health insurance

Stories 341 - 360 | << Prev   Next >>

Fear of Unforeseen Chaos Keeps Feds Bailing Out AIG

(Newser) - If you want to understand the phrase “too big to fail,” look no further than AIG, the Los Angeles Times reports. With $1.1 trillion at the end of 2007, operations in 130 countries and 74 million customers, AIG is so entrenched in the global financial system that...

Hidden Health Care Crisis: The Underinsured

(Newser) - Health-care policy debate in America is usually framed around the 45 million (and rising) uninsured, but rarely do policymakers bring up the additional 25 million facing the “shadow problem” of under-insurance, Time reports. These people pay more than 10% of their income on out-of-pocket medical costs, often on flimsy...

Republicans Hope for 1994 All Over Again

But Dems are in a better position than they were under Clinton

(Newser) - Barack Obama is banking on change, but Republicans are betting things haven’t changed much at all. They’re hoping to bounce back from the political wasteland using the same playbook that swept them into power in 1994, Jeanne Cummings writes in Politico. The strategy: Unite against Democrats' economic policy,...

Back-Room Consensus: Require Health Insurance for All

Kennedy leads meetings with industry

(Newser) - A series of unprecedented back-room meetings among the biggest players in health care is close to a consensus: Any new legislation will require that every American have insurance, the New York Times reports. The next part, of course, is trickier: figuring out how to enforce it, how to make it...

McDonald's Won't Pay Hospital Bills of Hero Employee

Worker got shot protecting customer

(Newser) - It doesn't pay to be a hero, sometimes. A McDonald's employee who stepped in to prevent a man from beating up a woman in the restaurant got shot multiple times and ended up with $300,000 in medical bills. Now McDonald's says it's won't pay up because his injuries "...

Dentists Feel No Pain in Recession

(Newser) - Clenched jaws abound during this recession, and a combination of stress-related damage and layoff victims rushing to be treated before they lose their insurance is helping keep dentistry afloat as the economy dives. Dentist's offices last year reported the highest profit margins of any industry, including top moneymakers like accounting...

Uninsured Young Adults Play Doctor
Uninsured Young Adults Play Doctor
Feb 18, 2009 9:19 AM CST

Uninsured Young Adults Play Doctor

Some feel invincible but most just can't afford pricey premiums

(Newser) - Twentysomethings in low-paying jobs with no health coverage are taking up the slack with self-diagnosis and treatment, a potentially dangerous practice that may seem unavoidable. Many say they face a choice between buying insurance and making rent—and they're opting for the latter. "They’re new to the work...

College Students Pay Twice for Health Insurance

Parents complain of hidden costs for students who already have insurance

(Newser) - Many parents of college students across America are paying double for their children's health insurance, an NPR investigation finds. Students are usually required to show proof of health insurance for admission, but then often find they can't use that insurance at college clinics. Parents complain that colleges automatically charge for...

Poor Kids Missing Out on Multivitamins

Well-heeled kids take them, poor need them

(Newser) - Vitamin supplements can combat kids' dietary deficiencies, but tend to be taken by those who least need them, reports Time. A five-year study found that a third of US children take supplements—but those kids are much more likely to be white, with higher incomes, healthier diets, and better health...

What the Stimulus Package Would Get Us

$800 billion, $647-page tome means big gov't again

(Newser) - President Obama’s $800 billion stimulus plan—which stood at 647 pages when it passed the House last week—signals a return to “unabashed” big government, the Los Angeles Times reports. Here’s what it means:
  • For the next 2 years, individuals making under $75,000 will get a
...

Senate Passes Children's Health Insurance Bill

Expansion of health insurance for low-income kids passes over GOP objections

(Newser) - The Senate has passed a $32.8 billion bill to dramatically expand children's health insurance, the Washington Post reports. The State Children's Health Insurance Program will now cover 11 million low-income children, up from 7 million. The bill, which will be funded by an extra 61-cent tax on every packet...

Tsunami in Medicaid Need Batters Broke States

Demand from newly unemployed leaves states looking to stimulus package for help

(Newser) - A surge in demand for Medicaid is draining state coffers just when they can least afford it, a New York Times survey of 40 states reveals. Demand ballooned by up to 10% in many states last year as people lost their employer-sponsored health care with their jobs, and officials believe...

Walgreens Woos Employers With at-Work Health Care

(Newser) - Walgreens is amping up its effort to interest corporate and government employers in its network of clinics and workplace health centers, the Wall Street Journal reports. The company aims to build on its base of 350-plus corporate clients, and has been steadily snapping up concerns that cater to them. Under...

Daschle: Health Reform About Facts, Not Ideology

Obama nominee pledges bipartisan effort despite controversial plan

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services promised today a bipartisan effort to reform health care, the New York Times reports. “When it comes to health care, we really are in it together,” Tom Daschle said during Senate confirmation hearings, where chairman Ted Kennedy...

Daschle Will Play Hardball on Health Reform

Incoming HHS Secretary will avoid Hillary's pitfalls

(Newser) - Tom Daschle, Barack Obama's incoming Director of Health and Human Services, has an aggressive strategy for reforming health care, and no intentions of seeing it fizzle the way the Clintons' efforts did in 1993, reports the Los Angeles Times. The key will be reeling in major health-care interest groups, along...

Abortion Foes: Cut Funding for Flush Planned Parenthood

They seek to keep the nonprofit from getting public funds

(Newser) - Abortion opponents’ newest strategy includes lobbying state and local governments to cut public funding for Planned Parenthood, the Wall Street Journal reports. Religious conservatives have taken to arguing that the organization is running a surplus and doesn’t need public dollars, which account for a third of the nonprofit's budget....

Laid-Off Workers Stuck With Mega-Medical Bills

Abrupt loss of coverage leaves massive bills behind

(Newser) - As firms collapse and abruptly cut off insurance, some laid-off workers face staggering medical bills without any clear way to pay for them, the Wall Street Journal reports. In many cases, workers rush to take care of medical needs upon hearing their employers are going under, only to find those...

Daschle Begins Push to Reform Health Care

Would-be secretary will ask Americans to contribute ideas

(Newser) - Although his nomination as health secretary hasn't yet been announced, Tom Daschle is already beginning his push for a comprehensive overhaul of the system, the Wall Street Journal reports. In a speech today, Daschle will emphasize that the economic downturn makes it all the more important to lower health care...

Now You Can Buy Insurance for Insurance

Think you'll lose health coverage? Firm will insure your right to it

(Newser) - Healthy and insured but afraid you might someday lose your medical coverage? UnitedHealth has just launched a new product that lets consumers pay now for the guarantee that they’ll be able to get insurance later—even if they get sick, the New York Times reports. Critics are skeptical of...

Signs of Consensus Emerge on Universal Health Care

Government action is needed, but plan details remain murky

(Newser) - Washington is approaching a broad consensus: It’s time for the government to step in to create universal health care, the Los Angeles Times reports. Both left and right have abandoned pet plans in favor of a middle ground that maintains the current employer-based system, while driving down costs and...

Stories 341 - 360 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser