POPULAR INSURANCE

Note to WA agents and brokers

2010-07-01T15:51:00.000-07:00

In October, our office will launch a new search feature on our website. The new tool will help consumers look for an agent or broker in their area.

Here's the critical part: The results will provide consumers with your contact information, specifically your business address and phone number. And as things stand now, a lot of agents and brokers only use their residential addresses -- which we will NOT list in this new tool -- as their primary point of contact with us. They simply leave the business address field blank. But that means that the new search tool won't list them when a consumer searches for an agent or broker by city.

To learn more, see this page. To log in to your online account and update your licensing business address record to be sure that consumers can find you, just click here.

Questions? We're at 360-725-7144 or licinfo@oic.wa.gov.

Obesity rankings, by state...

2010-06-29T13:18:00.000-07:00

Just in time for lunch, a new report pegs Washington as the 28th fattest state in America, with more than 1/4 of the state's residents considered obese.

States with the worst rankings tended to be in the Southeast (Mississippi, where more than 1 out of every 3 people is obese, was the worst, followed by Alabama, Tennessee, West Virginia and Louisiana.) the report was done by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The data is pretty worrisome, with several indicators suggesting that America's weight problems are getting significantly worse.

Here's a WebMD story that summarizes the findings and includes the ranking of the states.

Statewide Poverty Action Network recognizes Kreidler for work opposing credit scoring

2010-06-28T16:24:00.000-07:00

Washington's Statewide Poverty Action Network has awarded Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler a "2010 Leadership Award" for his repeated efforts to ban the use of credit scoring by insurers.

At Kreidler's urging, state lawmakers in 2002 and then-Gov. Gary Locke approved some of the nation's strongest limits on the controversial practice. As a result, insurance companies in Washington cannot cancel or decide not to renew someone's coverage due solely to credit score. They also cannot use certain credit-related factors to deny coverage or set rates, such as the number of credit inquiries.

Nonetheless, most insurers today still use credit as a key factor in setting rates.

Kreidler maintains that the practice is inherently unfair and penalizes drivers, for example, due to factors that have nothing to do with how they drive. Earlier this year, he called for legislation flatly banning credit scoring by insurers. The bill, opposed by the insurance industry, did not pass.

"Nonetheless, profiling the fact that this practice inappropriately disadvantages people by income will continue to be a focus of this office," said Kreidler.

State & insurers launch new program to help Washington businesses below Howard Hanson Dam find flood coverage

2010-06-28T15:50:00.000-07:00

Washington state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler and more than two dozen insurance companies have launched a new program to help Green River Valley businesses struggling to find flood coverage.

The “Washington Flood Market Assistance Plan” will act as a matchmaker, pairing businesses needing coverage with insurers selling it. The Surplus Line Association of Washington has agreed to act as administrator of the plan.

Last year, concerns about potential flooding below the Howard Hanson Dam made it difficult for some area businesses to find adequate coverage. Kreidler worked with state lawmakers and Gov. Chris Gregoire to get the law changed to allow this program.

“The Green River Valley is a key part of the state’s economy,” Kreidler said in a news release. “Companies must be able to find adequate coverage, both for flood damage and for business interruptions due to flooding.”

To date, 26 companies have volunteered to take part in the program, at Kreidler’s request. Businesses seeking coverage must apply through an agent or broker. For more information on the program, including a list of frequently-asked-questions (or, at this point, at least what we imagine will be asked), please see our Washington Flood Market Assistance Plan page.

If the voluntary program isn’t effective, the legislation also gives the insurance commissioner the power to compel companies to form a “joint underwriting association.” The joint underwriting association would act as an insurer of last resort.

“It remains my goal to resolve this on a voluntary basis if possible,” said Kreidler.

He’s also urging anyone in the potential flood areas – including homeowners and renters -- to strongly consider purchasing coverage from the National Flood Insurance Program.

For businesses, however, federal flood coverage is limited to $500,000 per building and $500,000 for contents. Also, the program doesn’t provide business-interruption coverage.

Reuters: "U.S. scores dead last again in healthcare study"

2010-06-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

Reuters reports this morning that "Americans spend twice as much as residents of other developed countries on health care, but get lower quality, less efficiency and have the least equitable system, according to a report released on Wednesday."

The report, put out by the Commonwealth Fund, includes data on health care spending by nation:

In 2007, health spending was $7,290 per person in the United States, more than double that of any other country in the survey.

Australians spent $3,357, Canadians $3,895, Germans $3,588, the Netherlands $3,837 and Britons spent $2,992 per capita on health in 2007. New Zealand spent the least at $2,454.

Kreidler meets with President Obama and insurers

2010-06-22T12:46:00.000-07:00

Washington state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler on Tuesday attended a White House meeting between President Barack Obama, cabinet members and about a dozen insurance company CEOs.
“President Obama certainly made one thing clear: Regardless of what you may hear from some people, the federal health care reform law will not be repealed,” said Kreidler. (For a timeline of what takes effect when, please see our Health Care Reform web pages.)

Kreidler was one of six state insurance commissioners at the private meeting, which was followed by a presidential speech about progress in implementing the health reform law.
“The president delivered a clear message to health insurers not to use these reforms as a way to artificially hike their rates,” said Kreidler. “And to make sure that doesn’t happen, he’s offering grants to state insurance departments, which scrutinize rate increases.”

For more details, please click here.

Washington man charged with insurance fraud; claimed his $33k collection of neckties was stolen

2010-06-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

A Lynnwood, Wash. man has been charged with insurance fraud after claiming that car thieves had made off with his $33,000 collection of silk neckties.

Carlton H. Wopperer, 49, is scheduled to be arraigned on July 6, 2010 in Snohomish County Superior Court on two counts of insurance fraud.

Three times in 9 years, he claimed, thieves had stolen his collection of 212 silk neckties from his vehicle. But an investigation revealed that Wopperer had returned many of the ties within minutes of buying them.

“You can’t return a product, keep the receipt, and then claim that the product was stolen. That’s classic insurance fraud,” said Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler. “And insurance fraud drives up the cost of premiums for everyone else.”

For more details on the case, please click here.

To report staged accidents, faked injuries, double-billing of insurers or other insurance fraud in Washington state, call the insurance commissioner’s Special Investigations Unit at (360) 586-2566 or email them at contactSIU@oic.wa.gov.

To report suspicious health insurance offers, Medicare fraud, or problems with agents or brokers, see http://www.insurance.wa.gov/fraud/report-fraud.shtml.

New and improved: An insurance "consumer toolbox"

2010-06-21T09:52:00.000-07:00

We've recently improved our consumer page, which now has one-stop shopping for things like:
-Checking on an agent's license
-Seeing how financially healthy your health insurer is
-and comparing the number of complaints we get about each insurer.

Consumer Direct Warranty Services in the news again

2010-06-17T16:16:00.000-07:00

California's insurance commissioner, Steve Poizner, today ordered two California men and several corporations to stop operating unlicensed insurance companies and "using deceptive and illegal telemarketing."

The order names Robert Lewis Chapman, James C. Sletner, and several corporations they own and manage, including SafeData Management Services Inc., Warranty Administration Services, Inc., Consumer Direct Warranty Services, Inc., and Warranty Administration Solutions, Inc.

All of those are familiar names here in Washington state, where we in February ordered the same individuals and companies to stop transacting unauthorized insurance here.

The companies were originally also ordered to turn over a complete list of their Washington service-contract customers, and to notify those customers about the order. (Here's a link to our order.) Consumer Direct has asked for a hearing on the matter. UPDATE: This portion of the order has been stayed for now -- see this partial stay order.)

Under Washington state law, the order notes, anyone selling unauthorized insurance in the state remains “individually liable for the performance of the contract and for the full amount of any loss sustained by an insured under such contract.”

More than 15 percent of people are uninsured in U.S.

2010-06-16T13:56:00.000-07:00

According to a new survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 46.3 million people were uninsured in 2009 - up from 43.8 million in 2008. The number includes more than 6 million kids under 18.

(In case you're wondering: We've estimated that 13.5% of people in Washington state are uninsured).

Other key findings include:

•21 million people under 65 had public health plan coverage, translating to 21 percent of that population.

•14.4 million people over 65 and 37.7 million children had private insurance.

•62.9 million people under 65 had private insurance in 2009, down from 65.4 million in 2008.

•65.8 million over-65s had private health insurance, as did 55.7 million children.

•Nearly 30 percent of young adults aged 18 to 24 lacked health insurance.

•Hispanics were the most likely to lack health insurance — 30.7 percent had none.

And here's some state specific information from the survey:

Nationally, 17.5% of persons under age 65 years lacked health insurance coverage at the time of interview in 2009. However, approximately one in four persons under age 65 in Florida and Texas, and one in five persons under age 65 in California and Georgia, lacked coverage at the time of interview. By contrast, rates of noncoverage at the time of interview in Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin were lower than the national average.

Nationally, 8.2% children in 2009 lacked coverage at the time of interview, but rates were higher in Florida (13.1%), Indiana (14.0%), and Texas (16.9%).

Nationally, 37.7% of children had public health care coverage. Among the states examined for this report, public coverage for children ranged from 24.6% in New Jersey to 43.0% in Washington.

Nationally, 62.9% of persons under age 65 had private coverage. Among the states examined, private coverage rates for persons under age 65 ranged from 75.2% in Massachusetts to 52.2% in Texas. Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin had rates above the national average.

"Grandfathered" health plans -- what's it mean? what are the rules for them?

2010-06-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today put out this detailed fact sheet about "grandfathered" health plans, which wouldn't have to comply with some elements of federal health reform.

The document details what benefits ALL health plans (grandfathered or not) must offer, starting Sept. 23, 2010. Among these: No lifetime limits.

HHS has also come up with a new regulation to prevent health plans from using grandfathered status as a shield to avoid providing consumer protections. The fact sheet has more details on this.

What about dental insurance?

2010-06-10T17:16:00.000-07:00

A new report from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics reveals that 45 million people don't have dental coverage. The new health reforms require people to buy health insurance in 2014, but there are no such requirements for dental coverage.

According to Reuters:

Overall most non-elderly people who already have private health coverage also have a dental policy, but roughly 70 percent of those who have to buy their own health plan do not, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.

Under the health reforms passed in March, adults must buy health insurance or pay a fine starting in 2014. The law does not require them to buy other types of coverage like dental or vision, although some comprehensive health care plans include the additional coverage.

While health plans must cover at minimum services like emergency care and prescription drugs, they do not have to cover oral care for adults. Dental care for children is required.

One of the biggest barriers to getting coverage if your employer doesn't offer dental insurance, is finding an individual plan. We've just updated some information on our consumer pages to include a list of individual dental carriers that we know are currently selling plans - and of course, we've included a disclaimer that the list may not be comprehensive, it's just who we know about.

And here are the key findings of the CDC's report.

Another free online game, this one related to insurance and climate change

2010-06-08T09:16:00.000-07:00

Again, here's the disclaimer: Probably not a good idea to do this at work. But a few days after we mentioned one insurer's free online racing game, one of our Twitter followers pointed us to another insurance-related free game on the web.

Financial company Allianz and the World Wildlife Fund have apparently teamed up to create a strategy-based game in which you're a CEO struggling to reduce the company's carbon footprint. You make a series of choices -- offshore wind turbines? microinsurance? etc. -- and see how those choices pencil out.

HHS announces $51 million in grants to improve insurance rate reviews

2010-06-07T17:06:00.000-07:00

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today announced that it's making $51 million in grants available to states as part of a new $250 million program "to create and strengthen insurance rate review processes."

From HHS' press release:

“This is an important step in putting consumers back in control of their health care,” said (HHS) Secretary (Kathleen) Sebelius. “These new grants will help states protect consumers and small employers by holding insurers accountable for unreasonable insurance rate increases that have made coverage unaffordable for many American families."

Here in Washington state, the insurance commissioner's office has some rate review authority already, and it can make a significant difference. In Washington personal auto insurance from 2000 through 2008, for example, the rates we approved were a total of $217 million lower than what the insurers had originally requested. For homeowners' coverage, the savings over the same period was nearly $37 million.

Job opening: We're looking for an investigations manager in our Tumwater office

2010-06-07T15:03:00.000-07:00

The Washington state insurance commissioner's office is looking for an investigations manager to oversee the investigation staff in our legal affairs division. They investigate insurance companies, insurance agents and brokers, and (increasingly, it seems) unlicensed "insurers" offering products illegally.

The job includes day-to-day oversight of the unit, prioritizing resources and caseload and monitoring trends to pro-actively protect consumers. The requirements include at least 10 years experience as an investigator or equivalent, (although some of that time can be substituted with college-level coursework in a related field).

Pay is $80,000 to $85,000, depending on experience.

For many more details, including a job application, please see this job announcement. The application period closes June 21st.
Also, if you want to learn of any future openings as soon as we post them, you can sign up for our jobs RSS feed, which is located here.

Job opening: Financial examiner in our Seattle office

2010-06-04T13:34:00.000-07:00

We're looking for a financial examiner to join our company supervision team in Seattle. From the job description:

As an examiner-in-charge (EIC), this position plans and conducts the field and/or in-office financial examinations of insurance companies.

Among the job's primary duties:

Plans, conducts, and leads in-field/in-office financial examinations of insurance companies and prepares/coordinates formalized examination reports. Examines/analyzes annual financial statements, actuarial opinions, management decisions and analyses, audited financial statements, holding company statements and other sources of information to discern financial conditions, difficulties, trends, statutory compliance, accuracy and completeness. Reviews and assesses the work and findings of other examiners, staff and experts.

Required qualifications include a CPA license, designation as an accredited financial examiner or certified financial examiner. See the link below for more details.

The pay range is $4,770 to $6,257 a month. Deadline for applying is June 30.

For more details, including a job application, please see our recruitment page.

Also, if you want to learn of any future openings as soon as we post them, you can sign up for our jobs RSS feed, which is located here.

$83.9 million for health information technology: state-by-state list of recipients

2010-06-03T10:16:00.000-07:00

In health care reform, there's nearly universal agreement that a long-term fix means finding ways to bring down the fast-rising surge in costs. (We're involved with some of those efforts; here's a good overview of some of the proposals and challenges.) One of the key strategies is to harness the efficiencies of technology. Why? See photo above.

On the federal front, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services -- the primary agency implementing the nuts and bolts of health care reform -- today announced nearly $83.9 million in grants to help networks of health centers shift to electronic health records. Combined the networks provide care for nearly 19 million patients.

Here's HHS' announcement, which includes a state-by-state list of grant recipients.

Insurer launches free online racing game to promote responsible driving

2010-06-01T12:01:00.000-07:00

Don't try this at work, but car insurer Liberty Mutual has released a free online racing game that seeks to encourage safe driving. It has a single-player mode, or up to six players can compete against each other online. From the company's press release:

“In designing the 2099 game, we posed the question: what would responsible driving look and feel like in the future?” said Greg Gordon, senior vice president of Consumer Marketing at Liberty Mutual. “Certainly, we envision our cars being more high-tech. On the other hand, there is one element of driving that will never change – an area we wanted to spark awareness around – the importance of staying safe behind the wheel.”

The company says the game "is designed for people who enjoy taking 15-30 minutes from their day to play free online games."

What's insurance got to do with it? The game rewards safer drivers by giving them more insurance, which can then be used to repair the car and keep going.

Insurance news and summaries

2010-06-01T11:42:00.000-07:00

The Washington post has a rundown on four of the top officials in the newly formed Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight.

Colorado's 9News has a story about a local man whose homeowner's coverage was dropped after 42 years, after five claims in 13 years, three of them for less than $500. All involved wind and hail damage.

Insurance Journal says that the National Flood Insurance Program, which lapsed at midnight Monday night, will be suspended until June 7 or later.

Asurion is reportedly planning to offer coverage for iPhones at $13.99/month, with a deductible of $99-$199.

Neal T. Gooch has been sworn in as the new insurance commissioner for Utah.

The Seattle Times has a poll story suggesting that health reform critics would rather modify federal health reform, instead of repeal it.

The Vancouver (WA) Columbian has a story about health care reform in Washington state.

Finally, there's a bizarre story out of Guatemala -- no insurance angle yet, although we suspect there will be -- about a giant sinkhole that swallowed a building. It's worth the click just to see the aerial photo of the thing.

Will the unemployed be required to buy health insurance, too?

2010-05-31T06:47:00.000-07:00

The New York Times' "Prescriptions" blog describes some of the rules around this. (The short answer is that there are exemptions built into the legislation for people who cannot afford it.) From the blog:

In general, everyone is required to have insurance starting in 2014, even people who are unemployed. But you’ll be exempt from the requirement if your income is below the tax-filing threshold (in 2009, that amount was $9,350 for singles under age 65), or if buying even the lowest cost plan on the new health insurance exchanges, set to open that year, would exceed 8 percent of your income.

The post also includes details about potential options for Medicaid coverage or subsidies on the exchanges.

Medicare to start sending out $250 Rx rebates on June 10

2010-05-28T14:54:00.000-07:00

One of the first benefits to take effect under the new health reform law is for seniors with Medicare's prescription drug benefit (Part D). If you have Part D and fall into the drug coverage gap - otherwise known as the 'doughnut hole' - and you don't qualify for Medicare's Extra Help, you'll receive a one time check of $250 to help you with your Rx costs. The first checks are scheduled to be mailed on June 10 and will be mailed monthly after people enter the coverage gap.

There's no paperwork to fill out or form to send in - Medicare will automatically send you a check when you qualify. Seniors should beware of potential scammers. If someone contacts you and tells you to fill out paperwork or to give them your personal information before you'll get your check, call 1-800-MEDICARE and report the activity.

National flood insurance to lapse May 31st, for the fourth time in less than a year

2010-05-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

Insurance & Financial Advisor is reporting today that the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) will lapse after midnight May 31st. From the article:

This would be the fourth time in the last six months the program has been allowed to lapse, with Congress reauthorizing the program retroactively.

The federal program protects more than 5 million property owners nationwide.

Claims Journal has more on the attempted dealmaking to head off this latest lapse, as well as what it means (and doesn't) for property owners. The short form: If you don't have it -- this is particularly relevant to folks trying to get financing to buy a home in a mandatory-flood-coverage area -- you won't be able to get the coverage until the program is renewed. But if you have the coverage, the insurance is still in effect. From Claims Journal:

NFIP has previously issued a memo with guidelines for operations during a hiatus. During its suspension, agents will not be able to issue any new or renewal flood insurance policies or increase limits on any existing policies. The hiatus will not affect claims paying.

Our little-known run-in with the late Mr. Linkletter..

2010-05-26T17:16:00.000-07:00

TV funnyman Art Linkletter has died at 97, which brings to mind our little-known regulatory run-in with the broadcast legend nearly 40 years ago.

In 1972, Linkletter was a pitchman for mail order health insurance. Even for the times, the policies were very limited, paying $15-$30 a day for a hospital visit, for example. And there were waiting periods.

Insurance commissioners in more than a dozen states, including ours, were unhappy with the use of celebrity endorsers for such coverage. Linkletter, for example, advertised coverage with National Home Assurance Co.

The state insurance commissioner at the time, Spokane attorney Karl Herrmann, ordered the ads halted in Washington, on the grounds that Linkletter wasn't an insurance agent. The company was allowed to resume the ads after changes, such as disclosing the fact that Linkletter was on the company's board of directors and spelling out the benefits by the day, rather than the month. The ads -- with Linkletter as spokesman -- resumed.

Where to find information -- and file claims -- re: the American Trade Association

2010-05-26T09:41:00.000-07:00

The officials in charge of the liquidation of the American Trade Association, Inc. and several affiliates have set up a website that includes claim forms for unpaid medical bills, http://www.americantradeliquidation.com/.

We are aware of dozens and perhaps hundreds of Washingtonians who purchased purported health insurance products from a Tennessee-based company known as the American Trade Association.

We and a number of other states ordered the company to stop selling these illegal products. (Here's our cease-and-desist order, issued in January.)

On May 10, a Tennessee court ordered the liquidation of ATA and several connected entities: American Trade Association LLC, Smart Data Solutions LLC and Serve America Assurance. From the website:

"All policies of insurance or other benefits not previously expired, terminated or replaced by you with other insurance will end at 11:59 P.M. Central Time on May 31, 2010," it says. You can call the liquidator at 1-800-591-6764 for an update and to obtain a "creditable coverage letter," which can be a very important step in finding other coverage that's affordable, particularly if you have pre-existing medical conditions.

There are several key points in the website and recording:

Leslie A. Newman, the Tennessee Commissioner of Commerce and Insurance, is developing a liquidation plan for court approval.
No claims will be paid until the court approves a payment plan, which Tennessee officials say could take a year.
The deadline for filing claims is Aug. 31 at 4:30 p.m. Central Time. And the claims must be received -- not postmarked -- by that date. Here's a copy of the claim form, including the address to send it to.
Although some ATA customers have been getting letters telling them that they're being switched to other coverage, neither Newman nor the court have approved any such transfer of coverage.

$19 million verdict in case involving Bellevue, Wash. insurer

2010-05-25T12:57:00.000-07:00

A federal jury in Seattle has issued a $19.3 million verdict against three people and a company for wrongfully siphoning off millions of dollars owed to a Bellevue insurance company.

“You cannot do this in Washington state and get away with it,” said Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler. “This was the worst sort of predatory behavior by people who clearly had no qualms about misrepresenting the facts to get what they wanted.”

Jurors on Friday rendered a verdict against Danny Pixler, Anthony and Sheri Huff, and Midwest Merger Management LLC. for a combined $19.3 million to Cascade National Insurance Company. A written ruling from the court is expected soon on remaining claims.

Pixler is in federal prison serving a 5-year sentence for conspiracy to commit wire fraud; the Huffs and Midwest are both based in Kentucky.

Kreidler assumed control of Cascade National in 2004 when the company was placed in receivership by Thurston County Superior Court after failing to meet financial requirements under state law. State officials decided that the company’s deteriorating financial condition meant that it couldn’t be saved or sold. In 2005, at Kreidler’s request, a judge declared Cascade National insolvent and ordered it liquidated.

Kreidler has been overseeing the company’s liquidation since then, ensuring that the company makes good on claims. He filed the lawsuit in 2006, charging that Pixler, the Huffs and their company had defrauded Cascade National.

Money recovered as a result of the lawsuit will be used to reimburse the insurance guaranty fund that has paid the company’s workers’ compensation claims.

Cascade National focused principally on auto and commercial trucking coverage in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, California, Mississippi and Louisiana. In 2004, it provided coverage for approximately 4,600 auto and commercial trucking policyholders.

Its demise followed within a year after it began providing workers’ compensation coverage to nearly 15,000 workers in California.

In 2003, due to its financial woes, Cascade National became a target for takeover and control by Pixler and the Huffs, who were longtime business associates. The defendants were seeking a workers’ compensation insurer licensed in California – which Cascade was – in order to provide coverage for the defendants’ business clients.

Among other manipulations, however, the defendants positioned themselves so that they would collect all the workers’ compensation premiums from their approximately 140 business clients, covering nearly 15,000 California workers. That both concealed the payments and put them out of reach of the workers’ compensation insurer, Cascade National.

Despite not getting those premiums or other payments due from the defendants, Cascade was and is obligated to pay all covered claims to injured workers.

(Note: Updated at 2:08 to fix link to lawsuit document.)

Famous Popular Insurance for life

2010-01-19T01:13:00.000-08:00

Popular Health Insurance

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Health is wealth, so it is important to safeguard this wealth. Health insurance provides a lot of medical benefits and cashless hospitalization that eases out the burden of the insured, in cases of unfortunate circumstances.

Health insurance is of many types. Some policies cover only the post hospitalization charges, whereas some cover pre and post hospitalization, surgical expenses and recovery charges as well. The only type of ailments not covered under the health insurance policy are the ones that were there before applying for the policy � cancer, AIDs, TB etc. However, some of the sophisticated policies that are in vogue today, cover these diseases as well.The health insurance market is open to the private players today, hence, with each passing day, there are more and more health insurance providers in the market today. They offer attractive quotes to the customer. These providers have tie up with a wide network of hospitals around the country. The health insurance providers provide cashless hospitalization charges, if the insured is admitted in any of those network hospitals. For these purposes, the insured has to show a card, which is provided to them by the companies.

We never know when disaster might strike. The least we can do is to prepare ourselves for the disaster than to be caught unawares during that time. Health Insurance is the best way to prepare oneself against these unforeseen disasters. Health Insurance premiums are cheaper when it is taken at a younger age than at a later age/ As the age increases, the premium rate goes up. The logic behind this, as ages goes up, the probability of ailment is much higher than when one is young. These reasonable rate of premiums give lifelong benefit to the insured. Health insurance policy can be taken individually or as a group, short or long term etc. It is important to read the health insurance policy before opting for premium payment, because, it is important to know what medical expenses are covered and what are not. This could be handy during hospitalization, because that will prepare the insured well and avoid him shelling out his own money during emergencies.

Car Insurance and Your Claims: They MUST Pay!

2009-08-02T04:01:00.000-07:00

To further complicate matters, even if a loss is covered, the policy most likely includes a deductible as well as coverage limits. Depending on the nature of the loss, multiple insurance companies may be involved. For example, if a storm strikes and you have both wind and flood damage, you may have to file a claim with your homeowners insurance for the wind damage and another with the national flood insurance program (if you have flood insurance) for the water damage.

Depending on where you live, your deductible may be higher under certain circumstances. For example, in Florida, your deductible for hurricane damage is much higher than if your home was burglarized. So, will your insurance company pay or won't they? Look at it this way, insurance companies DON'T want to pay. They are in business to generate profits and will need to be convinced BY YOU that the claim should be paid. The burden of proof lies on you, the homeowner. This means that you will need to prove your case and do it well. The better prepared and more organized you are, the better.

Start with documentation. You may need to take dozens of photos and provide your insurance agent with detailed estimates to counter against the insurance company's original settlement offer. You may need to demand to see how the agent depreciated your property and negotiate a more reasonable method. While your homeowner's insurance policy is a contract, the claims process does provide room for negotiations with auto insurance company (more information on best negotiation tactics in How to Contact with Auto Insurance Company? article).

Your best bet is to be prepared for a fight. Your tools in this battle include a detailed home inventory, digital photos and video documenting the damage, estimates from local contractors, and a willingness to demand a better offer. You don't have to do this alone. In fact, many contractors are willing to be present during the insurance adjuster's visit to help point out damage that the adjuster might have otherwise ignored. In addition, public insurance adjusters act as advocates for the homeowner and work on your behalf to negotiate a higher settlement offer.

Arm yourself with knowledge, documentation, and real-world estimates while also considering professional representation and you'll be better equipped to answer the question, "Will they pay for it?"

Q&A With Another Mendacious Hack

2009-07-30T19:55:00.000-07:00

Over at Townhall.com, conservative performance artist and unintentional satirist Dennis Prager has a column entitled 10 Questions for Supporters of 'ObamaCare', that reads like a primer for dishonest right wing talking points.

Mr. Prager's "10 questions" are actually more like fifty, since he makes multiple queries in each one, but since his article encompasses many of the most popular assaults on President Obama's efforts to reform health care coverage, I thought it would be worthwhile to address them. What follows, then, is my own primer for responding to many of the major falsehoods propagated by opponents of a public health insurance option:

Question 1:
President Barack Obama repeatedly tells us that one reason national health care is needed is that we can no longer afford to pay for Medicare and Medicaid. But if Medicare and Medicaid are fiscally insolvent and gradually bankrupting our society, why is a government takeover of medical care for the rest of society a good idea? What large-scale government program has not eventually spiraled out of control, let alone stayed within its projected budget? Why should anyone believe that nationalizing health care would create the first major government program to "pay for itself," let alone get smaller rather than larger over time? Why not simply see how the Democrats can reform Medicare and Medicaid before nationalizing much of the rest of health care?

Answer:
No one - with the exception of dishonest Republican hacks - is talking about nationalizing health care. The issue on the table is a public option for health care COVERAGE that would compete against private plans, not government control over the practice of medicine.

Question 2:
President Obama reiterated this past week that "no insurance company will be allowed to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing medical condition." This is an oft-repeated goal of the president's and the Democrats' health care plan. But if any individual can buy health insurance at any time, why would anyone buy health insurance while healthy? Why would I not simply wait until I got sick or injured to buy the insurance? If auto insurance were purchasable once one got into an accident, why would anyone purchase auto insurance before an accident? Will the Democrats next demand that life insurance companies sell life insurance to the terminally ill? The whole point of insurance is that the healthy buy it and thereby provide the funds to pay for the sick. Demanding that insurance companies provide insurance to everyone at any time spells the end of the concept of insurance. And if the answer is that the government will now make it illegal not to buy insurance, how will that be enforced? How will the government check on 300 million people?

Answer:
The legislation currently being crafted contains a mandate requiring all citizens to have health insurance. There will certainly be people who fail to comply with the mandate for coverage - just as there are people who fail to pay their taxes - but a well-crafted plan will account for some level of non-compliance. Increasing the pool of people paying into insurance in no way "spells the end of the concept of insurance"; just ask the citizens of pretty much every other developed nation on the planet.

Question 3:
Why do supporters of nationalized medicine so often substitute the word "care" for the word "insurance?" it is patently untrue that millions of Americans do not receive health care. Millions of Americans do not have health insurance but virtually every American (and non-American on American soil) receives health care.

Answer:
I don't know, but I bet it is not for the reason that Mr. Prager is conflating "coverage" and "care," which is clearly to create the impression that the current debate over health care reform could lead to government interference in the doctor-patient relationship rather than changing how we pay for treatment. In any case, this isn't germane to the debate at hand; again, no one is advocating nationalizing the practice of medicine.

Question 4:
No one denies that in order to come close to staying within its budget health care will be rationed. But what is the moral justification of having the state decide what medical care to ration?

Answer:
Simply put, there is no moral justification for the state rationing health care, just as there is no moral justification for rationing by private companies, which is what we have today. Neither governments nor corporations are required to justify their actions morally; just legally and ethically.

Question 5:
According to Dr. David Gratzer, health care specialist at the Manhattan Institute, "While 20 years ago pharmaceuticals were largely developed in Europe, European price controls made drug development an American enterprise. Fifteen of the 20 top-selling drugs worldwide this year were birthed in the United States." Given how many lives - in America and throughout the world – American pharmaceutical companies save, and given how expensive it is to develop any new drug, will the price controls on drugs envisaged in the Democrats' bill improve or impair Americans' health?

Answer:
First, in the modern era of direct-to-consumer marketing of drugs, it remains an open question as to whether sales of a given pharmaceutical correlate to efficacy. (It is also an open question - although much, much less of one - whether one should take at face value the word of a man who shamelessly shills for a conservative think tank, and who has been publicly humiliated for making misleading statements before Congress.) Second, just because pharmaceutical companies might set up shop somewhere besides the United States, that in no way means that Americans will be denied access to the drugs these relocated (or foreign) companies develop. As long as there is demand for treatment, someone will meet that demand. Finally, this is a question of pharmaceutical industry economics, and it has little to do with the need to reform health care coverage.

Question 6:
Do you really believe that private insurance could survive a "public option"? Or is this really a cover for the ideal of single-payer medical care? How could a private insurance company survive a "public option" given that private companies have to show a profit and government agencies do not have to – and given that a private enterprise must raise its own money to be solvent and a government option has access to others' money - i.e., taxes?

Answer:
Certainly. Private insurance continues to be available to those who want it in countries that have public insurance, and there will remain ample opportunity to provide the same kinds of coverage even with a public option in America. At the end of the day, however, the survival of the private health insurance industry is completely irrelevant to the issue of health care coverage, and is again a matter of economics within a given industry.

Question 7:
Why will hospitals, doctors, and pharmaceutical companies do nearly as superb a job as they now do if their reimbursement from the government will be severely cut? Haven't the laws of human behavior and common sense been repealed here in arguing that while doctors, hospitals and drug companies will make significantly less money they will continue to provide the same level of uniquely excellent care?

Answer:
The United States spends far more per capita on health care than any other industrialized nation. Yet for all of that expenditure, the U.S. is just 37th in the most recent World Health Organization (WHO) rankings of the world's health care systems, slightly ahead of Slovenia and Cuba, but behind such dynamos as Costa Rica, Dominica, Chile, Colombia, Morocco and Greece. Further, the United States ranks 47th in life expectancy at birth; 29th in infant mortality (down from 12th in 1960); and 14th out of 26 developed nations surveyed for deaths from heart disease. Americans also wait as long or longer for care as people in countries with national health insurance. It is unclear, therefore, how this performance is related to "uniquely excellent care," but it is likely that these standings are at least partially reflective of the effect tens of millions of Americans without insurance have on both cost and aggregate success.

Question 8:
Given how many needless procedures are ordered to avoid medical lawsuits and how much money doctors spend on medical malpractice insurance, shouldn't any meaningful "reform" of health care provide some remedy for frivolous malpractice lawsuits?

Answer:
Defensive medicine is not the sole reason for unneeded procedures; doctors and hospitals also order procedures for profit reasons, even in states with caps on medical malpractice awards. More important, however, is the fact that malpractice is only about 1 percent of health-care spending, even if defensive medicine is included. It is essentially a non-issue.

Question 9:
Given how weak the U.S. economy is, given how weak the U.S. dollar is, and given how much in debt the U.S. is in, why would anyone seek to have the U.S. spend another trillion dollars? Even if all the other questions here had legitimate answers, wouldn't the state of the U.S. economy alone argue against national health care at this time?

Answer:
Absolutely not. Not only are current inefficiencies in health insurance a serious drag on our economy that we would be well rid of, government spending to reform the system will act as significant economic stimulus. This is actually an excellent time for major changes, and viewed at a macroeconomic level from a long range perspective, health insurance reform is about cost shifting (private to public) and savings (elimination of overhead, reducing inefficiencies, broadening the pool of insured), not additional cost.

Question 10:
Contrary to the assertion of President Obama - "we spend much more on health care than any other nation but aren't any healthier for it" - we are healthier. We wait far less time for procedures and surgeries. Our life expectancy with virtually any major disease is longer. And if you do not count deaths from violent crime and automobile accidents, we also have the longest life expectancy. Do you think a government takeover of American medicine will enable this medical excellence to continue?

Answer:
Again, this question conflates health care and health care coverage, the first of which is not under discussion or debate. There is no plan in the bill for nationalizing health care (Anyone sensing a pattern here?), and the framing of this question - as illustrated amply by the statistics cited in the answer to Question 7 - is clearly and demonstrably untrue. We wait for care as long or longer than patients in countries with national insurance; no one excludes violent crime and automobile accidents from calculations of life expectancy; and while I was unable to find anything confirming or denying the assertion that "our life expectancy with virtually any major disease is longer," given the outright dishonesty in the other claims, I think we can charitably assume that it's a moot point, at best.

Far from being alien to our current debate on health care reform, the questions in Mr. Prager's column actually represent many of the arguments commonly used by those most loudly and stridently opposed to change. Understanding this, it is intensely illuminating to see the dishonesty and intellectual bankruptcy of these arguments, intended as they clearly are not to address the technical hurdles to productive reform, but instead to cloud the atmosphere with propaganda, fear-mongering and outright lies.

That being the case, it is clear that, for the right wing, this is a battle over ideology rather than an effort to solve a problem. Given that the stakes in solving the problem of health care reform are the lives and wellbeing of our fellow Americans, that is, frankly, despicable.

Be sure to check out this clip from Robert Greenwald, entitled 450,000 Doctors Can't Be Wrong:

Is The Economy On The Mend?

2009-07-28T03:02:00.000-07:00

Stephanie Flanders' latest blog post eloquently sets out the current state of the economy as well as future forecasts.

The UK's GDP has shrunk by 5.6% over the last 12 months - the worst decline since records began in 1955. The first estimate for the second quarter also shows a 0.8% drop, although there was a wide range of figures. This is also only a first estimate, it is subject to revision. The Office of National Statistics is not up to date on some sectors including the service and productions sectors.

The second set of figures for the second quarter is due out on the 28th August, but this could also be much later as it takes up to 2 years for the ONS to analyse all of the data and produce the GDP figure. Research by economists at Goldman Sachs has found that the ONS tends to err on the side of caution, that is underestimating GDP, as do other Eurozone countries. The Americans, however are more optimistic in that they tend to over estimate.

This all boils down to the fact that no recovery is in sight yet for the UK. It is possible it could start to turn around in the third quarter, but it is unlikely.

Red Roof, Gloucester

2009-07-25T20:13:00.000-07:00

I am lucky enough to have made some lifelong friends in high school, and every July, as many of us as can make it - and we all really try to make it - gather at a place called Red Roof, in Gloucester, MA. It's an annual rite of fun, relaxation and alcohol-aided silliness, a highpoint of the summer, and something to which I look forward every year.

Anyway, the point of all this is that there will be no post today, as I am wholly unplugged, chilled out, and not thinking about global, national, local or personal problems. Even we angry bloggers have got to recharge now and then!

Regular posting will resume later this week.

Global Warming Could Spark War

2009-07-24T04:25:00.000-07:00

According to Mother Nature Network, global warming could be the catalyst to start war in at least 7 regions.

Regions which are already experiencing tense relations between factions could be pushed over the edge into war as sparse resources become even more rare due to global warming. Changing weather patterns are worsening conditions in those parts of the world - droughts and floods means that clean water supplies are drying up, more desertification is taking place and refugees possibly having to relocate.Relocating peoples may then be oppressed by military organisations or aggressive local populations.

The upshot of this unrest and social tension could very well be armed conflict. The 7 regions most at risk from this are thought to be Southern Africa, Bangladesh, Western China, Kashmir, Sahel Region (Africa), Central Asia, Lake Victoria (Africa)

The AMA's New Position on a Public Option

2009-07-20T21:20:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month, I wrote a post entitled The Health Care Oligopoly and the Real Weight of the AMA that discussed the lack of competition in our current, supposedly "market-driven" health insurance industry, as well as the shrinking constituency of the American Medical Association (AMA). In it, I quoted the AMA's stated position with regard to a public health insurance option as part of ongoing reform which was, at the time, as follows:

The AMA does not believe that creating a public health insurance option for non-disabled individuals under age 65 is the best way to expand health insurance coverage and lower costs. The introduction of a new public plan threatens to restrict patient choice by driving out private insurers, which currently provide coverage for nearly 70 percent of Americans.

Later that day, I received a comment from someone at the American Medical Association declaring that I had completely misstated the organization's position, despite the fact that, in describing that position, I had used the AMA's very own words:

Your post is simply wrong regarding the AMA’s position on health-system reform. The AMA is committed to health reform this year that provides all Americans with affordable, high-quality health coverage. Over the last few years we have invested more than $15 million in our Voice for the Uninsured campaign to call attention to the uninsured crisis and lay the groundwork for health reform that gets all Americans covered.

The term “public plan” has so many different meanings that it confuses more than informs the debate. As the nation’s largest physician organization, we have made it perfectly clear that we welcome and will thoughtfully consider all proposals consistent with the principles of pluralism, freedom of choice, freedom of practice, and universal access for patients.

Recently, the White House released a statement saying: "the AMA agrees with the President that enacting reform that drives down costs and expands choice and coverage is an urgent priority. We look forward to working with them as the process moves forward."

Confronted with what I'm reasonably certain was the work of a lazy summer intern in the AMA's public relations department, my low tolerance for this slipshod and deceitful feedback sort of, well... came out:

Wait, let me get this straight: Your contention is that, in directly quoting a statement from the American Medical Association, it was I who got it wrong? Are you seriously trying to make the case that I was incorrect in citing this statement from the AMA?:

"The AMA does not believe that creating a public health insurance option for non-disabled individuals under age 65 is the best way to expand health insurance coverage and lower costs. The introduction of a new public plan threatens to restrict patient choice by driving out private insurers, which currently provide coverage for nearly 70 percent of Americans."

Your comment is little more than one big strawman, rife with the tried and true technique of addressing something I never actually said. For example, you quoted a White House statement that reads:

"... the AMA agrees with the President that enacting reform that drives down costs and expands choice and coverage is an urgent priority. We look forward to working with them as the process moves forward."

This substanceless dreck clearly falls into the category of "Uh-huh. And?" and in no way addresses the contents of my post. Further, you may have "made it clear" that you will entertain all sorts of proposals, but per my quote above from YOUR ORGANIZATION, you have also made it clear you oppose a public option.

I work hard to maintain a civil tone and have intelligent and calm conversation on this site, but holy shit, your post is absolutely insulting in its craven, mealy-mouthed dishonesty. Whoever you are, feel free to engage with substance in a manner that actually speaks to what I wrote. Alternatively, if your sole intent is to cut and paste corporate PR statements into my comments section, go piss up a rope.

Anyway, as mildly entertaining as all that was, I am pleased to announce that, as of July 16th, the American Medical Association has endorsed the health reform bill that has been passed by the House of Representatives, and which includes a public option! For the record, this was NOT the case at the time of my post - the accuracy of which I maintain - but I think it is only fair to make mention of the AMA's new position, and I applaud the organization's decision.

Who knows? Perhaps they saw the comments below by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who just flat-out gets it:

Weekend Trip to Cornwall

2009-07-20T03:51:00.000-07:00

We had a trip down to Cornwall last weekend as it was the M-in-Law's birthday recently.

Now, its always a good thing to visit the folks, but she's not exactly up to date with technology. She doesn't own a computer and we don't have a netbook to take down with us which means that anything which involves the internet is out. She has bought a new bed recently which is much more comfortable than the old one, just a tad on the hard side, but at least it was possible to get some sleep.

For her birthday treat we took her to Gweek Seal Sanctuary. The car parking is a bit interesting as its on the side of a hill, some people may have a spot of bother getting in and out of their car, indeed some may have problems parking their car! The disabled bit is on the flat though. I would also advise that if you haven't got a season ticket to book online and see what discounts are available as for 2 adults and 1 OAP with a brochure, entrance cost us just over £40.

The sanctuary was quite cool though, its not huge, but there is enough to keep you amused for a few hours. As well as seals, there were sea lions, otters and, somewhat oddly, an enclosure with a couple of goats, sheep and ponies. There is a reasonable amount of ground to cover, and whilst wheelchairs would be able to get to most of it, some of the trails are unsuitable. It does mention this at the entrance also.

All in all a most enjoyable day out. The seals were fun to watch, but our favourites were the otters. They do a great job rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing seals back to the wild.

An Insider Lays Bare the Health Insurance Industry

2009-07-15T14:56:00.000-07:00

In The Health Care Oligopoly and the Real Weight of the AMA, I highlighted Congressional testimony by Wendell Potter, the former head of public relations for health insurance giant, Cigna. Mr. Potter's comments were devastating in their very direct exposure and condemnation of standard insurance industry practices, which he made clear were focused on making a profit at the expense of providing quality health care to people who need it.

On July 10th, he sat down for an in-depth interview with veteran journalist Bill Moyers, and expanded on the points he discussed on Capitol Hill. It's a lengthy - but utterly gripping - conversation. Mr. Potter left Cigna after seeing firsthand the number of people - some of whom had traveled for hours - who came to a rural health care exhibition in Virginia for treatment they couldn't otherwise afford.

Anything but a disgruntled employee, Mr. Potter was happy, well-paid and well-regarded at Cigna, where he worked for 15 years and rose through the ranks. But when he saw the insurance industry gear up to block efforts to reform America's dysfunctional health insurance system, his memories of the exhibition in Virginia would no longer let him remain neutral. In his interview with Mr. Moyers, he matter-of-factly delivers a searing indictment of the perverse incentives that run-rampant throughout the health insurance industry.

The entire conversation can be viewed at the PBS website, here, and the full transcript is here. It is a lengthy interview, and while I strongly recommend viewing or reading it in its entirety - it is both infuriating and enlightening - highlights and clips are below. Please be sure to check it out.

On the role of so-called "centrist Democrats" in defeating reform:

MOYERS: This is fascinating. You know, "Build awareness among centrist Democratic policy organizations--"

POTTER: Right.

MOYERS: "--including the Democratic Leadership Council."

POTTER: Absolutely.

MOYERS: Then it says, "Message to Democratic insiders. Embracing [filmmaker Michael] Moore is one-way ticket back to minority party status."

POTTER: Yeah.

MOYERS: Now, that's exactly what they did, didn't they? They--

POTTER: Absolutely.

MOYERS: --radicalized Moore, so that his message was discredited because the messenger was seen to be radical.

On Michael Moore's movie Sicko, which examines the inequities of the health insurance system in America:

MOYERS: Was it [Sicko] true? Did you think it contained a great truth?

POTTER: Absolutely did.

MOYERS: What was it?

POTTER: That we shouldn't fear government involvement in our health care system. That there is an appropriate role for government, and it's been proven in the countries that were in that movie.

On the ideological approach to health care taken by many conservative politicians:

MOYERS: I have a memo, from Frank Luntz. I have a memo written by Frank Luntz. He's the Republican strategist who we discovered, in the spring, has written the script for opponents of health care reform. "First," he says, "you have to pretend to support it. Then use phrases like, "government takeover," "delayed care is denied care," "consequences of rationing," "bureaucrats, not doctors prescribing medicine." That was a memo, by Frank Luntz, to the opponents of health care reform in this debate. Now watch this clip.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER: The forthcoming plan from Democratic leaders will make health care more expensive, limit treatments, ration care, and put bureaucrats in charge of medical decisions rather than patients and doctors.
SEN. MITCH McCONNELL: Americans need to realize that when someone says "government option," what could really occur is a government takeover that soon could lead to government bureaucrats denying and delaying care, and telling Americans what kind of care they can have.
SEN. JON KYL: Washington run healthcare would diminish access to quality care, leading to denials, shortages and long delays for treatment.
REP. JOE WILSON: How will a government run health plan not lead to the same rationing of care that we have seen in other countries?
REP. TOM PRICE: We don't want to put the government, we don't want to put bureaucrats between a doctor and a patient.

MOYERS: Why do politicians puppet messages like that?

POTTER: Well, they are ideologically aligned with the industry. They want to believe that the free market system can and should work in this country, like it does in other industries. So they don't understand from an insider's perspective like I have, what that actually means, and the consequences of that to Americans. They parrot those comments, without really realizing what the real situation is.

On the revolving door between Washington and special interests:

MOYERS: Why is the industry so powerful on both sides of the aisle?

POTTER: Well, money and relationships, ideology. The relationships-- an insurance company can hire and does hire many different lobbying firms. And they hire firms that are predominantly Republican and predominantly Democrat. And they do this because they know they need to reach influential members of Congress like Max Baucus. So there are people who used to work for Max Baucus who are in lobbying firms or on the staff of companies like Cigna or the association itself.

MOYERS: Yeah, I just read the other day, in The Washington Post, that Max Baucus's staff met with a group of lobbyists. Two of them had been Baucus's former chiefs of staff.

POTTER: Right.

On the threat to profits represented by a public health insurance option:

MOYERS: Why is public insurance, a public option, so fiercely opposed by the industry?

POTTER: The industry doesn't want to have any competitor. In fact, over the course of the last few years, has been shrinking the number of competitors through a lot of acquisitions and mergers. So first of all, they don't want any more competition period. They certainly don't want it from a government plan that might be operating more efficiently than they are, that they operate. The Medicare program that we have here is a government-run program that has administrative expenses that are like three percent or so.

MOYERS: Compared to the industry's--

POTTER: They spend about 20 cents of every premium dollar on overhead, which is administrative expense or profit. So they don't want to compete against a more efficient competitor.

On the pressure exerted on insurance firms by Wall Street to deny coverage in order to boost profits.

MOYERS: You told Congress that the industry has hijacked our health care system and turned it into a giant ATM for Wall Street. You said, "I saw how they confuse their customers and dump the sick, all so they can satisfy their Wall Street investors." How do they satisfy their Wall Street investors?

POTTER: Well, there's a measure of profitability that investors look to, and it's called a medical loss ratio. And it's unique to the health insurance industry. And by medical loss ratio, I mean that it's a measure that tells investors or anyone else how much of a premium dollar is used by the insurance company to actually pay medical claims. And that has been shrinking, over the years, since the industry's been dominated by, or become dominated by for-profit insurance companies. Back in the early '90s, or back during the time that the Clinton plan was being debated, 95 cents out of every dollar was sent, you know, on average was used by the insurance companies to pay claims. Last year, it was down to just slightly above 80 percent.

So, investors want that to keep shrinking. And if they see that an insurance company has not done what they think meets their expectations with the medical loss ratio, they'll punish them. Investors will start leaving in droves.

I've seen a company stock price fall 20 percent in a single day, when it did not meet Wall Street's expectations with this medical loss ratio. For example, if one company's medical loss ratio was 77.9 percent, for example, in one quarter, and the next quarter, it was 78.2 percent. It seems like a small movement. But investors will think that's ridiculous. And it's horrible.

MOYERS: That they're spending more money for medical claims.

POTTER: Yeah.

MOYERS: And less money on profits?

POTTER: Exactly. And they think that this company has not done a good job of managing medical expenses. It has not denied enough claims. It has not kicked enough people off the rolls. And that's what-- that is what happens, what these companies do, to make sure that they satisfy Wall Street's expectations with the medical loss ratio.

On the ludicrous talking point that today's health care system is free of bureaucracy:

MOYERS: You know, there's an irony, because you hear the companies and their trade groups talking about how we don't want a public option that would put a bureaucrat between a patient and his doctor. But you've just described a situation in which a CEO is actually between a doctor and the patient,

POTTER: It's true. And that same thing happened, in the Nataline Sarkisyan case. You had a corporate bureaucrat making a decision on coverage. So, they are trying to make you worry. And fear a government bureaucrat being between you and your doctor. What you have now is a corporate bureaucrat between you and your doctor.

MOYERS: Whose motive is profit. Understandably, naturally, profit.

POTTER: Right.

On what likely tactics from the health insurance industry as reform legislation makes its way through Congress:

MOYERS: In other words, if the industry is able to kill reform, or the Democrats and the Republicans can't agree on a proposal, that's what the industry really wants.

POTTER: Exactly. And it happened in '93 and '94. And just about every time there has been significant legislation before Congress, the industry has been able to kill it. Yeah, the status quo works for them. They don't like to have any regulation forced on them or laws forced on them. They don't want to have any competition from the federal government, or any additional regulation from the federal government. They say they will accept it. But the behavior is that they will not-- you know, they'll not do anything after say this plan fails.

Say nothing happens. They're saying now what they did in '93, '94. "We think pre-existing conditions is a bad thing," for example. Let's watch and see if they really take the initiative to do anything constructive. I bet you won't see it. They didn't then.

MOYERS: Well, on the basis of the past performance, and on the basis of your own experience in the industry, can we believe them when they say they will do these things voluntarily?

POTTER: I don't think you can. I think that they will implement things that make them more efficient. And that enhance shareholder value. And if what they do contributes to that, maybe so. But now, they do say, they are in favor of an individual mandate. They want us all to be insured.

MOYERS: For the government to require every one of us to have some policy.

POTTER: Exactly. And that sounds great. It is an important thing that everyone be enrolled in some kind of a benefit plan. They don't want a public plan. They want all the uninsured to have to be enrolled in a private insurance plan. They want - they see those 50 million people as potentially 50 million new customers. So they're in favor of that. They see this as a way to essentially lock them into the system, and ensure their profitability in the future. The strategy is as it was in 1993 and '94, to conduct this charm offensive on the surface.

But behind the scenes, to use front groups and third-party advocates and ideological allies. And those on Capitol Hill who are aligned with them, philosophically, to do the dirty work. To demean and scare people about a government-run plan, try to make people not even remember that Medicare, their Medicare program, is a government-run plan that has operated a lot more efficiently.

And also, the people who are enrolled in our Medicare plan like it better. The satisfaction ratings are higher in our Medicare program, a government-run program, than in private insurance. But they don't want you to remember that or to know that, and they want to scare you into thinking that through the anecdotes they tell you, that any government-run system, particularly those in Canada, and U.K., and France that the people are very unhappy.

And that these people will have to wait in long lines to get care, or wait a long time to get care. I'd like to take them down to Wise County. I'd like the president to come down to Wise County, and see some real lines of Americans, standing in line to get their care.

Altria - did tweaking of Skoal and Copenhagen pricing help regain market share..

2009-07-14T10:26:00.000-07:00

July 14, 2009 - This is the second in a three-part series analyzing the effect this spring's federal-excise-tax (FET) hike has had on tobacco retailing thus far.

Background: Altria Group Inc said on Tuesday, January 6, 2009 it completed its $10.4 billion acquisition of UST, Inc. greatly expanding Altria's presence in the faster-growing smokeless tobacco segment. Michael E. Szymanczyk - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Altria has indicated a little tweaking is necessary for the UST's premium brands - Copenhagen and Skoal to return these brands to some modest share growth. (Altria Group, Inc. Agrees to Acquire UST Inc. - Altria Group and UST Conference Call, Seeking Alpha, 9/10/2008.)

Altria's first attempt at tweaking the UST's premium brands was to lower the price of Skoal and Copenhagen by one-dollar. As of February 1, 2009 the price of Skoal and Copenhagen was reduced - the promotion was suppose to last until March 28, 2009. For further details on the arrangement C-store update - the battle for market share is on...

After this promotion ended Altria cut the wholesale prices of its premium products about 20 percent. Daniel Butler, president of U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company: "While we are very pleased with the success of our strategy to drive category growth in moist smokeless tobacco, we've been less than pleased with our ability to hold our share of the category."

Part 2 of 3-part series.. According to a recent analysis by Convenience Store / Petroleum (CSP) and UBS, New York, tobacco analyst Nik Modi. Despite a 62-cent drop in prices (cut the wholesale prices of its premium products about 20 percent) for Altria Group-owned U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co.'s Copenhagen and Skoal brands in March—timed to coincide with the April 1 across-the-board increase of the federal tobacco excise tax—premium-moist-smokeless can volume continues to slip.

According to Modi volumes of the two brands (Skoal, Copenhagen) now controlled by the Altria Group have continued to fall and lose share. Meanwhile, budget brands such as Grizzly are enjoying double-digit gains. It is clear that Altria's strategy has delivered mixed results. (Where's The Growth in Smokeless Tobacco Products...

Asked whether the price reduction of Copenhagen and Skoal have rendered a positive impact on volumes, 55% of retailer respondents said yes, while 45% answered in the negative. And within these two groups, a consensus emerged that the price reduction, while growing brand sales for some, has not grown the overall moist smokeless category.

Two other retailers offered contrasting experiences. "It has had a positive impact on Copenhagen and Skoal, and has slowed the growth of Grizzly product for right now," wrote one. Yet another operator said, "Not sure why, but these brands have slowed down in our area. Grizzly is the king in sales here."

Modi said he's not surprised by the mixed response. "Based on our field work, it seems that Copenhagen and Skoal continue to lose share at the expense of Grizzly and other low-priced brands," Modi said. "I expect the trend to improve over time, but consumers will have to get used to the new everyday low pricing vs. UST's old strategy of pushing two-pack deals."

Reference:
Altria Group's Big Promotion Tobacco-maker took a risk with its MST pricing strategy to mixed results by Mitch Morrison, CSP Daily News, 7/14/2009.

Turkey - poll indicates employers, their employees and customers support smoking ban in cafes, bars and restaurants..

2009-07-14T09:07:00.000-07:00

July 14, 2009 - The survey, conducted by the Association of Public Health Experts (HASUDER) revealed widespread support for the new ban. The study showed that 89.9 percent of all employers and employees of establishments that will be smoke-free areas under the law are in favor of the ban. Their customers also showed strong approval of the law, which will come into effect on Sunday, July 19, 2009. A full 85.9 percent of respondent customers said they support the application of the ban.

With the amendment made to Law 4207 on Prevention of Tobacco's and Tobacco Products' Harms, smoking will not be permitted in indoor sections of cafes, bars, restaurants and the like. The operators of such businesses will be responsible for monitoring their clients' compliance with the law and reporting any violation by telephoning the closest police station or by directly calling 184, the Ministry of Health's Communication Center (SABİM). Any violation on the part of operators and clients will be penalized by fines of TL 560 (362.76USD) to 5600 (3629.70USD) and TL 69 (44.73USD) respectively.

The recent survey also showed that there is not an information gap on the part of business owners about the new regulation. Fully 60.6 percent of all employers interviewed as part of the survey were reported to be active smokers. Turkey has a huge tobacco market, with immense domestic production, and almost 30 percent of its population are active smokers.

According to the survey, the support for the ban is high among smokers, too. Respectively, 86.5 percent and 76.2 percent of such employees and customers back the ban and think that there is just cause to ban people from smoking indoors for the sake of non-smokers, who extended even greater support for the ban.

Assessing HASUDER's findings, Professor Hilal Özcebe drew attention to strong popular support for the ban and said a non-smoker who is in a room where people smoke is affected as much as if he smoked a pack of 20 cigarettes. In that regard, she underlined that being with smokers in closed-door areas is equally as harmful as smoking.

Meanwhile, a previous ban went into effect on May 19 prohibiting smoking in shopping malls and was found to have no effect on the number of visitors to such places, according to another study carried out in a large shopping mall in Ankara.

Reference: Employers, employees, all support smoking ban, poll shows, Today's Zaman, 7/13/2009.

Related news briefs: Turkey - July 19th total smoking ban, will employees lose jobs..; Turkey - on July 19, 2009 will mark the beginning of “100 percent smoke-free air” in this country..; Turkey - national smoking ban starts July 19, 2009..; Turkey - quit smoking photo displayed in İstanbul's Taksim Square..; Turkey - data on tobacco usage - Turkish Statistics Institution..; Turkey - smoking ban in all bars, restaurants and coffeehouses starting July 19, 2009..; Smoking ban in Turkey lowers cigarette consumption..; Turkey's ban on pubic smoking goes into effect on Monday, May 19, 2008..; British American Tobacco (BAT) reported group volume sales up for first quarter 2008..; More on the quick fix for outdoor smokers..; BAT to Acquire Most of Denmark's ST..; More on Philip Morris International of the Future..; WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008...

Old Military Cigarette Ads - SouthFlorida.Sun-Sentinel.com

2009-07-13T18:04:00.000-07:00

July 13, 2009 - Old Military Cigarette Ads..

Related news briefs: U.S soldiers. - video game-based educational program to battle rising tobacco use..; U.S. Military - phased in ban on smoking..; U.S. Department of Defense is endorsing the observance of World No Tobacco Day...

U.S soldiers. - video game-based educational program to battle rising tobacco use..

2009-07-13T17:38:00.000-07:00

July 13, 2009 - It seems the rate of tobacco use amongst soldiers in the US Army is rising, and therefore, it has been suggested that a researcher from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center create a video game to battle this unfortunate increase. They have a budget of $3.7 million to create the game and Alexander Prokhorov, MD, PhD, and professor in M.D. Anderson's behavioral science department, is already working on it.

Alexander Prokhorov, MD, PhD: ,"The tobacco use rates in the Army are alarming – 38 percent of service members smoke cigarettes and 15 percent use smokeless tobacco. Wars boosted the use of tobacco. Research shows tobacco use in the military increased during World War II...Tobacco is typically regarded by young people as a dull subject. The video game-based education program is anything but boring. It provides a highly interactive, engaging and exciting experience."

It's an intriguing idea and of course, the good doctor reminds us all that tobacco "may increase fatigue, dull the senses and cause shortness of breath." The game will be called Project Combat and 2,000 troops in Fort Hood, Texas will be the first to test it out. And believe it or not, this will be the second title based on this very concept; Prokhorov already made Escape with Your Life. As for Project Combat, it will "feature animation, audio, video and interactive activities that provide facts about smoking and tobacco use, as well as a customized Avatar." Players will go through several scenarios that include resisting peer pressure and dealing with withdrawal symptoms.

Reference: Video game to batte risng tobacco use amongst US soldiers, Ben Dutka, PSXextreme.com7/11/2009.

Related news briefs: U.S. Military - phased in ban on smoking..; U.S. Department of Defense is endorsing the observance of World No Tobacco Day...

England - Campaign to modify July 2007 smoking ban fails..

2009-07-13T16:57:00.000-07:00

July 13, 2009 - Back on Tuesday, June 23rd celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson joined the 'Save Our Pubs and Clubs campaign' to overturn the smoking ban. The TV chef joined members of parliament (MPs) from the three main political parties in calling for the comprehensive ban to be relaxed to help establishments losing revenue, laying off staff or facing closure. (TV chef Antony Worrall Thompson joins campaign for limited pub smoking by Laura Harding, Press Association, The Independent, 6/23/2009)

But Martin Couchman, deputy chief executive of the British Hospitality Association (BHA), said that to reverse the ruling "would open up enormous difficulties". The BHA supported the ban, not least because employees affected by the smoke were taking their former employers to court. It may have impacted on businesses, but I don't see how amending the ban can practically work."

A spokesman for the British Beer & Pub Association added that the industry has moved on since the ban. "The industry has adapted to the challenge. Pubs have invested £100m on outside smoking areas and there is no going back now," he said.

Worrall Thompson admitted that restaurants should remain smoke-free, but that pubs not serving food should have the right to choose.

Reference: AWT's smoking campaign fails to catch fire, CatererSearch.com, 7/9/2009.

FDA approves OTC smoking cessation lozenges..

2009-07-13T16:23:00.000-07:00

July 13, 2009 - The Perrigo Company today announced that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market over-the-counter coated nicotine polacrilex lozenge USP, 2 mg and 4 mg in cherry and cinnamon flavors.

The new products will be marketed under store brand labels and are comparable to GlaxoSmithKline's Commit(R) lozenge, which is an aid to smoking cessation.

Perrigo's Chairman and CEO Joseph C. Papa stated, "These two approvals expand our exclusive position in the store brand nicotine lozenge category. The expanded range of smoking cessation products also includes coated mint and Fruit Chill(TM) flavored gum, uncoated gum and lozenges." The smoking cessation category is selling at an annual rate estimated at approximately $1 billion at all retail outlets. We expect to begin shipments in the near future.

Reference: Perrigo Receives FDA Approval to Market Cherry and Cinnamon Flavored Nicotine Lozenges, SOURCE Perrigo Company, prnewswire.com, 7/13/2009.

Malawi - how can this country survive without tobacco??

2009-07-13T14:33:00.000-07:00

July 13, 2009 - Landlocked Malawi, one of the poorest in the world, derives up to 70 percent of its foreign exchange earnings from tobacco and 80 percent of the country's labor force works in the tobacco industry. Tobacco accounts for 13 percent of the country's gross domestic product and makes up 23 percent of the tax base. Historically, the leaf has been regarded as an economic lifeline in a country without rich mineral endowments.

For 2009 tobacco earnings in Malawi, the world’s largest producer of the burley variety, have fallen 31 percent after 14 weeks of trading compared with a year earlier, according to Auction Holdings Ltd., a buyer. Earnings from tobacco fetched $161.2 million by June 23, 2009 compared with $233.9 million during the same period a year earlier, Auction said in a statement handed to reporters in Blantyre today.

During the period, farmers sold 99.5 million kilograms (219 million pounds) of tobacco at an average price of $2.08 per kilogram, compared with 98.7 million kilograms at an average price of $2.24 last year.

While the government has set a minimum price of $2.15 per kilogram, buyers are offering farmers less than that because the leaf is of a poorer quality than last year and as the global recession curbs demand.

This Sub-Saharan Africa country is a major tobacco exporter in the world, accounting for five percent of the world's total exports and two percent of world's total production. In terms of burley tobacco, Malawi produces about 20 percent of the world's total, according to the World Bank.

From Tobacco Journal International (JTL) - Malawi, one of the smallest countries in Africa as far as land surface goes, has largely expanded its production of filler-style Burley over recent years. The tobacco industry fears a flooding of the world market and the impact on leaf price.

Teen smoking up in Malawi by Kondwani Munthali, December 2008.

Related news brief: BAT using illegal tactics to get African youths to start smoking..; British American Tobacco (BAT) - 100 years in Africa...

References: Malawi’s Tobacco Earnings Down 31% After 14 Weeks of Trading Share, /storiesonmalawi.blogspot.com, 7/6/2009; Malawi’s Tobacco Earnings Down 31% After 14 Weeks of Trading by Frank Jomo, Bloomberg.com, 7/6/2009; Malawi tobacco output undershoots target, Reuters News, 7/12/2009.

Florida - non-Indian customers pay tax on tobacco at reservation shops..

2009-07-13T12:06:00.000-07:00

July 13, 2009 - Included in the new tobacco tax bill signed into law by Governor Crist state lawmakers created a system so native Indians won't have to pay the tax but non-Indians purchasing cigarettes at reservation shops must pay the tax .

Legal precedent seems to back up the state's system. A 1985 U.S. Supreme Court decision, based on a California dispute, held that states could collect cigarette taxes from sales on tribal lands, but only from non-Indian customers.

Smokers, beware: If you have relied on the Seminole and Miccosukee tribes' smoke shops as a tax-free haven for cigarettes, think again. The tribes have begun charging the state tax on cigarettes for the first time since Florida imposed it 66 years ago, coinciding with the $1-a-pack state tax hike that took effect July 1. The new tax is $1.34 a pack. Florida began taxing cigarettes in 1943, but no Indian tribe collected it until now.

Gary Bitner, spokesman for the Seminoles, said the tribe hoped to reach an agreement with the state on how to divvy up the tax revenues, a concept similar to the gambling compact now being negotiated with Gov. Charlie Crist. ''While that process is coming together, I think the tribe just in good faith has moved ahead to charge the tax,'' Bitner said.

Cigarette sales at Indian smoke shops are a big business. About 25 million packs of cigarettes a year are sold on tribal reservations in Florida, the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation says. State economists estimate tribal cigarette sales could produce an extra $20 million in revenue, based on 15 million packs being sold with the $1.34 tax.

Reference: Florida Indian tribes levying cigarette tax bY JOSH HAFENBRACK, Sun Sentinel, 7/13/2009.

Related news briefs: Florida's New Tobacco Law - non-Indian tribe members on Indian reservations may no longer dodge the tax..; Florida - besides tobacco tax increase Senate wants to restrict tax-free sales..

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Nicotine induced prediabetes, a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease..

2009-07-13T07:44:00.000-07:00

July 13, 2009 - Researchers at Charles Drew University have found that nicotine promotes prediabetes, also known as insulin resistance, in smokers, which is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

This study has been previously reported: Nicotine induces prediabetes, likely contributes to high prevalence of heart disease in smokers..

The study’s lead author, Theodore Friedman, chief of the endocrinology division at Charles Drew University, suggests previous theory that nicotine and cigarette smoking induce high levels of the stress hormone cortisol was correct. As cortisol excess is known to induce insulin resistance, it has been suggested that glucocorticoids, such as cortisol, are the missing [causative] link between cigarette smoking and insulin resistance”.

The study authors were also able to undo some harmful effects of nicotine in mice to some extent by treating them with the nicotine antagonist mecamylamine, a drug that blunts the action of nicotine.

Friedman said: “Our results suggest that reducing tissue glucocorticoid levels or decreasing insulin resistance may reduce the heart disease seen in smokers. We anticipate that in the future there will be drugs to specifically block the effect of nicotine on glucocorticoids and insulin resistance.”

Reference: Why smoking increases heart stroke risk, The Times of India, 7/12/2009.

Ghana - Tobacco Control Bill to parliament this month, July 2009..

2009-07-13T06:52:00.000-07:00

July 13, 2009 - Though Ghana was the 39th country to ratify the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2004, it is yet to pass a Bill on tobacco use.

Dr. Sipa Yankey, the Minister of Health, pledges that government will give the Bill greater attention. He says he will ensure that the Tobacco Control Bill is sent to parliament this month. Dr. Yankey press release by the Ghana Health Service (GHS): “The passage of the bill is long over due since Ghana ratified the FCTC as the 39th country some years ago.”

The Tobacco Control Bill was drafted by Ghana’s Food and Drugs Board (FDB) and the coalition of anti-smoking organisations. It was then handed over to the then Minister of Health in June 2005. However, the draft Bill has not moved beyond Cabinet. A Cabinet approval of any Bill is necessary before it can be sent to Parliament for scrutiny and debate. The Minister’s pledge has come four years after the Bill was sent to cabinet through the then Minister of Health.

Government has been severely criticised for its apparent lack of commitment and political will to the passage of the Tobacco Control Bill. But the Health Minister says nothing will stop them from passing the bill since it is in the public interest.
Dr. Yankey: “I will shepherd it [the Bill] in and out of parliament to make sure it [the Bill] is passed,” he said in an interview with Joy FM.

In line with the FCTC, the Minister explains that the Bill will serve as a legal framework for the enforcement of tobacco related activities. “Advertising tobacco products will not be in place when the Bill is passed into Law,” he says, “It will also ban smoking in public place.” Besides, Dr. Yankey also says, in accordance with the FCTC protocol, the bill will bar tobacco companies from sponsoring public events.

Dr. Yankey explains that since other countries, both developed and developing, have been able to put in place mechanisms to regulate tobacco use, Ghana should be able to do so. “Kenya, Tanzania, Gambia and Benin have succeeded in enacting laws banning smoking at public places,” the GHS press release states.

According to a publication in the Gye Nyame Concord newspaper, a survey conducted by the Health Research Unit (HRU) of the Ghana Health Service in 2007 found out that many Ghanaians are concerned about tobacco use. “Out of 300 respondents in Accra who were interviewed, 200 expressed concern and gave reasons such as its health hazards, effect on nation’s economy, its effect on non-smokers and the fact that smoking leads to the use of hard drugs,” the report says.

Contrary to a popular misconception that the Bill seeks to ban the sale and use of tobacco, Professor Agyeman-Badu Akosah says that is not he case. He is a former Director of the GHS and one of the advocates of the Bill. “We’re not saying you cannot smoke; we’re simply saying let’s ensure that you do not endanger non-smokers by smoking near them”, he is cite by the Gye Nyame Concord newspaper to have said.

Related news briefs: Ghana to ban smoking in public places in November 2008..; FCTC Member Ghana - NO Law Banning Sales of Tobacco to Minors.. and British American Tobacco (BAT) - 100 years in Africa..

Reference: Ghana’s Tobacco Bill to go to Parliament Soon by senyo ofori-parku, UPIU.com, 7/7/2009.

Click on image to enlarge, Coat-of-Arms Republic of Ghana..

US - Effect of April 1st FET increase on tobacco retailing..

2009-07-13T06:44:00.000-07:00

July 13, 2009 - This is the first story in a three-part series analyzing the effect this spring's federal-excise-tax (FET) hike has had on tobacco retailing thus far.

In an exclusive report by Convenience Store / Petroleum (CSP) Daily News and UBS Tobacco Analyst Nik Modi—the first significant survey to study the Federal Excise Tax's (FET) effect on the c-store channel—several critical findings are emerging: 90% of survey respondents say cigarette trends have performed in line or better than expected. There have been certain shifts: Premium and fourth-tier brands (Definitions vary, but basically a fourth-tier cigarette is a low-end, subgeneric brand whose greatest attraction is price) continue to hold their stakes, while the mid-tier segment has lost important market share; Retailers are scaling back inventory due to the higher costs; More than one-third of those retailers surveyed said they have reduced shelf space for cigarettes.

What we're seeing is that the traditional price-to-volume relationship has held up," Modi said. "Over the past few decades, the price-to-volume relationship has been about -0.3x for cigarettes. That means for every 10% increase in price, volumes fall by only 3%. Based on feedback from the industry and a look at recent scanner data, it seems that nothing has really changed."

Looking at who's gaining and hurting from the FET, Modi said the answers are clear: "Lorillard is by and far the clearest winner among the Big Three (via share gains).

"The segment really taking a hit is the middle tier, where Reynolds American has a big chunk of its cigarette portfolio" Modi continued. "With that being said, they are seeing some good growth on their Pall Mall brand due to a 'pulse promotion' that ran for much of the June quarter."

The survey included 10 questions examining how the convenience channel specifically is responding to the FET increase and what effect the tax has levied on the channel.

Responding were more than 50 chains, operating upwards of 20,000 convenience stores and representing a cross-section in size and demographic and featuring many of the industry's biggest outfits.

Remarkably, while volume appears to be down between 5% and 10%, retailers remain optimistic about the short- and long-term prospects of their No. 1 in-store category. Underscoring this spirit is the natural resilience of the c-store channel and also the run-up time that enabled retailers to eliminate slow-selling SKUs and recalibrate inventory to avoid the one-time floor tax.

Weeks before the FET increase of April 1, retailers told CSP Daily News of plans to scale back cartons, push promotions and drive discount brands, as well as othe r tobacco products (OTP).

Cigarettes are divided into four price categories or tiers. The most expensive, first-tier or premium, cigarettes are manufactured by defendant RJR (Camel and Winston cigarettes), as well as Philip Morris USA, Inc., Lorillard Tobacco Company, Liggett-Vector Brands, and Commonwealth Brands. Second-tier and third-tier cigarettes are also produced by the major manufacturers, but their prices are substantially lower than first-tier cigarettes. Fourth-tier brands are produced by smaller manufacturers (including Liggett and Commonwealth) and sell at prices somewhat lower than third-tier brands. (Smith Wholesale Co., et al. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT, April 21, 2006)

Reference: Exclusive Tobacco Analysis, Part 1: Three Months into SCHIP CSP-UBS convenience store survey unveils category's winners, losers by Mitch Morrison, CSP Daily News, 7/13/2009.

Some related news briefs: Tobacco Update CyberConference: more spending money for low income consumers/worry entry of big tobacco in OTP..; Fitch Ratings - U.S. cigarette sales volume declines..; U.S. - with increase in taxes will reduce smoking rates /prevent people from starting...

Summer Car Hire Codes

2009-07-13T02:07:00.000-07:00

As more people are 'staycationing' this year, camping holidays are seeing a revival in popularity.

If you are bucking the trend and going abroad this year, I have found a couple of promotional codes from Easycar. The codes run out at midnight tomorrow. so you'll need to be quick. To get 30% off the Excess Waiver (zero risk option), enter 'waiver' and to get €20 off car hire in Italy enter 'dolcevita'. The codes are valid for 7 day car hire rentals, for more details go the the Easycar website.

There is some unease about the availability of hire cars this summer. Car hire companies have cut stocks drastically to save money so more than ever, it is advisable to book well in advance to avoid disappointment.

Hiring a car is a great way to see the sights of a country at your own pace and its not as expensive as you might think.

West Saint (St.) Louis County - NO Smoking - firefighters or EMS personnel..

2009-07-12T10:42:00.000-07:00

July 12, 2009 - Fire officials in west St. Louis County want to make sure all that's smoking are the fires. In what's thought to be the most aggressive anti-smoking policy among fire departments in the state (of Missouri), firefighters and other employees of the West County EMS and Fire Protection District won't be allowed to smoke on the job or in uniform starting in January.

Also, all employees hired after January 1, 2010 must agree not to smoke or chew tobacco while on- or off-duty. "The spirit of the policy is not to get anybody in trouble," district spokeswoman Kim Bacon said. "Everybody knows it's in their best interest."

We felt we owed it to our taxpayers to be in the best shape we possibly could," said Rich Minda, West County fire captain and a vice president of the local firefighters' union. "We just don't feel that it's proper to be doing something so bad for yourself when you're viewed as a role model."

Reference: West County firefighters put out the (cigarette) smoke by Blythe Bernhard, Saint Louis POST-DISPATCH, 7/11/2009.

Smokeless tobacco products may not curb smokers’ cravings..

2009-07-12T07:48:00.000-07:00

July 12, 2009 - Some of the newer smokeless products may not be the kind of reduced-harm product that is the industry's latest hope, now that tobacco is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Winning FDA designation as a "potential reduced-exposure product" could be worth billions of dollars, and a key element of that could be whether an item keeps smokers from lighting up.

The tobacco and drug industries' hottest contenders -- snus, a traditional Swedish oral tobacco, as well as powdered tobacco tablets and nicotine lozenges -- don't ease smokers' cravings for nicotine as well as cigarettes do, according the federally funded study by Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) researchers Caroline O. Cobb, Michael F. Weaver and Thomas Eissenberg.

Their report in the medical journal Tobacco Control is the first published study of how the smokeless products -- into which the tobacco industry is investing billions of dollars -- deliver nicotine and ease symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. Because the products are so new in the U.S., the researchers have not had enough time to look at whether they helped people quit or caused cancer or other disease.

RESEARCH PAPER: Evaluating the Acute Effects of Oral, Non-combustible Potential Reduced Exposure Products Marketed to Smokers, Caroline O Cobb, Michael F Weaver and Thomas Eissenberg, Tob Control. Published Online First: 2 April 2009. doi:10.1136/tc.2008.028993, ABSTRACT...

"If you switch to these thinking you're going to use them to replace cigarettes and they don't deliver you the nicotine you've been getting and the withdrawal still makes you feel bad, what are you going to do? You're going to go and grab a cigarette," Eissenberg said. And that means they will not be effective in reducing harm to smokers, he said.

Dr. Lars E. Rutqvist, the Vice President for Scientific Affairs at Swedish Match has also stated the drive in Snus sales in Sweden has been in response to the smoking ban rather than the perceived advantage to user’s health.

That snus delivers less nicotine is no surprise to Swedish Match, the Stockholm-based tobacco giant that bases its U.S. operations in Chesterfield County. Swedish Match supports federal regulation of tobacco, hoping that snus will be recognized as a reduced-harm product. "If you are a smoker, there is nothing that compares with a cigarette. . . . It has been designed to be the best nicotine delivery device," said Lars-Erik Rutqvist, vice president of scientific affairs. "Snus is not as good delivering nicotine, but it is good enough to have helped hundreds of thousands of people quit smoking," he said.

The VCU study found snus delivers less nicotine than cigarettes -- about one-third to one-seventh as much. Powdered tobacco tablets marketed by Petersburg-based Star Tobacco deliver about one-sixth the nicotine that a cigarette does, while one of the largest-selling nicotine lozenges delivers a bit less than one-fourth the nicotine.

The smokers studied reported sharp drops in their craving for another cigarette after smoking. Their craving after smoking was roughly half the intensity of what they felt after using snus, tablets or lozenges, as measured by the researchers' numerical scoring system. When researchers asked whether the various products were pleasant, the smokeless items' scores were roughly half those of cigarettes.

Rutqvist said Sweden's experience is that snus can help smokers quit. Only about 11 percent of Swedish men smoke, while 19 percent use snus, according to Swedish National Institute of Public Health statistics. That compares with smoking rates ranging between 25 to 30 percent in most of the European Union and the United States.
"Without snus, based on European prevalence numbers, we'd have another 1.5 million smokers," Rutqvist said, in a telephone interview from his Stockholm office.

Some American tobacco-control advocates say Sweden's experience isn't comparable because there is a long tradition of snus use in Sweden, dating back more than a century, as opposed to the limited introduction of snus here in the past few years. An entire generation of Swedes came to prefer snus during World War II, when cigarettes were hard to get, which affects the smoking-prevalence rates, they say.

Eissenberg and his colleagues have been studying the effects of what tobacco industry officials and tobacco-control experts alike call PREPs, for Potential Reduced Exposure Products, under a grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Such products will be a focus of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under its new authority enacted last month to regulate tobacco.

They are already a focus of industry attention -- in addition to Swedish Match's efforts to introduce Americans to snus, Philip Morris USA is test-marketing snus in Dallas, Indianapolis and Arizona. In January, Philip Morris's parent company, Altria Group, bought UST Inc., the nation's biggest snuff-producer, for $10.4 billion. Reynolds America Inc. is also marketing snus.

Altria spokesman Bill Phelps declined to comment on the study. "However, we believe that scientific study of potentially reduced-harm products is an important area of scientific inquiry," he said. "With the recently signed legislation giving the Food and Drug Administration regulatory authority over tobacco products, there is now a regulatory structure to evaluate potential reduced-harm products." "Altria believes innovation in developing reduced-harm products is crucial to the success of the new law," he added.

Comments of Dr. John Spangler, M.D., MPH is one of the world's leading experts in tobacco epidemiology. He founded the first physician-run tobacco-cessation clinic at Wake Forest University, School of Medicine. "Those who argue in favor of smokeless tobacco as a means to quit smoking -- an 'alternative' to cigarettes, if you will -- ignore the fact that there is not a shred of scientific evidence showing, in a randomized, controlled clinical trial setting, that smokeless is effective in helping patients quit smoking. This is the level of evidence that the FDA requires before a drug company can market a drug. We should insist on that level of evidence before we start pushing a product that is already known to be unsafe." (Some facts for smokers to consider before considering smokeless tobacco..)

Reference: Study: New products may not curb smokers’ cravings by David Ress, Richmond Times-Dispatch, 7/12/2009.

Philippines - 2003 ban on advertising and skirting the ban..

2009-07-12T04:43:00.000-07:00

July 12, 2009 - In May of 2009 we reported that despite the passage of the Tobacco Control Act in 2003, more Filipino youths are now smoking, “indicating that the law has not been effective.” (Philippines may be losing the war against smoking..)

A two part series has been published by Newsbreak and authored by Carmela Fonbuena that looks at effects of the tobacco ad ban and how cigarette companies skirt the advertising ban.

The Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003 stopped the elaborate marketing strategy of tobacco companies in the “paid media. As a result of the Act: no tobacco ads on TV, cable TV, and radio since January 1, 2007; no tobacco ads outdoors and in cinemas beginning July 1, 2007; no tobacco ads in all mass media beginning July 1, 2008;
no tobacco ads outdoors and in cinemas beginning July 1, 2007; no tobacco ads in all mass media beginning July 1, 2008; no tobacco sponsorship of all sports, concert, cultural, and art events beginning July 1, 2008

The impact of the advertising ban has not made considerable impact on the sales of cigarettes. Anti-tobacco advocates believed that if you cut the exposure of consumers to these tobacco ads would decline. According to records at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the country’s biggest tobacco player—Lucio Tan’s Fortune Tobacco Corporation—posted a decline in sales in the first year of tobacco ad ban. But a global youth tobacco survey showed that smoking prevalence among Filipino youth had jumped from 15 percent in 2003 to 21.6 percent in 2007.

Skirting the tobacco ban.. Prohibited from advertising their products in the so-called “paid media”—television, radio, and newspapers—tobacco companies have found ways to defeat the ban through subtle but potentially more effective promotional activities.

Their activities range from donating to community projects to influencing the content of movies or shows to being the subject of positive news reports. Some examples: For decades, tobacco companies have paid hefty sums to promote their products in the movies. Hollywood has played a big role in portraying cigarette smoking as glamorous. Tobacco companies have also maintained their presence in newspapers, particularly through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. Amongst among tobacco companies, Philip Morris (Philip Morris Philippines Manufacturing Inc.) appears to be the most generous. It is known for its donations to local government units, charities, and government agencies, most, if not all, of which are reported in newspapers. The most common and frequent violation of the ban is through outdoor advertising, like billboard or sari-sari store signboards. (Sari-sari store is the term used in the Philippines for a small convenience store, from the word sari-sari meaning “a variety.”) Concert sponsorships,e.g., Philip Morris tried in 2008 to sponsor the reunion concert of popular '90s band Eraserheads, but strong and sustained protests against the activity forced Phillip Morris to bow down and back out. It was a skillfully prepared activity. Philip Morris did not immediately reveal that they were organizing the concert for its Marlboro brand. While the sponsor remained a mystery, searches in the Internet led fans to a certain site—the web site of Marlboro. (Philip Morris won't postpone Philippines Eraserheads Concert..; STOP PMI Sponsoring Concert in Philippines..)

Lawyer Josefina Buenaseda of Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance Philippines (FCAP) said they have learned of various other instances when tobacco companies sponsored events such as fiestas. Sometimes, these activities entail illegal promotional activities, such as using parasols bearing the tobacco brand, putting up billboards, and distributing prohibited give-away merchandise.

EXTRA - Filipino smokers have a strong preference for menthol-flavored cigarettes more than half of the smokers prefer them.

References: 1st of 2-parts: Effects of tobacco ad ban not yet felt by Carmela Fonbuena, Newsbreak, Abs-Cbn News, 7/7/2009; Cigarette companies skirt advertising ban by Carmela Fonbuena, Newsbreak, Abs-Cbn News, 7/8/2009.

U.S. - Graphic labels for cigarette packs are three years away..

2009-07-11T05:51:00.000-07:00

July 11, 2009 - The new law requires stark, black and white labels covering half the pack with warnings such as “Cigarettes cause cancer” or “Smoking can kill you.“

The U.S. government's new tobacco regulations spell out the words, size and color of new cigarette warning labels -- but despite much publicity about tough new warnings, don't expect to see any for three years.

Some public-health advocates worry it's a sign that federal action to cut smoking will come only slowly and cautiously -- a concern they'd had ever since the nation's No. 1 cigarette-maker, Philip Morris USA, came out for regulation nearly a decade ago.

But it also calls for warnings with color images, giving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration two years to come up with guidelines for them. Cigarette-makers would then have 15 months to start putting new warning labels on packs. That means that it won't be until 15 months after the graphic-warning guidelines are published, in June 2011, that any new warnings will appear on packs, FDA spokeswoman Siobhan DeLancey said. Officials of both Philip Morris USA and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, which backed the legislation, confirmed that timeline.

Michael Siegel, a Boston University medical professor and tobacco-control advocate: "Evidence shows that while the warning labels may have a short-term impact, after a while people become used to them and don't pay attention anymore."

The warning labels specified in the bill -- covering half the front of a pack with warnings printed in letters roughly 3/8-inch high -- would be bigger than the text-only labels on British cigarettes, which cover about a third of the front of the packs. The new U.S. cigarette warnings, unlike the current warnings on the side of packs required since 1985, say cigarettes and smoking cause disease, not that they may do so.

The law also calls for eventually using graphic warnings, as Canada has for several years and as Australia started doing in 2006. Both countries use images of often luridly colored cancer-damaged tissue, while one Australian warning shows a baby on a respirator. The images are on both the front and back of the packs, so they are harder for smokers to hide.

A new study shows that Australian smokers noticed and read the new graphic warnings more than they had text-only labels and that the proportion who decided not to smoke at least one cigarette because of the warning roughly doubled. The study showed Americans notice the current warnings rarely, while Canadians notice theirs sometimes and Britons a bit more often than the Canadians. "There is no doubt that the bigger and more contrasting the warnings, the better for discouraging smoking and encouraging quitting," said the study's lead author, Ron Borland, of the Cancer Council in Melbourne, Australia.

RESEARCH PAPER: Impact of Graphic and Text Warnings on Cigarette Packs: Findings from Four Countries over Five Years; Ron Borland, Nick Wilson, Geoffrey T Fong, David Hammond, K Michael Cummings, Hua H Yong, Warwick Hosking, Gerard B Hastings, James Thrasher and Ann McNeill; Tob Control. Published Online First: 28 June 2009. doi:10.1136/tc.2008.028043; ABSTRACT...

The finding in an Australian study suggest that the introduction of graphic warning labels may help to reduce smoking among adolescents.

Danny McGoldrick, vice president for research at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a backer of the new legislation, said it is better to wait for graphic warnings like those used in Canada and Australia than to go ahead immediately with the text-only ones. "I think this shows how we want to go forward with evidence-based policy," he said. McGoldrick said language implementing the text-only warnings as an interim measure was left out as the House and the Senate worked to reconcile their versions of tobacco-control law after they were hurriedly adopted last month.

Alan Blum, director of the University of Alabama Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society: I can't recall a bill with so little give and take." "This was rammed down people's throats because of the deal they made with Philip Morris," he said. "In my opinion, there's this inside-the-Beltway mindset . . . saying, 'I don't care about the details, I'm going to get this bill through.'"

Altria Group, which owns Philip Morris USA, broke with the rest of the industry to support FDA regulation. Critics such as Blum believe the company's strategy is to use regulation to consolidate its hold on the market, but Altria said it believes regulation will encourage competition, including from tobacco products that are alternatives to cigarettes. For now, Philip Morris USA spokesman Bill Phelps said of the warning-label requirement: "It is too early to speculate on what these changes will entail from a manufacturing perspective."

Reference: Graphic labels for cigarette packs are three years away by David Ress, Richmond Times-Dispatch, 7/11/2009.

Counterfeit products continue to flood EU, U.S. markets..

2009-07-10T19:10:00.000-07:00

July 10, 2009 - European Union (EU) officials say 2008 saw 125% increase in fake (illegal, illicit, contraband, counterfeit) products. Despite the best efforts of government agencies, the flood of counterfeit products continues to swell in both the European Union and the U.S.

According to EU statistics released this week, the total number of counterfeit articles detained more than doubled to 178 million in 2008, a big jump from the 79 million the year before. China accounted for more than half (54%) of the counterfeit goods overall, but other countries appear to be carving out niche counterfeit markets for themselves. For example, Indonesia was the biggest source of counterfeit food and beverage products while India produced the most fake medicines and the United Arab Emirates produced most counterfeit cigarettes.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol also reported a 39% increase in the value of goods seized for intellectual property rights violations last year. Of the more than $272 million in counterfeit goods seized in the U.S., China accounted for 81%.

Reference: Counterfeit products continue to flood EU, U.S. markets, Dave Hannon -- Purchasing.com, 7/10/2009.

PMI to buy Columbia cigarette maker - Protabaco..

2009-07-10T19:02:00.000-07:00

July 10, 2009 - Philip Morris International Inc.,(PMI) seller of Marlboro cigarettes overseas, said Friday, July 10th it would pay $452 million to buy privately owned Protabaco, a Colombian cigarette maker expanding its presence in the South American continent. (Protabaco manufactures and sells cigarettes, cigarillos and cigars either in our own brands or private label.)

Protabaco is the second largest tobacco company in Columbia with about 32-percent market share and registered a turnover of around $108 million in 2008. The company has three cigarette plants in Columbia and its leading brands are Mustang, Premier and President.

The purchase of Protabaco needs regulatory approval and is expected to be completed within six months, New York-based PMI said today, July 10th.

The maker of Marlboro cigarettes bought Colombia's biggest tobacco company, Compania Colombiana de Tabaco SA, in 2005. (As of fiscal year ended December 31, 2005, Compania Colombiano de Tabaco S.A. is 96.65% owned by GWP C.V., which is an affiliate of PMI.)

Earlier this month, PMI said it would buy Swedish Match South Africa Ltd.'s pipe tobacco and snuff business for $222 million. PMI and Swedish Match are already partners in a joint venture to sell Swedish Snus and other smokeless tobacco products in markets outside the U.S. and Scandinavia. The deal between the two allows them to license the Marlboro brand for use on smokeless products.

PMI was spun off last year from Richmond, Va.-based Altria Group Inc., the seller of Marlboros in the U.S.

Reference: Philip Morris International to buy Protabaco, Associated Press, 7/10/2009; Philip Morris acquiring Colombian tobacco company, Staff Reporters, Richmond Times Dispatch, 7/10/2009; Philip Morris to acquire Columbian cigarette maker for $452 million, domain-b.com, 7/11/2009.

Cyprus to tighten smoking ban starting January 1, 2010..

2009-07-10T12:53:00.000-07:00

July 10, 2009 - NICOSIA - The Cyprus parliament voted by a large majority on Thursday to make the Mediterranean holiday island the latest EU country to ban smoking in bars, restaurants, nightclubs and workplaces. The bill, which tightens up existing legislation that has gone largely unenforced, was carried by 27 votes to three in the 56-seat parliament with one abstention.

The sweeping changes come into effect from January 1, 2010 so as to give establishments, and smokers, time to adjust, although amendments can be made to the law before it becomes active. Smoking will be allowed only in outside open areas such as courtyards or street cafes, while employers will be required to provide a closed smoking area for employees dying for a puff.

Those who break the new law face a maximum 2,000 euro fine (2,787.07USD).

Bar and club owners say they will challenge the legislation in the courts as they expect business to suffer from the blanket ban.

The legislation tightens up a 2002 ban on smoking in public places which was not strictly enforced. The new law also does away with having designated smoking and non-smoking areas in the same establishment.

Opinion polls indicate that a majority of Cypriots welcome the smoke free regime which falls in line with the European Union's bid to ban smoking in enclosed public places across the 27-member bloc by 2012.

Cyprus has a lower rate of smoking than the European Union average. Some 29 percent of the population describe themselves as regular smokers, compared with an EU average of 31 percent. But Cyprus has one of the highest proportions of non-smokers subjected to passive smoke (secondhand smoke, involuntary smoking, sidestream smoke, ETS, environmental tobacco smoke) in public places. Smoking kills 600 people every year out of a population of roughly 800,000, said Cyprus National Coalition for Smoking Prevention president Stelios Sycallides.

Reference: Cyprus bans smoking at work and play; Cyprus votes for smoking ban, FinancialMirror.com, 7/20/2009; Cyprus bans indoor smoking, IrishExaminer.com, 7/10/2009.

Related news briefs: Cyprus - kids being exposed to high levels of passive smoking...

BAT helping Kazakhstan with program to prevent minors from smoking..

2009-07-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

July 10, 2009 - The new program on prevention of sale of tobacco to minors has started in Kazakhstan (Kazakh) , the agency reports citing British American Tobacco (BAT).

According to the company, to solve the problem of smoking of minors in Kazakhstan the new program on receiving permission for retail sale having the slogan: "not to sell cigarettes to people under 18". During the campaign, the materials containing signes "We do not sell tobacco products to people under 18" will be displayed in all retail stores of the country.

The materials of the campaign such as stickers, posters and emblems, will be displayed in all shops of the country from July, 2009 and retail sellers will be trained to efficiently carry out the campaign. "The materials for shops have been issued and created individually for each person interested in the campaign, while the other materials have been specially made to deliver the necessary information to the people."

Launched in 1998, there has been a a very active youth smoking prevention coalition in Kazakhstan to combat underage smoking, which was initiated by the tobacco companies working in Kazakhstan—JTI, Philip Morris, Gallaher and BAT—jointly with the ministry of education and science and the ministry of culture and sport.

Competition for sales within the Kazakh tobacco market is fierce—with JTI, Gallaher, BAT, Philip Morris, Reemtsma and Korean Tobacco all continually fighting for a better market position.

Smoking is a major public health issue in Kazakhstan and other former soviet union countries particularly affecting socially vulnerable men and young women living in urbanized areas. These high-risk groups should be targeted in future smoking prevention and cessation strategies in the region. (RESEARCH REPORT Determinants of smoking in eight countries of the former Soviet Union: results from the Living Conditions, Lifestyles and Health Study)

Kazakhstan ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Treaty in January 2007. WHO - Kazakhstan - Health..

References: The new program on prevention of sale of tobacco to minors has started in Kazakhstan, the agency reports citing British American Tobacco (BAT)
Kazakhstan Today, 7/9/2009; How the East Was Won: BAT and Big Tobacco's Conquest of the Former Soviet Union, Red_Orbit/com, 8/5/2005; Kazakhstan restricts tobacco marketing freedoms, Laurence Walker, Tobacco Reporter, Archived Issue, 9/2006.

Click on image to enlarge..

Brian Kilmeade's Theories of Racial Purity

2009-07-10T08:38:00.000-07:00

The term "eugenics" - which literally means "normal genes" - is one that rarely surfaces in the modern world, and with good reason. The aim of eugenics, after all, is to improve the human species through selective breeding. Although Robert Graham's attempt to create legions of baby geniuses through the mechanism of a sperm bank exclusively housing the genetic material of Nobel laureates is an example of (at least nominally) positive eugenics, "negative eugenics" such as the Nazi extermination of Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, the physically handicapped and the mentally disabled during World War II, has been by far the preferred methodology.

No experiment in eugenics has ever been shown to measurably improve human health, and the forcible sterilization, incarceration, and killing of those carrying undesirable genetic material - all hallmarks of eugenics, even in the United States - have thoroughly discredited the field. Breeding some sort of master human race is, today, almost exclusively the province of racist whack jobs.

Unless, of course, you happen to be Brian Kilmeade, one of the hosts of the painfully moronic morning talk show Fox & Friends. Earlier this week, Mr. Kilmeade's mouth got rolling, and the world was treated to this deep thinker's theories on genetic purity, as well as his apparent categorization of Irish and Italian people as "other ethnics" if not - and I wish I were kidding here - "other species."

See for yourself the car wreck within the car wreck. In the immortal words of Hunter S. Thompson, res ipsa loquitor:

U.S. Military - phased in ban on smoking..

2009-07-10T08:27:00.000-07:00

July 10, 2009 - Pentagon health experts are urging Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ban the use of tobacco by troops and end its sale on military property, a change that could dramatically alter a culture intertwined with smoking.
　　During the World War I, Commander General John J. Pershing stated vehemently, “You ask me what we need to win this war…I answer tobacco as much as bullets.“ Cigarettes were sent overseas to American troops free with their rations. But now we know how dangerous the use of tobacco is; in fact, half of all individuals who keep smoking will die because of the habit. (American Cancer Society, Cigarette smoking)

Jack Smith, head of the Pentagon's office of clinical and program policy, says he will recommend that Gates adopt proposals by a federal study that cites rising tobacco use and higher costs for the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs as reasons for the ban.

The study by the Institute of Medicine, requested by the VA and Pentagon, calls for a phased-in ban over a period of years, perhaps up to 20. "We'll certainly be taking that recommendation forward," Smith says.

A tobacco ban would confront a military culture, the report says, in which "the image of the battle-weary soldier in fatigues and helmet, fighting for his country, has frequently included his lit cigarette."

Also, the report said, troops worn out by repeated deployments often rely on cigarettes as a "stress reliever." The study found that tobacco use in the military increased after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began.

Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said the department supports a smoke-free military "and believes it is achievable." She declined to elaborate on any possible ban.

One in three service members use tobacco, the report says, compared with one in five adult Americans. The heaviest smokers are soldiers and Marines, who have done most of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the study says. About 37% of soldiers use tobacco and 36% of Marines. Combat veterans are 50% more likely to use tobacco than troops who haven't seen combat.

Tobacco use costs the Pentagon $846 million a year in medical care and lost productivity, says the report, which used older data. The Department of Veterans Affairs spends up to $6 billion in treatments for tobacco-related illnesses, says the study, which was released late last month.

Along with a phased-in ban, the report recommends requiring new officers and enlisted personnel to be tobacco-free, eliminating tobacco use on military installations, ships and aircraft, expanding treatment programs and eliminating the sale of tobacco on military property. "Any tobacco use while in uniform should be prohibited," the study says.

The military complicates attempts to curb tobacco use by subsidizing tobacco products for troops who buy them at base exchanges and commissaries, says Kenneth Kizer, a committee member and architect of California's anti-tobacco program.
Seventy percent of profits from tobacco sales — $88 million in 2005 — pays for recreation and family support programs, the study stays.

Strong leadership could make the military tobacco-free in five to 10 years, Kizer says. President Obama, he says, could set an example for the military by ending his own smoking habit once and for all. Last month, Obama said he is "95% cured" but "there are times when I mess up" and smoke.

Reference: Ban on tobacco urged in military by Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY, 7/9/2009.

Related news brief: U.S. Department of Defense is endorsing the observance of World No Tobacco Day..

Ireland - tobacco companies not helping small retailers - display ban..

2009-07-10T07:35:00.000-07:00

July 10, 2009 - On July 1, 2009 Ireland introduces a ban on the advertising and display of tobacco products in retail shops. Contrary to anti-smoking lobby group claims, tobacco manufacturers declined to assist smaller retailers with the expensive alterations, which require their products to be stored out of view in closed containers accessible only by staff. As a result hundreds of small independent retailers in Ireland have had to pay in full for costly alterations to their tobacco gantries after a ban on display came into force on July 1.

The lack of financial support offers little comfort to UK shopkeepers who are awaiting a Commons decision on the display ban this week. (Status of Proposal (June 30th) from Amanda Sandford, ASH UK: the proposal to put tobacco products out of sight at the point of sale..)

Large stores and supermarkets which sell greater volumes of tobacco are understood to have received some funding for the changes, which also apply to in-store vending machines.

Vincent Jennings, chief executive of the Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association (CSNA) in Ireland, said that many small retailers had found the costs hard to bear. “We had been hoping until the very last minute that small stores would receive some financial assistance but unfortunately for many this has not been the case,” he said.

Retailers are permitted to display one sign in their store informing the public that tobacco products are for sale in their stores to those over 18 years of age. However, no other signs which use the word ‘tobacco’ - even in reference to an age-restricted goods policy - are allowed.

The law also requires all tobacco retailers to register with the Office of Tobacco Control at a cost of 50 Euros (69.68USD)- a fixed fee irrespective of the size of the store.

Reference: Small stores pay out as Ireland goes dark, Gaelle Walker, Convenience Store, the grocer.co.uk, 07/07/2009.

Some Ireland related news briefs: Tobacco control initiatives starting Wednesday, July 1, 2009..; Ireland - Office of Tobacco Control 2008 annual report - Positive..; Ireland - modest penalty for cigarette smuggling..; Ireland - to amend tobacco legislation to to include pictoral warnings..; Ireland - as of July 1, 2009 no advertising or display of tobacco products will be permitted in retail outlets..; Ireland - cigarette tax abandoned over smuggling fears..; Ireland - may raise tax on cigarettes as part of emergency budget..; Ireland - ban smoking in cars when kids are present..; Ireland - further provisions of the Public Health (Tobacco) Acts 2002 and 2004 are to be commenced on 1 July 2009.; Ireland - 80% of smokers want a ban on tobacco advertising in shops to stop youngsters starting the habit..; Ireland to ban tobacco displays..; Ireland - reduction in admissions for acute coronary syndrome...

North Carolina - 50 cents increase in cigarette tax back in the news..

2009-07-09T13:58:00.000-07:00

July 9, 2009 - North Carolina (NC) Governor with a budget gap currently at $4.7 billion (and growing). Perdue has suggested several new taxes, including a sales tax hike of 1%, which would raise the state sales tax to 7.75%, which is not too far from the highest sales tax in the country at 8.25% in California. Other taxes would include an additional temporary tax on wealthy individuals in what the state calls an “emergency surcharge”, an increase of fifty cents per pack on cigarettes, and an additional tax on alcoholic beverages. Perdue says that all the new taxes would add up to $1.6 billion in revenues for the state and claims that all taxes are temporary and that they will return to the current rates, or even decrease once the economy stabilizes.

The NC legislature did not pass a new state budget by the end of the fiscal year, June 30, 2009 but lawmakers did approve a temporary spending bill to keep government operating. July 15, 2009 is the deadline for coming up with budget.

Reference: North Carolinians to see tax hikeby Danielle Cuave, Raleigh Libertarian Examiner, 7/9/2009 (1:31pm).

Related news briefs: NC - Reynolds American employees protest any increase in cigarette taxes..; North Carolina House panel deletes cigarette tax increase..; Reynolds American - NC Governor's tobacco tax increase - Outrageous..; NC Governor calls for an increase in the tobacco tax..; North Carolina - may consider raising taxes on alcohol and cigarettes..; North Carolina tobacco companies and growers oppose possible tax increase..

England - Shisha bars still open if comply with the smokefree legislation..

2009-07-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

July 9, 2009 - From Action on Smoking and Health - United Kingdom (UK, Britain) some shisha bars Shisha bars (argileh nargile, hubble-bubble, water pipe, hooka, shisha, goza, meassel, hookah) remain open in England but they have to comply with the smokefree legislation (begun in July 1,2007). This means that they can only offer the waterpipes for use outdoors. Most of the cafes have some kind of terrace or space outside, often covered with an awning.

However, there has been some debate as to whether these spaces fall within the scope of the law. Basically it places are more than 50% enclosed they are covered by the law and smoking is prohibited.

Reference: Shisha smoking guidance 'needed', BBC News Channel, 7/1/2009.

Click on image to enlarge..

Netherlands - spot checks on smoking in small cafes suspended temporarilly..

2009-07-09T11:19:00.000-07:00

July 9, 2009 - The Dutch (Holland) government has dropped spot checks on smoking in small cafes after bar owners won two legal victories in their fight against a ban on their premises, the health minister said Wednesday, July 8th.

Ab Klink, the Dutch health minister said in a letter to members of parliament that action taken to fine offenders had also been suspended temporarily.

Appeal courts at Leeuwarden in the north and Den Bosch in the south have found in favour of landlords of cafes, restaurants and hotels without staff, who said the law did not oblige them to implement a smoking ban.

The ban on smoking in the hotel, restaurant and catering industry was introduced a year ago with the aim of protecting employees from the dangers of second-hand smoke inhalation.

Several thousand small bars and cafes in the Netherlands united late last year to defy the smoking ban and create a joint legal defence fund, arguing they lacked the floor space and money to erect separate smoking-only areas.

Prosecutors have taken the cases to a higher court for a definitive ruling.

Reference: Netherlands suspends tobacco inspections in small bars, Agence France Presse (AFP), 7/8/2009.

Related news briefs: Dutch bar owners without staff when victory against smoking ban..; Netherlands - Marijuana /Tobacco Cigarettes - Confusion..; Netherlands - small bars/cafes with no staff could be exempt from smoking ban..; Court spares small Dutch cafe over smoking ban..; Netherlands - 1st court case for flouting smoking ban..; Netherlands - ban on smoking in bars and restaurants NOT enforced..; Netherlands - ban on smoking in bars and restaurants NOT enforced..; Netherlands the smoking ban must be enforced - Ab Klink, Health Minister...; Congratulations are in order: Netherlands, Romania & Alberta...

DipTops' patented moist smokeless tobacco (MST) accessory..

2009-07-09T02:40:00.000-07:00

July 9, 2009 - DipTops LLC, maker of the DipTops Personal Spittoon, has announced that 7-Eleven Inc., Dallas, will soon begin merchandising DipTops' patented moist smokeless tobacco (MST) accessory in at least 600 7-Eleven stores in Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

The DipTops accessory gives MST or "dip" users the freedom to enjoy their tobacco without the fear of spills, odors or having their habit offend other people. When snapped on to the top of any 8-, 12- or 16-oz. beverage can, DipTops produces a disposable, spill-resistant spittoon that MST users can take with them anywhere. The product has gained significant traction in the convenience retailing sector in early 2009, according to Brian Goodell, president of DipTops LLC, Dublin, Calif.

Reference: 7-Eleven Says 'Can Do' to DipTops
Retailer adds MST accessory to East Coast tobacco sets, Convenience Store / Petroleum (CSP) Daily News, 7/8/2009.

Investigating The Link Between Climate Change and Poverty

2009-07-08T03:27:00.000-07:00

Oxfam's latest report "Suffering the Science: Climate Change, People and Poverty” describes how global warming is already affecting people in poor communities much more severely than those in developed regions.

These poor communities in the undeveloped world typically battle to gain access to food and water and have issues with health and security. The report warns, “without immediate action 50 years of development gains in poor countries will be permanently lost.”

The report also recognises the effect of unpredictable weather patterns on farmers. They often lose multiple crops due to floods or drought and Oxfam calls for the developed world to fund more aid programs as well as adopting tougher climate policies.

I find that popping along to a charity shop makes me feel pleased with myself for doing just that little bit to help. I find it quite fun looking through the second hand books and second hand clothes as well as the odd nic nacs that invariably end up there. Second hand clothes from charity shops are great for cheesy nights out and fancy dress parties. Sometimes there is the odd gem if you're not fussy about buying clothes second hand.

So Much for the Pitbull in Lipstick

2009-07-06T06:36:00.000-07:00

[Click image to view at original size]

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin announced her resignation on Saturday, in what can only be described honestly as a painful and disjointed press conference, full of tortured basketball analogies and, as is her wont, stupefyingly suspect logic.

A day later, Mrs. Palin went so far as to have her lawyer threaten legal action against anyone spreading rumors of possible legal trouble for the governor, and the most conservative elements of the GOP were left to try and justify her abrupt abdication in terms that were pretty clearly hollow even to their authors. Their efforts were rendered even more hypocritical for anyone who recalled a scornful statement the governor directed at then-candidate Barack Obama when she was John McCain's running mate during the 2008 presidential election:

I guess a small town mayor is SORT of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.

Of course, no one on the political right mentioned the much greater responsibilities Mrs. Palin is abandoning as she quits the executive mansion in Juneau, and we were treated instead to desperate declarations that her resignation is a brilliant political move. The lot of them looked ridiculous, frankly, in their apparent inability to accept that the country's appetite for taking willful ignorance, pettiness, arrogance, stupidity and corruption at face value pretty much exhausted itself - at least for now - with the presidency of George W. Bush.

In her resignation, Mrs. Palin widely employed the surreal, empty reasoning that has become her trademark, and essentially made the claim that by abandoning her post as Alaska's chief executive, she was somehow not only doing the right thing for her state, but helping the Republican Party. Perhaps that might be true in some fashion - so long as one ignores the fact the she is walking away from her responsibilities - if Sarah Palin were truly the political rock star she clearly envisions herself to be. Given the stunning dearth of qualification and intelligence she has displayed to date, however, it is probably much more fair to view it as an appalling dereliction of duty and an effort to set herself up for a presidential run that is deeply cynical, grandly delusional, or both.

It will be interesting to see whether Governor Palin's career travels the trajectory she seems to envision for it, or whether it will continue to die a slow death while continuing to choke the life from the GOP's aspirations of national resurgence. Whatever happens, though, two things are certain: Sarah Palin is the gift that keeps on giving to the Democratic Party; and whichever direction things move, she will be woefully incompetent and unprepared.

If you think the above evaluation is in any way spiteful, please take a moment to review some of Sarah Palin's greatest hits in the video below, and reflect on the fact that there are people in this country who honestly believe she would make a great President of the United States.

Life Insurance

2009-07-05T07:57:00.000-07:00

After my previous post about casualty insurance, today I want to show you about what Life insurance is.

Life insurance or life assurance is a contract between the policy owner and the insurer, where the insurer agrees to pay a sum of money upon the occurrence of the insured individual's or individuals' death or other event, such as terminal illness or critical illness. In return, the policy owner agrees to pay a stipulated amount called a premium at regular intervals or in lump sums. There may be designs in some countries where bills and death expenses plus catering for after funeral expenses should be included in Policy Premium. In the United States, the predominant form simply specifies a lump sum to be paid on the insured's demise.

As with most insurance policies, life insurance is a contract between the insurer and the policy owner whereby a benefit is paid to the designated beneficiaries if an insured event occurs which is covered by the policy.

The value for the policyholder is derived, not from an actual claim event, rather it is the value derived from the 'peace of mind' experienced by the policyholder, due to the negating of adverse financial consequences caused by the death of the Life Assured.

To be a life policy the insured event must be based upon the lives of the people named in the policy

Credit insurance

2009-07-05T07:51:00.000-07:00

Credit insurance is a term used to describe both trade credit insurance and credit life insurance.

Credit life insurance is a consumer purchase, often sold with a big ticket purchase such as an automobile. The insurance will pay off the loan balance in the event of the death or the disability of the borrower. Although purchased by the consumer/borrower, the benefit payment goes to the company financing the purchase to satisfy a debt.

Credit insurance or trade credit insurance (also known as business credit insurance) is an insurance policy and risk management product that covers the payment risk resulting from the delivery of goods or services. Credit insurance usually covers a portfolio of buyers and pays an agreed percentage of an invoice or receivable that remains unpaid as a result of protracted default, insolvency or bankruptcy. Trade credit insurance is purchased by business entities to insure their accounts receivable from loss due to the insolvency of the debtors. This product is not available to private individuals.

Credit insurance insures the payment risk of companies, not of private individuals. Policy holders require a credit limit on each of their buyers for the sales to that buyer to be insured. The premium rate is usually low and reflects the average credit risk of the insured portfolio of buyers.

The Health Care Oligopoly and the Real Weight of the AMA

2009-07-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

As the health insurance reform debate continues to simmer, there are a couple of important issues that have received scant attention. Specifically, any sort of in-depth examination of physician opinions on the various options for health care coverage; and the true level of market-based competitiveness that exists in today's private system.

In regard to the first, much was made of the fact that President Obama traveled to speak to a gathering of the American Medical Association (AMA) in Chicago, and headlines were grabbed when the AMA announced that, while its members recognized a need for reform, they would oppose any sort of publicly-funded health insurance program. The organization released the following statement:

The AMA does not believe that creating a public health insurance option for non-disabled individuals under age 65 is the best way to expand health insurance coverage and lower costs. The introduction of a new public plan threatens to restrict patient choice by driving out private insurers, which currently provide coverage for nearly 70 percent of Americans.

At first blush - at least if one ignores the fact that the argument should be about the best way to provide health insurance to all Americans, rather than how best to preserve an industry that has failed to meet the needs of the public - this would seem to be a significant strike against any effort to advance a public option. After all, the American Medical Association represents the majority of U.S. doctors, does it not?

Actually, not even close. While the AMA claimed fully three quarters of all physicians in the United States on its membership roles in 1960, its share of representation has steadily dwindled, and today, it speaks for only 20% of America's doctors. With 250,000 members, it is still the largest single association for the medical profession in the U.S., but a number of other physicians' groups that do not align with the American Medical Association have gained strength in recent years.

The National Physicians Alliance (NPA), for instance, claims 20,000 doctors in its ranks, and supports a public health plan. The Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), with 16,000 members, wears its support for a public option on its sleeve. And the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) - which broke from the AMA over support for the launch of Medicare 50 years ago - has 62,000 members who are not only the next generation of doctors, but explicit supporters of a public health insurance option and, ultimately, a single-payer system.

Last year, the Annals of American Medicine updated a survey they first conducted in 2003 entitled Support for National Health Insurance Among U.S. Physicians [Note: PDF file]. In the 2008 edition, results indicated that support for a public plan has grown significantly among doctors, and that fully 59% backed some type of comprehensive, national, public option. This is not to say that the AMA's opinion is inconsequential, but it is important to recognize that equating the official opinion of the American Medical Association - which increasingly appears to represent higher-paid specialists - with that of the medical community as a whole, does our current debate a great disservice.

But what of the AMA's concern for the private health insurance industry? Should we be concerned about a public plan that causes people to abandon private insurers for a public plan? Perhaps the simplest answer to that question is another question (or more properly, two): If the private sector can provide service that is superior to that offered by the government - or at a minimum, the same service at a lower price - won't that problem solve itself? And if it can't, why do we need private insurers?

Beyond that basic query, however, lies an important truth. Namely this: the idea that the private health insurance industry is a vibrant, market-driven battleground is a complete sham. Health Care for America Now! (HCAN) released a report in May that uses data provided by the American Medical Association to demonstrate that 94% - more than 9 out of 10 - of the country's insurance markets meet the Justice Department definition of "highly concentrated," in relation to the potential for anti-trust action. So extreme is the level of consolidation, that HCAN has sent a letter [Note: PDF file] to the Justice Department's Antitrust Division, asking it to investigate the state of the health insurance marketplace.

The rest of the reports findings are every bit as striking:

In the past 13 years, more than 400 corporate mergers have involved health insurers, and the small number of companies that now dominate local markets haven’t delivered on promises of increased efficiency.
Shrinking competition has allowed remaining firms to charge higher fees, and premiums have gone up more than 87 percent, on average, over the past six years.
Meanwhile, profits at 10 of the country’s largest publicly traded health insurance companies rose 428% from 2000 to 2007, from $2.4 billion to $12.9 billion.
Consolidation of market share among a smaller number of insurers disproportionately disadvantages rural and lower population states. In Hawaii, Rhode Island, Alaska, Vermont, Alabama, Maine, Montana, Wyoming, Arkansas, and Iowa, the two largest health insurers control at least 80 percent of the statewide market.
The private health insurance industry invests more in buying back its own stock and rewarding its shareholders than it does in improving operations and service.

All of this would be bad enough if health insurers hadn't earned themselves a reputation for dishonesty and callousness that was confirmed to be well-deserved at a recent Senate hearing. There, a former senior executive for insurer Cigna named Wendell Potter made some very stark and very disturbing statements when he spoke before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation:

[T]hey [health insurance companies] confuse their customers and dump the sick, all so they can satisfy their Wall Street investors... They look carefully to see if a sick policyholder may have omitted a minor illness, a pre-existing condition, when applying for coverage, and then they use that as justification to cancel the policy, even if the enrollee has never missed a premium payment... Dumping a small number of enrollees can have a big effect on the bottom line.
[...]
All it takes is one illness or accident among employees at a small business to prompt an insurance company to hike the next year's premiums so high that the employer has to cut benefits, shop for another carrier, or stop offering coverage altogether.
[...]
Insurers know that policyholders are so baffled by those [explanation of benefit] notices they usually just ignore them or throw them away. And that's exactly the point. If they were more understandable, more consumers might realize that they are being ripped off.
[...]
My comments are directed toward an industry that is really going in the wrong direction and taking this country in the wrong direction.

To be clear, there is nothing wrong with anyone making a buck by legal means, but this isn't - or shouldn't be - just about the almighty dollar, and if what Mr. Potter says is true, then insurers are treading in the realm of the unethical, if not the explicitly unlawful.

Private health insurance firms are thriving in what is anything but a dynamic marketplace, raking in enormous profits and enjoying the fruits of an anti-competitive oligopoly. Without significant change - a public health care coverage option - the number of uninsured Americans, which currently stands at 46 million, will only continue grow, and at an accelerating pace.

The GSX 1400 Goes To Essex

2009-07-01T02:09:00.000-07:00

This weekend we took the gsx1400 on is first 'tour'. I use the word loosely as it was really just an excuse to see the family in Essex (300 miles away) and try out the hard luggage.

The main problem we found was that with the luggage, the bike was nearly as wide as a car, which meant filtering 2 up safely would be darn near impossible. This was a shame as filtering would have come in handy on the A303 as it was solid traffic for 10 miles and put us 1.5hrs behind schedule, getting on the M25 at 1530, just in time for rush hour. Much swearing ensued.

The bike itself was brilliant, through all the stopping and starting it didn't miss a beat or overheat, it just took it all in its stride. The same could not be said for the riders unfortunately. Slow riding, especially 2 up stop/start is just about the hardest thing to do - your clutch hand is knackered and you've got to keep the bike balanced and control the speed with the back brake. Not fun for the driver and very tiring, so we had to stop more often so he could have a break and we both needed to stretch.

Anyway, we got there after a record 8.5hrs and the sat nav worked well, just 1 little hiccup when after our first pit stop it decided it wanted to go home, but that was easily sorted and only took us out of our way for a couple of miles. I'm sure we would have gone wrong without it in the back and beyond of Essex, it gives a lot of security knowing for sure that you are on the right road as well as counting down the last miles of the trip.

The trip back was better, just some Sunday lunchtime traffic on the M25 to contend with, smooth sailing apart from that. It took 6.5hrs to get home, but this was because we stopped for at least an hour for lunch and our other stops were quite leisurely. Once again the GSX was perfectly behaved, we are really pleased with it.

I have suggested that for future small trips, we take the soft luggage, tank bag and top box so we can filter through traffic easier and just use the panniers for longer journeys.

INSURANCE

2009-06-30T12:02:00.000-07:00

Insurance, in law and economics, is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for a premium, and can be thought of as a guaranteed small loss to prevent a large, possibly devastating loss. An insurer is a company selling the insurance; an insured or policyholder is the person or entity buying the insurance. The insurance rate is a factor used to determine the amount to be charged for a certain amount of insurance coverage, called the premium. Risk management, the practice of appraising and controlling risk, has evolved as a discrete field of study and practice

Motorcycle Insurance

2009-06-26T21:52:00.000-07:00

Motorcycle insurance is insurance coverage for motorcycle riders. Contact your agent or broker with whom you currently have auto or home insurance. If your current insurance company does not cover motorcycles, talk with your friends who already have coverage. You may also gain information through salesperson and motorcycle magazines. The type of motorcycle you plan on insuring also affects premium price. The mileage you tend to put on the bike on a weekly basis will push your premium up or down. If the motorcycle is your main mode of transportation, expect a higher rate.

Exploring the Health Care Options

2009-06-26T09:13:00.000-07:00

As evidenced in Quantifying the Health Care Problem, America faces a growing crisis, badly trailing the rest of the developed world in the quality and availability of health insurance, despite devoting more than one eighth of every dollar spent to providing coverage. What then, are the potential solutions?

The single payer option, under which the government provides insurance for all citizens to use with their choice of doctor, has apparently been rejected out of hand. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus held hearings on potential solutions to the health care mess, but while advocates for a wide variety of policies were represented, supporters of single payer were conspicuously excluded and had to resort to protest demonstrations to get any voice at all.

Meanwhile, the Republican Party unveiled its framework for health care reform last week. In legislation titled "The Patients' Choice Act of 2009," the plan would move toward "guaranteed choice of coverage" in the private market through federal-state partnerships called State Health Insurance Exchanges. To do so, the GOP plan would end tax breaks for businesses that provide health insurance, and instead give a tax cut of $5,710 to families (and a $2,290 to individuals) to help them pay for health insurance coverage.

There is no mandate for coverage in the Republican plan, however, and as discussed in my last post, the un- and under-insured are a major source of the costs for health care coverage. More tellingly, families pay about $12,300 annually for health insurance today, and it's difficult to see how the Republican plan would do anything but put families in a hole financially, right from the beginning. Even if expenses drop by more than half, and all at once - both of which are highly unlikely, to put it mildly - insurance will still cost families more on average than they are paying today.

Another potential solution that has been touted is some sort of national version of the model used in Massachusetts, under which all residents are required to buy health care coverage, and the state provides subsidies for those who can't afford it on their own. Unfortunately, Commonwealth Care - as the plan is know - has had to make significant cuts and adjustments to coverage only this week in an effort to keep the plan solvent, a mere three years after it was launched.

Meanwhile, so-called "centrist" Democrats in the Senate have put forth a proposal to let nonprofits create regional health-care cooperatives in an attempt to inject a modicum of public bargaining power into what would still be essentially the same private insurance equation we know today. Unfortunately, such cooperatives are unlikely to have sufficient leverage to get lower prices, because they would be both too small and too widely dispersed. As former Democratic National Committee Chairman, presidential candidate, and governor Howard Dean - who is also, by the way, a medical doctor - explained:

He [Senator Kent Conrad]’s wrong about this. The co-ops are too small to compete with the big, private insurance companies. They will kill the co-ops completely by undercutting them, using their financial clout to do it. In the small states like mine and like Senator Conrad’s, you’re never gonna get to the 500,000 number signed up in the co-op that you need to in order for them to have any marketing [power].

This is a compromise designed to deal with problems in the Senate. But it doesn’t deal with problems in America. And I think it’s time for the Senate to stop playing politics, do what has to be done. … If the Republicans don’t want to get on board, then we can do this without the Republicans.

Likewise, Republican moderate Olympia Snowe is championing a "trigger" methodology that would prohibit any public health care option as long as the insurance industry extends coverage to some predetermined level and drug prices are dropped. Sounds reasonable, right? Tell the insurance and pharmaceutical industries they need to make changes, "or else." Unfortunately, as Robert Reich explains, it's a smoke screen:

Enter Olympia Snowe. Her move is important, not because she's Republican (the Senate needs only 51 votes to pass this) but because she's well-respected and considered non-partisan, and therefore offers some cover to Democrats who may need it. Last night Snowe hosted a private meeting between members and staffers about a new proposal Pharma and Insurance are floating... Under Snowe's proposal, the public option would kick in years from now, but it would be triggered only if insurance companies fail to bring down healthcare costs and expand coverage in the meantime.

What's the catch?

First, these conditions are likely to be achieved by other pieces of the emerging legislation; for example, computerized records will bring down costs a tad, and a mandate requiring everyone to have coverage will automatically expand coverage. If it ever comes to it, Pharma and Insurance can argue that their mere participation fulfills their part of the bargain, so no public option will need to be triggered. Second, as Pharma and Insurance well know, "years from now" in legislative terms means never. There will never be a better time than now to enact a public option. If it's not included, in a few years the public's attention will be elsewhere.

Finally, President Obama has called for the creation of a "public option" to compete with private insurers. The injection of a non-profit competitor in the marketplace is seen by some as unfair, and arguments against the public option have ranged from implying that the government will decide what doctor you can see to cries that it will trigger massive new expenses and eliminate competition.

These criticisms ring hollow, however, when one considers that supporters of a public option have explicitly stated that, if you're happy with your current insurance plan, you can keep it. The bargaining power of a nationwide health insurance program would unquestionably drive down costs, and if Medicare is any indication, such a plan would also spend money far more efficiently. (Overhead expenses for Medicare currently run at about 3%, while those of private insurers are generally between 15% and 25%.) Further, a public option would enable people to keep their insurance, even if they lose their jobs or change employers.

Those against the public option seem to regularly overlook - or ignore - several simple, but crucial, points:

Competition in the private sector has utterly failed to drive down costs; citizens of EVERY OTHER developed nation spend less and get more for their money when it comes to health care.
The cost of insurance is already high, and even if that aggregate expense remains exactly the same, if we can cover the tens of millions of uninsured for the same price - or less - that's a win.
There is already a bureaucrat between patients and their doctors; it's called the insurance company.
Strangely, there has yet to be a single reported case of any member of Congress from either party refusing - or even complaining about - the publicly-funded coverage received by all federal legislators.
If private companies can truly offer the best solution to the health care crisis, they should be able to outperform a bunch of government bureaucrats; it's time to put up or shut up.

The health insurance industry is, unsurprisingly, desperately lobbying members of Congress to maintain the status quo, and former President Bush has even chimed in, saying in a recent speech that he believes "You can spend your money better than the government can spend your money." (Really? Perhaps each and every citizen should be tasked with evaluating, developing and purchasing his or her own share of national defense!) Of course, it's hard to imagine a more glowing endorsement for a policy than to have it opposed by George W. Bush, and while the insurance industry is leveling enormous amounts of cash at this issue, the public is broadly in favor of a public option (see figure, above). While the House version of a health care reform bill includes provisions for a public option, the Senate version ignores public opinion, and does not.

And that cannot be allowed to stand, for one need look no further back than June 17th to see how little will actually change without a public option. At a hearing on that day, three top health insurance executives were asked if they would be willing to stop dropping customers except in cases where they can demonstrate "intentional fraud." If there is any doubt that the health insurance industry is more focused on profits than on providing access to care, it is only necessary to know that - despite public sentiment and widespread momentum for change - all three answered, "No."

Medical Insurance

2009-06-25T21:50:00.000-07:00

The Importance of Medical Insurance

The Importance of Medical Insurance
By Koh YS

A medical policy is an essential product to be considered in managing risk in lives. Anyone can be a victim of critical illness/dread disease and it can happen at the most unexpected time and the person can be in deep trouble, not knowing what to do and whether something can be done about it and if so, how much it will cost.

More and more people are seeking treatment and care from private hospitals and the rising medical expenses is of utmost concern to these patients and their families. It is a known fact that hospitalization and surgical costs have risen tremendously throughout the years. Medicare costs do not only involve medication but also a host of other related services/equipment such as surgery, diagnostic tests, physiotherapy, purchase or rental of medical equipment, ambulance services etc.

These can exhaust a person’s savings or retirement fund in no time at all, depending on how costly it is for that particular need. It is well beyond many people to obtain a large sum of money for surgery, hospitalization and medical attention, of which they might resort to “charity” that could be the most uncomfortable and undignified way. Therefore, it is of utmost concern for every one to realize the importance of medical insurance not only to assume their risk and to protect them against financial burden and even poverty, but to also preserve and maintain their current lifestyle.

A look at the family medical history may be good as some diseases may be inherited. Early action taken to apply for coverage will be recommended as the premiums will be lower and before his health deteriorates so as to render the applicant uninsurable.

If you are under employment, it is always advisable to check with your company whether your group insurance policy covers for critical illnesses, medical as well as hospital and surgical, and how comprehensive their coverage are, especially in cases where one has no other insurance policies.

Medical Insurance is one of the numerous insurance policies that cater for different type of risks and insurable interests. Should any unfortunate event occur, the financial benefits derived from the policy would definitely be more than adequately compensate the premiums paid. It is best to transfer the risk to an insurance company who has the capability to assume the risk. One can still retain a portion or whole of the risk if the probability of certain risk happening is remote. One has to assess the situation and not fall in the trap of "Penny wise, Pound foolish". By neglecting or saving on purchasing a medical insurance policy, one is left exposed to high probability of risks occurring resulting in a financial loss that can be substantial.

Auto Insurance

2009-06-25T21:46:00.000-07:00

Auto insurance (or car insurance, motor insurance) is insurance consumers can purchase for cars, trucks, and other vehicles. Its primary use is to provide protection against losses incurred as a result of car accidents.

By buying auto insurance, depending on the type of coverage purchased, the consumer may be protected against:

The cost of repairing the vehicle following an accident
The cost of purchasing a new vehicle if it is stolen or damaged beyond economic repair
Legal liability claims against the driver or owner of the vehicle following the vehicle causing damage or injury to a third party.
Liability insurance covers only the last point, while comprehensive insurance covers all three. Even comprehensive insurance, however, doesn't fully cover the risk associated with buying a new car. Due to the sharp decline in value immediately following purchase, there is generally a period in which the remaining car payments exceed the compensation the insurer will pay for a "totaled" (destroyed, or written-off) vehicle. So-called GAP insurance was established in the early 1980's to provide protection to consumers based upon buying and market trends. The escalating price of cars, extended term auto loans, and the increasing popularity of leasing gave birth to GAP protection. GAP waivers provide protection for consumers when a "gap" exists between the actual value of their vehicle and the amount of money owed to the bank or leasing company. In some countries including New Zealand and Australia market structures mean that people are more likely to buy a nearly new car than a new car so this is less of a problem.

In the United States, liability insurance covers claims against the policy holder and generally, any other operator of the insured’s vehicle, provided they do not live at the same address as the policy holder and are not specifically excluded on the policy. In the case of those living at the same address, they must specifically be covered on the policy. Thus it is necessary for example, when a family member comes of driving age they must be added on to the policy. Liability insurance generally does not protect the policy holder if they operate any vehicles other than their own. When you drive a vehicle owned by another party, you are covered under that party’s policy. Non-owners policies may be offered that would cover an insured on any vehicle they drive. This coverage is available only to those who do not own their own vehicle.

Generally, liability coverage does extend when you rent a car. However, in most cases only liability applies. Any additional coverage, such as comprehensive policies, i.e. “full coverage” may not apply. Full coverage premiums are based on, among other factors, the value of the insured’s vehicle. This coverage may not apply to rental cars because the insurance company does not want to assume responsibility for a claim greater than the value of the insured’s vehicle, assuming that a rental car may be worth more than the insured’s vehicle. Most rental car companies offer insurance to cover damage to the rental vehicle. These policies may be unnecessary for many customers as credit card companies, such as Visa and Mastercard, now provide supplemental collision damage coverage to rental cars if the transaction is processed using one of their cards. These benefits are restrictive in terms of the types of vehicles covered.

insurance

2009-06-24T00:50:00.001-07:00

If you believe these popular misconceptions, you're going to be underinsured or improperly insured, and you're going to pay too much.

By Liz Pulliam Weston

Many people, I'm convinced, think about insurance in the wrong ways.

They operate based on certain myths about insurance, and those myths can cost them -- big time. They either buy too much or not enough. They get blindsided by huge increases in their premiums, or they get dropped by longtime carriers. They get mad about insurance, instead of getting smart.

Here are the myths and the realities you should be thinking about instead:

Myth: Your benefits should roughly equal the premiums you've paid

Many people feel cheated if they aren't "using" their insurance -- in other words, if they pay premiums for years and never make a claim.

That, however, is exactly what you want to happen with most types of insurance.

Sound insane? It's really not. Most of the time, insurance should be thought of as your protection against true financial catastrophe, not as a buffer against the normal ups and downs of daily living.

You want your homeowners insurance to be there if your house ever burns down, for example, because you probably don't have enough savings to rebuild your home or pay off your mortgage otherwise. On the other hand, you can easily swing the cost of replacing a pane when Sally down the street knocks a line drive through your window.

So why pay extra for a policy with a low deductible, just so you can get your insurance company to cover a cost you could readily handle on your own?

Opting for deductibles of $500 to $1,000, instead of $100 to $250, can save you as much as 35% on your premiums.

Myth: Insurance should cover disasters that are likely to happen

More than 80% of California homeowners don't have earthquake insurance. That figure often stuns people from out of state, because of the widely held notion that the Golden State is a bowlful of geological jelly.

Californians, however, know that serious earthquakes are pretty rare. Most are mild, and almost all are very localized. So, the chances of your own home getting totaled in one are actually pretty slim. That excuses Californians from buying coverage, right? Hardly. Similarly, you may not be off the hook if you don't have flood or windstorm insurance.

Remember, insurance is meant to protect you from financial catastrophe -- disasters from which you could not easily recover on your own.

Some people ignore this advice, figuring the federal government will come through for them in a disaster. You should know, however, that typically this help isn't free. Most help comes in the form of low-interest loans.

One look at the wake of Hurricane Katrina should make you wary of relying on government help. Even with such aid, many people lost their homes in the 1994 Northridge quake in California. They found they couldn't simultaneously pay their mortgages and afford places to live while their homes were being rebuilt.

So, if you don't have enough cash saved up to rebuild your home or pay off the mortgage, and you live in an area where natural disasters are a distinct possibility, you need appropriate coverage.

Car Hire at Heathrow Airport?

2009-06-23T07:13:00.000-07:00

What's the easiest way to get to Heathrow airport?

I'm not too keen on allocating ridiculous amounts of money on parking for two weeks and I'll probably be worried that something will happen to my car whilst I'm away. I think I've been watching too many 70's cop shows where bad guys nick cars from car parks with little effort. I'm sure security is perfectly adequate though and I'm being paranoid, but I can't help it.

I also can't find any buses or trains which will get me there when I need to be, I'm not good at waiting about for 6 hours in airports, I get frustrated and annoyed.

I was thinking I might have to take the plunge and hire a car to Heathrow airport. At least I can have more of a say in when I travel. It'll also give me a chance to drive a new car which will be interesting. I'll probably need something quite roomy with all the luggage I inevitably end up taking away with me. I probably wouldn't be able to see out of my little car once it was loaded up.

Luckily the holiday isn't for a while yet so there's time to consider my options.

Insurance Industry

2009-06-22T02:18:00.000-07:00

Goods and services. The insurance industry provides protection against financial losses resulting from a variety of perils. By purchasing insurance policies, individuals and businesses can receive reimbursement for losses due to car accidents, theft of property, and fire and storm damage; medical expenses; and loss of income due to disability or death.

Industry organization. The insurance industry consists mainly of insurance carriers (or insurers) and insurance agencies and brokerages. In general, insurance carriers are large companies that provide insurance and assume the risks covered by the policy. Insurance agencies and brokerages sell insurance policies for the carriers. While some of these establishments are directly affiliated with a particular insurer and sell only that carrier’s policies, many are independent and are thus free to market the policies of a variety of insurance carriers. In addition to supporting these two primary components, the insurance industry includes establishments that provide other insurance-related services, such as claims adjustment or third-party administration of insurance and pension funds.

These other insurance industry establishments also include a number of independent organizations that provide a wide array of insurance-related services to carriers and their clients. One such service is the processing of claims forms for medical practitioners. Other services include loss prevention and risk management. Also, insurance companies sometimes hire independent claims adjusters to investigate accidents and claims for property damage and to assign a dollar estimate to the claim.

Insurance carriers assume the risk associated with annuities and insurance policies and assign premiums to be paid for the policies. In the policy, the carrier states the length and conditions of the agreement, exactly which losses it will provide compensation for, and how much will be awarded. The premium charged for the policy is based primarily on the amount to be awarded in case of loss, as well as the likelihood that the insurance carrier will actually have to pay. In order to be able to compensate policyholders for their losses, insurance companies invest the money they receive in premiums, building up a portfolio of financial assets and income-producing real estate which can then be used to pay off any future claims that may be brought. There are two basic types of insurance carriers: primary and reinsurance. Primary carriers are responsible for the initial underwriting of insurance policies and annuities, while reinsurance carriers assume all or part of the risk associated with the existing insurance policies originally underwritten by other insurance carriers.

Primary insurance carriers offer a variety of insurance policies. Life insurance provides financial protection to beneficiaries—usually spouses and dependent children—upon the death of the insured. Disability insurance supplies a preset income to an insured person who is unable to work due to injury or illness, and health insurance pays the expenses resulting from accidents and illness. An annuity (a contract or a group of contracts that furnishes a periodic income at regular intervals for a specified period) provides a steady income during retirement for the remainder of one’s life. Property-casualty insurance protects against loss or damage to property resulting from hazards such as fire, theft, and natural disasters. Liability insurance shields policyholders from financial responsibility for injuries to others or for damage to other people’s property. Most policies, such as automobile and homeowner’s insurance, combine both property-casualty and liability coverage. Companies that underwrite this kind of insurance are called property-casualty carriers.

Some insurance policies cover groups of people, ranging from a few to thousands of individuals. These policies usually are issued to employers for the benefit of their employees or to unions, professional associations, or other membership organizations for the benefit of their members. Among the most common policies of this nature are group life and health plans. Insurance carriers also underwrite a variety of specialized types of insurance, such as real-estate title insurance, employee surety and fidelity bonding, and medical malpractice insurance.

Other organizations in the industry are formed by groups of insurance companies, to perform functions that would result in a duplication of effort if each company carried them out individually. For example, service organizations are supported by insurance companies to provide loss statistics, which the companies use to set their rates.

Recent developments. Congressional legislation now allows insurance carriers and other financial institutions, such as banks and securities firms, to sell one another’s products. More insurance carriers now sell financial products such as securities, mutual funds, and various retirement plans. This approach is most common in life insurance companies that already sold annuities, but property and casualty companies also are increasingly selling a wider range of financial products. In order to expand into one another’s markets, insurance carriers, banks, and securities firms have engaged in numerous mergers, allowing the merging companies access to each other's client base and geographical markets.

Insurance carriers have discovered that the Internet can be a powerful tool for reaching potential and existing customers. Most carriers use the Internet simply to post company information, such as sales brochures and product information, financial statements, and a list of local agents. However, an increasing number of carriers are starting to expand their Web sites to enable customers to access online account and billing information, and some carriers even allow claims to be submitted online. Many carriers also provide insurance quotes online based on the information submitted by customers on their Internet sites. In fact, some carriers will allow customers to purchase policies through the Internet without ever speaking to a live agent.

In addition to individual carrier-sponsored Internet sites, several “lead-generating” sites have emerged. These sites allow potential customers to input information about their insurance policy needs. For a fee, the sites forward customer information to a number of insurance companies, which review the information and, if they decide to take on the policy, contact the customer with an offer. This practice gives consumers the freedom to accept the best rate.

3 costly myths about insurance

2009-06-22T00:50:00.000-07:00

If you believe these popular misconceptions, you're going to be underinsured or improperly insured, and you're going to pay too much.

By Liz Pulliam Weston

Many people, I'm convinced, think about insurance in the wrong ways.

Here are the myths and the realities you should be thinking about instead:

Myth: Your benefits should roughly equal the premiums you've paid

Many people feel cheated if they aren't "using" their insurance -- in other words, if they pay premiums for years and never make a claim.

That, however, is exactly what you want to happen with most types of insurance.

So why pay extra for a policy with a low deductible, just so you can get your insurance company to cover a cost you could readily handle on your own?

Opting for deductibles of $500 to $1,000, instead of $100 to $250, can save you as much as 35% on your premiums.

Myth: Insurance should cover disasters that are likely to happen

Remember, insurance is meant to protect you from financial catastrophe -- disasters from which you could not easily recover on your own.

So, if you don't have enough cash saved up to rebuild your home or pay off the mortgage, and you live in an area where natural disasters are a distinct possibility, you need appropriate coverage.

15 things you need to know about insurance

2009-06-22T00:45:00.000-07:00

Insurance can be complicated and confusing. This guide answers some basic questions about the types of coverage you need.

By Jeff Wuorio

You know you should have a comprehensive, cost-effective network of coverage, but what you need and how much can be confusing. Here are answers to 15 of the most commonly asked questions about insurance:

1. What sorts of insurance do I need?

Most people need to be concerned with insuring four areas: their possessions, their life, their health and their finances.

2. When you're talking about possessions, does that mean homeowners insurance is the most important?

Probably, because a house is likely to be the single biggest investment most of us make. The rule of thumb with homeowners insurance is not to skimp. If you can, pay extra for guaranteed-replacement coverage, which mandates that the insurer will replace your home if it is destroyed, regardless of the cost. If you instead specify a dollar amount of coverage, and it's not enough, you could end up paying the difference.

3. Once I have guaranteed-replacement coverage for my home, I'm all set, right?

Well, it's important to know what your homeowners insurance covers and what it doesn't. For example, particularly pricey items such as big-screen televisions and fancy stereo equipment are often excluded from policies or, at the least, inadequately covered. The same goes for antiques, collectibles, expensive jewelry and furs. Ask for riders that specifically cover those items.

Additionally, homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage. Go to your town or municipal office to see if your home is in a flood plain. If so, these private insurers participate in the federal government's National Flood Insurance Program. Likewise, seek out earthquake insurance if you live in a vulnerable area.

4. I have a home office. Do I have any special insurance needs?

Oh yes. A great deal of home-office equipment, including computers, fax machines and copy machines, are excluded from most conventional homeowners policies. You have to obtain separate insurance to cover them. If you see clients in your home office, insurance becomes particularly important: You will need liability insurance as well. Check with your insurance agent to make certain your bases are covered.

5. Does homeowners insurance cover me if, say, someone slips on my front steps, breaks a leg and sues me?

Not completely. Homeowners policies -- and, for that matter, renters policies -- have liability limits. One option is an umbrella policy. This adds additional liability coverage, upward of $1 million, relatively cheaply (prices vary considerably from state to state). It also gives you additional liability coverage for your car.

6. Is car insurance an absolute must?

Absolutely. Every state requires that drivers have some sort of automobile insurance in place. Even if they didn't, it would be sheer madness to drive one inch without some form of protection. Slam into someone else and wreck another car, or kill someone, without the protection of auto insurance, and your financial life could be ruined.

Video on MSN Money

Kids, cars and college
While they’re away, you might be able to save a bundle on insurance. Here's how.

7. Why is auto insurance so expensive, and how can I hold down the cost?

The biggest bite comes from liability protection, which is composed of bodily injury protection and property protection. This is one element of auto insurance you shouldn't shortchange. Look for coverage of at least $100,000 per person, another $100,000 for property and $300,000 per accident. If you can swing it, add uninsured motorist coverage, which protects you if you're in an accident involving a driver with no insurance.

To make this more affordable, consider raising your deductibles (that portion of the expense you have to pay before your coverage kicks in). Pushing up deductibles to $500 or even higher can significantly cut your premiums. Consider eliminating collision coverage, which covers damage to your car. That's probably not wise if your car is new, but give it some thought if your car has a few years on it and driving around with a ding or two is no big deal.

Other ways to cut costs: Drive safely (drivers with good records get better deals); insure every car you own with the same company (multi-car packages often mean lower premiums); don't smoke (statistics show that smokers have more accidents than nonsmokers); and, if you're still in school and pulling down good grades, let your insurer know it (good marks sometimes cut premiums). For more help, see "Shopping for auto insurance."

8. What about life insurance? Do I have to have that?

Does anyone depend on you financially? In its most basic form, life insurance covers a person's income. If no spouse, child or parent is depending on your income, then life insurance is optional. If you're married, or there is someone whose well-being depends on what you make for a living, life insurance can prove an essential form of protection.

There is one wrinkle that goes against the maxim "no income, no insurance." If one spouse works and the other stays home with kids, consider taking out insurance on the parent at home. Should he or she die, the death benefit could cover the hefty expense of child care.

Quantifying the Health Care Problem

2009-06-21T13:15:00.000-07:00

In recent months, the subprime mortgage meltdown and the global financial crisis have justifiably occupied much of the public's attention. Underlying our current, deep economic trough, however, is an issue that affects nearly all Americans - not just the 9.4% of us who are currently unemployed: the cost of health care.

The past several weeks have witnessed the early stages of a battle over the fundamental way in which health insurance will operate in the United States, and with good reason; the existing system is flat-out broken. Consider these alarming facts:

In 2007, the latest year for which government data is available, nearly 46 million Americans - 18 percent of the population under the age of 65 - were without health insurance. Between 2005 and 2006, the number of uninsured rose 2.2 million, and has increased by almost 8 million people since 2000.
Eighty percent of the uninsured are native or naturalized citizens, NOT illegal immigrants. More than 8 in 10 uninsured people are in working families, and almost 70 percent come from families with one or more full-time workers.
The percentage of people (including workers and dependents) with employer-provided health insurance has dropped from 70 percent in 1987 to just 62 percent in 2007.
The number of uninsured children in 2007 was 8.1 million, or just under 11% of all children in the United States.

The United States spends a larger percentage of its GDP on health care than any other developed nation. One might reasonably think, then, that the quality and availability of health care in this country would be top notch. One would be wrong; for all of that expenditure, the U.S. is just 37th in the most recent World Health Organization (WHO) rankings of the world's health care systems, slightly ahead of Slovenia and Cuba, but behind such powerhouses as Costa Rica, Dominica, Chile, Colombia, Morocco and Greece.

Anyone who was alive during the Clinton Administration knows that this has been an issue for some time, and that access to health care is actually declining. In addition to the human cost of this situation is the sheer economic waste involved. Each year, the United States spends almost $100 billion to provide uninsured residents with health services - often for preventable diseases or ones more easily treated with early diagnosis - and hospitals shell out another $34 billion worth of uncompensated care on top of that.

Perhaps worst of all, however, is when human and economic costs intersect. In 2001, an American Journal of Medicine (AJM) study found that 46.2% of all personal bankruptcies were directly related to medical problems and the lack of adequate health insurance. In 2007, the AJM ran the study again, and what they found is truly staggering:

Using a conservative definition, 62.1% of all bankruptcies in 2007 were medical; 92% of these medical debtors had medical debts over $5000, or 10% of pretax family income. The rest met criteria for medical bankruptcy because they had lost significant income due to illness or mortgaged a home to pay medical bills. Most medical debtors were well educated, owned homes, and had middle-class occupations. Three quarters had health insurance. Using identical definitions in 2001 and 2007, the share of bankruptcies attributable to medical problems rose by 49.6%. In logistic regression analysis controlling for demographic factors, the odds that a bankruptcy had a medical cause was 2.38-fold higher in 2007 than in 2001.

Clearly - at least if one believes that adequate health care should be available to everyone, not just the rich or the fortunate - the employer-based system of private health care that has been in place in the United States since World War II does not meet the needs of the American people.

NEXT: Exploring the Health Care Options

How To Cool The Climate

2009-06-19T04:12:00.000-07:00

With all the talk about global warming these days, msnbc have done a little featurette on some of the more desperate measures scientists have come up with to cool the planet.

It contains ideas such as sprinkling the atmosphere with volcanic dust, carbon sinks, seeding the ocean with iron ore, building huge artificial trees to trap CO2 and launching solar umbrellas. It also explains briefly the idea behind each one and their respective drawbacks.

It will be interesting to look back later on and see which, if any were used and what other methods were employed.

Choosing a Sofa Bed – Five Top Tips

2009-06-18T04:51:00.000-07:00

If you’d like to invite friends or family members to stay overnight, but don’t have enough space for a spare bed, a sofa bed may be the perfect solution. The sofa bed is one of the most practical items of furniture that you can buy, thanks to its dual purpose, space-saving design.

If you’re planning to buy a sofa bed, it’s important to choose one that meets your needs and look great. Here are five tips to help you to choose the right sofa bed for your home.
1. Measure up carefully
Firstly, you’ll need to work out where you are going to put your new sofa bed and measure up to see how much room you have. Make sure that you have enough space for the bed to be fully opened. If you have plenty of space, it’s worth buying a large sofa bed, as your guests will have more room to stretch out, making for a more comfortable night’s sleep. However, make sure that when the sofa bed is extended, it won’t block any doorways and that there will be enough space around it for your guests to be able to move around the room easily.

It’s also important to make sure that you will be able to get your new sofa bed through your front door and any internal doors, so measure up these areas as well.
2. Don’t skimp on quality
As with other items of furniture, choosing a high-quality sofa bed will be more cost-effective in the long term than buying a cheaper, lower quality sofa bed. Make sure that any sofa bed that you are considering meets the relevant British Standards and check to make sure that the foam used in the seat cushions is of good quality. It’s particularly important to check the product details to see whether the sofa bed that you like is intended for occasional use or regular use before buying it, to make sure that it will suit your needs.

3. Make sure it’s comfortable Sofa beds usually have either sprung mattresses or foam mattresses. Sprung mattresses tend to be firmer than foam mattresses, and are also more durable, so if you’re likely to be using your sofa bed regularly, a sprung mattress may be the best option. However, you may prefer a softer mattress and if you aren’t likely to be using your sofa bed regularly, a foam mattress may be better for you.

4. Choose the upholstery carefully Choose a sofa bed with upholstery which will be practical and easy to clean, as well as looking good in your home. Many retailers sell sofa beds which use stain-resistant fabric, which is particularly useful if you have children! If you’re thinking about replacing other furniture in your home at the same time, you may be able to find a range of furniture which includes a sofa bed, so you will know that your furniture will all match perfectly.

5. Look online for discounts Some online retailers offer a fantastic range of sofa beds and will deliver your new furniture directly to your door. You can also find some great discounts and offers by shopping for sofa beds and other furniture online.

Third Blogoversary

2009-06-16T11:36:00.000-07:00

Getting home yesterday after several weeks of extensive travel was a relief, and I have a lot of catching up to do both at work and at home. Normal, twice-weekly posting will resume later this week.

Oh, and Sensen No Sen celebrates its 3rd anniversary this month!

So I've got that going for me.

Which is nice.

Types of Business Insurance

2009-06-10T08:26:00.000-07:00

Business insurance is a broad description that can be broken down into a list of nine types of insurance policies and here I will briefly explain the coverage and expand on these as individual topics. For now, these are general descriptions so that we are talking about the same thing when I use these terms in later articles.

Property Insurance

Property insurance insures against loss or damage to the location of the business and its contents. It can also insure the property of others in your control when the loss occurs. Property insurance can be for a specific risk. For example, a fire insurance policy insures only against a fire loss to the location. A tornado is not a fire and, therefore, that loss would not be covered. The insured location can be owned, leased or rented.

Casualty Insurance

Some insurers will lump property and casualty insurance together and refer to the coverage as property and casualty insurance. In fact, packaged policies of property and casualty are often the best purchase a business owner can make. However, to have an understanding of the difference between the coverage, I will discuss this as a separate type of insurance. Casualty insurance insures against loss or damage to the business.

Liability Insurance

Liability insurance insures against liability legally imposed upon your business because of the negligence of the business or its employees. Put another way, it protects your business when the business is sued for negligence.

Commercial Auto

Your personal automobile policy does NOT cover vehicles used by your business. If your business uses vehicles or anything that is required to be titled by your state, then you need a commercial auto policy. Commercial auto coverage insures against property damage to vehicles and damage caused to others by those vehicles.

Workers Compensation

You will need to insure your employees against on-the-job injuries. Every state is different. But, most states have put into place some form of workers' compensation system. Workers' compensation is a system where the employee is not allowed, by statute, to sue their employer for on-the-job injuries; but, in return, the employer must participate in a system that provides nearly automatic payment to the employee in case of injury for medical bills and damages. There are many options for workers' compensation coverage. Some states allow an employer to opt-out of the system if the employer is self insured, some run the system through private insurers while others use state agencies.

Business Interruption

Business interruption insurance insures against loss or damage to the cash flow and profit of a business caused by the business being unable to operate because of interruption. The easiest example is to think about a critical piece of machinery being struck by lightning. The repairs to the machine may be covered by other coverage such as property or casualty insurance. But, if you can not make widgets for three months, than there is no replacement of that income without this coverage.

Health Insurance

To be competitive, most businesses need to offer their workers health insurance. This insurance offers a health coverage benefit to your employees (and you).

Life and Disability Insurance

Life and disability insurance protects the business against the death or disability of key employees. For example, one partner carries a life insurance policy naming the partnership as a beneficiary. If that partner dies, and the business has planned properly, the proceeds of the policy can be used by the business to buy out the share of the decedent's partnership interest from the estate.

Other Insurance or Scripted Policies

It could very well be that your business is so unique to have need for coverage that is a mixture of some of the coverage listed above or something written specifically for your particular risk. One can think of some actresses, actors, or sports stars that have had legs insured at some point in there careers. This would be an example of a scripted policy.

By Gregory Boop, About.com

Employment Practices Liability Insurance

2009-06-10T08:22:00.000-07:00

Employment practices liability insurance or "EPLI" is liability insurance that covers certain employment related claims made by employees. For example, if a manager harasses or discriminates against an employee (or is alleged to have done so), EPLI will provide a defense and possibly claim payment on behalf of the business.

In today's world this is critical coverage to have if you have employees or if you have employees working with the public or on site at other businesses. Such coverage can also protect the business owner from meritless claims brought by disgruntled employees. Even though as business owners we strive to be fair and non-discriminatory, old habits die hard, age and gender gaps lead to miscommunication, and EPLI coverage can serve as a last line of defense against employment claims.

EPLI policies and coverage is less standardized than other forms of coverage. Sometimes EPLI coverage is bundled in a business owner's policy or as a part of other liability insurance. It may also be a separate coverage or endorsement. For your business insurance plan you will want to discuss EPLI coverage with an insurance professional who understands your business. This article is only intended as an overview and cannot substitute for a thorough analysis of your business and business practices.

EPLI coverage generally covers:

Workplace Harassment
Workplace Discrimination
Wrongful Discharge
Emotional Distress
Possibly Privacy-Based Claims
Possibly Reputation Claims (Defamation)

This coverage is a bit complicated. It is a legal maxim that a company cannot insure against intentional injuries. Otherwise, the fear is that companies would disregard public safety (auto manufacturers would buy insurance instead of installing seat belts, for example). But, EPLI coverage does, in some respects, cover intentional injury. The idea is the coverage protects against intentional injuries done by employees without the business' consent or knowledge. Therefore, EPLI does not cover "institutional" employee injuries or those injuries caused by the company as opposed to by individual managers or employees. In most EPLI policies the distinction is made by excluding coverage for violations of the law.

EPLI policies generally exclude coverage for:

Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) Violations
Fair Labor Standards Act Violations
State Employment Law Violations
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) Violations
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Violations
Certain Americans With Disabilities Act Claims
Intentional Institutional Claims (such as retaliating against a whistle blower)
Punitive Damages

The terms of EPLI coverage included in a packaged policy can be very different than the terms of the general liability policy. EPLI coverage will often be coverage where settlement costs and legal fees are both considered in the policy limits. That is, for every dollar spent defending a claim, less money is available to settle the claim. Some policies will possess a strong "hammer clause" where the business is forced to settle even meritless claims if the insurer decides to settle with the claimant. In the alternative, some policies give the business owner the right to hire their own counsel and require business owner permission to settle any claim.

EPLI coverage will need to be tailored to every state where the business has operations. The business may need additional endorsements to cover operations in some states that have very strong employee protection laws.

Finally, EPLI coverage should be a last line of defense. Proper risk management and business insurance planning for your business will include training. Diversity and sensitivity training must be part of that training. The U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is a phenomenal website with free training resources, guides, compliance information, and links to free training throughout the U.S. This is a risk that can be insured, but with a small time investment it can be substantially reduced.

By Gregory Boop, About.com

When Your Insurance Company Won’t Pay: 12 Tips

2009-06-10T08:19:00.000-07:00

By Mary Shomon, with Dr. William Cline

1. Don’t assume that the first “no” you receive is final.
About 10 percent of all insurance claims are unjustly denied but less than 1 percent of people making insurance claims even question their insurer when their claim is denied. The majority of policyholders who do contest their cases either win their cases or improve their settlements.

2. Insist on a written explanation.
Most state laws require insurance companies to provide written explanations of claim denials. Failure to comply may constitute an illegal practice by the insurer.

3. Read your policy carefully to determine if the claim was legitimately denied.
The insurance company may have interpreted a clause in your policy differently from the way you understand it. Respect your sense of fairness and what you expect the policy to cover. If the ruling doesn’t sound fair, there’s a good chance that it isn’t.

4. Do not accept filing errors as ground for refusal.
Always follow your insurer’s instruction for filing a claim. But if you fail to fill out a form correctly, or if you miss a deadline for submitting a claim – even if you are months late – an insurance company cannot refuse to pay an otherwise valid claim unless the company can show it has been harmed by your error or prevented from making an adequate investigation due to your delay.

5. Do your own research to support your claim.
If your insurance pays less than you expected for care provided, check what other doctors in your area charge for the same care. If other doctors charge more than you received, challenge the payment.

6. Ask your insurance agent or group policy administrator at work for support.
The agent from whom you purchased your insurance has a duty to make sure the coverage protects your interests.

7. Contact the insurance company directly.
If your insurance agent or claims administrator doesn’t resolve the problem within 30 days, telephone the insurance company yourself. Be polite but persistent, and keep going up the corporate ladder. Be sure to make a record of all phone calls, including the names and positions of everyone with whom you speak. Save your phone bills that list the calls. Follow up each call with a brief letter stating your understanding of the conservations, and requesting a response within 30 days.

8. Complain in writing if your phone calls don’t work.
Begin with the person who denied your claim, then write to the person’s supervisor. Include your policy number, copies of all relevant forms, bills, and supporting documents and a clear, concise description of the problem. Request that the insurer responds in writing within three weeks. Keep copies of all correspondence. Send letters by registered mail. Explain what negative effects the denial of your claim is having. Use a courteous, unemotional tone and avoid rude or blaming statements.

9. Write a follow-up letter.
If you receive no response, send follow-up letters, with your original letter attached to the insurance company’s consumer complaints or customer service department and to the company president. In most states, failure to respond promptly to letters regarding claims is an unfair insurance practice.

10. Enlist outside help.
If necessary, add pressure from:

Your state Department of Insurance – this is free. The amount of these departments can help varies from state to state. But some states with strong departments (California, New York, Illinois) will mediate your dispute.
A professional arbitrator.
A lawyer.

11. Gain doctors’ support.
If you can enlist your doctors’ support for your claim, you have a better chance of successfully challenging a claim.

12. Look for violations.
If your claim is denied because of a reduction in coverage, determine if you were ever notified about that reduction in coverage. If you were not, then you have a good chance of winning your claim since failure to notify the patient of a reduction in coverage is a violation of the law.

Ten Insurance Tips For Corporate Counsel, Risk Managers And Executives

2009-06-10T08:15:00.000-07:00

BYLINE: By Mark Garbowski

Insurance policies often are acquired and then put in a drawer. But there are important steps that policyholders should take to help maximize the value of their insurance coverage.

Insurance is an Asset, Not a Certificate of Achievement

Many companies view the purchase of an insurance policy as something they are required to do by a regulatory agency, trade group, or business partner. Once they obtain the certificate and demonstrate compliance, their interest in the insurance ends, only to be renewed once a new certificate is needed. When a loss occurs, however, it is important to pursue the recovery of the insurance asset in a proper fashion.

When a Company is an Additional Insured on Another's Policy, Ask for a Copy of the Policy, Not Just the Certificate of Insurance

Often, a company will require its business partner to demonstrate compliance with an insurance requirement by furnishing a copy of the certificate, typically supplied by the broker. Although a commonly accepted practice, this is not satisfactory, especially when one company is an additional insured under the policy purchased by the other company.

Without the policy, when a loss occurs, an additional insured will not know where or how to give notice, what coverage is available, what exclusions might apply, what other conditions might apply, or how deductibles, retentions, and limits of insurance are allocated and calculated. This is not a good position to be in, yet it is very much routine.

Companies should ask for a copy of all relevant policies from their business partners. They might not provide it willingly, but an additional insured certainly will not get it if it does not ask.

Know Where All Policies are Now, and Maintain Insurance Policies Indefinitely Under a Document Retention Policy

Because insurance policies are assets, and not just pieces of paper, it is important to maintain the policies in good order. A policy is not much use if a policyholder cannot prove that it exists or what its terms are. If a company has a document retention policy, make sure that insurance documentation is included, and that copies of policies are maintained for a long time. If a company decides to dispose of or destroy an old policy, it should be carefully reviewed for the possibility that it could respond to either a loss that occurs in the future, or, more likely, a loss that reveals itself in the future. If either possibility exists, do not get rid of it.

Review New Policies as Soon as They Arrive

Depending on applicable state insurance law, an insurance company might be required to highlight certain coverage changes or reductions on renewal or replacement policies. While such disclosures are useful, they should not be relied on to inform policyholders of every relevant change in the policy, and policyholders should not assume that any change not included in the disclosure is insignificant.

A seemingly arcane change regarding the application of a deductible, for example, can have an extreme effect on the coverage provided by a policy. This type of change will often not be included in a summary of major policy changes provided by the insurance company or even an insurance broker. It is, therefore, the policyholder's responsibility to have someone review new policies when they arrive. It is better to know of policy changes when they are first implemented, when there still might be a chance to remove the change or even buy a replacement from a different company. If a policyholder waits until after a loss occurs to discover the change, it will probably be too late.

Develop Insurance Expertise Outside of Risk Management

While a company's risk management department or consultants are obviously an important and central part of its base of insurance knowledge, it should not be the places in which insurance knowledge resides. In particular, a policyholder's legal department, including any regularly retained outside counsel, should have a ready, working knowledge of the company's insurance program.

Make Sure the Insurance Team Works Together as Allies

Corporate "politics" should not have a negative impact on a company's insurance recovery. Tensions or rivalries between different departments, or among inside employees and various outside consultants, should not be allowed to get in the way of the pursuit of a company's insurance claim. The person in charge should have the responsibility of making certain that these groups work together, as allies, on behalf of their mutual employer or client: the policyholder.

Consider Insurance Coverage After Every Loss

When a company suffers a loss, of any kind, it should immediately begin to determine which insurance policies might provide coverage. In fact, the company should begin thinking of insurance coverage when it becomes aware of the potential of a loss that might take place. In addition to giving notice (as discussed below), there are some seemingly innocuous decisions that a company might make that could negatively affect coverage later on.

Provide Notice of Every Loss, or Potential Loss, as Soon as Possible

Give notice immediately, as soon as possible, after every loss or potential loss. Do not wait to determine whether the issue will be big enough to warrant a claim. Do not wait to see if a potential liability is ever pursued by a claimant. Do not defer giving notice because of a fear that premiums will increase because of that notice. A policyholder can always drop a claim if it later determines that the matter is best handled without the insurance company's involvement, but the opposite is not necessarily the case. If a company fails to give notice on a timely basis, it could very well forfeit coverage altogether. There is almost no advantage to delaying coverage, and rarely does it outweigh the cost of either losing coverage outright, or the cost of fighting the insurance company over the timing of notice. Even if a policyholder is successful, that is a fight that is easily avoided.

Challenge the Insurance Company's Denial

It is no secret that insurance companies will often test their policyholders' resolve by issuing an initial denial for a claim whenever there is any remotely plausible basis for doing so. Too often, this gambit succeeds when the policyholder reads the denial, affirms its seeming "plausibility," and resigns itself to handling the loss without insurance.

Do not fall into this trap.

First, a policyholder should undertake an independent evaluation of its coverage claim. It is not enough to read the sections quoted by the insurance company. It is rare for the insurance company to misrepresent those provisions, but they also rarely tell the entire story. The policyholder should use its resources in risk management and legal expertise to review the entire policy, looking for sections that might create coverage despite the provisions relied upon by the insurance company. It should write back, explaining why it is not taking "No" for an answer. Sometimes one, or a few letters, is enough pushback to get the insurance company to reconsider.

When Responding to Insurance Company Information Requests, Never Say "No"

Just as a policyholder should never accept "No" from an insurance company, it should in turn almost never say "No" when responding to the insurance company's requests for cooperation and information. That does not mean a policyholder has to fulfill every request exactly as it is presented. Look for creative ways to offer the information the insurance company needs, while maintaining all necessary confidentiality and minimizing costs. Ask the insurance company to sign confidentiality agreements where appropriate, and be careful of sharing privileged information in circumstances where doing so might constitute a waiver of the privilege. Be sure to check with counsel for the law of the applicable jurisdiction. Refusing to provide privileged information under such circumstances should be justifiable under the cooperation clauses of the policy. In contrast, a simple denial of all or most requests provides the insurance company with a simple basis for denying a claim.

Conclusion

Insurance coverage is an important corporate asset. When companies treat their policies appropriately, they are more likely to provide the value that was intended at the outset.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

42nd Annual Japan Karate-Do Ryobu-Kai International Tournament

2009-06-09T20:01:00.000-07:00

I'm entering the home stretch of a fairly strenuous travel schedule, but looking forward to finishing big. Over the past couple of weeks, I've been in Dallas, Miami and Ithaca, NY, and now I'm getting ready to head to Anaheim for the 42nd Annual Japan Karate-Do Ryobu-Kai International Tournament.

Along with Elite Training, the JKRI Tournament is one of Japan Karate-Do Rybobu-Kai's two largest annual teaching, competition and testing events. It's a fantastic opportunity to learn from world class instructors, and a great chance to catch up with good friends in the martial arts community.

I missed last year's event for the first time in a while, and am excited to do some heavy training. (And then, I'll be just as excited to be a homebody!)

Reunion Weekend

2009-06-03T15:10:00.000-07:00

Posts are likely to be a little spotty over the next couple of weeks, as I have a fair amount of traveling to do.

This weekend, I'm off to Ithaca, NY for the Johnson Graduate School of Management Class of 1999 Reunion. Hard to believe it's been a decade since business school, but I'm looking forward to catching up with people I haven't seen since graduation!

Privacy Policy

2009-06-01T08:12:00.001-07:00

Privacy Policy for http://worldinsurance-site.blogspot.com/

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Definition of Insurance

2009-05-30T08:44:00.000-07:00

promise of compensation for specific potential future losses in exchange for a periodic payment. Insurance is designed to protect the financial well-being of an individual, company or other entity in the case of unexpected loss. Some forms of insurance are required by law between the the , while others are optional. Agreeing to the terms of an insurance policy creates a contractinsured and the insurer. In exchange for payments from the insured (called premiums), the insurer agrees to paypolicy holder a sum of money upon the occurrence of a specific event. In most cases, the policy holder pays part of the loss (called the deductible), and the insurer pays the rest. Examples include car insurance, health insurance, disability insurance, life insurance, and business insurance.

On the Wrong Side of History

2009-05-30T07:03:00.000-07:00

In the nearly three years that I've been blogging, I have written several times on the topic of same sex marriage. In fact, one of my very first posts was called The Solution to the Gay Marriage Debate (Seriously), and my position has been consistent since, so I won't reiterate it here at length. I'll simply say that preventing consenting adults from marrying the person they love because others have religious issues with it, is flat out wrong.

Although the ruling by the California Supreme Court earlier this week upholding Proposition 8, which amended the state constitution to prohibit same sex marriage, was therefore profoundly disappointing, it was also not unexpected. Taking the easy way out, the Court held that Proposition 8 should stand, and while new marriages among homosexuals would not be legal, existing ones would still be recognized.

While I am not a lawyer, this ruling appears to me to be deeply flawed, since it creates a protected class of citizens in gays who have already married. The equivalent would be to permit citizens who purchased slaves before slavery was outlawed to keep them, but to prevent prospective slave owners from buying human chattel after an arbitrary date.

As discouraging as this ruling is, however, it is merely a setback. Proponents of equal marriage rights are preparing to fight on, and will place gay marriage measures on the California ballot as long as it takes to erase the enshrinement of bigotry, fear and discrimination that is Proposition 8. Opponents of same sex matrimony are on the wrong side of history, and one day the attitude of the woman in the photo on the right, above, will be as reviled as the hatred expressed by the people who fought the integration of public schools in Arkansas.

In the meantime, the Courage Campaign has an excellent new ad out on the topic that poignantly drives home how unjust discrimination against gays and lesbians really is.

Dishonoring Himself and Those Who Serve

2009-05-25T11:45:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day is an opportunity to pause and reflect on the enormous personal sacrifices made by the men and women who serve our country in uniform. It is a chance, also, to appreciate what, specifically, they are sworn to do, lost as that often is in a swirl of flag-waving hero worship.

Because those who serve do not do so to become larger-than-life, or to have medals pinned to their chests, or to have strangers in airports thank them "for their service." Rather, the stated purpose of the American military can be boiled down to the few simple sentences that comprise the oath of allegiance sworn by all officers when they are commissioned:

I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.

This oath is similar in both intent and concision to the one taken by the president at his inauguration:

I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

What is striking in both of these oaths is that the focus of each is to defend the Constitution, not to make sure that bad things never happen or to "keep us safe." And that is why, in his speech on Thursday, in which he advocated something called "prolonged detention" for individuals whom we cannot successfully prosecute, President Obama dishonors both his own office and the men and women of our military.

This radical policy, rooted firmly beyond the bounds of the president's constitutional powers, declares that the government can imprison - without trial - those we merely suspect of having a desire or motivation to commit a crime in the future. It is utterly, completely, indefensible, and on this day, when we remember those who have given their lives to defend their nation - to defend their country's constitution - it could not be more insulting.

Rachel Maddow has an excellent piece on the president's speech in the clip below.

Ventura's Torture Smackdown Tour

2009-05-20T08:13:00.000-07:00

Jesse Ventura, former U.S. Navy SEAL, former professional wrestler, and former Governor of Minnesota, has never been afraid to have an opinion. Although his career as a politician was, by most accounts, mixed, he has recently been making a particularly distinguished tour of various talk shows, promoting his new book with the uncompromising assertiveness that is his trademark, on full display.

Originally questioned about American torture policy on the Larry King Show, Governor Ventura got rolling quickly, picked up steam on The View, and then bulldozed through the Fox News Channel, leaving a trail of shattered Bush Administration propaganda, and rhetorically demolishing his pro-torture adversaries. Uniquely positioned as a political independent and not only a veteran, but one who experienced waterboarding firsthand as part of his training at the SERE school, he has had little trouble confronting the ignorance, intellectual weakness and moral bankruptcy of the torture advocates he has debated. Even better, he has come prepared, and revealed the Elizabeth Hasselbecks, Brian Kilmeades and Sean Hannitys of the world to be both embarrassingly immature and incapable of more than the alternately bullying and pouting recitation of discredited, jingoistic talking points.

Whatever one might think of Mr. Ventura's outsized personality, in helping to illuminate the cowards and the shortsighted servants of expedience who support torture for what they are, he is fulfilling a valuable role. He might not be convincing the people with whom he is arguing directly, but he is making a strong case to the people on the sidelines, and has already generated one of the best quotes to date on the reliability of information gained through physical abuse:

I'll put it to you this way, you give me a water board, Dick Cheney and one hour, and I'll have him confess to the Sharon Tate murders.

More below - enjoy!

An Even Lower Low

2009-05-15T16:23:00.000-07:00

This week brought significant new developments in the ongoing saga of American torture policy.

In the first, President Obama reversed himself on the release of additional images from the Abu Ghraib Prison scandal, in which United States military personnel tortured, humiliated, terrorized and even killed Iraqi prisoners in their custody. Mr. Obama had previously stated that he would not challenge the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)'s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for their release, but dug in his heals at the 11th hour, claiming that the pictures would "further inflame anti-American opinion and ... put our troops in greater danger."

The courts appear likely to force the White House to release the Abu Ghraib photos anyway, but if it is unclear what the president hopes to accomplish with this delay, there are a number of reasonable paths of conjecture. It's possible that he is positioning himself to release the photos later in conjunction with an investigation into Bush Administration torture policy. He might be concerned about bogging down ongoing relations with Pakistan, Iran and/or Afghanistan. It could be a simple matter of responding to ongoing criticism from the Republican opposition. It might even be an attempt to provide cover for members of the Democratic Party complicit in President Bush's policy. It could be some combination of any or all of these considerations, but one things is for certain: It would be pretty difficult to further inflame the Muslim world against the United States in any significant fashion. As the always-outstanding Glenn Greenwald writes [emphasis in original]:

We're currently occupying two Muslim countries. We're killing civilians regularly (as usual) - with airplanes and unmanned sky robots. We're imprisoning tens of thousands of Muslims with no trial, for years. Our government continues to insist that it has the power to abduct people - virtually all Muslim - ship them to Bagram, put them in cages, and keep them there indefinitely with no charges of any kind. We're denying our torture victims any ability to obtain justice for what was done to them by insisting that the way we tortured them is a "state secret" and that we need to "look to the future." We provide Israel with the arms and money used to do things like devastate Gaza. Independent of whether any or all of these policies are justifiable, the extent to which those actions "inflame anti-American sentiment" is impossible to overstate.

And now, the very same people who are doing all of that are claiming that they must suppress evidence of our government's abuse of detainees because to allow the evidence to be seen would "inflame anti-American sentiment." It's not hard to believe that releasing the photos would do so to some extent - people generally consider it a bad thing to torture and brutally abuse helpless detainees - but compared to everything else we're doing, the notion that releasing or concealing these photos would make an appreciable difference in terms of how we're perceived in the Muslim world is laughable on its face.

The second notable event was the testimony of former FBI interrogator Ali Soufan before a Senate panel examining torture by American personnel, which covered not only the ineffectiveness of abusive techniques in effective questioning, but directly contradicted - under oath - key assertions made by former Vice President Dick Cheney about the results obtained from these methods.

Mr. Soufan stated that torture techniques were "ineffective, slow and unreliable and, as a result, harmful to our efforts to defeat al-Qaeda," and went on to say that "many of the claims made" by the Bush Administration were questionable at best. Specifically, Mr. Soufan cited these examples:

The Bush White House claimed Abu Zubaydah was not cooperating before August 1, 2002, when waterboarding was approved. "The truth is that we got actionable intelligence from him in the first hour of interrogating him" before that date.
The Bush Administration credited waterboarding with drawing information from Zubaydah that led to the capture of alleged dirty bomb conspirator Jose Padilla, who received a federal sentence of more than seventeen years, despite the fact that prosecutors presented no information on the supposed dirty bomb plot whatsoever. Mr. Padilla was, in fact, arrested in May 2002, months before waterboarding was authorized.
Bush officials contended that waterboarding revealed the involvement of al-Qaeda mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in the attacks of September 11, 2001. That information was actually uncovered in April 2002 again, months before waterboarding was introduced.

Of course this compelling, firsthand testimony didn't dissuade GOP boosters like entertainment personality Joe Scarborough. On Thursday's Morning Joe program, Mr. Scarborough simply ignored the fact that Ali Soufan testified under oath, as well as the time line issues he raised, and promptly stated that the former FBI agent was "exaggerating" his involvement, and didn't really know what he was talking about. (The MSNBC host clearly aspires to the Stephen Colbert school of reportage. As the unequalled Colbert said on one of his first shows, "Anyone can read the news to you. I'm going to feel the news at you.")

Incrementally then, it seems as if the justifications for torture are crumbling, as are the defenses of major supporters like former Vice President Dick Cheney who has been on television - probably more in the last few weeks than at any time during his term in office - defending the indefensible. As the accounts of success and the effectiveness of torture itself are undermined, what explains Mr. Cheney's media outlet omnipresence?

In an article for the Washington Note, Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, the State Deparment's Chief of Staff during the term of Secretary of State Colin Powell, provides a crucial insight enormous in its implications:
Likewise, what I have learned is that as the administration authorized harsh interrogation in April and May of 2002 - well before the Justice Department had rendered any legal opinion - its principal priority for intelligence was not aimed at pre-empting another terrorist attack on the U.S. but discovering a smoking gun linking Iraq and al-Qaeda.
When one stops to think about it, this explains an awful lot about why Dick Cheney is everywhere on the airwaves these days, claiming that torture kept America safe, and that the Bush Administration only had America's best interests at heart. However, if what Colonel Wilkerson says is true, then Mr. Cheney has a vested interest in making sure that the conversation about torture stays focused on its efficacy rather than the circumstances of its use.

Plainly, if the Bush Administration not only began torturing captives before the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) issued its opinion stating that such actions were permissible, but tortured prisoners to justify a political decision to invade Iraq - rather than to uncover "terrorist plots", then the jig is up. The torture of prisoners prior to the OLC opinion doesn't even have the flimsy legal cover that document provides. Worse for Mr. Cheney, the reason for that torture - the invasion and occupation of Iraq - isn't something that will pass muster as justifiable among any but the farthest right of the right wing.

For a while, I actually thought we had finally reached the bottom of the seemingly depthless pit of venality, arrogance, stupidity and ignorance that the Bush Administration seemed to mine regularly for its policy decisions. Based on past experience, I should have known better.

If the White House was, in fact, ordering the torture of prisoners, not even for the spineless justifications they have trotted out to date, but "merely" to help rationalize attacking a country that had nothing to do with 9/11, then - true to form - they have found yet one more way to achieve an even lower low for a presidency characterized by little else.

Over at The Heart of the Matter, Barry Eisler responds to one of his readers, who supports American torture policy. It is one of the best and most systematic demolitions of pro-torture arguments I've read yet. Please check out The Torture Mentality.

Libertarian Vacation Paradise

2009-05-10T10:41:00.000-07:00

With all the Fox News blather about imprecisely defined "socialism" and "fascism" under President Obama, it's worth noting that there are, in fact, countries around the globe that conform to some of the ideals and goals espoused by America's right wing.

For the religious zeaolots, there is Saudi Arabia, whose laws call out the intent that "society will be based on the principle of adherence to God's command." At the other end of the spectrum is Somalia, a failed state where society is supported only through the libertarian self-interest of private citizens.

Why is it, then, that these countries are never held up as exemplars of these doctrines, and why don't American conservatives at least vacation in places that embody their goals? Comedy troop The Public Service Adminstration helps us understand in the video below...

What Kind of Country Do We Want To Be?

2009-05-05T19:30:00.000-07:00

As the issue of American torture policy continues to ripple through the country, the moral bankruptcy and base ignorance of some of its leading supporters have been increasingly on display. Last Thursday, for example, in an informal interview with several students at Stanford University, Bush Administration Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice not only appeared to implicate herself in a criminal conspiracy, but leaned heavily on the megalomaniacal precedent of Richard M. Nixon, stating in regard to torture policy, "By definition, if it was authorized by the president, it did not violate our obligations under the Convention Against Torture."

On Sunday, The Daily Beast published an extensive interview of the first two Bush Administration Attorneys General, John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales. As usual, the latter seemed to take great pains to demonstrate that he is more consiglieri than lawyer, and that he simply doesn't understand what "rule of law" means. Asked his opinion on the release of the Bush torture policy memos, Mr. Gonzales exhibited a fundamental failure to grasp that every citizen of the United States - including the president - is subject to the same set of legal strictures, missing the point of the disclosures by a wide margin:

And then secondly, to say that we have now discontinued these [torture] techniques. They may be necessary in the future. And by disclosing it, means you take them off the table and they can never be used again.

Of course the need to keep illegal tactics in our back pocket "just in case" is only one more in the long line of foolish and unsupportable justifications for why the U.S. needs the capability to not only torture people when it's deemed necessary, but to do so without transparency. On Friday, former Bush State Department official - and current President of the Council on Foreign Relations - Richard Haass, trotted out this one:

Government service already asks a lot of individuals. It entails sacrifice, pays little, and often violates privacy. Adding risk of prosecution to the mix will make recruiting the best and brightest that much more difficult. If we are not careful, we will get the government we deserve, but not the government we need.

This particular argument is so pathetic that it's tempting to simply let it fall flat under the weight of its own inadequacy, but just in case it somehow starts to catch on as the new meme for torture-as-altruism, it's worth asking a couple of questions. First and foremost, doesn't - or shouldn't - everyone worry about facing prosecution if they commit a crime, whether they serve in the private sector or the public? And second, how is it that people who can only operate in an environment where they won't be held accountable for crimes can be considered our brightest and our best?

But the real kicker in all of this is a story emanating from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Bassam Nabulsi, an American businessman, is alleging abuse at the hands of a member of that country's royal family, and released a video tape to ABC News to bolster his claims. In the tape, Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan - the son of the UAE's former president - is clearly seen torturing an Afghani truck driver that he believed cheated him, forcing sand down the driver's throat, whipping him, hitting him with a plank, using a cattle prod on his genitals, and finally running over him repeatedly with a car. Mr. Nabulsi claims he has further footage of the sheikh tormenting at least 25 other individuals.

The tape has drawn well-founded outrage from around the world. Here at home, Congressman James McGovern, co-chair of the House Commission on Human Rights, had this to say:

The United Arab Emirates needs to fix this problem. This guy should be thrown in jail, he should be locked up. This guy is a sadist, he is mentally deranged, he is a sicko. The fact that he's getting protection just because he happens to be in a family that's well connected is unacceptable.

In whatever light we may view Sheikh Issa's actions, it's likely that, in his own mind, the torture of the Afghan driver is fully warranted. And there's the rub. Because for those who support President Bush's torture policies and their cover-up, there is - as demonstrated above - also ample justification for the illegal abuse of prisoners in American custody. Whether or not one agrees that Sheikh Issa should be free to torture business associates, the position of America's torture advocates is no more defensible than his, based as it is not on core principles or the rule of law, but on expedience, fear and rage.

The metamorphosis of the United States under Bush Administration policy from champion of human rights to just one more variety of torturer, has so deeply undermined our position that Representative McGovern's words - right as they are - no longer carry any moral authority on the world stage. One can argue that American torturers were trying to protect lives, not chasing a missing shipment of merchandise or acting out of sadism, but in doing so, the most important point is already conceded.

The fact is that the U.S. waterboarded one man 6 times a day for a month straight; hung people from chains by their wrists until their limbs swelled with pooled blood; threw them bodily into walls; and subjected them to extreme temperatures. Do we really want to argue about when torture is justified? Do we really want to be the country that has so thoroughly yielded the high ground that, rather than stand against torture, we only hold firm against certain kinds of torture, and only in certain circumstances?

If the UAE did not have a pending deal with the United States for the transfer of nuclear technology - and if we weren't still the most powerful nation on the planet - they and other countries would be mocking us openly. As it is, our failure to live up to our own laws - our political spinelessness - makes truth of our enemies' propaganda, delivers them recruits, and confirms to them the worst prejudices they hold against us. Until we prosecute those responsible for American torture policy, we remain nothing more than hypocrites hiding behind our wealth and military might.

Below is the ABC News report on Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan. Please be aware that it contains graphic images not suitable for younger viewers.