Chicago Murder Clearance Rate Worst In More Than 2 Decades

In this Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012 photo, a lone cross stands in a vacant lot on the corner of 79th and Loomis in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. Up to 80 percent of Chicago's murders and shootings are gang-related, according to police. By one estimate, the city has almost 70,000 gang members. A police audit last spring identified 59 gangs and 625 factions; most are on the South and West sides. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

In this March 9, 2011 photo, Pam Bosley stands inside the Chicago's St. Sabina Catholic Church and poses with a photograph of her son, Terrell, who was gunned down in 2006. Bosley now works with kids 14 to 21 at the church, teaching them life and leadership skills and ways to reduce violence. Sometimes, she says, it?s neglectful parents who are the problem; often it?s gangs who just don?t value life. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Candles burn in the alley near the spot where Federico Martinez was gunned down on December 28, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. Martinez was believed to be the 499th murder victim in Chicago when he was killed on Wednesday December 26. After news organizations began reporting about the city's 500th murder victim, the Chicago Police Department's News Affairs Office issued a statement stating Chicago's murder total remains at 499 because classification of one death investigation remains pending. They would not specify which death is pending. The total number of murders in the city has only once exceeded 500 victims since 2004. The murder rate is up about 11 percent from 2011, much of which is attributed to growing gang violence. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Graffiti is painted on a garage near the spot where Federico Martinez was gunned down two days ago on December 28, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. Martinez was believed to be the 499th murder victim of the year in Chicago when he was killed on December 26. After news organizations began reporting about the city's 500th murder victim, the Chicago Police Department's News Affairs Office issued a statement stating Chicago's murder total remains at 499 because classification of one death investigation remains pending. They would not specify which death is pending. The total number of murders in the city has only once exceeded 500 victims since 2004. The murder rate is up about 11 percent from 2011, much of which is attributed to growing gang violence. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

A police vehicle sits outside Noah Foods December 28, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. Nathaniel Jackson, believed to be the 500th murder victim of the year in Chicago, was shot in the head and killed outside the store on December 27. After news organizations began reporting about his murder, the Chicago Police Department's News Affairs Office issued a statement stating Chicago's murder total remains at 499 because classification of one death investigation remains pending. They would not specify which death is pending. The total number of murders in the city has only once exceeded 500 victims since 2004. The murder rate is up about 11 percent from 2011, much of which is attributed to growing gang violence. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Crime scene tape hangs on a light pole across from Noah Foods December 28, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. Nathaniel Jackson, believed to be the 500th murder victim of the year in Chicago, was shot in the head and killed outside the store on December 27. After news organizations began reporting about his murder, the Chicago Police Department's News Affairs Office issued a statement stating Chicago's murder total remains at 499 because classification of one death investigation remains pending. They would not specify which death is pending. The total number of murders in the city has only once exceeded 500 victims since 2004. The murder rate is up about 11 percent from 2011, much of which is attributed to growing gang violence. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

In this Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012 photo, a note of condolence is taped to the window of connivence store where in November 2012, a clerk was killed in an apparent robbery on Chicago's South Side. It?s been a turbulent, bloody year in Chicago. A spike in murders and shootings, much of it gang-related, sent shock waves across the nation and spurred new crime-fighting strategies. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

In this Monday, Dec. 3, 2012 photo, a man waits to cross 79th street as a school bus passes by in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, seen in the reflection of a window. It?s been a turbulent, bloody year in Chicago. A spike in murders and shootings, much of it gang-related, sent shock waves across the nation. Look closer and there are signs of distress and fear. Police cars watching kids board city buses at the end of the school day. Heavy security gates on barber shops and food marts. Thick partitions separating cash registers from customers. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

In this Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012 photo, Bobby McComb sits on the sofa with her 14 year-old daughter, Cerria, at their home in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood of Chicago's South Side. In the wrong place at the right time, Cerria and a friend were wounded when gunfire aimed at a reputed gang member struck them, with a bullet exploding in Cerria's right leg. "I'm angry," Mrs. McComb says. "I'm frustrated. I'm tired of them shooting our kids, killing our kids, thinking they can get away with it." (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

In this Monday, Dec. 17, 2012 photo, Rev. Mike Pfleger of the St. Sabina Catholic Church, speaks with a young man during a weekly basketball tournament at the church gym where rival gangs can play in a 12-week basketball league instead of walking the streets in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood of Chicago's South Side. Pfleger says the games help players build relationships, see beyond gang affiliation and stop shooting each other, at least for now. "I have people tell me I'm naive, I'm stupid, I should be ashamed of myself working with these gangs," he says. "I could care less. We've demonized them so much we forget they're human beings." (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

In this Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012 photo, a young man enters a convenience store where earlier in November a clerk was killed in an apparent robbery on Chicago's South Side. Chicago's murder rate is approaching 500, compared with 435 in 2011. More than 2,400 shootings occurred (as of Dec. 21), an 11 percent increase over last year at the same time. Gang-related arrests are about 7,000 higher than in 2011. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

A child watches a residents participating in a peace vigil walk past her home in the Washington Park neighborhood on November 30, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. About 75 children, teachers, and parents were joined by area residents and religious leaders as they marched in the streets to draw attention to the violence that plagues their Southside neighborhood. Through the end of October 436 people were murdered in Chicago, surpassing the 435 murders for all of 2011. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Dolores Walker (L) is comforted by her mother Josephine at the funeral service for her son Joseph Briggs at New Zion Grove Missionary Baptist Church on June 20, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. Briggs, who turned 16 in April, was shot in the head during a drive-by shooting while he was sitting on his front porch with his sister on June 9. Briggs was one of nine people killed and 46 wounded by gunfire in Chicago during that June weekend. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Rahm Emanuel, Garry McCarthy

Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy speaks during a news conference where he and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, rear, announced an initiative to prevent gang activity in and around vacant buildings on Monday, July 9, 2012 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)

Rahm Emanuel, Garry McCarthy

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, left, listens to Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy during a news conference where they announced an initiative to prevent gang activity in and around vacant buildings on Monday, July 9, 2012 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)

Chicago's Killing Fields

Chicago's murder rate has surged this year, yet no one is talking about it. How do we give a systemic problem a face?

Roosevelt Judkins watches as officials stand outside an abandoned house that they say is a haven for drug dealers and gang members, before it was demolished Thursday, July 12, 2012 in Chicago. Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that the city's building department will spend $4 million to make it impossible for gang members to use the buildings as a base of operations. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Drug paraphernalia is seen on the floor of an abandoned house that officials say was a haven for drug dealers and gang members, shortly before it was demolished Thursday, July 12, 2012 in Chicago. Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that the city's building department will spend $4 million to make it impossible for gang members to use the buildings as a base of operations. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Drug paraphernalia is seen on the floor of an abandoned house that officials say was a haven for drug dealers and gang members, shortly before it was demolished Thursday, July 12, 2012 in Chicago. Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that the city's building department will spend $4 million to make it impossible for gang members to use the buildings as a base of operations. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 20: Family and friends watch as the remains of Joseph Briggs are lowered into a grave at Oak Woods Cemetery on June 20, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. Briggs, who turned 16 in April, was shot in the head during a drive-by shooting while he was sitting on his front porch with his sister on June 9. Briggs was one of nine people killed and 46 wounded by gunfire in Chicago during that June weekend. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 20: Family and friends say goodbye to Joseph Briggs during a funeral service at New Zion Grove Missionary Baptist Church on June 20, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. Briggs, who turned 16 in April, was shot in the head during a drive-by shooting while he was sitting on his front porch with his sister on June 9. Briggs was one of nine people killed and 46 wounded by gunfire in Chicago during that June weekend. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 20: Pallbearers carry the remains of Joseph Briggs from New Zion Grove Missionary Baptist Church following a funeral service on June 20, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. Briggs, who turned 16 in April, was shot in the head during a drive-by shooting while he was sitting on his front porch with his sister on June 9. Briggs was one of nine people killed and 46 wounded by gunfire in Chicago during that June weekend. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 11: Signatures cover a memorial to Joseph Briggs which has been constructed outside his home June 11, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. Briggs, who recently turned 16, was shot and killed while sitting on the stoop of his home in Chicago's Marquette Park neighborhood on Saturday. Briggs was one of at least 8 people killed and at least 43 wounded in shootings in Chicago this past weekend. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

In a June 9, 2012 photo, the Chicago Police gang enforcement unit stops a car with four suspected gang members and arrests one of them on a warrant. In Chicago, homicides are up over last year. (AP Photo/Robert Ray)

In Chicago, homicides are up markedly over last year. In some of the West and South side streets its guns, gangs and drugs. On a Saturday night this summer, residents strolled by as a young man was being arrested. (AP Photo/Robert Ray)

In a June 5 2012 photo, police arrest a suspect in Chicago. The CPD narcotics division has been conducting undercover investigations in order to move in on suspected drug dealers in parts of Chicago's South and West sides. In the fight against Chicago's gang and drug problem Chicago Police patrol the streets 24/7. (AP Photo/Robert Ray)

In a June 5, 2012 photo, Devon Wright, 23, is arrested and charged with delivery of a controlled substance, in Chicago. The Chicago Police Department is waging a strategic battle against gang members and drug dealers. (AP Photo/Robert Ray)

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/04/chicago-murder-clearance-rate_n_2409947.html

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This Is Why the US Navy Is the Most Formidable Naval Force In the World

Here's a rare sight: five out of the ten Nimitz-class aircraft carriers—the largest warships ever built—docked together. They are resting at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, which coincidentally is the largest naval base in the world. Look at all that engineering and firepower. And it's only half of the Nimitz fleet! More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/N7OBwnxut3o/this-is-why-the-us-navy-is-the-most-formidable-naval-force-in-the-world

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Please support SB 24, Senate Amendment #1 | Ben Gordon Center

There is a bill in the Senate now that has the mental health supplemental in it ?and you may want to urge Illinois senators to support it.

See message to senators below- ?Please support SB 24, Senate Amendment #1, Page 85, starting at line 17, Sec. 130:

?The sum of $34,450,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the Health and Human Services Medicaid Trust Fund to the Department of Human Services forawards and grants to developmental disabilities and/or mental health programs?

?Why? -?Cuts to Critical Mental Health Services Were Beyond the Intent of the General Assembly

• ?Due to insufficient revenue in certain funds, the Division of Mental Health was forced to cut funding from critical community mental health crisis programs and psychiatric services.?
• ?These cuts were not the intent of the General Assembly or the Governor in the FY13 budget.
• ?This, at a time when the state?s mental health system is in shambles due to previous cuts over several years, and when providers are stretched so thin many have gone under, leaving thousands struggling with mental illness without the services they need to get well.
• ?Action is needed in the lame duck session on the supplemental appropriation to preserve these services this fiscal year.

?These Cuts Will Cost the State

• ?Given the state?s exposure to lawsuits due to the lack of a community mental health safety-net (which resulted in the Williams and Colbert consent decrees), the General Assembly must ensure that the funds they intended to appropriate are restored to provide critical crisis and psychiatric services to persons suffering from mental illness.?
• ?The state will be exposed to future litigation costs (by failure to comply with the Williams and Colbert consent decrees, and the failure to reinvest funds from the closure of the Tinley Park and Singer facilities in community services) if the community mental health infrastructure is not maintained to support persons with severe mental illness living independently in the community.

Thanks

How to find your State representative for the IL House or IL Senate:

????????????????????????????????????????

Districts in the NAMI DKK area for the IL General Assembly are:? 49, 50, 65, 70, 75, 83, 84, 97

You will find district maps to help you find your house representative at:
http://elections.il.gov/votinginformation/2011representativedistricts.aspx

Contact information for your House Representative can be found at:
http://www.ilga.gov/house/default.asp?sortby=DistrictNumber&sortbyformer=&sortbyGA=97

???????????????????????????????????????
IL State Senate Districts in the DKK area include: 25, 33, 35, 38, 42, 45

Maps to help you find your senator can be located at:
http://elections.il.gov/votinginformation/2011senatedistricts.aspx

Contact information for your state senator can be found at:
http://www.ilga.gov/senate/default.asp?sortby=DistrictNumber&sortbyformer=&sortbyGA=97
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

If I?ve missed anyone you can locate your district on the overview map of senate and house districts at:

http://www.elections.il.gov/gis.aspx

Source: http://www.bengordoncenter.org/2013/01/04/support-sb-24-senate-amendment-1/

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The Key to the Deal (TIME)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/274554779?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Health Net Terminates Agreements with Six Tenet Healthcare ...

Subscribe to Insurance Insider News
by Leila Morris
IN CALIFORNIA
? Health Net Terminates Agreements with Six Tenet Healthcare Hospitals
? New Insurance Laws Aim to Protect Consumers
? San Diego DA Convicts Financial Planners
? Word & Brown Named a Top Workplace
? Blue Shield Seeks Individual Rate Hikes as High as 20%
NEW PRODUCTS
? Online Doctor Visits
? Health Apps
? Voluntary Disability Protection
MEETINGS
? Retirement Summit
? Access to LTC Summit Recordings
HEALTHCARE
? NAIC Cautions Against Added Medigap Cost Sharing
? Premiums Have Soared Since 2003
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
? 401(k) Investors Continued to Diversify
LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES
? Aviva Sells U.S. Annuity and Life Business
FINANCIAL PLANNING
? Advisors Are Key to Financial Planning Security
? Women Are Likely to Follow Financial Advice

IN CALIFORNIA

Health Net Terminates Agreements with Six Tenet Healthcare Hospitals

California Health Net terminated agreements with all six of Tenet Healthcare?s Southern California hospitals: Desert Regional Medical Center, Fountain Valley Hospital and Medical Center, John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital, Lakewood Regional Medical Center, Los Alamitos Medical Center, and Placentia Linda Hospital. Health Net and Tenet Healthcare were nearing the end of a three-year contract. ?The decision to proceed with the termination process was difficult. We had no choice, however, as Tenet Healthcare has refused our requests to negotiate a new contract that more accurately reflects statewide market conditions,? said Steve Sell, president of Health Net?s Western Region Health Plan.

Health Net says that Tenet?s reimbursement should be in line with the medical consumer price index, which averages more than 3%, and that reimbursement for state- and federally funded programs like Medi-Cal should be consistent with the funding for those programs. In recent discussions for a new contract, Health Net and Tenet have been unsuccessful in reaching agreement on reimbursement amounts.? ?Our goal is to help preserve affordable benefits for our customers, not pass along inflated health care costs,? said Sell.

New Insurance Laws Aim to Protect Consumers

The California Legislature has passed several bills that have been sponsored or publicly supported by the California Department of Insurance (CDI):

? AB 1846 (Gordon) establishes a regulatory licensing framework for consumer owned and operated plans (CO-OPs), which are designed to foster the creation of consumer-driven, nonprofit health insurance organizations.
? AB 1761 (Perez) prohibits people or entities from representing, constituting, or otherwise providing services on behalf of the California Health Benefit Exchange without having a valid agreement with the Exchange.
? AB 999 (Yamada) modifies the process for LTC rate development to protect consumers from excessive premium rate volatility. It is considered one of the strongest LTC consumer protection measures in the nation.
? AB 2138 (Blumenfield) provides increased funding for district attorneys to investigate and prosecute health and disability insurance fraud in collaboration with CDI enforcement personnel.
? SB 1216 (Lowenthal) and SB 1448 (Calderon) ensure that CDI has the regulatory authority to protect consumers in response to changes brought by the globalization of the insurance business and insurer use of reinsurance.
? SB 1216 provides a framework for when a California-based insurer cedes business to a non-U.S. based reinsurer. Commissioner Dave Jones notes that the recession brought to light the need for regulators to have more authority to evaluate the risks that a non-insurance entity poses on an insurer in a holding company system.
? SB 1448 updates California?s Insurance Holding Company System Regulatory Act so the financial status of an insurer in a holding company system can be assessed.
? AB 2303 (Assembly Committee on Insurance) gives the insurance commissioner the authority to take over an insurer that the U.S. Treasury Secretary determines is insolvent or in danger of becoming insolvent.
? SB 1170 (Leno) expands restrictions on misleading advertising tactics directed at seniors and senior veterans. It would enhance the notification requirements for an agent or broker to meet with a senior in their home to sell an insurance product.
? SB 1184 (Corbett) is designed to stop unscrupulous insurance agents and brokers who charge a fee to help senior veterans qualify for veterans? aid programs when these services are readily available for free for those who qualify. Insurance agents and brokers cannot be involved in obtaining senior veterans? benefits with the sole purpose of financial gain.
? AB 1747 (Feuer) requires a life insurer to send a pending lapse notice to the policyholder within 30 days of nonpayment. The policyholder must be able to name one or more people to receive a copy of the pending lapse notice or termination of a policy for nonpayment of premium. People can easily lose the critical protection of life insurance if just one premium is accidentally missed, even if they have been paying premiums on time for many years, notes Commisioner Dave Jones.

San Diego DA Convicts Financial Planners

Financial planner, Victor James Loh will serve six years and four months in state prison for defrauding 17 victims and the California State Franchise Tax Board of more than $4.25 million dollars. His wife, Jannett Bidwell will be sentenced June 26.

From 2008 through 2009, the couple convinced 17 victims to transfer their retirement funds to companies that Loh and Bidwell created. The couple described these companies as secure investments, but they were actually vehicles for the funds to be transferred out to other Loh and Bidwell controlled accounts. The couple spent the proceeds of their clients? retirement funds on expensive cars, horses, trips, and other personal expenses.

Victor Loh and his wife were financial planners and held insurance sales licenses. Before 2008, the couple worked as financial planners advising investors to self-direct retirement funds into annuities. The couple also purchased a company that later went into bankruptcy. While that company was in bankruptcy proceedings, they continued to solicit victims to invest their retirement funds in the couple?s ?secure investments.? Victor Loh pleaded guilty to four counts stipulating him to $4.25 million in restitution and a six-year, four-month state prison sentence.

Word & Brown Named a Top Workplace

The Orange County Register named The Word & Brown Companies as one of Orange County?s Top Work Places for 2012. Word & Brown was selected as one of 20 mid-sized firms recognized by the newspaper. It is based on a survey of employees measuring employer qualities, such as company leadership, compensation, training, workplace flexibility and diversity. The newspaper and its research partner, Workplace Dynamics, surveyed employees from nearly 150 companies across Orange County. Operating nationally, The Word & Brown Companies include the Word & Brown General Agency, CONEXIS, CHOICE Administrators Quotit, and HealthCompare. For more information, visit www.wordandbrowncompanies.com.

Blue Shield Seeks Individual Rate Hikes as High as 20%

Blue Shield of California is seeking premium increases of as much as 20% for some individual policyholders, the Los Angeles Times reports. Blue Shield is proposing an average rate increase of 12% for more than 300,000 individual policyholders, effective in March 2013. California officials are examining the rate hike proposal, but have no authority to reject the rate increase. The insurer said it expects to lose money in the individual market next year even with the proposed rate hikes. Medical costs for the individual market have increased by 10.6% while the amount that the insurer actually pays for people is increasing by 12.5%.

NEW PRODUCTS

Online Doctor Visits

Anthem Blue Cross members will soon be able to choose a doctor and address their health issues live via two-way video at livehealthonline.com. LiveHealth Online will launch in the first quarter of 2013 initially to small and large-group fully insured customers and self-funded national employers. Doctors will offer live consultations from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily. Members will be able to initiate online meetings via live audio/video and secure chat. Patients use online care typically to communicate with a doctor about colds, aches, sore throats, allergies, infections as well as wellness and nutrition advice. A complete record of each encounter is created, which can be forwarded to their primary care doctor with the patient?s permission. E-visits using e-mail and electronic patient health records had similar outcomes to in-person visits for treating sinus and urinary tract infections, according to a November 2012 study from the University of Pittsburgh published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Health Apps

Cigna is offering four healthy living mobile apps free to the first 20,000 people who download them
Fooducate is a nutrition tracking and planning tool, which was named as the best iPhone Health & Fitness app by Apple. It uses a barcode reader or browser feature to find nutritional information. It can also be used to create shopping lists and find healthier and more affordable alternative products.
? iPhone download
? Android download

Endomondo is a GPS-enabled workout tracker that turns your phone into a personal trainer.
? iPhone download
? Android download

Meditation Oasis?s Relax and Rest Guide Meditation offers music and nature sounds for meditation and focuses on breathing and full-body relaxation.
? iPhone download?
? Android download

The White Noise and Nature Sounds audio player helps promote better sleep. The app also allows for the addition of white noise as well as a favorite image.
? iPhone download
? Android download

Voluntary Disability Protection

Guardian Life is offering an enhanced supplemental income protection program with benefits for business owners and their employees. It?s supported by a fully customizable online educational and enrollment system, ?Income ProVider.? Because it?s offered as a voluntary benefit, employees can take advantage of discounted group rates with very few, if any, medical underwriting restrictions. Unlike typical group long-term disability plans, employees who depend on performance incentives or bonuses for much of their income can have variable compensation protected. A portability feature gives employees a one-time opportunity to increase their coverage up to the plan?s maximum GSI offer, even if they are switching employers. There are three? distinct plan options. For more information, visit www.guardianlife.com.

MEETINGS

Retirement Summit

The Retirement Income Summit will be held May 13 to14 in Chicago? The keynote speaker will be Ken Dychtwald, PhD, founder of AgeWave. For more information, visit www.investmentnews.com/summit.

Access to LTC Summit Recordings

The American Assn. for Long Term Care Insurance is offering recordings of 32 workshops and keynote presentations from the 2012 National Long Term Care Insurance Sales Summit. Downloads of complete sessions are available for a $20 charge from Fleetwood Recording. You can get a free five-minute preview of the presentations. To get a 33% discount, enter code SAVE33 during the online checkout process. The discount is valid through January 2013. For more information, visit www.aaltci.org/audios.

HEALTHCARE

NAIC Cautions Against Added Medigap Cost Sharing

In a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) says that it opposes further cost sharing in Medigap Plans. One in five people with Medicare has a Medigap plan to help cover cost sharing and other health care costs that are not covered by Medicare. Some policymakers have suggested limiting Medigap coverage by increasing out-of-pocket costs for beneficiaries.

But the NAIC says that increasing costs would not only harm beneficiaries, but may also lead to increased costs in the system. After extensive research, the NAIC concluded, ?We were unable to find evidence in peer-reviewed studies or managed care practices that would be the basis of nominal cost-sharing designed to encourage the use of appropriate physicians? services. Therefore, our recommendation is that no nominal cost-sharing be introduced to Plans C and F.?

Under the Affordable Care Act, the NAIC was directed to review and revise the standards for Medigap Plan C and Plan F benefits. A task force of state insurance regulators, insurers and trade associations, consumer advocates, and other Medicare experts spent almost two years reviewing literature on cost-sharing and patient behaviors.

Judith Stein, Executive Director of the Center for Medicare Advocacy said, ?When required to pay beyond their means, people skip needed medical care and treatment, leading to poor health outcomes, increased emergency room visits, and hospitalizations.? The NAIC says that its findings will be a significant consideration as policymakers grapple with how to bring down the nation?s deficit.

Premiums Have Soared Since 2003

From 2003 to 2011, premiums have risen 62% for employer-based family health insurance coverage, according to a study by the Commonwealth Fund. At the same time, deductibles more than doubled in large and small firms, which means that workers are paying more while getting less-protective benefits. If these trends continue, the average premium for family coverage will reach nearly $25,000 by 2020. The Affordable Care Act?s reforms should begin to moderate costs while improving coverage. But further efforts are needed with private insurance costs projected to increase faster than incomes over the next decade, according to the Commonwealth Fund. If annual premium growth slowed by 1%, by 2020 employers and families would save $2,029 annually for family coverage. For more information, visit www.thecommonwealthfund.com.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

401(k) Investors Continued to Diversify

In 2011, 401(k) savers sought diversified portfolios. Sixty-one percent of the assets of 401(k) participants were invested in equity securities while 34% were invested in fixed-income securities, according to a report by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and the Investment Company Institute (ICI).

Seventy-two percent of 401(k) plans offered target-date funds at the end of 2011 compared to 70% at the end of 2010 and 57% at the end of 2006. Target-date funds offer a mixed investment portfolio of equity and fixed-income securities. They allow a portfolio to become more focused on income over time to get diversification, noted Sarah Holden, senior director of retirement and investor research at ICI and coauthor of the study.

At the end of 2011, 13% of the assets in the EBRI/ICI 401(k) database were invested in target-date funds compared to 11% in 2010 and 5% in 2006. Thirty-nine percent of 401(k) participants held target-date funds at the end of 2011 compared to 36% in 2010 and 19% in 2006.

Fifty-one percent of the account balances of recently hired participants in their 20s were invested in balanced funds at the end of 2011, up from 44% in 2010 and 24% in 2006. At the end of 2011, 40% of the account balances of recently hired participants in their 20s was invested in target-date funds, compared to 35% in 2010 and 16% in 2006.

A growing number of employers are taking advantage of automatic enrollment, contribution acceleration, and qualified default investment alternatives, including target-date funds.

Twenty-one percent of 401(k) participants who were eligible for loans had loans outstanding against their 401(k) accounts, which is unchanged from the previous two years. Outstanding loans amounted to 14% of the remaining 401(k) account balance at the end of 2011.

The average account balance of the longest-tenured participants in their 50s or 60s was more than eight times larger than that of new hires. At the end of 2011, the average 401(k) participant account balance was $58,991 and the mid-point account balance was $16,649, with wide variation reflecting the many variables in retirement saving, including participant age, tenure, salary, contribution behavior, rollovers from other plans, asset allocation, withdrawals, loan activity, and employer contribution rates. For more information, visit www.ici.org/research/perspective

LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES

Aviva Sells U.S. Annuity and Life Business

Athene Holding Ltd., a Bermuda-based insurance holding company, will acquire Aviva plc?s U.S. annuity and life insurance operations. This includes Aviva Life and Annuity Company, based in Iowa and Aviva Life and Annuity Company of New York. Athene will acquire Aviva USA. The transaction is expected to close in 2013, subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals.

Athene will become the second largest issuer of fixed indexed annuities in the United States with the combination of Aviva USA and Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company (a Delaware-domiciled insurer focused on retail fixed and indexed annuity sales and reinsurance). U.S. operations will be headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa. Athene says that it is committed to retaining a substantial employee base in Des Moines. Athene recently received a $621 million capital infusion in anticipation of the transaction and expects to have over $3.5 billion of combined statutory capital within its insurance company subsidiaries following the transaction.? Athene, which is focused on becoming the leading U.S. fixed annuity company, is evaluating strategic options with respect to Aviva USA?s life insurance operations.

FINANCIAL PLANNING

Advisors Are Key to Financial Planning Security

Retirement preparedness is strongly linked to completing key activities like determining your income and expenses, calculating how long your assets will last, and identifying the things you want to do in retirement and how much they will cost, according to a LIMRA study. Those who work with advisors are twice as likely to accomplish at least some planning activities, particularly the more complex tasks, such as calculating future assets available in retirement and estimating how long those assets will last. Only 15% of all pre-retirees have a formal written retirement plan. Only half of pre-retiree households with higher incomes have such plans in place. Meanwhile, 62% of pre-retirees working with an advisor have written retirement plans. The majority of recent deferred annuity buyers say the two most important reasons they bought an annuity were to facilitate retirement planning and ensure that their assets last throughout their and their spouses? retirement. For more information, visit www.limra.com.

Women Are Likely to Follow Financial Advice

Nearly 90% of women take action after receiving financial advice, from saving more to rebalancing retirement portfolios, according to a survey from TIAA-CREF. ?It?s encouraging that women are willing to take action?but the fact that so many women say they don?t know where to look for advice and don?t know whom they can trust shows there?s more work to be done,? said Cathy McCabe, managing director for TIAA-CREF. Nearly half of women respondents assume that they can?t afford personalized and objective advice. According to one in three, they don?t have time to look for advice. As a result, many women turn to family members and friends for advice rather than visiting a financial advisor. TIAA-CREF created the Woman to Woman Financial Empowerment Series, which includes workshops developed by women, for women. Each workshop is interactive, allowing attendees to learn from the financial advisor and other women in the room. For more information, visit www.tiaa-cref.org/women.

Source: http://www.calbrokermag.com/insurance-insider-news/health-net-terminates-agreements-with-six-tenet-healthcare-hospital/

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ADP: Employers add 215,000 jobs in December

ADP, a private staffing and business services firm, showed that private employers added 215,000 jobs in December. The total employment level is 1.57 percent above the level seen in December 2011, according to ADP.

By SoldAtTheTop,?Guest blogger / January 3, 2013

This graph shows total private nonfarm payrolls according to private staffing and business firm ADP.

SoldAtTheTop

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Today, private staffing and business services firm?ADP?released the?latest installment of their National Employment Report?indicating that the situation for private employment in the U.S. improved in December as private employers added 215,000 jobs in the month bringing the total employment level 1.57% above the level seen in December 2011.?

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Writer, The PaperEconomy Blog

'SoldAtTheTop' is not a pessimist by nature but a true skeptic and realist who prefers solid and sustained evidence of fundamental economic recovery to 'Goldilocks,' 'Green Shoots,' 'Mustard Seeds,' and wholesale speculation.

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Perusing?the rest of the data in the ADP dataset?you can see the the economy is currently showing the most growth for small to mid-sized service providing jobs with goods-producing jobs remaining near trough levels.?

Look for Friday?s BLS Employment Situation Report to likely show somewhat similar trends.?

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here.To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on paper-money.blogspot.com.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/Wa1mDYb3vYY/ADP-Employers-add-215-000-jobs-in-December

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AT&T CEO On Investing During Recessions - Business Insider

Throughout the recession and fiscal cliff debate, CEOs and other business leaders have echoed the same thing over and over, that "uncertainty" about taxes, the economy, or regulation prevents them from investing or hiring.

All of that despite the fact that corporate balance sheets and cash reserves have been historically high. ??

In an extensive Q&A with Connie Guglielmo at Forbes, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson argues that uncertain times create the best opportunities to invest:?

"...I?ve learned an important lesson over time from two guys, Carlos Slim and Ed Whitacre. And that is when you see people pull back that?s usually a good time to go in. When you hit difficult times, people tend to pull back, entrench, and it creates a bit of a vacuum. And those have always been the times that we?ve invested the most, and it?s always been the times when the returns were the greatest."

We did it in 2008 and 2009. The whole world contracted and pulled in. We invested more in wireless than we?ve ever invested in the history of our company."

And it's not just that others are pulling back. Stephenson has acted on the idea that the combination of that reality with historically low interest rates make this an opportunity that we may never see again:

"..You sat there in December and said, ?We are in a unique moment in time from a historic standpoint. That is, interest rates are at levels that I believe in my lifetime we probably don?t see them again. It?s just a once in a lifetime opportunity. And so what do you do with the business from a shareholder standpoint ? do you rethink capital structure? If you?re going to make big investments, you ought to do it now while capital availability is at these prices."

His attempted purchase of T-Mobile didn't go through, but the company made very large investments in expanding its LTE and other capacity anyway. ?

Sitting back until everyone else jumps back in and potential acquisitions, new hires, and everything in between become more expensive doesn't seem like a winning strategy. The danger of over committing?is always present, but waiting carries its own penalty.?

Find the full interview at Forbes

NOW READ:?CEO Went On A Hiring Spree For Top Talent During The Recession?And It Paid Off

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/att-ceo-on-investing-during-recessions-2013-1

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