Tag Archives: Health Care Reform

End of the World as We Know It?

Posted on by
Reply

In an article in Employee Benefit News, Nancy Bolton expressed some of the concern, confusion, and questions of many in the employee benefits profession right now.

Where are we going?

Where are we going?

Will health care reform be good for employee benefit plans?

Readers familiar with my musings and rants will know that I will not mourn the demise of employer sponsored health coverage.  But I am also no fan of an individual mandate.

Good guys

Nevertheless, Bolton’s perspective is an interesting one.  Like me, she administers a public plan.  She asks the question, “Aren’t employers the good guys?”

Why didn’t the politicians who loudly proclaimed support for employment based health care, do more to underwrite its cost. Continue reading →

Health Care Reform – the Next Round

Posted on by
3

Is health care reform dead?  Doubtful?  What will it look like?  Not nearly enough.

So I want to get a head start on the next round.

Moving ahead

Moving ahead

Because whatever happens in this round, round 2 cannot come soon enough.  It is unrealistic to expect health care reform to be a once and done proposition.  The Model T was not invented with 4 wheel anti-lock disk brakes or fuel injection.

So over the next few weeks, I would like to take a look at some of the issues that will still remain even after health care reform legislation is passed.

But first let’s give some thought to what we want from our  health care system. Continue reading →

Firedoglake » Terrorism Still Less Deadly in US Than Lack of Health Insurance, Salmonella

Posted on by
Reply

By: Blue Texan Tuesday December 29, 2009

Since we still seem to be having a national freakout over some loser who got on a plane with a bomb in his underwear, which was apparently worthy of a presidential address, it might be a good idea to put the actual danger posed by terrorist attacks in some numerical perspective.

If you count the Ft. Hoot shooting as a terrorist attack, which even the likes of Pantload doesn’t, 16 people have died in the United States as result of terrorism in 2009. The other three deaths include the Little Rock military recruiting office shooting (1), the Holocaust Museum shooting (1), and Dr. George Tiller’s assassination (1), the last two coming at the hands of right-wing extremists.

On the other hand, 45,000 Americans died because they didn’t have health insurance and 600 died from salmonella poisoning.

Firedoglake » Terrorism Still Less Deadly in US Than Lack of Health Insurance, Salmonella

Merry Christmas! Ed Hanway, Cigna CEO, gets a $73.2M golden parachute

Posted on by
Reply

The NOW! Blog

Ed Hanway, CEO of Cigna, one of the nation’s largest health insurance companies, will step down at the end of this year, in just over a week. When he does, he’ll get $73,200,000 as compensation for a job well done.

What makes Hanway worth $73.2 million? Well, for one example, he’s presided as Cigna denied a liver transplant to 17-year-old Nataline Sarkisyan, causing her death and widespread outrage. Wendell Potter, Cigna’s former spokesperson turned whistle-blower, was at the company during the Sarkisyan scandal, and he explains its effect on him personally, as well as how the company thinks about denying care:

NOW! Blog » Merry Christmas! Ed Hanway, Cigna CEO, is getting a $73,200,000 golden parachute

CEOs Tally Health-Bill Score – WSJ.com

Posted on by
Reply
By JANET ADAMY and GREG HITT

The drug industry stands to gain in a health-care overhaul by getting tens of millions of newly insured customers, while insurance companies — especially those that cater to the individual market — look like they are in for a tougher time.

That is the early scorecard from executives poring over Congress’s sweeping health legislation. Senate Democrats are meeting this week to write the bill they plan to bring to the floor, following last week’s 14-9 vote in the Senate Finance Committee for a health bill that would cost $829 billion over 10 years.

CEOs Tally Health-Bill Score – WSJ.com