insurance

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CA Fires Won't Harm Economy in Long Term

Rebuilding will give a boost to sagging home building sector

(Newser) - California’s runaway wildfires are not likely to do longterm damage to the state’s economy, the Los Angeles Times reports—in fact the disaster could be a boon to some sectors. One of those is construction: In the first nine months of the year, construction jobs were down 3%...

Insurer Opens (Virtual) Island Getaway

Another corporate marketing scheme pops up on Second Life

(Newser) - Cruising over to Insurance Island might not sound like the most fun thing to do with your virtual life, but Assicurazioni Generali SpA is dedicated to being the rare corporate Second Life island that works, offering a car chase game, and manning the island with real employees. The 176-year old...

SF Pioneers Health Care for All
SF Pioneers Health Care
for All

SF Pioneers Health Care for All

Groundbreaking plan targets city's 82K uninsured adults

(Newser) - San Francisco will provide health care for every uninsured adult in the city, pioneering an approach that works around the limits of the federal system. The program goes citywide on Monday and will serve adults under the poverty line through November; after that, it will be open to everyone regardless...

Health Insurance Premiums Soar
Health Insurance Premiums Soar

Health Insurance Premiums Soar

Costs outpace wage hikes for 8 years running

(Newser) - Health insurance premiums zoomed 6.1% this year, far outrunning inflation and worker earnings, a new study has found. Since 2001, premiums for family coverage have risen 78% percent, while wages have increased by only 19% and inflation by 17%, a Kaiser Family Foundation survey shows. Still, this year's hike...

US Poverty Rate Dips, but Uninsured Swell

Income inequality reaches all-time high

(Newser) - The US poverty rate has finally taken a downturn for the first time in 10 years, census figures show. The poverty rate was 12.3% in 2006, down from 12.6% the previous year, and annual household income rose to $48,200. But the news isn't all rosy: the number...

Nagin to Feds: Cut Red Tape
Nagin to Feds: Cut Red Tape

Nagin to Feds: Cut Red Tape

New Orleans mayor tells Congress of dire need for docs, mental health workers

(Newser) - Ray Nagin delivered an unscripted plea to Congress yesterday, asking for a more urgent response to the health-care crisis that has plagued New Orleans since Katrina hit in 2005. Both Republicans and Democrats echoed the mayor's frustrations at the federal government's inaction on the city's pronounced shortage of physicians and...

Insuring Against Political Risks
Insuring Against Political Risks

Insuring Against Political Risks

Coups, riots, civil wars: Companies buy huge policies covering political upheaval

(Newser) - Political-risk insurance has quietly become a billion-dollar industry, the Economist reports, as Western corporations doing business in the developing world crave protection against coups, embargoes and civil wars. The Berne Union, a syndicate of 30 of the field's biggest insurers, says members have $113 billion in outstanding policies in some...

Insurer Ties Employee Pay to Patient Health

Plan will offer bonuses for boosting patients' use of preventive services

(Newser) - The country's largest health insurer says it will pay up for good health--offering bonuses to employees who boost patients' use of preventive medical services. WellPoint Inc.'s plan is intended to encourage participation in programs like diabetes management, which helps patients handle their medical needs before they end up in...

The Moral-Hazard Myth
The Moral-Hazard Myth

The Moral-Hazard Myth

Why Our Insurance Systems Doesn't Work

(Newser) - Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point and Blink, examines the premise underlying U.S. health insurance known by the Dickensian term: Moral Hazard. The theory of Moral Hazard describes the notion that insurance can change peoples’ behavior. Without deductibles, co-payments and other barriers to use, people will use too...

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