Free Republic

Even before Democrats finish drafting bills to create a single-payer health care system, the health care and insurance industries have assembled a small army of lobbyists to kill “Medicare for all,” an idea that is mocked publicly but is being greeted privately with increasing seriousness. Doctors, hospitals, drug companies and insurers are intent on strangling Medicare for all before it advances from an aspirational slogan to a legislative agenda item. They have hired a top lieutenant in Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign to spearhead the effort. And their tactics will show Democrats what they are up against as the party...

Sen. Sherrod Brown said he backs a proposal from Sen. Kamala Harris to abolish private health insurance. “I like Kamala,” Brown told MSNBC when asked if he would consider appearing on a ticket alongside Harris in the 2020 elections. “I was amazed at somebody called her un-American today for a proposal she had on health insurance … I stand with her on that, we have stood together on a number of issues, and I think very highly of her.” Brown, D-Ohio, on Wednesday will launch a tour aimed at promoting a possible White House run in 2020, and has said...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Insurance claims from California’s deadly November 2018 wildfires have topped $11.4 billion, making the series of fires some of the most expensive in state history, officials said Monday. The latest tally adds to growing concerns about the future availability of home insurance in wildfire-prone areas. More than $8 billion of the November 2018 losses stem from the fire that leveled the town of Paradise, killing 86 people and destroying roughly 15,000 homes. The other $3 billion in losses are from two Southern California wildfires that ignited the same week. The numbers were expected to rise, though...

Pro sports is seen as the next step in [Las Vegas’] evolution. ... What could go wrong? Insurance? Or, lack of it? Insurers are leaving the football market fearing Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is the new asbestos. Steve Fainaru and Mark Fainaru-Wada wrote in a spectacular 'outside the lines' piece for ESPN+, To an increasing number of carriers, football is a dam built atop an earthquake fault. A disaster might never occur, but the specter of huge potential losses is scaring many companies away. [Snip] It's not just CTE. CTE isn't going to be the expensive part," said one insurance...

At least this won’t get a Lie of the Year award, although the rest of Kamala Harris’ argument might not be as immune. The Democratic contender held a townhall forum on CNN last night, where moderator Jake Tapper asked about Harris’ support and sponsorship for a Medicare for All bill. Some people like their private insurance plan, Tapper noted. What about them?We’re going to “eliminate all of that,” Harris promised: TAPPER: Just to follow up on that, correct me if I’m wrong. To reiterate: You support the Medicare for All bill, I think initially co-sponsored by Bernie Sanders, you’re...

Hundreds more jobs -- this time non-tech -- are coming to Austin. Auto insurance company Progressive announced Thursday that it plans to create 1,000 jobs in Austin as part of a national hiring push to add 10,000 workers in 2019. The new Austin positions will be in sales, customer service and claims at Progressive’s contact center, which is off East Ben White Boulevard. The center is the company’s main bilingual service facility, and some of the positions will be for workers who speak English and Spanish.

Settling allegations of discrimination filed by the Massachusetts attorney general’s office, Mutual of Omaha has agreed not to deny insurance to people who use medications to prevent H.I.V. infection. The insurer also has settled a lawsuit brought by an unidentified gay man in Massachusetts who was turned down for long-term-care insurance after acknowledging that he took an H.I.V.-prevention drug called Truvada. “Consumers looking to protect themselves from H.I.V. transmission should not be excluded from buying insurance,” Maura Healey, the attorney general of Massachusetts, said in a prepared statement. The company admitted no wrongdoing in the settlements and will make a...

Full header: "Ice isn’t melting in the Arctic and Antarctic, yet big insurance rate hikes on coastal properties loom for purported sea level rise." The theory is that melting ice at the earth’s polar regions will swamp us. And that is triggering moves to raise insurance premiums on coastal properties that are supposed to be flooded, in low-lying coastal places like Florida, as the Sun-Sentinel writes: In just two or three years, Congress may change the way it sets rates in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to reflect more realistic assessments of risk, including the...

Its fundamental principle is giving insurers negotiating power. Imagine if Aunt Sue's insurer had to buy exactly A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I and J. The price on each would be high and the total price via premiums would be impoverishing for Aunt Sue. Imagine instead if Aunt Sue's insurer only had to buy at least eight of the ten for Aunt Sue to get a federal tax credit. Each seller would realize that their yearly revenue from Aunt Sue might be zero. Deals would be offered and good deals made. Aunt Sue would probably wind up with all ten and at a much lower...

**SNIP** Over the weekend, the Congresswoman-elect said that the health insurance she will receive as a member of Congress will cost significantly less than the health insurance she paid for as a waitress. "In my on-boarding to Congress, I get to pick my insurance plan," the 29-year-old tweeted. "As a waitress, I had to pay more than TWICE what I'd pay as a member of Congress." Members of Congress and their staff choose a gold-level healthcare plan through the open marketplace. According to Snopes, Congress members pay approximately 28 percent of their annual healthcare premiums through pre-tax payroll deductions and...

Millions of sleep apnea patients rely on CPAP breathing machines to get a good night’s rest. Health insurers use a variety of tactics, including surveillance, to make patients bear the costs. Experts say it’s part of the insurance industry playbook. Last March, Tony Schmidt discovered something unsettling about the machine that helps him breathe at night. Without his knowledge, it was spying on him. From his bedside, the device was tracking when he was using it and sending the information not just to his doctor, but to the maker of the machine, to the medical supply company that provided it...

Each week, Insurance Business America shares top job opportunities from across America. For this week: Insurance Sales Intern, Country Financial Country Financial is looking for interns interested in “ongoing professional growth and learning.” The internship has the potential to last a full year, with a possible job offer at the end. Interns with the company will learn alongside Country Financial’s representatives on what it means to be an insurance agent. The insurer is looking for interns for its nine locations throughout America; follow the links to apply for the position in Hillsboro, OR, Carol Stream, IL, Columbia, MO, Corvallis, OR,...

I received letter from Xerox yesterday (10/09/2018) informing me they are canceling my retirement benefits (and not just me but many other retirees too) which are; Medical, Dental, Prescription Drugs, and my Life Insurance. I worked for Xerox 31 years with the goal in mind that I would have these benefits after I retired. I did, but now, when I need them the most they take them away from me. I was a Senior Engineering Technician in Corporate Research & Technology, in Webster, NY. Let this be a WARNING to people who are considering employment there.

Whenever one segment of an economy exhibits, year after year, inflation above the general rate, and when there is no constraint on supply, then either a cartel is in operation or there is a lack of price transparency—or both, as is the case with American medical care. So it is clear that there is something terribly wrong with how health care is financed in our country. And a consensus on how to fix the problem—how to provide Americans the best medicine money can buy for the least amount of money that will buy it—has proved elusive. But the history of...

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. plans to permanently close its Tampa operations center, cutting 59 jobs in the process. The insurer notified the state Department of Economic Opportunity on Sept. 27 of its plans. It will close the Tampa center and a portion of its Jacksonville operations center, according to the letter to the DEO. The Jacksonville closure will affect 100 jobs. The Tampa jobs affected include auto claims representatives, claim processors, claim service assistants and more.

Later on Tuesday, Fox News obtained the testimony that Ford’s ex-boyfriend gave to the Senate. His statement said that Ford had used her experience in psychology to coach her “life-long best friend,” a woman named Monica McLean, on how to take a polygraph exam. Here’s what you need to know about Monica McLean: 1. She Went to Holton Arms, the Same High School as Ford [...] McLean Worked for the Department of Justice for 24 Years, Leaving Just Before Trump Took Office McLean spent 24 years working for the Department of Justice. It’s not clear what, precisely, her job was....

John Hancock, one of the oldest and largest North American life insurers, will stop underwriting traditional life insurance and instead sell only interactive policies that track fitness and health data through wearable devices and smartphones, the company said on Wednesday. The move by the 156-year-old insurer, owned by Canada's Manulife Financial Corp, marks a major shift for the company, which unveiled its first interactive life insurance policy in 2015. It is now applying the model across all of its life coverage. Interactive life insurance, pioneered by John Hancock's partner the Vitality Group, is already well-established in South Africa and Britain...

RALEIGH — A Winston-Salem insurance company is planning an expansion that will bring 626 jobs to the city. National General Management Corp. will receive a $5.6 million job development grant from the state if it meets hiring goals, according to the N.C. Department of Commerce. That grant not only brings more than 600 jobs to Winston-Salem, but it also keeps the company’s operations there, as National General was contemplating moving all of its jobs out of the state. The company currently has 1,245 employees based in Forsyth County. The N.C. Economic Investment Committee approved the state grant at a special...

Link only due to copyright issues: https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/money/2018/09/05/humana-seeks-40-employees-call-center-jobs-green-bay-area/1201353002/

Florida Blue will have two job fairs at Doubletree Hilton Hotel's airport location next week to hire 50 temporary employees. These people will work at their Riverside location, and parking will be free. Recruiters will conduct interviews at job fairs next week and make hiring decisions within a couple days. Florida Blue says they will provide $15 an hour, paid training and bonuses and employees will be able to keep the license earned to use for other job opportunities. There is no sales experience necessary, just computer skills and a focus on the customer. Florida Blue says they will pay...