Individual healthcare is backed by DiMasi

Mandatory coverage would be nation's first

By Scott S. Greenberger, Globe Staff | October 22, 2005



Tens of thousands of people without health insurance -- many of them young, healthy, and able to afford coverage -- would be required to get insurance, just as they must now carry auto insurance, under a healthcare bill being written by House lawmakers.



House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi told the Globe yesterday that he backs a healthcare insurance requirement, a stance that aligns him with Governor Mitt Romney and significantly boosts the idea's prospects on Beacon Hill. The third major player in the healthcare debate, Senate President Robert E. Travaglini, has said he is open to the idea but has not committed to it.



If Massachusetts forces its citizens to purchase health insurance, it would be a national pioneer: No other state has such a requirement. A study released recently by the Urban Institute argues that it would be impossible to cover the Bay State's uninsured without requiring individuals to buy coverage.



Lawmakers are still settling the details, such as how much income a person would have to earn to face the insurance requirement and how the government would enforce it. DiMasi said he would like to protect lower-income people from the requirement. The House is also weighing a major expansion of Medicaid to cover more low income people.



In an interview with the Globe yesterday, DiMasi said the House plan ''will make people take personal responsibility when they are able to purchase health insurance for themselves and their families."



The Romney administration estimates that about 200,000 of the state's roughly 500,000 uninsured make enough money to afford private insurance with some state help. Romney has said that many of them are young, male, single, and simply gamble that they won't get sick. If they do, they go to hospitals and receive care they never pay for, because the hospital and the state pick up the tab.



Romney, who has been much more detailed than DiMasi in describing his health plan, would apply the individual insurance requirement to everyone. He wants to combine the requirement with rule changes that would allow insurance companies to offer limited, low-cost policies, and wants to provide state subsidies to help low-income people buy the policies. Under his plan, residents who choose not to obtain health insurance would face tax penalties and even the garnishment of their wages.



''I don't see how it works without an individual mandate," Romney said yesterday.



DiMasi suggested the House will follow a similar approach when it comes to low-cost coverage and subsidies. But he said he is worried about instituting penalties that are too harsh.



''The mandates and enforcement can't put people into financial hardship when they are sick or in need of medical care," he said.



DiMasi said he is ''90 to 95 percent" sure that the plan the House members of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing will produce at the end of the month will include the individual requirement. He said he is personally committed to the idea, and his opinion will carry a lot of weight when the full House debates the plan.

State Farm Reaches Settlement Over Salvage Cars

Car Owners To Be Compensated



POSTED: 9:02 pm EDT October 21, 2005

UPDATED: 9:07 pm EDT October 21, 2005



COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Tens of thousands of car owners across the nation will be entitled to their share of a $40 million settlement after possibly paying for cars that were not as good as advertised, NBC 4 reported.



State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company has identified 500 totaled vehicles in Ohio that it said were never properly retitled. Now, the owners will be getting hundreds of dollars back for the market loss of their vehicles.



State Farm reached a settlement with the attorneys general of nearly all 50 states.



In a statement, State Farm said the agreement was "the right thing to do for our policyholders and the public."



"We identified them and we're in the process of notifying consumers and giving them some compensation for the fact that their cars are now going to be diminished in value," Ohio Deputy Attorney General Shaun Petersen said.



For the past eight years, the Ohio Attorney General's Office said State Farm never issued a "salvage" title for vehicles designated a "total loss," meaning that they had been wrecked, flooded or stolen, NBC 4 reported.



"Under Ohio law, they're not allowed to drive vehicles that should be branded as salvaged," Petersen said. "Not only are we concerned about safety, but an innocent purchaser is going to have no idea that they were purchasing vehicles that had been in a serious accident."



In many cases, the vehicles were resold as "used" instead of "damaged." Now, Ohio's Bureau of Motor Vehicles has blocked any transactions involving those vehicles until they can be retitled.



Compensation of up to $20,000 is available if eligible consumers return their claim forms by Nov. 18. After that, they should expect their checks soon.



"Hopefully, within time for the holidays. We're pushing them to get that turned around as quickly as possible," Petersen said.



The state said reselling the salvaged vehicles is now illegal, but they can be retitled as a "rebuilt salvage," which upon inspection will allow them back on the road.



Watch NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com for additional information.

Hobart seeking bids for health insurance

By Karen Snelling / Post-Tribune staff writer



HOBART — The city is seeking proposals for health insurance broker services and claims administration for the first time in more than a decade.



Mayor Linda Buzinec announced this week that the proposals are being sought.



The mayor’s decision to seek competitve bids comes on the heels of City Councilman Thomas Ehrhardt’s push to revise the city’s health insurance program and cut costs.



Ehrhardt, chairman of the council’s Insurance Committee, suggested Hobart follow the example of other communities that solicit proposals from third party health administrators.



“For the best possible cost to the city, we must provide for an open-bid process for our health insurance,” Ehrhardt said in Sept. 28 letter sent to the mayor and other council members.



Administration of Hobart’s health insurance program has been handled by Gary Fischer, president of TPA One, for more than 14 years, the mayor said.



Fischer’s Valparaiso company serves as a third-party health administrator that seeks coverage and processes insurance claims for city workers. Buzinec said her office has received unsolicited proposals in the past, but there has been no formal bid process.



Councilman Carl Lindsey said competitive bidding allows the city to be fair and responsible with taxpayer dollars.



The deadline for responding to the city’s proposal request is Nov. 1.



Along with soliciting proposals, Ehrhardt’s plan to revise the city’s health insurance program includes recommendations that could hit the pocketbooks of city workers.



The 1st District councilman also wants the monthly health insurance premiums paid by more than 200 Hobart employees raised from $2 to $25.



He also thinks the $250 yearly deductible should be increased.



Deductibles would jump to $500 for individuals and $750 for families under the councilman’s proposal.



Ehrhardt further wants to eliminate health coverage for the city attorney and other contract workers.



Elected officials who serve on a part-time basis, including members of the City Council, board of public works and city judge, would also be removed from the plan.



The insurance proposals are being discussed by the council.

Health Insurance, Ethics Issues on Tap for Veto Session

From Farm Week



Health insurance for children undoubtedly will be a major issue raised in the fall veto session, which starts Tuesday in Springfield. The veto session is scheduled for three days this week and three days the next week, concluding on Nov. 4.



“From an agricultural standpoint, none of the legislation we supported or opposed was vetoed so we will not have those ag issues during the veto session,” said Kevin Semlow, Illinois Farm Bureau director of state legislation.



“We know there will be a big push by the governor and legislative leaders to take up the issue of the All Kids health care proposal,” he said.



IFB staff have been analyzing the All Kids proposal, but actual legislative language and a revenue source has not been identified, Semlow explained. “We will continue to monitor the issue as it develops,” he added.



Another anticipated issue centers on campaign contributions for statewide campaigns by individuals and companies that have state contracts.

Allstate to Cut Back Gulf Coast Coverage

Source AP



By DAVE CARPENTER

CHICAGO - Allstate Corp. will reduce its homeowners coverage in the Gulf Coast region after Hurricane Katrina resulted in an "unacceptable" loss to the insurer of $1.55 billion in the third quarter, its chief executive said Thursday.



Chairman and CEO Edward Liddy, while pledging the company's continued assistance to thousands of affected customers in Louisiana and the surrounding area, said Allstate must reduce its exposure in the region because of the risk of additional heavy catastrophe losses.



Allstate, the nation's second-largest personal-lines insurer after State Farm, similarly did not renew coverage for 95,000 homeowners in hurricane-battered Florida last year and moved quickly to raise rates there.



"It's not good stewardship of our shareholders' capital to have these kinds of losses in extreme events," Liddy told analysts on a conference call a day after Allstate reported its biggest-ever quarterly loss. "So we just need to get better, smarter and get smaller in some of these coastally exposed areas."



Katrina is likely to result in at least $34.4 billion in personal and commercial property loss claims, according to a survey of the nation's insurers released this month.



Allstate executives called it a once-in-500-years event and said there is no way to predict such rare catastrophes by actuarial methods.



The Northbrook, Ill.-based insurer's third-quarter loss included catastrophe losses of $3.06 billion, of which $2.39 billion was from Katrina and $553 million from Hurricane Rita, along with smaller amounts from Hurricanes Dennis and Ophelia.



Liddy said the financial hit from the catastrophes eliminated the equivalent of one and a half quarters of earnings for the year.



"This size loss as a level of exposure is simply unacceptable to us," he said.



But Craig Weber, a senior insurance analyst with the research and consulting firm Celent, said insurance carriers are walking a fine line as they react to catastrophes.



"In the aftermath of a catastrophe with such dizzying losses, the natural reaction is to pull back from the exposure areas," he said. "But Allstate and its peer companies know they have to battle the perception that they only write business where they don't take losses. Insurers are an easy target for politicians and a skeptical public."



Allstate raised its homeowner rates by 9 percent in Florida after last year's hurricanes and was recently denied a bid for an additional 18 percent increase. It also writes virtually no new policies there now.



The company is expected to act similarly in the Gulf Coast region and could also raise rates elsewhere.



Thomas Wilson, the president and chief operating officer, said Allstate isn't looking to spread the cost of Katrina among other states. But he did not rule it out as the insurer pushes to reduce its exposure to catastrophic events.



"That's not the way we do pricing," Wilson told analysts. "We look at the risk in each individual state and determine what we should charge in that state. That said, as we learn more and as we develop an increased understanding of the amounts of risk we have, we'll be factoring that into our pricing."



Allstate shares fell $1.38, or 2.5 percent, to close at $53.02 on the New York Stock Exchange. They are up 3 percent this year.

Fewer Pennsylvanians Get Health Insurance Through Their Jobs

Press Release



Keystone Research Center finds 494,000 fewer Pennsylvanians Covered by

Employer-Provided Health Insurance Since 2000



HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The number of Pennsylvanians with

employer-provided health insurance declined by 4.1 percent between 2000 and

2004 according to a new study by the Keystone Research Center and Washington

D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute.

The decline means that about 494,000 fewer Pennsylvanians get health

insurance through their employer today than did in 2000. One in seven of the

people who lost employer-provided health insurance coverage in the U.S.

between 2000 and 2004 lived in Pennsylvania.

"Ask most people what they think a good job is and you'll hear them answer

'one that provides health insurance,'" said Mark Price, a labor economist at

the Keystone Research Center. "By this widely accepted measure, the quality of

many jobs in Pennsylvania has declined over the last five years."

"The only real alternative for workers not earning a poverty wage who lose

insurance is to purchase coverage on their own. To replace employer provided

family coverage in 2004 would have cost Pennsylvania families about $9,000 or

21 percent of the state's median household income of $42,941," said Price.

"The loss of employer-provided health insurance is clearly a financial

challenge for middle-class families. We have created a world-class health

system that too few businesses and families can afford."

In the United States as a whole, over the last four years, about 3.7

million fewer people had employer-provided health insurance, while Medicaid,

including the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), increased

nation wide by nearly eight million participants. This is a significant shift

from private sector coverage to public sector coverage, especially in the case

of children.

Although nationally, 2.5 million youth lost employer-provided health

coverage between 2000 and 2004, many were caught by the public sector safety

net as indicated by the enrollment of an additional 4.8 million more children

in both Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)

over that same time period.

Because some employers have transferred the responsibility of insuring

their employees onto the public system, local governments in New York have

begun to adopt measures that require businesses to provide health insurance to

their workers, or pay into a government fund that provides coverage to

workers.

"In Pennsylvania we have to begin to think seriously about the

consequences of employers shifting the cost of doing business onto the

taxpayer." Price went on to say "Good employers would welcome reforms that

require their competitors who now shift health costs to the taxpayer to offer

coverage."

In the United States as a whole, according to the EPI study, the number of

Americans without health insurance rose by over six million, from 39.8 million

in 2000 to 45.8 million in 2004. This increase was due primarily to the

precipitous decline in employer-provided health coverage for workers and their

families.

No state in the Union experienced a statistically significant increase in

employer-sponsored health-insurance coverage. The states with the largest

declines, all over six percent were Maryland, Maine, Missouri, North Carolina,

and Wisconsin.

In the U.S. workers among the bottom 20 percent of hourly wage earners

were the least likely to have employer-provided coverage; 24.4 percent of the

bottom quintile were covered compared to 77.5 percent for workers in the

highest wage quintile.

However, no category of workers was insulated from the loss of coverage.

Even full-time, full-year workers and workers with a college degree

experienced declines in coverage between 2000 and 2004. Full-time, full-year

workers' coverage rates fell by 2.3 percentage points and college graduates'

coverage rates fell by 2.8 percentage points.

"These data demonstrate that the economy isn't delivering for families,

due to out of date policies, strong productivity growth is not translating

into a better life for Pennsylvania's families," said Price.

The EPI briefing paper Prognosis Worsens for Workers' Health Care, by

Elise Gould can be found on the EPI Web site at http://www.epinet.org.

Preparation is Key to Protecting Vehicles and Boats Before, During and After Hurricane Wilma

Press Release



FORT MYERS, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 20, 2005--This year's record-setting storm season continues as Hurricane Wilma builds intensity and aims to strike Florida's southwest coast this weekend. The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies, the country's third largest auto insurance group and insurer of about one in 10 Florida drivers, has set plans in motion to help drivers whose cars, RVs, boats or motorcycles are damaged as a result of Wilma.

"We have the people and processes in place to ensure that our customers will experience no delay in reporting their claim or getting it settled," said Scott Snapp, catastrophe response director, Progressive. Since August 29, Progressive Claims Service has deployed more than 1,000 claims representatives throughout the Gulf region who are working with customers in areas hit by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. To date, Progressive has settled about 80 percent of these claims.



Progressive reminds its customers to call 1-800-PROGRESSIVE (1-800-776-4737), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to report any claims incurred from Hurricane Wilma.



Progressive shares the following tips for protecting your vehicles or boat before, during and after Hurricane Wilma:



Before the Storm



-- Drivers in the hurricane's path who are not going to be

driving their car or recreational vehicle to safety should

park it in a garage or as close as possible to a sturdy

building; don't leave the vehicle in a low-lying area prone to

flooding. If you have to park your vehicle outdoors, cover it

and park it away from trees, poles or other large objects that

may fall onto it.



-- Boats and trailers should be moved inland and stored inside a

garage or warehouse. If left outside, make sure you have the

mooring hardware and equipment you need to secure it. Be sure

the trailer is anchored or at least attached firmly to the

ground or a building and let the air out of the tires so it

doesn't easily roll away during the storm.



During the Storm



-- Avoid driving through standing water. An automobile can be

swept off the road in as little as 12 inches of moving water.

Avoid driving on coastal or low-lying roads as roads covered

by water are prone to collapse. If you come upon a flooded

street, take an alternate route.



-- If no alternate route exists and you have no other reasonable

alternative but to drive through standing water...



-- Do your best to estimate the depth of the water (if other

cars are driving through, take note of how deep the water

is).



-- Drive SLOWLY and STEADILY through the water.





-- Once you and your vehicle are out of deep water and are in

a safe area, depress your brakes slowly to dry them.



-- If your vehicle stalls in the deep water, you may need to

restart the engine to make it to safety (know, however,

that restarting may cause irreparable damage to the

engine).



-- If you can't restart your vehicle and you become trapped

in rising water, IMMEDIATELY ABANDON FOR HIGHER GROUND. If

you are unable to get out of the vehicle safely, call 911

or get the attention of a passerby or someone standing on

higher ground.



After the Storm



-- Avoid low-hanging and fallen power lines, debris and other

road hazards. Do not drive around sight-seeing.



-- After a hurricane, you may find it difficult to navigate in

the newly changed landscape. Pay attention to any post-storm

changes, such as missing signs or broken traffic signal

lights. If traffic lights are not working, treat the

intersection as a four-way stop. Do not, under any

circumstances, assume that cross traffic will stop at the

intersection.



-- Call your insurance company as soon as possible to report a

claim.