usually greeted with "why?" are replaced by a new set of bills and "why not?" We like spending money on holidays and a huge industry has grown up to help us let it go. But that's not enough for some. There are traders, touts and tricksters whose livelihood depends on making the experience much more expensive than you imagined. Here's a list of things to watch. Credit card When you're travelling, you're swiping the plastic where you've never swiped before and quoting its number to many websites and outlets for the first time. Don't ever let your credit card out of your sight, especially in restaurants. When in doubt, trade only with known business names that have an image to protect - that is, hotel and restaurant chains, airlines and car-hire franchises.
Phillip Wasserman of Phillip Roy Financial Services Announces New ...
BOCA RATON, Fla. (BusinessWire EON/PRWeb ) March 22, 2007 -- Phillip Wasserman, president of Phillip Roy Financial Services, announces new speaking events in Las Vegas and California for April and May. Mr. Wasserman is a noted authority on annuity and life insurance and speaks to thousands of retirees, baby boomers and financial planners and life insurance agents every year. Phillip Roy Financial Services regularly holds seminars on annuity and life insurance issues in Florida, Chicago, Las Vegas and Phoenix. .
Exotic mortgages make refinancing difficult
That's troubling news for some homeowners who bought during the last two or three years using interest-only mortgages, payment-option plans or adjustable-rate mortgages that allowed for quick escalation of the interest rate.Thanks to an upswing in delinquencies and foreclosures -- and new scrutiny from federal regulators and Congress -- mortgage lenders have tightened their standards for granting loans. And with home prices rising modestly, if at all, appraisers are tightening their opinions on value. Borrowers stuck with mortgages that are more expensive than they had expected can no longer count on a quick home sale to bail them out of the deal. It's pay up -- or refinance into a loan with better terms.If you're looking for a refinance you can expect lenders to be more demanding about your credit, your ability to document your income and the appraised value of your home.
NoMoreClipboard.com TM Personal Health Record Demonstrates Ability ...
FORT WAYNE, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Most patients visiting a physician's office are immediately confronted with a clipboard full of blank medical forms and a request for an insurance card. While the patient labors to complete the forms, the physician office staff copies the insurance card and makes contact with the health plan to confirm eligibility and determine deductible and co-pay amounts. NoMoreClipboard.com, an online Personal Health Record (PHR), is working with healthcare providers and industry groups to simplify these transactions and save the patient and the medical practice significant time and effort. CAQH, a nonprofit alliance of leading health plans, networks and trade associations, has developed standard business rules for information exchange that enable providers to electronically access health insurance eligibility and benefit information in a matter of seconds.
April 16 - 22 Is Celebrate Survivors Week
FRAZER, Pa., April 9 /PRNewswire/ -- In recognition of the advances made in survival rates for patients of critical illness, Stonebridge Life Insurance Company has declared April 16 - 22 to be Celebrate Survivors Week (CSW). The company will award a total of $100,000 in $10,000 grants to ten survivors of cancer, heart attack, stroke or paralysis, whose stories are submitted on the company's website, http://www.plan2cover.com/ , through the end of May. Survival rates for stage one breast cancer have increased to 98 percent(i), and 90 percent for stage one colorectal cancer(ii). Yet, while the survival rates for critical illness make significant gains, the financial impact associated with extended illness continues to be a potentially serious burden. According to a Harvard Study, nearly half of all personal bankruptcies in the U.S.
Give children health coverage now; long-term reforms can wait ...
Gov. Ted Kulongoski urged Oregon lawmakers Friday to focus on his proposals to boost health coverage for children and working poor adults rather than divert their attention on more sweeping reforms. "We have to be careful not to overreach," Kulongoski said about proposals by former Gov. John Kitzhaber and lawmakers working on plans for universal health insurance. In a speech assessing progress so far by the 2007 Legislature, Kulongoski said he supports efforts at broader reform offered by Kitzhaber and by Sens. Ben Westlund, D-Bend, and Alan Bates, D-Ashland. But he said those long-term goals should not get in the way of his short-term fixes. "Let's solve, in this session, those pieces of the health care crisis for which there are attainable solutions," Kulongoski said.
Analyst Angle: Tweens, Teens and Other Assorted Nightmares
Editor's Note: Welcome to our Monday feature, Analyst Angle. Weve collected a group of the industrys leading analysts to give their outlook on the hot topics in the wireless industry. In the coming weeks look for columns from Current Analysis Avi Greengart, Competes Miro Kazakoff and Jupiter Researchs Julie Ask.
Before you get the impression that I do not like kids, I do. I love my kidsthey are funny, entertaining, intelligent people who will contribute much to society. That is my plan anyway. But between now and then, there is a small gap called the teenage years. This is the period when most of my friends (with teens) start pulling their hair out or start eating vast quantities of ice cream to calm their frustrations. And they all say, This is what you have coming. Thanks.
PROFILE: UNIQUE WINDOW & DOOR
In an industry often lambasted for unethical practices, Unique Window & Door President Robert Dillon has tried to carve a niche in the local home-improvement market—combining aggressive marketing with a focus on customer and employee satisfaction. It seems to be making strides on both counts. Revenue has steadily increased over the 13 years Dillon has owned the company, and Unique is a four-time winner of the local Better Business Bureau’s Torch Award, given annually to firms that demonstrate exemplary ethical standards. The BBB awards and several industry honors for customer service and company performance are displayed prominently in the lobby of Unique’s Park Fletcher offices and showroom. What most visitors don’t see, however, are the training rooms and employee fitness facilities where Dillon, 52, puts into practice the business maxim, "happy employees make happy customers." Employee recruitment, training and retention are things the easygoing Dillon takes seriously; by his own admission, he’s always recruiting quality employees, whether from the home-improvement industry or elsewhere.
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