Insurance Blog http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:46:00 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=63
As of right now there are around 47 million Americans who do not have health insurance.

Barack Obama has big plans to try and change this with his health care reform.

He plans to bring affordable health care to all by pushing employer-based health insurance.

Employers who elect not to provide health insurance will pay into a government fund.

This fund will then offer low-cost health insurance to those employees.

With the push for cheaper health insurance, there is a price tag to go along with it.

Obama supporters and experts feel the plan over the long haul will work well though.

]]> vilud05@yahoo.com Information http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=63 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:44:10 +0100 http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=62
Analysts surveyed by the National Association for Business Economists (NABE) said the recession was set to continue into 2009.

They also predicted the economy would shrink at a rate of 2.6% in the fourth quarter of the year, giving an annual growth rate of 0.2% for 2008 overall.

A separate survey from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank survey said the recession would last for 14 months.

The US economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.3% from July to September, according to preliminary official data.

On Monday, Japan became the latest economy to fall into recession - reporting a second successive quarter of negative growth. Figures out on Friday showed that the eurozone was also now in recession.

Worsening outlook

The NABE survey polled 50 private professional forecasters.

\"Business economists became decidedly more pessimistic on the economic outlook for the next several quarters as a result of the intensification of credit market stresses,\" said NABE president Chris Varvares, who is also the president of Macroeconomic Advisers.

The NABE study found 96% of respondents believed the US economy was already in recession.

The economists also predicted that the economy would shrink at a pace of 1.3% in the first quarter in 2009, and would grow by just 0.7% over the year as a whole.

\"Despite the hefty liquidity injections by the Fed and the Treasury, the majority of NABE panelists believe that tight credit conditions will continue,\" Mr Varvares said.

The NABE survey predicted the unemployment rate could peak at 7.5% by the third quarter of 2009 compared with the current 14-year record high of 6.5%.

According to a quarterly survey of professional forecasters by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank, the US economy went into a recession in April this year that will last for 14 months.

The surveys indicate that President-elect Barak Obama will face a tough challenge to revive the economy when he takes office.

On Saturday, Mr Obama urged Congress to take immediate steps to tackle the US economic crisis.

Speaking in a Democratic Party radio and online address, he said action should be taken \"right now\" to alleviate the pain of millions of working Americans.

]]> vilud05@yahoo.com Information http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=62 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:41:05 +0100 http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=61
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Efforts to reform the U.S. healthcare system got a big boost on Wednesday as a powerful Democratic senator unveiled a plan similar to President-elect Barack Obama\'s and an analysis said the financial crisis could accelerate any efforts, not hinder them.

Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat who heads the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, proposed creating a national insurance exchange, similar to Obama\'s idea, through which millions of uninsured Americans and businesses could get health coverage.

But Baucus would eventually require everyone to have health insurance while Obama proposes making health coverage more affordable but not mandatory. But both plans would be expensive and come amid financial turmoil.

Both major parties, Congress, consumer groups and employers agree the U.S. healthcare system is in shambles and needs reworking. Obama will have to work with Congress to make any significant changes.

Nearly 46 million Americans have no health insurance and while Americans pay more per capita for healthcare than citizens of any other industrialized country, many studies show they have poorer health, suffer more medical mistakes and are in general unhappier with what they do get.

Consultants PriceWaterhouseCoopers released a report on Wednesday that said the Obama plan would cost the federal government $75 billion the first year but would provide health insurance for 95 percent of Americans.

This would grow to $130 billion a year by 2018.

Dr. David Levy, health industry specialist at the consulting firm, said the financial crisis could make waste unacceptable and speed healthcare reform. \"Maybe this crisis has helped unleash more market forces to drive this system toward more value for patients,\" Levy told a telephone briefing.

\"The financial crisis and culminating market forces could accelerate health reform, not be a roadblock,\" the report reads.

The effects could be enormous for the $2.3 trillion healthcare industry, which accounts for about 16 percent of the U.S. economy.

QUICK BACKING

Congress has been waiting for years to enact healthcare reform, and a quick and enthusiastic response to Baucus\'s plan suggests considerable backing.

\"He has rightly sounded the urgent plea to get comprehensive reform done early in the next Congress and recognizes that the failure to act has dire and unacceptable consequences for working families, businesses and our national economy,\" AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said in a statement.

\"There has never been a more auspicious opportunity to secure meaningful health care reform: The President-Elect has made it a top priority; key congressional committee chairs have made it their top priority; and the large and diverse health care interest groups are working cooperatively to find common ground,\" Ron Pollack of Families USA, a liberal-leaning health reform advocacy group, said in a statement.

Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, a senior Democrat and a life-long supporter of expanded healthcare access, has said he wants lawmakers united behind one bill.

Baucus, who as head of the tax-writing Finance Committee will play a major role, said he plans to work closely with Obama, who takes office on January 20, Kennedy and other lawmakers.

But Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, said any reform would be hampered by the budget deficit.

\"Right now, we already have a deficit of at least $400 billion before the $700 billion bailout and the economic downturn being factored in,\" Grassley said in a statement.

\"We\'re heading toward a deficit that\'s 10 percent of the economy. So, paying for health care reform needs to be done in an intellectually honest way for the fiscal health of our country, and the broader the support for any health policy changes, the more durable and effective they will be.\"
]]> vilud05@yahoo.com Information http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=61 Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:52:01 +0100 http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=60
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration on Wednesday largely abandoned its plan to buy up toxic mortgage assets and said it will focus its $700 billion financial bailout fund on making direct investments in financial institutions and shoring up consumer credit markets.

The U.S. Treasury Department initially promoted the financial rescue package approved by Congress last month as a vehicle to buy illiquid mortgage assets from banks and other institutions to spur fresh lending.

However, that plan never got off the ground and U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told a news conference asset purchases were not the most effective use of the funds.

\"This is not going to be the focus,\" he said. Paulson added, however, that the Treasury would continue to examine the usefulness of \"targeted\" purchases.

Treasury has already tapped the fund to inject capital into banks and ailing insurer American International Group. Paulson said he was considering a second round of preferred share purchases in both banks and non-bank institutions which, in a fresh twist, would match privately raised funds.

He also said the Treasury was working with the Federal Reserve on a plan to help restore credit flows to U.S. households by using financial rescue funds to lure investors back to markets for securitized debt, such as car loans, student loans and credit cards.

The administration\'s shifting focus disappointed Wall Street and U.S. stock prices tumbled sharply. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 408 points, or 4.7 percent.

\"This hasn\'t done the Treasury\'s credibility a world of good,\" said Alan Ruskin, chief international strategist at RBS Global Banking and Markets in New York. \"Basically, they found that the market would applaud direct capital injections more readily than understanding the complexities of reverse auctions to buy assets, so it\'s a pragmatic choice.\"

Paulson was unapologetic, saying that by the time the rescue bill was passed on October 3, it was clear the asset purchase plan would take too long and would not be sufficient to calm roiling markets.

\"I will never apologize for changing a strategy or an approach if the facts change,\" he said.

COOL TO CALLS FOR HELP

The $700 billion financial sector bailout is the United States\' marquee effort to combat a credit crisis spawned by rising U.S. mortgage defaults that is now wreaking economic damage worldwide.

To help ease the crisis, the U.S. Treasury and bank regulators on Wednesday issued \"guidance\" for banks encouraging them to lend and to rein in any compensation plans that might lead executives to take excessive risks.

Earlier on Wednesday, Canada announced a plan to buy up another $41 billion in insured mortgages and other steps to try to free-up credit.

Paulson said the U.S. Treasury was duty-bound to help prevent mortgage foreclosures, but he warned that further aid would likely mean a significant government subsidy, signaling a lack of support for a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. proposal for more aggressive aid to borrowers.

The regulator for the two largest U.S. mortgage finance companies -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- unveiled a plan on Tuesday to cut payments for hundreds of thousands of homeowners behind on their payments. That plan, however, would not touch the many loans held by mortgage investors.

Paulson sidestepped questions on whether the Treasury would use bailout funds to help struggling Detroit automakers, as the industry and some lawmakers have called for.

While he said the industry was a \"critical\" one for the United States, he said the purpose of the program was to provide financial system stability.

He said one option would be to amend legislation to allow $25 billion already approved for efficient vehicle production to be made available more quickly.

So far, the Treasury has focused on providing capital to federally regulated banks and thrifts, but Paulson said it was looking to broaden the effort to cover financial institutions that do not have a federal bank or thrift charter.
]]> vilud05@yahoo.com Information http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=60 Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:45:19 +0100 http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=59
LONDON (Reuters) - Watch out Mary Poppins, the hurricane howling through the world\'s financial markets is starting to be felt in the rarefied world of the British nanny.

As bankers and money dealers fall like flies to a credit crunch that has seen three major U.S. investment banks disappear in a puff of smoke, so the nannies they have employed on salaries of up to 40,000 pounds ($73,000) have suddenly become expensive luxuries.

\"The problems are just starting. In the last week or two I have started getting calls from nannies saying one or both of their employers have lost their jobs and so they have too,\" said Kate Baker of Abbeville Nannies in south London.

\"The past 12 to 18 months have been a golden era for nannies in London but we have noticed that in recent months pay rates have started to come down a bit, and now the jobs are going too,\" she added.

Thousands in the London financial district known as the City are either already out of a job or expected to be unemployed in the near future amid predictions that the global economic woes which began last year with the sub-prime shakeout will continue for many more months.

London, with its world financial hub, is the centre of the nanny trade in Britain, employing thousands of the surrogate mothers to care for their infants while they earn megabucks in the City.

The British nanny, epitomized by the fictional but magisterial Mary Poppins, has always been in demand around the world, and that is unlikely to change despite stiff competition from Eastern Europe.

\"The market changed three or four years ago. The newly rich with eye-watering mortgages didn\'t come shopping for nannies in this country, they went to Eastern Europe,\" said Julie Bremner, owner of Knightsbridge Nannies.

\"The nannies from there are cheaper but not nearly as good as ours. It is those people who will suffer first,\" she added. \"The whole world still comes to Britain shopping for the Great British Nanny.\"

But while she said she had not yet seen a flood of nannies looking for work, she too expected it come in the near future.

\"It will happen, but not yet. I expect a rush of nannies coming onto my books -- which is great for my clients because we have always had a supply problem,\" she added.

But for Stacey Copeland, an administrator at Eden Nannies, the first whisperings of the gathering storm in the nanny state were already being felt.

\"Normally at this time of the year we get a rush of people looking for nannies. But it hasn\'t happened yet,\" she said. \"Pay rates have also started to come down in recent months.\"

\"Nannies are among the first to be hit when times start to get tough. It has been a boom time for nannies in recent years, but that looks to be ending. Many of the people who employ nannies are bankers and they are suffering now,\" she added.]]> vilud05@yahoo.com International news http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=59 Mon, 22 Sep 2008 07:00:28 +0100 http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=58
Friday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services informed that, next year, the monthly premiums for those meeting the service’s criteria would amount to $96.40. This is actually this year’s standard Part B premium, whose coverage includes, among other medical treatments, physician and nursing services, x-rays, laboratory and diagnostic tests, influenza and pneumonia vaccinations, blood transfusions and renal dialysis.

The Medicare program has two parts: Part A-Hospital Insurance-which covers the cost of a hospital stay that spreads over a maximum period of 100 days per ailment and Part B-Medical Insurance, which pays for outpatient care. As of 1997, the original Medicare plan was added a Part C that offers beneficiaries the option to receive the program’s services through private health insurance plans, while back in 2006, Medicare\'s Part D-Prescription Drug Plans-came into effect.

During recent years, Medicare funding has registered an increase, in 2005 the premiums going up by 17%.

Nevertheless, in 2009, they are to remain steady, mostly due to the reimbursing of $9.3 billion to the Part B fund, after Medicare officials discovered that money that should have been taken out of the Part A fund had been used to cover hospice payments.

Medicare\'s chief actuary Richard Foster stated that he expected 2010 premium rates to rise. Moreover, the same year, a 20% reduction in physician payments for the program’s Part B services is to be created via a formula the Congress uses to anually adjust these payments.




]]> vilud05@yahoo.com Insurance Content http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=58 Mon, 22 Sep 2008 06:54:11 +0100 http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=57
BEIJING (Reuters) - The number of Chinese infants sick in hospital after drinking tainted milk formula has leapt to nearly 13,000 and Premier Wen Jiabao threatened harsh punishment for culprits in the latest blight on the \"made-in-China\" brand.

The Health Ministry said the toll of children ill from milk powder contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine had risen from a previously announced total of 6,244 -- which included many who had left hospital -- to 12,892.

Another 39,965 children had \"received clinical treatment and advice\" before being sent home.

More than 80 percent of the sick were aged under two. So far, four deaths have been blamed on toxic milk powder causing kidney stones and agonizing complications, and 104 children are in a serious condition.

The jump was announced late on Sunday, an escalation in the spreading scandal that has shaken trust in Chinese products again after last year\'s scares over toxic and shoddy goods from toothpaste and drugs to pet food and toys.

Wen visited hospitals in the national capital in a bid to reassure an anxious public that his government was acting.

\"The public is worried, doctors are worried, and we\'re also worried,\" he told parents and staff, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

\"The most crucial point is that after a clean-up there can be no problems at all with newly produced milk products. If there are fresh problems, they must be even more sternly punished under the law.\"

China\'s food quality watchdog has said it found melamine in nearly 10 percent of milk and drinking yoghurt samples from three major dairy companies: Mengniu Dairy Co, the Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group and the Bright group.

By Saturday, Chinese consumers had claimed refunds for 304 tonnes of dairy products, the China Daily reported.

Nitrogen-rich melamine can be added to watered-down milk to fool quality checks, which often use nitrogen levels to measure protein. The Health Ministry stressed that no cases of illness have been founded related to liquid milk.

But China\'s dairy producers face a \"crisis of confidence\" that will need strong government-led steps to overcome, said Lao Bing, manager of a Shanghai-based dairy investment company.

\"How long the industry takes to revive will depend on how vigorous those steps are,\" he said. \"Consumers will start rebuying in a month or two if they feel sure the government is undertaking a vigorous clean-up ... Exports will take longer. This will have a major impact.\"

PANICKED PARENTS

Panicked parents have crowded China\'s hospitals and demanded redress since officials and the Sanlu Group, the country\'s biggest maker of infant milk powder, disclosed the threat.

Sanlu failed to publicly disclose the problem for at least a month, throughout August when Beijing hosted the Olympic Games, officials have said.

The government has promised free treatment for stricken children, but some parents said they worried about costs and long-term complications.

Other countries and regions have clamped down on China\'s milk products. Markets that that have banned or recalled these products include Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Even White Rabbit Creamy Candy, a popular Chinese brand of milk sweet, had been contaminated with melamine, Singapore\'s Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority warned on Sunday.

Over the weekend a three-year-old Hong Kong girl was found to have a kidney stone after drinking a milk product tainted by melamine, making her the territory\'s first suspected victim.

Premier Wen said that dairy products that passed safety tests would be labeled so that consumers can \"be at ease\".

But the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture said despairing farmers were dumping milk and killing cattle after companies stopped buying their supplies, according to Xinhua. The ministry promised subsidies to help struggling milk farmers.



]]> vilud05@yahoo.com Information http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=57 Mon, 22 Sep 2008 06:47:51 +0100 http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=56
The credit downgrades are likely to force the company to turn over billions of dollars in collateral to its derivatives trading partners.

Without the financing, which was being arranged by Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase in talks with the Federal Reserve officials, A.I.G. might be forced to declare bankruptcy, according to The Times.

The talks, which began last week and continued through the weekend, added to the sense of agitation in the stock market on Monday, as investors grappled with the implications of the bankruptcy ofLehman Brothers, which, like A.I.G., was a large counterparty to derivatives contracts held by countless financial institutions.

Shares in A.I.G. tumbled more than 60 percent on Monday morning as concerns grew that the firm lacked capital to withstand cuts to its debt rating, which were borne out later in the day. The company’s potential write-offs are mounting and may reach $60 billion to $70 billion, according to The Times.

Most of A.I.G.’s businesses are healthy, but its troubles grew from one unit that dealt in complex debt securities and derivatives and now threatens to drain cash more quickly than the financing package can be assembled.

The day started off with news that A.I.G. had requested a $40 billion bridge loan from the Fed, a request that was rebuffed, and ended with the word that its need had soared to $75 billion. The firm suffered several credit-rating downgrades Monday evening, including cuts by Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

The complex discussions, continuing into the night as a deal was sought before United States markets open on Tuesday, involved New York state regulators, federal regulators, private equity firms and Wall Street banks that rely on A.I.G.’s ability to honor its derivatives contracts, as they do with Lehman Brothers.

“It’s not just the failure of one company,” Julie A. Grandstaff, vice president and managing director of StanCorp Investment Advisers, told The Times. “It’s the ripple effect of the disappearance of counterparties” that was spurring urgent efforts to bolster A.I.G.

A large counterparty to derivatives contracts has not declared bankruptcy since the market grew to such enormous size, so Lehman will be a test. Financial officials fear another failure of a big counterparty could start a chain reaction.

The need to find fresh money for A.I.G. is bringing new layers of complexity to the credit crisis. As an insurance concern, A.I.G. has wholly different regulators and capital requirements than the banks and Wall Street firms that have suffered most of the huge losses so far. One person briefed on the matter told The Times that potential lenders doubted that the facility could come together without the Fed’s backing.

A.I.G. itself has had three chief executives in the last three and a half years, and one person briefed on Monday’s discussions told The Times that its officials seemed uncertain about how to proceed. The Fed was not able to provide the $40 billion bridge loan because it oversees banks, not insurers.

The talks about backing up A.I.G. began last week, when the company approached regulators, saying it was concerned that if a deal could not be put together to save Lehman, A.I.G.’s own future would be in doubt. A.I.G., through its financial products unit in London, has exposure to the same mortgage-linked debt securities that brought about the downfall of Lehman.

The talks between A.I.G. and its regulators led to the announcement at midday by Gov. David A. Paterson of New York that the state would allow A.I.G. to borrow $20 billion from its own subsidiaries, to help bolster its capital in the face of potentially disastrous credit downgrades.

Mr. Paterson said he had authorized the state insurance superintendent, Eric R. Dinallo, to include the $20 billion asset transfer in the broader plan being worked out at the New York Fed.

Normally state insurance regulations would prevent a holding company like A.I.G. from pulling assets out of its subsidiaries, which are insurance companies that need sufficient liquid resources to pay their claims.

But Mr. Paterson said the situation was dire.

“I hope you’re aware of the risks if we don’t act,” he told journalists at a midday news conference. “It is a systemic problem.”

People briefed on the matter told The Times that if JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs were able to raise a $75 billion credit line by Tuesday, it could avert an escalating series of collateral calls. But it was unclear whether they could put together such a complicated package in time.

A.I.G. has also considered sales of virtually all of its business assets, but conducting such sales quickly would be hard.

During the weekend, A.I.G. had been negotiating for a capital infusion from three private equity firms, The Times said. But A.I.G. rejected an offer from J.C. Flowers & Company to buy $8 billion in preferred shares, because the bid included an option to buy the rest of the company at a steep discount.

Two other buyout firms, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and the Texas Pacific Group, withdrew their offers to buy preferred shares as the Fed made clear that it would not provide any sort of backstop.

But Maurice R. Greenberg, the visionary leader who built A.I.G. but was removed during an accounting scandal in 2005, has offered to help with any restructuring. Mr. Greenberg and his lawyers asked on Saturday if he could play a role in overhauling A.I.G. The deadpan response, according to a person close to the company, was: If you are willing to make a multimillion-dollar equity investment, we are happy to talk.

Mr. Greenberg has seen the value of his holdings plummet as A.I.G. shares have sunk. He holds about 39 million A.I.G. shares directly and an additional 243 million through his private equity firm, Starr International. The shares were worth about $15.8 billion at the beginning of this year, but just $1.3 billion as of Monday.
]]> bizinsurance5@gmail.com Information http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=56 Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:51:46 +0100 http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=55
Rising health costs push total employment costs up and wages and benefits down. The result is lost profits and lost wages, in addition to pointless risk, insecurity and a flood of personal bankruptcies.
Sustained growth thus requires successful health-care reform. Barack Obama and John McCain propose to lead us in opposite directions -- and the Obama direction is far superior.

Sen. Obama\'s proposal will modernize our current system of employer- and government-provided health care, keeping what works well, and making the investments now that will lead to a more efficient medical system. He does this in five ways:

- Learning. One-third of medical costs go for services at best ineffective and at worst harmful. Fifty billion dollars will jump-start the long-overdue information revolution in health care to identify the best providers, treatments and patient management strategies.

- Rewarding. Doctors and hospitals today are paid for performing procedures, not for helping patients. Insurers make money by dumping sick patients, not by keeping people healthy. Mr. Obama proposes to base Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements to hospitals and doctors on patient outcomes (lower cholesterol readings, made and kept follow-up appointments) in a coordinated effort to focus the entire payment system around better health, not just more care.

- Pooling. The Obama plan would give individuals and small firms the option of joining large insurance pools. With large patient pools, a few people incurring high medical costs will not topple the entire system, so insurers would no longer need to waste time, money and resources weeding out the healthy from the sick, and businesses and individuals would no longer have to subject themselves to that costly and stressful process.

- Preventing. In today\'s health-care market, less than one dollar in 25 goes for prevention, even though preventive services -- regular screenings and healthy lifestyle information -- are among the most cost-effective medical services around. Guaranteeing access to preventive services will improve health and in many cases save money.

- Covering. Controlling long-run health-care costs requires removing the hidden expenses of the uninsured. The reforms described above will lower premiums by $2,500 for the typical family, allowing millions previously priced out of the market to afford insurance.

In addition, tax credits for those still unable to afford private coverage, and the option to buy in to the federal government\'s benefits system, will ensure that all individuals have access to an affordable, portable alternative at a price they can afford.

Given the current inefficiencies in our system, the impact of the Obama plan will be profound. Besides the $2,500 savings in medical costs for the typical family, according to our research annual business-sector costs will fall by about $140 billion. Our figures suggest that decreasing employer costs by this amount will result in the expansion of employer-provided health insurance to 10 million previously uninsured people.

We know these savings are attainable: other countries have them today. We spend 40% more than other countries such as Canada and Switzeraland on health care -- nearly $1 trillion -- but our health outcomes are no better.

The lower cost of benefits will allow employers to hire some 90,000 low-wage workers currently without jobs because they are currently priced out of the market. It also would pull one and a half million more workers out of low-wage low-benefit and into high-wage high-benefit jobs. Workers currently locked into jobs because they fear losing their health benefits would be able to move to entrepreneurial jobs, or simply work part time.

In contrast, Sen. McCain, who constantly repeats his no-new-taxes promise on the campaign trail, proposes a big tax hike as the solution to our health-care crisis. His plan would raise taxes on workers who receive health benefits, with the idea of encouraging their employers to drop coverage. A study conducted by University of Michigan economist Tom Buchmueller and colleagues published in the journal Health Affairs suggests that the McCain tax hike will lead employers to drop coverage for over 20 million Americans.

What would happen to these people? Mr. McCain will give them a small tax credit, $5,000 for a family and $2,500 for an individual, and tell them to navigate the individual insurance market on their own.

For middle- and lower-income people, the credits are way too small. They are less than half the cost of policies today ($12,000 on average for a family), and are far below the 75% that most employers offering coverage contribute. Further, their value would erode over time, as the credit increases less rapidly than average premiums.

Those already sick are completely out of luck, as individual insurers are free to deny coverage due to pre-existing conditions. Mr. McCain has proposed a high-risk pool for the very sick, but has not put forward the money to make it work.

Even for those healthy enough to gain coverage in the individual insurance market, the screening, marketing and individual underwriting that insurers do to separate healthy from sick boosts premiums by 17% relative to employer-provided insurance, well beyond the help offered by the McCain tax credit.

The immediate consequences of the McCain plan are even worse. The McCain plan is a big tax increase on employers and workers. With the economy in recession, that\'s the last thing America\'s businesses need.

Finally, Mr. McCain does nothing to bend the curve of rising health-care costs downward. He does not fund investments in learning, rewarding and preventing. Eliminating state coverage requirements will slash preventive service availability.

The high cost-sharing plans he envisions will similarly discourage preventive care. And as he does nothing about the hidden costs of the uncovered -- expensive ER visits, recurring conditions resulting from inadequate follow-up care.

Everyone agrees our health-care financing system must change. But only one candidate, Barack Obama, has real change we can believe in.

]]> vilud05@yahoo.com Information http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=55 Tue, 16 Sep 2008 07:37:37 +0100 http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=54 By: Josh Robin

NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. -- Amid Wall Street\'s failures is state intervention.


\"I am deeply concerned about the fiscal crisis that has engulfed our financial markets,\" said Governor David Paterson.


For two collapsed firms, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers, there wasn\'t anything left but help employees out of work. But Governor Paterson did throw a life jacket to the ailing Insurance giant, AIG, also reeling from risky bets traced to the housing and credit markets.


As the firm moved dangerously close to a credit rating downgrade, the Democrat directed a one-time lifting of state regulations, allowing the company to access as much as $20 billion from its own vast subsidiaries. It\'s not a taxpayer bailout and officials insist policy holders are protected.

The announcement jerked back AIG\'s plummeting stock price, although its close was about a fifteenth of its year-long high and it came shortly before the federal government asked two titan banks to arrange a loan for AIG of about $70 billion.



\"AIG for a long time was the largest insurer in the united states by market value it has thousands of customers globally, it has a trillion dollars in assets, it\'s a massive, massive company and to the extent that AIG tumbles it will have a huge ripple effect across the entire economy,” said Dan Wilchins, Reuters Finance Team Editor-in-Charge.


And also on already struggling state finances. The New York-based firm employs 8,500 statewide.


Last summer the governor called back the state legislature to trim this year\'s budget but now the troubles on Wall Street have the governor worrying that future deficits will be even worse than projected.


His call for $600 million in one year cuts fell short, it\'s a safe bet the teetering financial sector will demand larger sacrifices next time.
]]> vilud05@yahoo.com Information http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=54 Tue, 16 Sep 2008 07:23:59 +0100 http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=53 The Associated Press

\"Rescue\" talks with Warren Buffett?
Struggling insurance giant American International Group (AIG) will be allowed to use $20 billion of assets held by its subsidiaries to provide cash needed to stay in business, New York Gov. David Paterson said Monday.

The move comes as AIG continues to review operations and discusses alternatives with outside parties, reportedly including Warren Buffett\'s Berkshire Hathaway, to shore up its business amid concern the world\'s largest insurer could need billions of dollars to strengthen its balance sheet.

Paterson asked New York state insurance regulators essentially to allow New York-based AIG to give itself a bridge loan. The governor has also asked the head of New York\'s insurance department to talk with federal regulators about providing an additional bridge loan.

\"AIG still remains financially sound,\" Paterson said.

The move will allow the company to use those assets as collateral to borrow cash to fund day-to-day operations, Paterson said.

It also helps AIG by \"giving them what they need most, which is time,\" said Keefe Bruyette & Woods analyst Cliff Gallant, noting that the relaxation of insurance regulations was \"unprecedented.\"

Typically, a state insurance commissioner\'s priority is to protect the policyholder, and that includes making it very difficult for an insurer to access funds used to pay claims.

The insurer could face significant claims from hurricanes Ike and Gustav, which have battered the Gulf Coast. But \"AIG is a big company, and I would expect they will be able to meet their claims,\" Gallant said.

\"Those events do not cause an immediate cash problem for the company,\" he added.

If an insurer can\'t pay its claims, the state\'s insurance fund, which is backed by other insurers that do business in the state, would help pay off policyholders.

\"If anyone\'s been put at risk, it\'s the other insurance companies who do business in the state,\" Gallant said.

AIG has been battered the past year by billions of dollars of losses tied to deterioration in the mortgage and credit markets.


Its shares fell $7.38, or 60.8 percent, to $4.76 Monday. They had been down as much as 71 percent to $3.50 before Paterson\'s comments.

Late Monday, all three major credit-rating agencies — Standard & Poor\'s, Moody\'s Investors Services and Fitch Ratings — dropped AIG at least two notches. While the new ratings are all still considered investment grade, the downgrades add to the pressure on AIG.

AIG is seeking a loan for as much as $75 billion through Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase after the Federal Reserve balked at providing money, according to people familiar with the situation.

Representatives of Wall Street\'s biggest firms convened Monday at the New York Federal Reserve Bank for a fourth consecutive day, this time to discuss AIG.

The Fed urged the insurer to seek private capital and discouraged it from expecting a loan from the central bank, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions.

New York-based Goldman and JPMorgan are working with AIG to determine how much the insurer needs, said two others, all of whom declined to be identified because negotiations are private.

The loan would involve temporary financing, a so-called bridge loan, through a syndicate of banks, one person said, adding there was no assurance of an agreement.

\"We\'re still working on a number of alternatives,\" said Nicholas Ashooh, spokesman for New York-based AIG.

JPMorgan\'s Brian Marchiony and Goldman\'s Lucas van Praag declined to comment.

Treasury spokeswoman Brookly McLaughlin declined to comment when asked about the possible financing efforts.

Also, the insurer was said to be in \"rescue\" talks with Buffett.

Berkshire Hathaway spokeswoman Jackie Wilson said Buffett was not available to comment on the AIG-rescue reports.

Typically, Berkshire does not comment on any deals before they are completed.

One possibility is to spin off AIG\'s aircraft-leasing arm, International Lease Finance Corp. ILFC which posted record results in the second quarter. Founded in 1973, ILFC has a fleet of more than 900 airplanes — many of them from Boeing and Airbus — valued at more than $50 billion.

]]> vilud05@yahoo.com Information http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=53 Tue, 16 Sep 2008 07:20:49 +0100 http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=52

Affordable Health Insurance
So how does the average New Zealand protect their future health needs while avoiding escalating health premiums? According to Affordable Health managing director, Peter Maynard, consumers want rock bottom health premiums with adequate cover and an easier claims service - all from the comfort of their armchair.

\"Clients come to us for quick and fair health and life insurance cover. To make the process easy and hassle free, we wanted to provide quotes online for ease of use as well as offering the very best deal for consumers.\"

Affordable Health & Life Ltd has been involved in health, life and medical insurance in New Zealand for approximately 10 years and during this time we have seen what makes a good health and life insurance policy and more importantly what makes an inferior product.

Your health insurance in New Zealand needs to cover all recommended treatments whether surgical or non surgical. It should have a no limit cover to listed procedures or set payouts per procedure and the terms and conditions of your policy should be guaranteed for the life of your policy.

\"A good health insurance policy will offer you the best cover available at an unbeatable price. It is important to be aware of what your policy covers and at Affordable Health and Life we can guarantee you great cover at a great price and no surprises at claim time.\"

We are aware that claims can be a very stressful time for clients. A good policy will cover you for all unexpected expenses and your claim should be processed in a fast and effective manner to minimize stress and expense for the client.

Affordable Health Insurance makes every effort to ensure that clients are handled in this timely manner. Unfortunately with health insurance there is a high probability that you may need to claim one day and it is nice to know that your broker will be there to help you every step of the way. Our motto is \"it is better to have health insurance and never use it than to not have health insurance and need it!\"

The aim of Affordable Health and Life\'s new website, therefore, is to provide consumers with the best price while not compromising on quality of insurance cover. We have therefore made every effort to keep premium prices down so you, the consumer, may benefit.

Please take a look around our new website today on www.affordablehealth.co.nz. You may be surprised with its ease of use and the quote supplied may be well within your budget.

]]> vilud05@yahoo.com Insurance Content http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=52 Fri, 29 Aug 2008 03:13:59 +0100 http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=51
In extracts released ahead of his speech, Senator Obama is expected to tell a crowd of 75,000 and a TV audience of many millions: \"We are better than these last eight years … we are a better country than this.\"

He will stride out to accept the Democratic nomination knowing that he finally has the stage to himself.
A week which began in a crowded convention centre with Democrats tripping over the clutter and carnage from the battle for the nomination, has proceeded through a cathartic show of unity to tonight’s culmination in the open air of the mile high Invesco Field stadium.

Mr Obama\'s address tonight falls on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King\'s \"I have a dream\", adding further historical charge to his bid to become America\'s first black president.

But he is intent to offer reassurance to an electorate that has shown growing signs of hesitation about not only his exotic multi-racial roots but also his lack of experience.

He is expected to tell once more his own story of a child born from \"the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren\'t well-off or well-known, but shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to\".

\"It is that promise that has always set this country apart - that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well.\"

\"It is why I stand here tonight. Because for two hundred and thirty two years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women - students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses and janitors -- found the courage to keep it alive.\"

This is one such moment, Mr Obama is expected to say, \"because we love this country too much to let the next four years look just like the last eight\".

Although paying tribute to the military service of his Republican rival, John McCain, he will seek to portray him as offering a continutation of President Bush\'s policies, by saying: \"The record\'s clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush ninety percent of the time. Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush was right more than ninety percent of the time? I don\'t know about you, but I\'m not ready to take a ten percent chance on change.

]]> vilud05@yahoo.com International news http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=51 Fri, 29 Aug 2008 03:08:18 +0100 http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=50
The Commerce Department revised upward last month\'s estimate of a 1.9 per cent annualised pace of growth in gross domestic product (GDP).

The figure was much better than the average Wall Street estimate of 2.7 per cent and showed a strong acceleration from the 0.9 per cent rate of the first three months of the year.

The latest figures, helped somewhat by a massive economic stimulus package, suggest the world\'s biggest economy had more momentum than previously thought by analysts, many of whom anticipated recession.

\"For a recession the economy is certainly growing very quickly,\" said Avery Shenfeld, senior economist at CIBC World Markets.

\"A lot of that growth is driven off exports and pessimists might say that can\'t continue during slowing growth overseas, but I would say this happened precisely during the period of slowing growth overseas ... this is still an economy that faces slow times but not a recession.\"

Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates, said he sees conflicting signals in recent economic data.

\"A lot of the monthly indicators are suggesting recession but things like new orders and GDP suggest the economy is improving.\"

Some analysts said the economy still has a recession feel despite the robust figure, and that special factors may be distorting the GDP rate.

\"If the US economy were growing at its potential pace, the unemployment rate would not have risen a full percentage point over the past year,\" said Citigroup economist Steven Wieting, who argues that data on new jobless claims are \"still recessionary.\"

The revised report showed trade alone accounted for 3.10 percentage points in the overall growth rate. It showed exports surged 13.2 per cent, instead of an earlier estimate of 9.2 per cent, while exports fell 7.6 per cent, instead of 6.6 per cent.

Consumer spending, the largest component of economic activity, was up a modest 1.7 per cent, just 0.2 points more than previously estimated, despite a massive 168-billion-dollar government stimulus package that sent out tax rebates to tens of millions of people.

The main drag on growth remained the housing sector, with investment in residential property slumping 15.7 per cent, not as bad as the 25.1 per cent slide in the first quarter.

Business spending grew 2.2 per cent and government expenditures by 6.8 per cent.

A key inflation index linked to GDP rose 4.2 per cent while core prices excluding food and energy were up 2.1 per cent.

Still, many analysts expect the current growth pace to continue to slow, consumer spending is sluggish and a rebound in the dollar may curb growth in exports.

\"With economies abroad slowing and the one-time impact of tax rebates dissipating, we expect annualised economic growth to recede to near 1.0 per cent in the third quarter and to maintain this pace into early-2009 before gradually improving,\" said Peter Kretzmer, an economist at Bank of America.

Aaron Smith at Economy.com also said the strong figure is misleading.

\"The better-than-expected outcome overall does not change our view that the economy is weakening, with the beneficial effects of rebate checks and foreign demand fading fast,\" Smith said.

The US Federal Reserve has held its base interest rate at a low 2.0 per cent as part of an effort to fire up a lagging economy hurt by tight credit and weak housing. But in the past few months the central bank has indicated the next move will likely be an increase to keep inflationary pressures in check.

The central bank has forecast 2008 growth in a range of 1.0 to 1.6 per cent, up from an April projection of 0.3 to 1.2 per cent.

]]> vilud05@yahoo.com International news http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=50 Fri, 29 Aug 2008 03:01:07 +0100 http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=49
The census report says that the median household income rose slightly to $50,200. Washington was the only state in the Northwest to exceed the national median, with an increase of $1,442 or 2.6 percent; the median income rose to $55,591 in 2007.

The Census Bureau found about 12.5 percent of the population (37.3 million people) fell below the official federal poverty threshold in 2007, a figure that was not statistically different from the 12.3 percent of 2006. The number of children in poverty increased by 500,000, to 13.3 million.

The national report showed the number of people without health insurance declined to 45.7 million from last year’s record 47 million. The number of people with health insurance increased from 249.8 million to 253.4 million. The decrease in the number of people without health insurance was attributed to the programmes of government-sponsored health insurance, such as Medicaid, or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Detroit is the poorest large city in the country, according to the report. The number of poor people in Detroit grew slightly, from 32.5% in 2006 to 33.8% in 2007.

There are 1,377,000 people living below the federal poverty line in Michigan, including 8% of those under age 18 and 7.8 percent of those under age 65 or over. The median income for a household in the city was $46,261, and the median income for a family was $54,895. Males had a median income of $41,449 versus $28,095 for females.

The survey showed that in Detroit, Pontiac and Flint nearly half of the children are poor.

In Washington, the poverty rate fell from 11.8 percent in 2006 to 11.4 percent in 2007. In Washington there were 725 people living below the federal poverty line, which is defined as $20,650 for a household of four. Men in Washington earned a median of $50,269 in 2007 and women had a median income of $37,454, 74.5 percent of men’s earnings.

About 11 percent of the Massachusetts’ residents (707,000 people) lived below the poverty line.

Other findings suggest there is a constant difference between urban and suburban life. As an example, the survey showed city residents had a median income of $57,903 in Washington’s metropolitan areas, compared to a median income of $44,314 in smaller communities and $39,487 in rural areas.

The report found Maryland, with an estimated median income of $68,080, was the state with the nation’s highest median household income in 2007.

The number of people under 65 insured by government-funded health insurance increased by more than 2 million to 48.6 million, according to the analysis by officials at the University of Minnesota.

“You have mixed news here mirroring the mixed news in the economy last year,” the Washington Post quoted Rebecca Blank, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, as saying. “But I think it is quite reasonable to say 2007 was a peak year. And still, median income is slightly below the 2000 level, poverty is higher, and child poverty is way up. You have a cycle here that was very sluggish.”

Blacks had the lowest median household income in the country, $33,916. Incomes stayed flat for Hispanics and Asians. Whites had a median income of $54,920, compared with $66,103 for Asians.



]]> vilud05@yahoo.com Insurance Content http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=49 Fri, 29 Aug 2008 02:57:51 +0100 http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=48

Abrie Burger found that several measures he had taken to protect his off road vehicle which was parked in his yard outside at night were not good enough for his insurance company when he submitted a claim for theft of the vehicle.

The insurance company rejected the claim on the basis that the vehicle had not been parked in a locked garage at night, as was required in the policy.

Burger, a sales representative from Sasolburg, complained to the FAIS Deputy Ombud that he was not aware of the requirement to keep the vehicle in a locked garage as he did not receive the policy schedule and policy wording from his broker, Heritage Insurance Brokers (Pty) Ltd of Sandton.

He said that on the day of the theft, his and his friend’s vehicles were chained and locked together and left outside for the night because they had been washed and he had arrived home late that afternoon.

He said there were several dogs on the premises but they had been poisoned during the night of the theft and one died as a result.

Outside the fence there were five ostriches of which three were “very aggressive males”. Entry to the yard by the burglar/s was gained by breaking or cutting off the lock on the gate.

The issue for determination before Ms Noluntu Bam, the Deputy Ombud for Financial Services Providers, was whether the respondent was negligent in not making the complainant aware of the condition of insurance which was breached, thus leading to the insurer rejecting the claim for theft of the vehicle.

During investigation, it was found that the complainant had stated in his own handwriting in the proposal form dated 24th February 2005 that the vehicle would be kept in a locked garage at night.

The respondent said a letter dated 2 March, 2005 accompanied by the policy schedule and policy wording was sent to the complainant shortly after inception of the policy to the postal address furnished by him in the proposal form.

The letter stated that “unless otherwise provided for, overnight theft from the permanent place of residence is EXCLUDED unless the ATV/Off road vehicle is kept in a fully enclosed garage or carport and both any door and any gate leading to the garage or carport is kept locked at all times and there is proof of visible, violent or forcible entry/exit”.

This condition is also mentioned in the policy “confirmation of cover,” which was sent to the motor dealer, as well.

Ms Bam said when motor vehicles are financed, the credit supplier requires insurance cover to protect its interests.

The insurer on the other hand, seeks to minimise its exposure to the risk materialising. To this end, the question is asked in the proposal form “where is the vehicle kept at night? – not address”. In this case, Burger answered “locked garage”.

A further clause in the form states: “I agree that this proposal shall be the basis of the contract between the insurer and myself.”

Ms Bam said that in the circumstances, it cannot be said that the complainant was unaware of the relevant condition that was breached and which led to the rejection of the claim, even assuming the complainant did not receive the policy schedule and wording as alleged by him.

“In any event, I note that two letters were posted to the complainant regarding non-payment of premiums. He thereafter paid the premiums. The probabilities seem to favour the conclusion that he did in fact receive the letter with the policy schedule and wording as well.

“There rests a duty on a broker to draw the insured’s attention to material clauses in the insurance contract.

“However, in the matter before me the complainant himself stated the vehicle would be kept in a locked garage at night and then failed to do so when it was stolen.

“It, therefore, cannot be said that in this case the respondent was negligent in rendering the service to the complainant.”

Ms Bam said it was clear that had the complainant abided by the condition about keeping the vehicle in a locked garage at night at his premises as he had warranted in the proposal form, the theft may have been avoided.

“That he had dogs and ostriches on the premises do not detract from his warranty,” she added, in dismissing the complaint.

]]> bizinsurance5@gmail.com Insurance Content http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=48 Sat, 23 Aug 2008 10:57:56 +0100 http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=47
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A growing number of U.S. adults are struggling to pay their medical bills, tapping into savings accounts, home equity and credit cards to cover health care costs, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

An estimated 72 million Americans aged 19 to 64, or 41 percent, said they had trouble paying for medical care in 2007, with some slipping far enough behind to face collection agencies. That compared to nearly 58 million, or 34 percent, in 2005, the Commonwealth Fund survey found.

The report comes as U.S. consumers face rising financial pressures, including higher energy costs, food bills and mortgage payments.

\"Obviously, this medical debt can push people over the edge who are already close to the edge,\" said Karen Davis, president of the private foundation that promotes better access to health care.

The foundation analyzed responses of 3,456 U.S. residents from a biennial telephone survey with a margin of error rate of plus or minus 2.2 percent.

In 2007, roughly half of those facing health debt had up to $2,000 in bills, while 21 percent had up to $3,999. Twelve percent had more than $4,000 in medical debt and another 12 percent faced more than $8,000.

Respondents reported making tough financial choices in order to pay their medical bills last year.

Most said they had exhausted their savings, while nearly one-third said they had either gone without necessities such as food or heat, or had run up credit card debt. Ten percent said they took out a loan or mortgage.

While those without health insurance were most likely to carry substantial medical debt, those who had some coverage also reported difficulties, the survey found.

Nearly twice as many so-called \"underinsured\" patients, those with either gaps in their health insurance coverage or high deductibles, shouldered debt compared to those with more comprehensive health plans.

Sixty-one percent had health coverage at the time they received the medical care that was the source of their debt.

The findings highlight the need to increase the number of Americans with health insurance, Commonwealth Fund officials said.

\"It will be critical that health reform proposals not only cover everyone but that they provide benefits that cover essential services with appropriate financial protects,\" said Sara Collins, the group\'s assistant vice president. Such protections should include affordable premiums and out-of-pocket costs, she added.

Those aged 65 and older were largely spared from daunting medical bills, in large part because they are covered under the U.S. Medicare insurance program for the elderly and disabled, Collins said.
]]> vilud05@yahoo.com International news http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=47 Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:03:16 +0100 http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=46
The Company informed that the first ten companies received the highest rating are listed alphabetically with no rating indicated: VSK Insurance House, Ingosstrakh, Renescance Insurance Group, RESO-Garantiya, Rosgosstrakh Group, ROSNO, Russia Insurance Company, SOGAZ Group, Soglasiye Insurance Company, Zurich. Retail Insurance Company.

The research involved the experts of the Economic News Agency, Russian Trade and Industrial Chamber, the Association of Russian Banks, All-Russian Union of Insurers, Professional Institute of Placement and Circulation of Stock Tools, managers and experts of the leading mass media companies, analytic centers, large commercial firms and public organizations.

Alongside with the expert’s opinion the research used the open-source information as well. The main evaluation criteria were growth dynamics, companies’ authority at Russian market and development prospects.

At the moment Russia Insurance Company started establishing the daughter structures in Azerbaijan and Ukraine. Its nearest branch to Azerbaijan is located in Makhachkala (Dagestan, Russia).




]]> vilud05@yahoo.com Insurance Content http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=46 Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:01:59 +0100 http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=45
Faced with a “perfect storm” of economic troubles, more working families than ever are sacrificing needed health care, a report by the nonprofit research group the Commonwealth Fund reveals.

The report, which draws on four years of survey data, also says it has “never been more urgent” to fix the nation’s broken health care system.

The report, Losing Ground: How the Loss of Adequate Health Insurance is Burdening Working Families, finds that two-thirds of the working-age population went without health insurance in 2007, were underinsured, had trouble paying their medical bills or went without needed care because of the costs.

A perfect storm of economic trends is battering working families. The federal minimum wage is now three dollars an hour lower, in real terms, than it was 40 years ago; gas and food prices are soaring; home values are declining; growth in health care costs is far outstripping income growth; and people are increasingly going without the protection of health coverage….Families are facing financial crises and are forced to make hard choices among life’s necessities, often sacrificing health care and health insurance along the way.

According to the report, 45 percent of working-age people reported they went without needed health care in 2007 because of costs, compared with 29 percent in 2001.

The report finds that 41 percent, or 72 million working-age adults, had trouble paying a medical bill or ran up medical debt in 2007, compared with 34 percent in 2005. Families in all income ranges reported growing trouble with their medical costs, but:

Families with low and moderate incomes were particularly hard hit: More than half of adults with incomes under $40,000 reported problems with their medical bills in 2007. Underinsured adults or those with gaps in their health insurance reported the highest rates.

Other findings include:

Adults in all income groups spent more on health care in 2007. More than half of adults in families with incomes less than $20,000 and more than one-third of adults earning between $20,000 and $60,000 spent 10 percent or more of their income on health care. Among those earning between $40,000 and $60,000, the rate doubled from 18 percent in 2001 to 36 percent in 2007.
The proportion of underinsured adults younger than 65 (people whose out-of-pocket costs, excluding premiums, are so high relative to their income that they can’t afford the care they need) increased from 9 percent to 14 percent, or to 25 million people, between 2003 and 2007.
Adults who experienced medical bill problems faced dire financial problems: 29 percent were unable to pay for such basic necessities as food, heat or rent because of their bills; 39 percent used their savings to pay bills; and 30 percent took on credit card debt.
The Commonwealth Fund’s report says the majority of voters are dissatisfied with the nation’s health care system and want it fixed.

With working families in crisis from a combination of faltering job and income security and a dramatic acceleration in the cost of basic life necessities, the time has never been more urgent for policymakers to forge ahead on solutions to the nation’s health insurance problems.

The report does not endorse the health care proposals of either presidential candidate. But there are very wide differences between them.

Sen. John McCain’s health care proposal rehashes President Bush’s failed approach. It would not cut costs or cover more people—but it would tax employer-provided health benefits, pushing workers out of job-based plans and leaving them at the mercy of the private insurance market. His proposal focuses on high-deductible health savings accounts (HSAs), which provide fewer benefits at higher costs and undermine existing employer-based health care.

Sen. Barack Obama’s health care plan is based on the principle that is essential to successful reform of the health care system: expanding high-quality coverage to everyone. While families could keep the coverage they have now, they also would enjoy a wider array of options, including a public plan. Increasing the number of people covered is essential to lowering health care costs across the market.

]]> vilud05@yahoo.com Information http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=45 Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:00:19 +0100 http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=44
Insurance meets heightened demand for travel health insurance created by new UAE visa rules


Lifecare International, one of the UAE’s most reputable providers of health and travel insurance, today announced the launch of affordable premium travel health insurance, responding to the significant increase in demand for travel health insurance products since the introduction of new visa rules for visitors to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The insurance policy has been designed in conjunction with International Health Insurance (IHI), a subsidiary of the world renowned BUPA group.

The move is in line with ministerial decision No. 322/2008, which affects all applications for visas in the UAE.Under new UAE visa rules, medical health insurance is now mandatory for a visa application. The IHI/BUPA travel health insurance from Lifecare International caters to both citizens from countries requiring medical insurance as a visa pre-requisite, and to those Western visitors (from exempt countries) who arrive in the UAE without any insurance, but can still purchase the insurance on arrival.

Mr. Ameet Devani, Director, Travel Services, Lifecare International, said, “Our objective is to provide a high-quality, comprehensive travel medical cover to discerning travellers to ensure them of complete peace of mind during their stay in the UAE. Other insurance policies, very cheap to purchase, are offering the bare minimum of cover which will not be adequate in a real medical emergency. Our premium travel health insurance policy has already been embraced by reputable corporates, travel agents, tour operators and high-end hotels, confirming the real value of the policy we have on offer and clearly demonstrating the level of trust in our services.”

The comprehensive IHI/BUPA travel health insurance policy offers unlimited worldwide cover per person for in-patient and out-patient care in the event of an emergency. It is available to individuals up to 79 years of age for inbound and outbound travel, and covers sporting and certain hazardous activities that other policies often only provide at extra cost. Direct payment of hospital bills (in-patient only) and a 24 hour world-wide emergency service is also included.

The Travel Insurance division of Lifecare International was formed in 2005, with the objective of fully servicing the needs of individual clients, corporates and the broader travel community, including travel agents, tour operators, airlines and strategic channel partners.
]]> vilud05@yahoo.com Information http://www.bizinsurance5.com/blog/index.php?entryid=44 Thu, 21 Aug 2008 07:42:40 +0100