health insurance

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Health Insurance Execs Cash In, Jack Premiums

Those heading 5 biggest companies took home $200M

(Newser) - As their companies slammed policyholders with double-digit rate increases, top executives at the nation's five largest insurance companies gave themselves hefty raises last year, pulling in a total of almost $200 million. Of the heads of Cigna, Humana, UnitedHealth Group, WellPoint, and Aetna, only one took a paycut—Aetna's CEO...

Why My Company Isn't Hiring
 Why My Company Isn't Hiring 
opinion
Aug 9, 2010 1:10 PM CDT

Why My Company Isn't Hiring

Taxes are driving up unemployment

(Newser) - Why is unemployment so high? Blame the government, writes Michael Fleischer in the Wall Street Journal . Using the employee who has his company's median salary as an example, the head of Bogen Communications explains that though she makes $59,000 on paper, she actually takes home only $44,000 after...

Missouri Votes to Block Health Care Reform

State won't require people to buy insurance

(Newser) - Missouri residents have voted to block a portion of President Obama's health care reform. In a vote seen as largely symbolic, 73% of voters approved a state law saying Missouri can't penalize people for not having health insurance. The law is unlikely to have any practical effect because the relevant...

Wrestling's Dark Side Dogs McMahon Run
 Wrestling's Dark Side 
 Dogs McMahon Run 
not a pretty business
Jul 16, 2010 6:51 AM CDT

Wrestling's Dark Side Dogs McMahon Run

Did McMahons cut too many corners in building WWE?

(Newser) - Linda McMahon, GOP Senate hopeful in Connecticut , vows to bring the "real world experience" of running the wrestling powerhouse WWE to the political arena. Though politics and stunt fighting may seem an amusingly apt fit, the New York Times reports that McMahon's spectacularly successful empire has a seriously dark...

Obama to Insurers: Don't You Dare Jack Premiums

Parts of health care reform kick in

(Newser) - With parts of the health care reform law about to go into effect, President Obama has called executives from 13 leading insurers to Washington for a stern lecture about rate gouging. Obama is afraid the insurers will use the law as an excuse to jack up premiums. “Our message...

Health Reform Bill Won't Stop Premium Hikes

Action on curbs didn't make final cut, leaving 'very big loophole'

(Newser) - Turns out the big health care reform bill doesn't actually rein in those out-of-control premium rate hikes. The Democrats used outrage over whopping increases to corral support for the overhaul, but the bill doesn't deliver, finds the Los Angeles Times , because it doesn't give the government the regulatory authority. "...

Oops: Congress Might Have Killed Its Own Health Care

Health bill error may leave lawmakers, aides without coverage

(Newser) - If you know exactly how the health care reform bill will impact your coverage, you may be a step ahead of your member of Congress, according to the New York Times . A report from the Congressional Research Service found that—because of imprecise language and a possible drafting error in...

Stop Calling It the Slacker Mandate!
Stop Calling It the Slacker Mandate!
OPINION
Apr 8, 2010 12:05 PM CDT

Stop Calling It the Slacker Mandate!

It's insulting to both young Americans and their parents

(Newser) - Conservatives have found a new punching bag in the health care reform legislation: the so-called “slacker mandate,” which allows parents to keep their kids under their health insurance until age 26. Michelle Malkin has railed against it as an example of the “Nanny state gone wild,”...

Insurers Cave on Covering Sick Kids Now

Industry argued for narrow interpretation of health bill

(Newser) - The insurance industry, faced with an outraged administration, has retreated from efforts to deny sick children with pre-existing conditions coverage until 2014. Health secretary Kathleen Sebelius plans to issue regulations in the coming weeks making it clear that sick children must be given access to their parents' insurance plans by...

Insurers Find Ways to Deny Kids Coverage
Insurers Find Ways to Deny Kids Coverage
Not So Reformed
Mar 29, 2010 9:16 AM CDT

Insurers Find Ways to Deny Kids Coverage

Firms say loophole lets them exclude youths, hike prices

(Newser) - Insurance companies say there’s a loophole in the health care reform legislation that will allow them to keep denying coverage to children with preexisting conditions for years. President Obama had promised that such denials would be “banned forever” this year. But “the fine print differs from the...

Anti-Reformers, We Dare You to Pledge:
Anti-Reformers, We Dare You
to Pledge: 
OPINION
Mar 25, 2010 1:01 PM CDT

Anti-Reformers, We Dare You to Pledge:

'Neither I nor anyone in my family' will use bill's protections

(Newser) - If Republicans hate health care reform so much, they shouldn't benefit from it, writes Matt Millen. He suggests a pledge: “I hereby vow that neither I nor anyone in my family will take advantage of the protections offered by this law.” He can hear the whining already. "...

'Repeal, Replace, Reform' Should Be GOP's Rallying Cry

Dems' morale boost will be short-lived, predicts Karl Rove

(Newser) - The Democrats may be in good spirits now, but passing health care reform won't help them politically any more than the stimulus package helped them in New Jersey's 2009 gubernatorial elections, argues Karl Rove. The public remains mostly opposed to "ObamaCare," and Republicans can ride that sentiment to...

Insurers Join Campaign to Sign Up New Customers
Insurers Join Campaign to Sign Up New Customers
About-face on Health Reform
Mar 24, 2010 11:47 AM CDT

Insurers Join Campaign to Sign Up New Customers

Industry switches from opposing reform to implementing it

(Newser) - Insurers spent a lot of energy fighting health care reform, but now they’re jumping on the bandwagon—along with pro-reform groups—to get as many Americans covered as possible. America’s Health Insurance Plans, the big industry group that’s been a vocal reform opponent, has signed onto Enroll...

Health Reform May Pour Money Into Banks

HSAs expected to jump in popularity thanks to mandates

(Newser) - Financial firms could soon see a huge influx of money as consumers forced to buy health insurance by the new health care reform bill opt for high-deductible plans with health savings accounts. Americans have roughly $8.6 billion in assets parked in HSAs, but industry experts tell Reuters that could...

Obama's Signature Changes Some Rules Now

States can't alter guidelines on Medicaid, kids' insurance

(Newser) - It will take years for the entirety of the health care reform to be enacted, but some provisions went into effect the moment President Obama signed it into law today. One of the most wide-ranging prevents states from cutting Medicaid and children’s health insurance coverage—or tightening rules to...

Meet Marcelas Owens, 11, Health Reform Activist

Seattle fifth-grader lost uninsured mother to illness, became activist

(Newser) - That little boy standing at President Obama’s right hand as he signed health care reform legislation into law is, somewhat improbably, one of the nation’s preeminent reform advocates. Marcelas Owens, 11, has been sharing the story of his mother since she died in 2007, uninsured and unable to...

Christian Science Admits Doctors Are Okay

Church tells patients to get actual medical help when necessary

(Newser) - With its membership dwindling and reputation in tatters, the church of Christian Science has finally decided that doctors aren’t so bad after all. Church leaders tell the New York Times that they’ve been encouraging members to consult physicians when necessary for over a year now. They’re trying...

Bastards! Health 'Reform' Isn't Worthy of Name

Dems should be ashamed of bill, but pass the damn thing

(Newser) - The Democrats should hurry up and pass their sorry excuse for a health bill, but they should stop calling it "health care reform," writes Michael Moore. The president and Democratic leaders should apologize to the American people for coming up with a bill that leaves 12 million people...

Insurance Firm Aimed to Ditch All HIV Clients

Judge slams Fortis' 'reprehensible' conduct

(Newser) - Insurance giant Fortis used every underhanded method it could to purge HIV-positive clients from its books, according to newly released records. Documents reveal that the company—now known as Assurant—used an algorithm to target every policyholder diagnosed with HIV for a fraud investigation and canceled their policies on the...

Middle Class Losing Health Insurance Fastest

Families squeezed as prices soar, employers drop coverage

(Newser) - Middle-class Americans are losing their health insurance coverage faster than any other group, with 16.2% of people in the income bracket finding themselves without coverage in 2008. That’s 12.9 million uninsured—up from 10.5 million in 2000—among families who make between $45,000 and $85,...

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