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Discusses the difficulties in managing health insurance costs and the effects of rising insurance rates on the U.S. economy. Imprudent investing by health and accident insurers; Policyholders saddled with unpaid medical claims; Risks of high-return investments; History of the collapse of insurance companies; Blue Cross of West Virginia; Fraud and breaches of fiduciary duty by insurance company officers; More. INSETS: Crisis? What crisis?, by J.D.;No guarantee, by J.D..

Provides a guide to choosing employer-sponsored health insurance, with answers to the most common questions asked by small-business owners. Finding a good agent or broker; How brokers shop the health-insurance market; Getting quotes from insurance databases; Much more. INSET: Health insurance price comparison on request.;Denying coverage....

Reports that policies that plug the holes in medicare have been standardized to make it easier to find the coverage you need at the best price. New federal standards that make choosing the best safety net easier; The changes: Each policy must conform to one of ten defined packages of benefits; Companies must use uniform language; Tips to make the best decision; Weigh the trade-offs; Guard your wallet; Price-shop; More. INSET: Help that's close by..

Gives tips on how to get reimbursement from insurance companies for registered dietician (RD) fees. Visits as medical and nutritional therapy for diabetes management; Submission of claims; Persistence; Consultations with other people knowledgeable about insurance matters. INSETS: Getting all you're entitled to, by S.G.;Dear congressperson, by S.G..

Examines the current health-insurance crisis in the United States. Accuses insurance companies, the American Medical Association (AMA) and hospitals of keeping both health-care costs and insurance rates too high for many people to pay. Impact on proposal and the single-payer plan which is similar to Canada's universal health-care program; More.

Examines health insurance forms, an Insurance Purgatory where endless paperwork and jumping through hoops to collect health benefits have become routine. Jump in paperwork a response to insurance industry's attempt to curb the cost of health care; Health care administration in the US costs $100 billion annually; Time the average physicians spends on paperwork; Example of identification codes; Intricate system of checks on doctors and hospitals; Drop in quality of care.

Examines the reasons Americans are paying more for less health insurance coverage, and gives advice on getting the best coverage. Examples of how health insurance isn't paying many claims; Cost of health care; Recessionary impact; Fee-for-service organizations; How a co-worker's serious illness can affect coverage for small business employees. INSET: A glossary of health-insurance terms..

Reports on how rising costs, stiffening barriers, and planning inertia are making more Americans health-care outcasts. Profiles people struggling to get health care; How evidence of health-car crisis is most vivid at the margins of society, such as in Harlem and East Los Angeles; Suggestions on how to cure the battered, inefficient, expensive health care system. INSET: Barriers to access, by S. Henry; Four possible answers, by S....

Examines the growing number of people who are not adequately covered by health and accident insurance. Looks at how high costs and `preexisting condition' clauses keep people from getting coverage. Gives examples and discusses costs, options.

Explains what various companies across the United States are doing to cut health-care costs. Program designed to cut health-care costs at Hershey Foods Corp.; Growing number of companies sending employees a message to shape up; U-Haul in Phoenix, Ariz. that makes smokers and the seriously overweight pay a $120-a-year insurance premium; Role of Blue Cross and Blue Shield; Why companies are tightening their grip.

Examines the profiles of the 36 million people in the US who are uninsured. Survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI); Typical ages of the uninsured; Some uninsured people may be so voluntarily; Uninsured employees; Details.

The article reports on the demand of labor unions to the U.S. Congress to assist unemployed workers who have lost their health and hospitalization insurance after the termination of their jobs. According to labor leader George Meany, the Congress should vote for an emergency aid to workers who cannot afford medical costs. In response to the situation, senators have proposed a bill which would use general funds to compensate the costs of continuing insurance coverage when workers are laid off.

Studies the insurance dilemma which is typical of a growing trend among small companies. As insurance premiums continue to mount, a growing number of employers--primarily small ones--are ditching their health coverage. The problem is likely to intensify as the economy heads downward; A relentless rise in the ranks of the uninsured; Biggest problem is the fragmentation of the risk pools that insurance companies use to spread costs among many people.

The article focuses on the national health care program in Canada. It explains the distinction of the country's national health care program in which the government shoulders 50 percent of the cost particularly in poorer provinces. It also mentions the success of the government to settle the differences between the private and public insurance companies in terms of handling the program. An overview of the health care programs in other countries is also provided.

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The article reports on the results of the poll conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). According to the poll, only 42% of organizations are offering cost-saving Consumer-Directed Health Plans (CDHPs), despite of being concerned on costs for health benefit options. Moreover, the poll revealed that 58% of respondents are not confident with their understanding on CDHPs.

The article reports on Aetna Inc.'s launching of new International Healthcare Plans (IHP) , which is directed for employers having worldwide mobile employees. It mentions that in order to respond to the needs of its customers and members, Aetna had a health benefits plans revamp. It adds that with Aetna's renewed IHP, employers are given the flexibility in the private health care cover provision for their employees working globally, which can increase manage costs and health care investment.

The article presents questions and answers on health care reform legislation that was passed in the U.S. in March of 2010 including whether the U.S. government will help people pay for health insurance, whether the legislation will impact a woman's ability to access abortions and whether the legislation will affect access to mental health care. INSET: Wait! I Still Don't Get It.

The article examines the role of private health insurance in medical care and public health. Most countries finance health care directly through the government, but a rising number are encouraging the use of private health insurance in order to control costs and expand access to medical care. Various countries' systems are cited which indicate that such efforts have had mixed results, with the greatest difficulty being that of cost control.

The article highlights the ways to continue the need to expand health care coverage to uninsured and underinsured Americans. The administration of President George W. Bush on the issue of health care coverage on the policy agenda when it targeted the Medicaid program for spending reductions. The approval granted to an approach that would help employers purchase health coverage to provide incentives for industry, professional associations or chambers of commerce to sponsor health plans for their members.

The article discusses medical practices that accept direct pay from patients, and no longer participate in third-party billing and insurance plans. Physicians charge the patient based on the length of visit. The author reports that patients can save money by paying a physician directly and enrolling in a high-deductible health plan that provides coverage for major medical costs.

The article discusses the technology and services conglomerate General Electric Company's (GE) plans to save money in health care costs by changing employee medical plans. The author reports that the new consumer-directed health plan may increase deductibles and decrease employee morale. She comments that GE is making these changes to coincide with its new health care innovation initiative. INSET: NARROWER OPTIONS.

This article discusses the increasing support of business executives in the U.S. for health care reform. The possibility that changes in health policy and the increased availability of medical care can reduce expenses associated with increasing health insurance premiums is described. Executives including James Hagedorn of the fertilizer company Scotts Miracle-Gro and Carl T. Camden of the temporary labor company Kelly Services describe their reasons for supporting health care reform.

The article reports on Warren Buffet's group Berkshire Hathaway purchasing shares of the largest U.S. medical insurer, UnitedHealth Group (UNH), with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. An options backdating scandal caused stock to drop in 2006, but savvy investors are taking advantage of a good time to purchase undervalued stocks in a company that has high profit margins.

The article discusses the affects of inflation on the agribusiness insurance costs including high premium, compensation, and health insurance. According to the author, the market response towards agriculture is under-priced which affect the insurance rate directly. It is suggested that labor charges and equipment and supplies led to an increase in expenses in the agriculture operations.

This article focuses on the financial burden experienced by General Motors due to the high cost of health care for those GM insures. For the last few years General Motors Chief G. Richard Wagoner Jr. has been raising the decibel level of his complaints about health care costs. If people weren't listening, they woke up last month, when he announced that he expects GM to lose $850 million in the first quarter and slashed the full-year earnings target by two-thirds. GM insures 1.1 million employees, retirees and their widow(er)s and children as part of benefit plans it has negotiated with the United Auto Workers and offered to salaried employees beginning in 1950. The cash outlay for that health care came to $5.2 billion last year. GM's car operations are in the red. They would be nicely profitable if GM's health care bill were as small as some of its rivals'.

Presents letters from readers about articles previously published in this magazine. Letter from Playboy Enterprises chief executive officer, Christie Hefner, asserting the success of the company's electronic businesses; Response to an article discussing journalists' mathematical ability; Suggestions for the successful use of health-insurance vouchers.

The article offers information on the challenges of prior authorization to physicians in the U.S. Topics discussed include the requirement of Medicare for the purchase of prescription medicine, loss of revenues from the time spent in requesting permission from health insurance (HI) companies and lack of control on the provision of quality care to patients. Also mentioned is the focus on the cost of drugs and profits of HI providers.

This article discusses Relative Value Units and their use by U.S. health insurance program Medicare to decide how much it will reimburse physicians for a procedure or service covered under its Physician Fee schedule. Topics discussed include the comment of H. Christopher Zaenger, principal of Z Management Group, on why the U.S. created RVU/Resource-based Relative Value Scale, and the ways RVU can assist physicians and practice managers with regards to finance and management-related tasks.

Observes that some companies are offering medical savings accounts, even without the tax advantage promised by federal legislation. Announcement of Council for Affordable Health Insurance; Aspects of the plans.

The article reports on challenges facing a statewide navigator public health project of the Southwest Louisiana Area Health Education Center in Louisiana due to abrupt reduction in its funding. It states role of the navigator project in significance reduction of insurance rate triggered by the Affordable Care Act's first enrollment, and mentions comments from Brian Burton, director of the center on obstacles in in-person enrollment assistance caused by the funding cut.

The article reports that the U.S. government has provided large funds to the Department of Insurance (DOI) for welfare and improvement of consumer and healthcare providers; and presents the views of DOI spokesperson Michael Batkins on DOI strategies to use grants to combat health insurance issues.