http://backend.userland.com/rss092 http://www.ampminsure.org/rss/latest-story-rss.xml lakemen@ampminsure.org Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:41:56 GMT en-us http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/rising-cost.html http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/rising-cost.html ROCHESTER, N.Y., Oct 28, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Many more people blame the insurance industry for rising health care costs than blame anyone else. When asked who is most to blame, 41% of adults blame insurance companies compared to far fewer who blame the pharmaceutical companies (16%), the government (16%), hospitals (6%), or physicians (4%). These are some of the results of The Harris Poll(R), a new nationwide survey of 2,119 U.S. adults surveyed online between October 16 and 20, 2008 by Har... http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/frauds.html http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/frauds.html Whether a burnt body, a nicked car, a stolen iPod, a king''s ransom in jeweller or designer sunglasses, all are being eyed by the crafty. The life insurance industry has prevented some 21 000 fraudulent insurance claims over the past five years, according to the Cape Town-based Life Offices Association (LOA), an umbrella body for life assurance companies. http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/saving-sma.html http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/saving-sma.html Many drivers of smaller automobiles may be smiling about their fuel cost savings, but their smiles may soon fade when they start to realize that the auto insurance industry is taking a share of the money that they aren''t paying for gasoline. Let it not be said that smaller automobiles don''t come with a cost trade off. http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/homeowner-help.html http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/homeowner-help.html With foreclosures mounting, Bush administration officials said Thursday that they were preparing to step up efforts to help struggling homeowners. A senior policy maker told a Senate committee that the administration was working on a plan under which the government would offer to shoulder some of the losses on loans that are modified. http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/health-reforms.html http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/health-reforms.html Until recently, the major divide on the health care issue was between those who believed the system was in need of fundamental reform and those who maintained that modest fixes would suffice. The ground of the public discussion has shifted decisively this election year. Political candidates of all ideological persuasions are falling all over themselves proclaiming their support for baseball, apple pie, and bold health care reform. Former antagonists seem to agree, at least on the surface, that s... http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/worried-coverage.html http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/worried-coverage.html The sudden and dramatic default of insurance giant AIG has raised a red flag for consumers. “Now they're wondering just how solid and solvent their own coverage is, and they're worried,” said Eric Oster, Vice President and COO of the Insurance Bureau. http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/health-bill.html http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/health-bill.html Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill Tuesday that would have cracked down on health insurance companies that cancel policies of people who make expensive claims. Schwarzenegger, in a memo to lawmakers, called the so-called rescission practice “deplorable,” but noted he vetoed the bill because it lacked several consumer protections and was “written by the attorneys that stand to benefit from its provisions.” http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/drop-coverage.html http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/drop-coverage.html Economic Policy Institute report: The health care proposal announced by Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) would prompt many employers to drop health insurance for employees, according to a report released recently by EPI, the Charleston Gazette reports. http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/minimum-standard.html http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/minimum-standard.html The Massachusetts Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority board on Friday voted unanimously to proceed with new minimum standards for health coverage, but added exemptions for individuals, unions or employers who can prove that plans that have not been authorized by the state are comparable to the requirements, the Boston Globe reports. In general, http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/about6105.html http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/about6105.html 1001 Inventions: Muslim Heritage in Our Homes --- Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan. --- This clip highlights just some of the everyday items in our homes that came to us through a shared heritage with Muslim Civilisation. --- Presenter Bettany Hughes --- Guest Professor Salim Al-Hassani www.1001inventions.com --- www.muslimheritage.com http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/health-reform.html http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/health-reform.html The devil is, of course, in the details of both candidates'' complex health reform plans. But their responses to Brokaw''s question at Belmont University Oct. 7 expose the fundamental beliefs around which each has built his plan for reforming the U.S. health system: http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/about6066.html http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/about6066.html The current financial crisis is a tragedy for those losing their jobs, their homes and their financial security. Secondarily, it represents a failure of public policy that will impact the country for years to come. One of the issues most likely to be dealt a set-back from the bank meltdown is national health care reform. http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/travel-cost.html http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/travel-cost.html Faced with a weak economy and high travel costs, members of hotel frequent-guest programs are cashing in points for free rooms at a record rate. http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/economic-collapse.html http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/economic-collapse.html The American empire is kaput. Neither John McCain nor Barack Obama realizes that fact yet, but the myth of the omnipotent unipower, the essential nation, the country which declares that what it says goes, has been exposed to all. The Iraq debacle sullied Washington''s reputation, but did not destroy the illusion of American indispensability. Assorted politicians, like McCain and Obama, promised to restore US primacy, either through more bluster or better diplomacy. But the financial crash has wr... http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/unemployment.html http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/unemployment.html the Labor Department said Friday in a report providing new evidence the economy is tumbling toward recession. The unemployment rate, calculated through a separate household survey, held steady at 6. percent. As has been the case in recent months, there were large job losses in construction, manufacturing and retailing, while the health care and government sectors continued to add workers. But job erosion is widening with the financial services sector employment down 172,000 jobs since its pea... http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/bailout.html http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/bailout.html The Senate approved a $700 billion rescue package for the financial industry Wednesday night, giving new life to the bailout by loading it with tax breaks and other provisions tailored to help ease its passage in the House, where an earlier version fell a dozen votes short Monday. http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/travel-coverage.html http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/travel-coverage.html But there are risks associated with taking a nanny on vacation, from visa headaches to tension over accommodation and responsibilities, to the most serious risk of all: what happens if she gets sick. http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/healthy-wisconsin.html http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/healthy-wisconsin.html A consumer health-care advocacy group called Families USA released statistics this week that insurance premiums increased 73.9 percent between 2000 and 2007, a time when Wisconsin earnings rose 15.5 percent. http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/fingerprint-healthcard.html http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/fingerprint-healthcard.html The healthcare industry is challenged by errors or theft of identity as well as fraud amounting to billions of US dollars each year. Precise Biometrics is now participating in the launch of a new generation of health cards with fingerprint recognition and Match-on-Card together with Secure Service Corp (SSC) that can help prevent these issues. http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/health-cost.html http://www.ampminsure.org/news-story/health-cost.html Workers are paying higher premiums, deductibles and co-pays for employer-sponsored health care this year than in 2007, continuing a trend that since 1999 has seen premiums more than double, while wages fall further behind, two new studies document.