Posts Tagged ‘Health Insurance’
Washington’s Revolving Door Is Hazardous to Our Health
By Bill Moyers and Michael Winship for Common Dreams – We’ve seen how Washington insiders write the rules of politics and the economy to protect powerful special interests, but now as we enter the holiday season, and a month or so after the election, we’re getting a refresher course in just how that inside game…
Read MoreThe Biggest Myth in Obama-GOP Showdown is the “Fiscal Cliff” Itself
By Democracy Now – As negotiations continue between the White House and House Speaker John Boehner, leading economist Dean Baker joins to discuss the myths about the so-called fiscal cliff. With little more than two weeks before the deadline, President Obama insists on an immediate increase in the top two income-tax rates as a condition…
Read MoreWelcome to the Future of Your Health Insurance. It Sucks.
By Yves Smith for Naked Capitalism – There have been numerous reports about the shortcomings of Obamacare which its boosters have either ignored or shouted down. And troublingly, the attitude is often “I got mine” as in “My kids are now covered under my policy” without questioning what the narrow and broader issues are. Well,…
Read MoreAnthem Blue Cross seeks to raise individual policyholders’ rates
By Chad Terhune for the Los Angeles Times – California’s largest for-profit health insurer, Anthem Blue Cross, is seeking to raise rates an average of 18% for more than 630,000 individual policyholders, drawing scrutiny from regulators and the ire of consumers already struggling with soaring premiums. Some Anthem customers may see rates rise as much…
Read MoreDoctor Visits Dropping, New Census Figures Show
By Sabrina Tavernise for the New York Times – Americans of working age are going to the doctor less frequently than they were 10 years ago, according to a new report by the Census Bureau. In 2010, people age 18 to 64 made an average of 3.9 visits to doctors, nurses and other medical professionals,…
Read More48,000 Preventable Deaths in 2011
Persistence of large numbers of uninsured and related deaths shows urgency of enacting an improved-Medicare-for-all system, physician says By Physicians for a National Health Program – The Census Bureau’s official estimate that 48.6 million Americans lacked health insurance in 2011 means approximately 48,000 people died needlessly last year because they couldn’t get access to timely…
Read More48.6 Million Americans Lacked Health Insurance in 2011
By the AP – The ranks of America’s poor remained stuck at record levels, although dwindling unemployment benefits and modest job gains helped stave off what experts had predicted would be the fourth rise in a row in the poverty rate. With joblessness persistently high, the gap between rich and poor increased in the last…
Read MoreHealthcare Costs For Workers Almost Doubled Since 2002
By the AP – It sounds like good news: Annual premiums for job-based family health plans went up only 4% this year. But hang on to your wallets: Premiums averaged $15,745, with employees paying more than $4,300 of that, a glaring reminder that the problem of unaffordable medical care is anything but solved. The annual…
Read MoreInvestors in Health Care Seem to Bet on Incumbent
From the New York Times – Who is going to win the presidential election? You might want to ask Mark T. Bertolini. He just bet $5.7 billion on President Obama. Mr. Bertolini is the chief executive of Aetna, which on Monday agreed to acquire Coventry Health Care, a huge provider of Medicare and Medicaid programs.…
Read MoreInsurance Companies Gaming the System
By Donna Smith – Has your insurance company called you recently to ask you to sign up for a wellness or disease management program? Has that same company told you it’s a free service to policyholders and promised you that they do not share the information with the departments and people who administer your benefits…
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