Homemakers Earn $100,000 Plus Health Insurance

Investopedia's Porcshe Moran did some research to find out, "How Much Is A Homemaker Worth?" By examining the basic tasks that most every homemaker does on a daily and weekly basis and taking the lowest value for each task, this article determined that a homemaker would earn around $100,000 if they worked outside of the home.

Between doing the grocery shopping and acting as a private chef for three meals a day, you could earn around $52,000 a year. House cleaning services vary depending on the size of the house, but a low average estimates just over $6,000 per year for basic housecleaning, more for things like cleaning out appliances and dusting mini-blinds. The full-time, live-in child care offered by homemakers is worth quite a lot both monetarily and in perks. A nanny would earn around $31,000 a year and would usually receive health insurance, vacation, sick days, bonuses, and even dental and vision insurance.

A personal driver for your own vehicle would cost you over $4,000 per year. Your Memphis auto insurance, or whatever city in which you live, might also cover the driver's car insurance as an added perk. Laundry services would cost nearly $1,000 per year assuming about five loads per week. Many homemakers also do landscaping services like mowing the lawn, for which they could earn more than $1,500 each year. With a salary near $100,000 per year, some homemakers may look to take some of their services outside the home!

Individual Health Insurance Rarely Covers IVF In US, More Embryos Transferred

Although many people think that the more embryos implanted during IVF, the greater chance you will have a successful pregnancy, the UK's University of Glasgow has found the opposite to be true. Europe has strict guidelines regarding the number of embryos that can be implanted during IVF, unlike the US. This is probably because IVF is paid for in many European countries. Individual health insurance, or group for that matter, in America rarely covers fertility treatments like IVF. Since the cost can start at $10,000 per treatment, Americans tend to implant more embryos in the hopes that it will give them a greater chance of having a baby.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine issues recommendations for embryo transfers, but they are rarely followed and not regulated. For women under 35, they recommend 1 embryo be transferred, 2-3 embryos for women 35-37, and 3-4 embryos for women 38-40. In contrast, the Western European guidelines are often laws and have lower recommendations. For women under 37, they recommend 1 embryo transferred, for ages 37-40 there is a maximum of 2 embryos, and over 40 there is usually a maximum of 3 embryos.

One reason given for the stricter guidelines is that there could be a greater risk of miscarriage and surely a riskier pregnancy with more embryos implanted. But this most recent study also found that there is not a higher likelihood of a successful pregnancy when three or more embryos are transferred. The women under 40 who were studied had a successful pregnancy 33% of the time with 2 embryos transferred, but only 25% of the time with 3 embryos transferred. In women over 40, the success rate was the same whether 2 or 3 embryos were transferred. We'll see if this study does anything to change American regulations.

This information came from the Associated Press article, "Study finds no better odds using 3 embryos in IVF," by Maria Cheng.

Medicare, Health Insurance Cuts Hurt Doctors with Small Practices

There is a sad reality facing many doctors in America who run their own businesses. Due to smaller reimbursements from health insurance companies, increasing business expenses and drug costs, and frequently changing regulations; doctors are running out of money to run their small practices. This information comes from "Small Business: Doctors going broke," by Parija Kavilanz of CNN Money. This is not only affecting family practice doctors, but also oncologists, cardiologists and just about every other specialty.

Believe it or not, half of all U.S. doctors operate in a private practice, so the loss of this industry would really hurt Americans' health care choices. Medicare cuts have hurt doctors with small businesses. Cardiovascular services saw 35-40% cuts in Medicare recently and there is a 24.7% cut in Medicare doctors' pay pending. Sadly, these cuts could force some doctors to close their small practices. Doctors have been going with less or no pay and taking out loans just to cover the payroll costs at their practices.

Medicare cuts are based on the state of the economy and health insurance companies base their reimbursements on what is happening with Medicare. Since doctors have been trained in medicine, they have to do added research to properly run a small business. Let's hope for some regulation and some better luck for doctors running small practices. While hiring another person is low on the priority list, it is wise to have someone with a business background to run a medical practice and not all doctors have that.