2008-10-20 The Real News Network-Is health care a right or a responsibility

BURGER: Well, I was very pleased with what Barack Obama said, managing to highlight the fact that for people that are uninsured, he is going to make sure that there is a federal insurance program available for those people; also that he was going to make sure that people could buy insurance without having to worry about preexisting conditions. So he was going to mandate that the insurance companies sell them insurance at a reasonable rate, and that he was going to make sure that children were covered under the health care plan. And he was going to make sure that there was better federal oversight and regulation. McCains plan, however, is a little deceiving, and even if you go on his website, you cant really figure out what his position is. He touts the usd. 5,000 tax credit as a good place to start, but when you realize that a family

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2008-10-20 Keeping the insurers in check Viewpoints, Outlook Houston Chronicle

The civil court system is often the only way for ordinary Americans to seek legal redress for these consumer abuses. But insurance companies have an arsenal of tactics at their disposal to deter defrauded customers from filing lawsuits. Aggressive litigation and stalling make pursuing small claims prohibitively expensive for consumers - the lawsuit itself can easily cost more than the value of the actual claim. While a lawsuit to force payment of a wrongfully denied claim drags on, the plaintiff must accept the financial consequences. The insurance company loses comparatively little, collecting premiums long after a claim is denied, with interest accruing every day during litigation.

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2008-10-20 Mutually owned insurers may not escape market woes-InvestmentNews

Mutually owned insurers may not escape market woes

Both carriers, along with a group other major insurers, have faced billions in impairments as the subprime and Alt-A mortgages in the securities continue to malfunction, Fitch said in its report. Total capital losses are expected to grow for insurance companies as a result, the ratings agency noted.

Advisers and agents notice that difference, especially in this volatile market. "In light of what happened, Im thinking about using mutual companies for the benefit of policyholders from a protection point," noted Mark Lowe, president of Montauk Insurance Services Inc. in Red Bank, N. J.

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2008-10-19 The Herald Standard-Burns Drug Store owner charged with defrauding insurance companies

Pharmacy fraud costs Americans an estimated usd. 3 billion dollars per year, helping to drive up the cost of health insurance and healthcare for everyone," said state Attorney General Tom Corbett. "The Attorney Generals Insurance Fraud Section was created to attack this problem, investigating and prosecuting the criminals who try to profit from bogus or inflated insurance claims. "

CONNELLSVILLE - A formal arraignment hearing was held Friday for a city businessman charged with defrauding insurance companies of approximately usd. 70,000.

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CONNELLSVILLE - A formal arraignment hearing was held Friday for a city businessman charged with defrauding insurance companies of approximately usd. 70,000. - Uniontown herald standard your local news leader calkins newspapers news classified fayette county pennsylvania local national sports tourism newspaper information business

2008-10-19 As market woes hurt insurers, premiums may rise Business Houston Chronicle

When setting rates, insurance companies set a certain target for returns. Companies generally get income from two sources: investments and premiums left over after paying claims and expenses.

But because insurance companies park some of their funds in the markets, investment losses can put upward pressure on rates.

Its not going to be a surprise to anyone that theres less return on investment and losses have in fact gone up, so these two factors do put pressure on Texas rates," said Robert Hartwig, chief economist with the Insurance Information Institute, a trade group in New York.

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2008-10-19 Debating the issue of healthcare The Daily Times

Both Obama and McCain want to provide all citizens with access to affordable health care. Obama believes that you have a right to health care just like those enrolled in the government funded Medicare and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. He plans to provide it through a mix of private and government insurance plans. McCain does not believe you have a right to health care but rather it is your responsibility to obtain it. He plans to make it more affordable by relaxing regulations and increasing competition among insurance companies.

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2008-10-18 Cabinet defers insurance bill decision

The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill is expected to be tabled in the Parliament session that begins on Friday. The Bill also seeks to allow promoters to hold majority stake in insurance companies and permit public sector general insurance companies to raise capital from the market to finance their expansion. Insurance companies have been pushing for a relaxation of the foreign investment limit as they are governed by stringent solvency margin norms and continuously need capital infusion to support business growth. The reforms, planned by the government long time back, were put on the backburner after the Left parties who were giving outside support to the UPA government was strongly opposing to it. The Bill is likely to be taken up by the Cabinet soon.

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- Cabinet defers insurance bill decision

2008-10-18 Cabinet defers decision on FDI cap in insurance

The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill is expected to be tabled in the coming Parliament session, which begins on Friday. The Bill also seeks to allow promoters to hold majority stakes in insurance companies and permit public sector general insurance companies to raise capital from the market to finance their expansion.

The Union Cabinet today deferred a decision on the much-awaited insurance law amendment Bill that aims to raise the foreign direct investment (FDI) cap for insurance companies from 26 per cent to 49 per cent. No decision was taken today as Finance Minister P Chidambaram was not present at the meeting.

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- Bs Reporter Cabinet defers decision on FDI cap in insurance much-awaited insurance law amendment Bill foreign direct investment (FDI) Finance Minister P Chidambaram Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill

2008-10-18

A government bill submitted to Parliament yesterday aims to regulate insurance issues for high-risk policemen, whom insurance companies refuse to cover as their jobs are too dangerous.

INSURANCE companies refuse to give full cover to high risk policemen, such as bomb disposal experts, prompting the government into seeking new regulations.

He explained that the state was now seeking to prepare regulations to cover all high risk officers in the event that their private insurance doesnt.

For example, if someone is injured on the job and his insurance doesnt cover him, the state will compensate him in accordance with to the regulations that will be specified in this new law, he said.

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2008-10-18 Candidates differ on plan to reform health care :: Elections :: Post-Tribune

Virginia Shingleton, chairwoman of the Valparaiso University Economics Department, said Obama will be hard-pressed to get private insurance companies to accept customers with pre-existing conditions. She said it is unclear what the companies incentive would be to do so.

Flint said he is concerned that opening up insurance shopping across state lines could prompt companies to move to states where requirements are looser, potentially having a negative impact.

He also says that while the tax credit option could appeal to people without job-provided health insurance, it could also lead to more businesses dropping benefits packages, depending on individual consumers reactions to the credit. And while he appreciates that the plan opens up discussion about tax benefits, he thinks lack of transparency in health-care costs could be a problem for average Americans.

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