Report: Massachusetts to See Drop in Medical Claims Costs

March 28, 2013Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticleComments

Medical claims costs are expected to soar in many states under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.

Massachusetts is an exception.

A new study by the nation’s leading group of financial risk analysts, the Society of Actuaries, has found that medical claims costs — the biggest driver of health insurance premiums — will jump an average 32 percent for Americans’ individual policies.

The report concluded the overwhelming majority will see double-digit increases in their individual health insurance markets where people purchase coverage directly from insurers.

Some states, including Massachusetts and New York, will see double-digit declines in costs for claims in the individual market.

The report did not make similar estimates for employer plans, the mainstay for workers and their families.

The administration has questioned the design of the study.

 

Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetCategories: East NewsTopics: health insurnace, healthcare, medical claims costs, Society of ActuariesHave a hot lead? Email us at newsdesk

View the Original article

South Dakota Town Hit Hard by Fires; Damage Costs Top $1.3M

October 5, 2012Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticle1 Comments

As Stephanie Bowers sifted through the charred remains of her mother’s books, she paused and cried. Bowers’ mother, Cheryl Roop, 59, died in a trailer home fire in Mitchell, S.C. early on Sept. 29.

Now living in Missoula, Mont., Bowers drove to Mitchell when she heard about the fire. Family members were able to retrieve some mementos of her mother’s life, which Bowers said has provided some small comfort.

Scenes like that have been all too common this year in Mitchell.

Fires caused an estimated $1,390,876 in property damage in the city through August, already more than five times last year’s total of $254,365, according to monthly reports prepared by the Mitchell Fire Division. In that same time period, the total number of fires, 62, already eclipses last year’s total of 57, the reports say.

And those numbers don’t yet include last month, when two homes were destroyed by fire. Another number not reflected in the reports is the two people who have died in fires this year.

View the Original article

Employer Costs for Employees Lowest in South, Highest in Northeast

September 28, 2012Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticle3 Comments

Total employer costs for employees in private industry ranges from $26.14 per hour in the South to $32.98 in the Northeast.

According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the same costs are $28.06 in the Midwest and $30.01 in the West.

Overall, compensation costs among private industry employers in the United States averaged $28.80 per hour worked in June 2012. Wages and salaries, at $20.27 per hour, accounted for 70.4 percent of these costs, while benefits, at $8.52, made up the remaining 29.6 percent.

The costs ranged within each region, with total compensation costs of $24.44 in the East South Central division to $33.47 in New England.

BLS used compensation data from June 2012. The agency measures the average cost to employers for wages, salaries and benefits per employee hour worked. Benefits include health, life and disability insurance; workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, Social Security and Medicare; and paid leave including vacation, holiday and sick days.

The data cover private industry only and exclude self-employed and farm and private household workers. The costs were collected from a sample of 47,400 occupations from about 9,500 establishments in private industry.

Regional Costs

View the Original article

Report: Texas Reforms Reduced Costs of Medical Care for Injured Workers

June 26, 2012Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticleComments

A new study from the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI), an independent, not-for-profit research organization based in Cambridge, Mass., says that costs of medical care for injured workers in Texas have dropped. The study says the drop is largely the result of reforms and an increased focus and effort on managing medical care in the state’s workers’ compensation system.

View the Original article

Louisiana Lawmakers Lower Costs for Citizens Customers Along Coast

June 7, 2012Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticleComments

A last-minute provision added to legislation headed to the governor’s desk will give some relief to coastal property owners who get insurance through Louisiana’s state-run insurer of last resort.

The compromise language was devised by lawmakers seeking to lessen the blow of hefty rate increases on wind and hail policies for homeowners who are customers of the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp.

As sent to Gov. Bobby Jindal, the bill would lower insurance costs by 10 percent for Citizens customers in 12 parishes across south Louisiana.

Citizens is supposed to charge rates that are 10 percent higher than the private insurers in an area. The proposal backed by lawmakers on the final day of their just-ended regular session would scrap that requirement until August 2015 for the coastal parishes.

 

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetCategories: Texas / South Central NewsTopics: legislation, louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp., RatesHave a hot lead? Email us at newsdesk

View the Original article

Virginia-Care: Keeping Health Insurance Costs Down for a Small Businesses

Categories

Costs (56) Employers (25) Families (62) Health Conditions (48) Improving Care (47) Prevention (42) Rights, Protections and Benefits (120) Seniors (63) Insurance Coverage (123) Health Care Providers (11) Explore your coverage & pricing options

Find out which private insurance plans, public programs and community services are available
to you.

Pick Your StateAlabamaAlaskaAmerican SamoaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaGuamHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaNorthern Mariana IslandsOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaPuerto RicoRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahUS Virgin IslandsVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingPick Your StateAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaNorth CarolinaSouth CarolinaColoradoConnecticutNorth DakotaSouth DakotaDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaGuamHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaNorthern Mariana IslandsUS Virgin IslandsKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew JerseyNew YorkNew HampshireNew MexicoOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaPuerto RicoRhode IslandAmerican SamoaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWest VirginiaWashingtonWisconsinWyoming–

View the Original article

Better Health and Lower Costs for Medicare Beneficiaries

Categories

Improving Care (41) Health Care Providers (8) Employers (21) Costs (45) Insurance Coverage (105) Health Conditions (43) Prevention (38) Rights, Protections and Benefits (104) Families (54) Seniors (59) Explore your coverage & pricing options

Find out which private insurance plans, public programs and community services are available
to you.

Pick Your StateAlabamaAlaskaAmerican SamoaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaGuamHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaNorthern Mariana IslandsOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaPuerto RicoRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahUS Virgin IslandsVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingPick Your StateAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaNorth CarolinaSouth CarolinaColoradoConnecticutNorth DakotaSouth DakotaDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaGuamHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaNorthern Mariana IslandsUS Virgin IslandsKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew JerseyNew YorkNew HampshireNew MexicoOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaPuerto RicoRhode IslandAmerican SamoaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWest VirginiaWashingtonWisconsinWyoming–

View the Original article

Replacement Costs Battle on the Road to Somewhere

April 13, 2012Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticleComments

Steve Young was somewhat upbeat when he was asked what he thought about the outcome of a long-brewing legal battle between three insurance associations and the California Department of Insurance.

That upbeat attitude is because a court of appeals accepted his association’s amicus brief this week. That may sound a bit trivial, but Young sees it as a signal there’s at least a slight chance the group will have its day in court sooner rather than later.

Young, vice president and general counsel of Insurance Brokers & Agents of the West, applauded the Second District Court of Appeals action earlier this week in granting IBA West’s request to file an amicus brief in the litigation over replacement cost regulations that were successfully pushed through the courts by the California Department of Insurance last year.

On Monday IBA West filed the brief, a request to support the petition for writ of mandate filed by the Personal Insurance Federation of California and the Association of California Insurance Companies challenging the legality of the replacement cost regulations.

The writ would speed the appeals process along. Otherwise, the appeals process could go on for years and draw out a battle that was ignted last year.

When CDI and Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones came up with the regulations regarding how do deal with and present to consumers replacement costs on homeowners’ insurance policies last year, it touched off a legal battle between the three associations and CDI attorneys.

While CDI argues the regulations were necessary to protect homeowners, the groups believe the CDI and Jones overstepped their authority, and that this move could be an inroads to enabliing the regulators to wield a broader authority over more than just those entities in homeowners insurance.

View the Original article

Pit road confusion costs Ky. Busch

Victory Lane: Ryan Newman BrowseSPRINT CUPNATIONWIDETRUCK SERIES201220112010200920082007Select an event06 - Martinsville05 - Fontana04 - Bristol03 - Las Vegas02 - Phoenix01 - DaytonaDuelsShootoutCategoryLatestHighlightsFeaturesFeaturedFantasy ShowdownNSC Final LapsGarage ExpertGarageCam ReplayGreen-White-CheckeredHall of FameInside NASCAR30 Minutes ReplayMiss Sprint Cup VideosNASCAR Preview ShowNASCAR on SPEEDThe 10Best of Race HubNASCAR RaceDayNASCAR Victory LaneTracksideVictory Lane Fan FinishNationwide SeriesChat ReplayNNS Final LapsHighlightsPreviewSpotlightNNS Victory LaneOut Front Pole VideoPress PassRace RewindSights and SoundsSound OffNSC Victory LaneWeekend Top 5ArchivedAll Access with JJCAt The TrackBeyond Pit RoadNAPA Know HowNASCAR 101Race ChatterZero to 60

View the Original article