America’s New Health Insurance Benefits Package
Well over a year after President Barack Obama signed health care reform into law, government officials are still working to create various facets of a revised health care system. One major responsibility theyre faced with is developing a massive benefits package for the 68 million people who they believe will acquire public health insurance by 2014.
In early October, a committee at the Institute of Medicine proposed a basic package framework for the government to explore. What does this framework include?
Hiscox head of art and private client exits
Tusler set to join Lloyd’s syndicate
Hiscox head of art and private client Austyn Tusler has left.
A Hiscox spokesman said that Tusler would be joining a Lloyd’s syndicate, but could not say which.
Tusler will be on gardening leave until the new year.
Hiscox has no replacement lined up but expects to announce one soon.
Smoke-reducing chimneys prevent pneumonia among young children
Researchers at the University of Liverpool and the universities of California, Berkley and del Valle, Guatemala, have found that cases of severe pneumonia among young children are reduced by one-third in homes with smoke-reducing chimneys on cooking stoves.
The research, published in the Lancet, highlighted the health effects of exposure to smoke from open fires and dirty cooking stoves, the primary source of cooking and heating for 43% of the world’s population, affecting some three billion people.
Previous research has linked exposure to household cooking smoke to respiratory infections, but these latest findings form part of the first-ever randomised controlled trial on reducing the impacts of air pollution on health.
Next Chapter In Health Law Legal Challenges Could Be Decided Thursday
Meanwhile, some conservative activists are renewing their calls for Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan to step aside in regard to cases that involve the health law. And, a judge makes a case for delaying a final decision until after 2014 in a dissenting opinion regarding the DC Circuit Court’s ruling.
Politico: Supreme Court Health Care Reform Path Could Be Set Thursday The nine Supreme Court justices could decide as soon as Thursday whether — and how — to wade into the politically charged legal waters of health reform. The
Widows Beware Financial Pitfalls
With women living longer then men, they are often left as widows after their husbands pass away. This time is devastating and extremely stressful. Not only are widows dealing with the emotional side of the loss, they are often times hit with huge financial burdens they are not prepared for. Ron Lieber wrote For the Recently Widowed, Some Big Financial Pitfalls to Avoid on The New York Times website sharing some money pitfalls every widow should avoid.
With traditional gender roles, men are often times handling much of the financials leaving widows at an even bigger disadvantage. More and more women are taking part in the financial side of the marriage which is great, but it still leaves many widows financially lost when their spouse is gone. Li
Pa., Del. insurance groups ditch PIA to better serve agents’ ‘interests’
Two insurance industry trade groups, one in Pennsylvania and the other in Delaware, have notified the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) that they will cease their affiliation, effective Jan. 1, 2012.
The Pennsylvania Association of Insurance Agents & Brokers (PAI&AB) and the The Delaware Association of Insurance Agents & Brokers (DAIAB) notified the national group Nov. 1, saying in lettes that they believe the move best reflects the interests of independent agents.
The two groups represent about 1,500 insurance agencies, with the Pennsylvania group serving about 1,100 member agencies.
A Maryland association, also part of the Insurance Agents & Brokers, voted not to dissolve its affiliation with the national PIA, according to IA&B officials. Read more…
Police braced for winter crime spree
A winter crime spree that could increase the number of burglaries across the country by 26 per cent is due to start at dusk on Monday, research suggests.
Data from 16 police forces across the UK during the critical period between the newly darkened evenings from Hallowe’en to Bonfire Night last year showed a huge surge in the number of reported burglaries compared with the average of the other 51 weeks of 2010. The highest increase was in Strathclyde, where police saw a rise of 57 per cent against the average weekly total.
The research, compiled by Aviva, corresponds with a 28 per cent increase in burglary claims for Bonfire Night over the last 10 years, making it the worst night of the year for break-ins.