‘In The News’ Archives
More Workers Opting out of Health Plans
A new study from the Employment Benefit Research Institute finds that 55.8 percent of employees were getting health insurance directly from their employer as of April 2011, the most recent data available. That’s a nearly 5 percentage point drop from December 2007, when the economy first went into recession. Early research shows that the number [...]
Blue Shield In Partnership With ChildObesity180, Awards Breakthrough School Program
Blue Shield of California and ChildObesity180 announced 11 winners of their nationwide innovation contest aimed at reversing the childhood obesity epidemic. The competition was designed to identify and reward the most creative and effective school-based fitness programs and technologies to promote children's physical activity. With the [...]
Study Says Affordable Care Act Could Create 100,000 New Jobs
A new study by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute titled The Economic Impact of the Affordable Care Act on California concludes that the federal health care law would create almost 100,000 new jobs across California and boost economic output by $4.4 billion. The biggest expected job gains occur in Southern California, with almost 58,000 new [...]
Signatures Submitted for Health Insurance Rate Initiative
Consumer Watchdog submitted 800,000 voter signatures to California regulators for an initiative that gives them the power to regulate health insurance rates in hopes of qualifying the measure for the November ballot. The group called the initiative a "common sense proposal" to expand provisions of Proposition 103, which regulates auto and home [...]
Feud Colors Clash Over California’s Health Care Rates
Consumer Watchdog battled insurers over regulation of auto and other personal insurance 24 years ago and won, claiming that it has saved consumers tens of billions of dollars since. Now it wants regulation of health insurance, promising to cut costs by cracking down on bloated insurer overhead and profits. It launched the initiative after [...]
Annuities as Dementia Insurance
The statistics on dementia rates are stark with almost 35% of 85-year-olds being afflicted. The reason annuities can prevent financial mistakes is simple: With an immediate annuity, investors receive a steady check every month. While they can always opt to spend that money on something frivolous, it is difficult–if not impossible–to obtain [...]
Protecting Retirement Investments From Risk is Top Priority
Protecting against risk is the most important concern when it comes to managing retirement assets, according to Charles Schwab's latest quarterly Retirement Pulse Survey. Schwab's survey found that 35 percent of Americans consider protecting retirement assets to be more important than growing those assets while only eight percent consider growing [...]
Forty Three Percent of Americans Have No Retirement Plan
Most people have changed their expectation of retirement in planning to work past 65 or continue working after they are retired according to Catherine Collinson, president of Transamerica's Center for Retirement Studies. More than 60% agree their nest egg is not sufficient and 43% reported having to retirement strategy, in writing or not [...]
Four Myths About ObamaCare That Just Won’t Die
Death panels! Secret slush funds! Open warfare on the Catholic church! These are some of the misrepresentations that are often bandied about when talking about healthcare reform. There's one absolute fact, though: ObamaCare is destined to play a major role in this year's debt talks and elections and will undoubtedly have a big effect on [...]
Substantial Medi-Cal Cuts in Browns New Budget
CA Governor Jerry Brown proposed $8.3 billion in cuts across education, health care and welfare programs in laying out a plan to address California's $15.7 billion shortfall, an amount equal to 17 percent of the state's discretionary fund. He warned that additional cuts are ahead if voters reject his tax-hike initiative in November saying that's [...]
