Affordable Health Insurance

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• A Crash. A Call for Help. Then, a Bill.
  Sep 5, 2010 — New York Times
  The Chicago Heights Fire Department told him the fire truck had responded in case there was a fire at the scene.But Mr. Feldman’s insurance company, nor that of the man who struck him, would pay. If the motorist declines to pay, some departments drop the claim.
• Patients' choices may narrow as insurers adjust standards for doctors, hospitals
  Sep 4, 2010 — Chicago Tribune
  While insurance companies say quality is what gets the name of a doctor or hospital on its preferred choices list, cost is also a major factor. Illinois Blue Cross has two HMOs, HMO Illinois and BlueAdvantage, and is considering a third health plan with a smaller network. Kenneth Anderson is setting goals for its hospitals' doctors and nurses to use fewer urinary catheters, which often are unnecessarily and account for about two in five hospital infections nationally.
• Editorial: Shifting the Health Cost Burden
  Sep 3, 2010 — New York Times
  The latest annual survey of employer health benefits contains good news for the employers but bad news for their workers. The long-term solution — a goal of the new health care reforms — is to restrain rising health care costs. Workers have little clout to demand cheaper or better coverage.
• Wonkbook: White House considers payroll tax holiday; House libs against Social Security cuts; 25% were unemployed during recession
  Sep 3, 2010 — Washington Post
  Whatever else the fiscal commission does, it seems likely to come out with some package of reforms for the stories social insurance program. But Republicans aren't very interested in raising payroll taxes, and House liberals have now announced their unified opposition to anything that includes benefit cuts. For example, a payroll tax holiday - a top priority of many business groups - could be applied only to new hires or extend to current employees.
• Health Costs Passed On to Workers
  Sep 2, 2010 — New York Times
  REED ABELSONScore one for the nation’s employers. It included a chart detailing the changes over the last five years.Kaiser Family FoundationEmployees are not only paying higher premiums but also higher deductibles. Among the early benefits: tax credits for those small employers buying coverage for their workers.
• Target to launch clinics in Chicago, south Florida
  Sep 2, 2010 — Chicago Tribune
  Target has 21 clinics in Minnesota and seven in Maryland stores. In the last two years, the dominant players in retail health clinic expansion, CVS and Walgreens, have slowed their growth. CVS would not disclose the actual number of visits.
• Feds to subsidize health insurance for early retirees
  Sep 1, 2010 — USA Today
  Among those taking the federal subsidies are Levi Strauss, United Airlines, Kellogg Co., Mattel, Hewlett-Packard, Dow Chemical and Koch Industries, the second-largest private company in America. Koch Industries owns Brawny paper towels, Dixie cups, Georgia-Pacific lumber, Stainmaster carpet, and Lycra, among other products. They have a pattern of lawbreaking, political manipulation, and obfuscation.
• Cambridge Hospital group, nurses to resume talks
  Aug 31, 2010 — The Boston Globe
  In addition to Cambridge Hospital, Cambridge Health Alliance also operates Somerville Hospital and Whidden Memorial Hospital in Everett. Thirteen nurses took the "forced retirement,'' according to the union - including Christine Jorge, 59, who began working at Cambridge Hospital in 1974. Jorge said she had not planned to retire but decided keeping the full health benefit was more important than a few more years' salary.
• Why health care is different
  Aug 31, 2010 — Washington Post
  First, if you don't get good health care, you might die.
• Plan advances to apply 80 percent of health premiums to costs::
  Aug 26, 2010 — Chicago Tribune
  ...care," said Robert Zirkelbach, spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans, a lobby for large health insurance companies like UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) , Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) and Health Care Service Corp., parent of Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Illinois, Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma.Zirkelbach said health plans are hoping insurance commissioners will include fraud and abuse expenses when they make recommendations to Sebelius on the actuarial process that health plans...