Sunday, February 22, 2009
The boom has been lowered, the axe has fallen, the pink slip has landed on your desk.
No matter how grim your financial situation may be, you can’t just ignore your bills and creditors. Prompt action is crucial: Let your creditors know you are having difficulties before you begin missing payments.
Financial experts say that when money is tight, you must prioritize what bills need paying first.
Ask yourself Read the rest of this entry »

With California unemployment rates at an all-time high, people are facing a double whammy — losing their job and their health care.  A new report finds it will take a big bite out of your unemployment check to keep your health insurance.  Kelley Weiss reports.
The report is by the consumer advocacy group Families USA. It shows most laid-off workers have to spend about three-quarters of their unemployment benefits to keep their health care insurance. Read the rest of this entry »

In another sign of the economy’s toll on the nation’s health care system, some
say they are seeing fewer paying patients — even as greater numbers of people are showing up at emergency rooms unable to pay their bills.
While the full effects of the downturn are likely to become more evident in coming months as more people lose their jobs and their insurance coverage, some hospitals say they are already experiencing a fall-off in Read the rest of this entry »

NEW YORK (AP) — Onsite day care — it’s the serene ideal so many parents pine for.
The reality, of course, is that it’s often not available and stricter budgets are forcing moms and dads to scramble for new ways to manage child care costs.
For Jamie Lichtenstein, that means putting her 15-month-old son in a small day care run out of a nearby home. Two days a week costs $140. A traditional day care she looked into charged $2,000 a Read the rest of this entry »

Published: October 23, 2008
Selina and Anthony Hames are working hard to get their GED’s, after Anthony’s job cut back his hours they say it’s the only way they’ll be able to provide for their family.
Anthony says, “I was five days a week now it is two days a week. We are pretty much just scraping it is putting a toll on the family a lot.”
They make 500 dollars a month and they say that’s not enough,especially Read the rest of this entry »

Suzie Velarde, a 38-year-old patient accounts representative at the Poulsbo Medical Center in Poulsbo, Wash., had struggled with her weight for years.
Velarde was about 40 pounds overweight, trying desperately to find the perfect diet to help her shed the pounds and keep them off. But nothing she tried seemed to work.
“I tried low-carb, low-fat, low-everything diets,” Velarde said. “But it was hard to stay motivated. I always felt like I was not Read the rest of this entry »

Health
Are You Paying Too Much For Health Insurance?
10.22.08,
4:00 PM ET
.
Sure, there’s sun and sand, but the state is also where singles, on average, contribute the least amount toward their employer-sponsored health insurance plans, paying just $335 annually,or 10% of the total cost of their plans. It’s a much chillier situation in
, however, where single residents fork over $1,072, or 23% of the cost of their plans.
Why the big Read the rest of this entry »

Michigan residents are having a harder time paying their medical bills because of rising costs and fewer safety nets, according to a state of the state health care report released today.
Locally, the amount of “uncompensated” or “charity” care among hospitals and other health centers in Washtenaw County jumped from $64.6 million to $111.8 million, between 2004 and 2007, according to the report.
The study, which looks at the affordability and accessibility Read the rest of this entry »

Oct 18, 2008 (The Wilson Daily Times – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) –
— Randy Nutter and his wife, Gloria, are a part of the AstraZeneca Patient Assistants Program that sends free drugs to families who don’t have medical insurance and can’t afford the cost of medicine.
The Nutters are enrolled in the program through Carolina Family Health Centers on Green Street, which handles getting the drugs for them.
But Randy Nutter Read the rest of this entry »

Health
Are You Paying Too Much For Health Insurance?
10.22.08,
4:00 PM ET
.
Sure, there’s sun and sand, but the state is also where singles, on average, contribute the least amount toward their employer-sponsored health insurance plans, paying just $335 annually,or 10% of the total cost of their plans. It’s a much chillier situation in
, however, where single residents fork over $1,072, or 23% of the cost of their plans.
Why the big Read the rest of this entry »