Opinion
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Chart: Association Group Insurance vs. Association Health Plans
Opinion -AGI Association Group Insurance AHP Association Health Plans Definition The NAIC outlines the following requirements for association group insurance: "[S]hall have at the outset a minimum of 100 persons and have been organized and -
Patients’ Right to Sue Loses Steam
Opinion -The U.S. -
Beyond Precaution
Opinion -A 53-year-old man recently sued the estate of deceased diet guru Dr. Robert Atkins. His grievance? He has coronary artery disease. -
Anti-Fast Food Crusade Replaying Anti-Smoking Strategy
Opinion -For Your Own Good: The Anti-Smoking Crusade and the Tyranny of Public Health by Jacob Sullum ($25. -
New Hampshire Should Be Applauded for Seeking Market Reform
Opinion -On January 1, 2004, key provisions of a law deregulating New Hampshire’s small group health insurance market went into effect. -
Will the Bay State’s Elected Officials Never Learn?
Opinion -Philosopher George Santayana warned that those who ignore the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it. He could have been writing about the Massachusetts legislature. -
The Drug Importation Bandwagon, the Long-term Consequences
Opinion -There’s a great “Importing Drugs from Canada” bandwagon currently moving through the political landscape, and it offers citizens of now three states--Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois--the opportunity to buy their drugs over the Internet from Canadian -
Media Advisory: Illinois Drug Import Plan: Putting Politics Ahead of Public Safety
Opinion -Chicago, IL, August 17, 2004: According to a news story in today's Chicago Sun-Times by Washington Bureau Chief Lynn Sweet, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Rep. Rahm Emanuel will announce today plans to launch the "Illinois Drug Import Plan. -
Illinois Insurance Brokers Seek Solutions for the Uninsured
Opinion -On May 26, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Health Care Justice Act (House Bill 2268). The bill sets as a policy goal the creation of a state health care plan covering a full range of preventive, acute, and long-term care services. Gov. -
Wisconsin Gov. Says No to HSA Tax Break
Opinion -As the Wisconsin legislative session came to a close, state legislators passed a bill to give citizens a state tax deduction for contributions to Health Savings Accounts. Democrat Governor Jim Doyle promptly vetoed the measure. -
Pfizer Lowers Rx Prices for Uninsured Americans
Opinion -Pfizer Inc., the nation's largest manufacturer of prescription drugs, has announced plans to substantially reduce prices for its drugs for all people without health insurance, regardless of income or age. -
Massachusetts Will Try Anything … Except Markets
Opinion -A proposed amendment to the Massachusetts state constitution, which would mandate that lawmakers provide medical insurance to all residents of the state, is the final stage in what critics have long warned would be a downward spiral for private health -
Book Review: Saving Lives & Saving Money
Opinion -Saving Lives & Saving Money by Newt Gingrich, with Dana Pavey and Anne Woodbury ($24. -
Glossary of Terms
Opinion -Guaranteed Issue Guaranteed issue (GI) laws forbid health insurance companies from denying coverage to anyone who applies for health insurance, including those individuals who apply for insurance after the onset of a chronic health condition or who -
Minnesota ‘Best Practices’ Law Riles Opposition
Opinion -Minnesota has recently become a national hotspot in the battle over health care reform. -
A Guide to the New Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit
Opinion -The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act passed by Congress and signed by President George W. Bush in late 2003 is like a giant sequoia: You can't get your arms around it all at once. -
The Pain in Maine Is Dirigo
Opinion -Mainers are beginning to have second thoughts about Dirigo health care, the new state-run plan that looks like national health care, sounds like national health care, and acts like national health care. -
Table: Monthly Premiums For Nongroup Health Insurance
Opinion -Sample Monthly Premiums for Nongroup Health Insurance in Massachusetts, September 2003 Carrier Status Rate Offered in Boston* Aetna Life Insurance Company Single** $765.00 Family $2,461.10 Two Adults $3,037.55 Aetna Health Inc. Single $417. -
Consumers Take Control with HSAs
Opinion -According to a May 23 story in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Susan Grabiak's health insurance premiums were about to jump 28 percent. -
Hospital Price Transparency
Opinion -The Boston Globe published a laudatory write-up on June 8 about a new essay in the June issue of Harvard Business Review, by Michael Porter of the Harvard Business School and Elizabeth Olmsted Teisberg of the University of Virginia. -
Obesity Claims Overstated, Consumer Advocate Tells FDA
Opinion -Obesity is a genuine problem in America, but our national debate on the subject has become nothing short of hysterical. And around every corner is a hidden agenda. -
Physicians and Surgeons Examine Consumer-Directed Care
Opinion -South Africa and the United States are on different continents and in different hemispheres, but experience with consumer-directed health plans in the former suggests such plans may soon soar in popularity in the latter. -
State Update: Health Savings Accounts
Opinion -Connecticut Chambers of Commerce Offer HSAs ConnectiCare will soon be the first HMO plan in the country to offer a consumer-directed health plan compatible with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). -
Table: How The Rx Drug Benefit Will Affect You
Opinion -Annual Income/Assets Your AnnualPrescription DrugExpense LINE 1 LINE 2 LINE 3 $250 $16 $500 $500 $32 $538 $750 $48 $575 $1,000 $64 $613 $858 $1,250 $80 $650 $920 $1,500 $96 $688 $983 $1,750 $111 $725 $1,045 $2,000 $127 $763 $1,108
