Kennesaw’s city employees identified as high-risk for health complications may pay more for medical benefits unless they participate in a city-sponsored wellness program.
The council is scheduled to discuss the proposed policy today at a 7 p.m. meeting. The policy would affect known tobacco users, some overweight employees and others identified by the company’s wellness consultant as being at high risk of health complications, Mayor Read the rest of this entry »

The first time I heard the Presidential nominee say that he wanted the employer portion of the premiums paid toward an employee’s health insurance to be declared as income, I thought it was a stupid idea. Let me give you an example. Assume you make $50,000 and the employer’s portion of the health insurance towards your family health insurance plan was $10,000. You would receive a W-2 of $60,000. Immediately people, including myself, objected to this Read the rest of this entry »

As Western New Yorkers finish enrolling in their health insurance plans for 2009, many are suffering sticker shock.
Federal workers and small-business people covered through chambers of commerce are especially hit hard.
Federal government employees are angry about a 50 percent hike in Univera Healthcare’s total rates. That translates to a near-doubling of the portion they have to pay — far above the 10.4 percent average rate hike the Read the rest of this entry »

PORTLAND, Maine — A new report says family health care premiums rose an estimated 5.4 times faster than earnings for Maine’s workers from 2000 to 2007.
The report issued Wednesday by Families USA says health care premiums rose by 90 percent while median earnings rose by only 17 percent in Maine.
Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, says the growing health care costs were already a big problem — even before the economic downturn. Read the rest of this entry »

Health insurance premiums are increasing almost 5 times faster than earnings for Wisconsin workers, a new study found.
A report released Thursday by Families USA showed average premiums for family health coverage rose by 73.9 percent from 2000 to 2007, while median earnings during that same period increased 15.5 percent.
“What is remarkable is those premiums now purchase lesser coverage so people are paying more for fewer benefits,” Read the rest of this entry »

Up, up and away: Health care premiums rising
BY COURTENAY EDELHART, Californian staff writer
Friday, Nov 28 2008 8:00 AM
Last Updated: Monday, Nov 24 2008 4:39 PM
It’s that time of year again. Time to find out how much your health insurance premiums will rise.
Not if they’re rising, but rather how much more you and your employer will pay next year, because at this point, some increase is almost a given.
“If we were back in the Roman Read the rest of this entry »

Health care premiums soared five times faster than increases in salaries in California between 2000 and 2007, according to a report released Wednesday.
And there’s no end in sight for this growing disparity between income and health care costs, creating the prospect of “diminishing economic and health security” for many Californians, added the report, released by Families USA, a national nonpartisan group based in Washington, D.C.
But the grim Read the rest of this entry »

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a.ibcss_main_bg_color Read the rest of this entry »

Family health care premiums rose nearly three times faster than earnings for Kentucky workers during the past eight years, according to a report released today.
, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization for health care consumers, has issued a report saying that health care premiums escalated 2.8 times faster than earnings from 2000 to 2007.
During that period, family health care premiums rose by 47.5 percent, while median earnings rose Read the rest of this entry »

COBRA Premiums For Family Health Coverage Consume 84 Percent Of Unemployment Benefits, USA
A report issued on the same day that the government released its latest unemployment data shows why most laid-off people are likely to lose their health coverage: The average national premium costs for family COBRA coverage consume almost 84 percent of average unemployment benefits.
The report, issued by the consumer health organization Families USA, focuses Read the rest of this entry »