Category Archives: Health

Health care law’s massive, hidden tax change

By doris | Published: May 7, 2010

Full Story at money.cnn.com NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — An all-but-overlooked provision of the health reform law is threatening to swamp U.S. businesses with a flood of new tax paperwork. Section 9006 of the health care bill — just a few lines buried in the 2,409-page document — mandates that beginning in 2012 all companies will [...]

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Doctors: 5 gripes about the health law

By doris | Published: April 22, 2010

Full Story atmoney.cnn.com We can be sued into oblivion Doctors’ fear of multi-million dollar lawsuits is pushing them to practice “defensive medicine.” More doctors are ordering additional tests and procedures not based on need but fear of liability. The government estimates that cost of medical malpractice is less than 2% of overall health care spending. [...]

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Finally! We cna get health insurance

By doris | Published: April 10, 2010

Full Story atMoney.cnn.com My husband and I are both self-employed, so we can’t wait to find affordable health care for ourselves and for our employees — probably through an exchange program or with the help of tax credits. Right now, we carry only a catastrophic policy for ourselves. We’re not getting the preventative care that [...]

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Health bill for firms: Big tax or closed loophole?

By doris | Published: April 3, 2010

Full Story at msnbc.com WASHINGTON – As more corporate heavyweights warn about multimillion-dollar charges related to the Obama administration’s landmark health care bill, experts say the one-time hit simply curbs a government giveaway. At issue is a sweetener added in 2003 by lawmakers to legislation providing a prescription drug benefit to Medicare, the health insurance [...]

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What health care reform means for your business

By doris | Published: March 23, 2010

Full Story at money.cnn.com NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The sweeping health-care bill passed by the House of Representatives Sunday, and now headed for President Obama’s desk, promises a sea change in the way that small business owners purchase and provide health insurance for themselves and their employees. But many of the provisions won’t kick in [...]

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One million could lose jobless benefits in March

By doris | Published: February 23, 2010

Full Story at money.cnn.com NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — More than 1 million people could lose their jobless benefits and health insurance subsidy in March if Congress doesn’t act fast. When it returns from the President’s Day recess on Monday, the Senate will have one week to extend the deadlines to apply for federal unemployment benefits [...]

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Expect higher health care costs in 2010

By doris | Published: December 31, 2009

Full Story at money.cnn.com (Money Magazine) — Last month was open-enrollment season, and my wife and I got an unpleasant surprise. For 2010 we’re looking at an annual health-insurance premium that’s $1,600 higher than it is now, plus higher deductibles. Instead of flat co-pays, we’ll pay co-insurance, a share of the total costs. And this [...]

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Parents still must be vigilant to ensure toy safety

By doris | Published: November 29, 2009

Full Story at mcall.com As the holiday shopping season kicks into high gear this week, it’s a good a time to ask: Are the toys we’re buying safer than the ones a couple years ago, when millions of playthings were recalled because of high lead levels and other hazards? The world’s largest toy manufacturer, Mattel [...]

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Swine flu — and no paid sick leave

By doris | Published: September 28, 2009

Full Story at money.cnn.com NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — As the H1N1 swine flu virus starts its second major sweep through the U.S., business owners are bracing for the impact of a worse-than-usual flu season on their workforces. That’s reviving debate on a contentious issue: What kind of sick leave should companies offer employees — and [...]

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Rx for money woes: Doctors quit medicine

By doris | Published: September 15, 2009

Full Story atmoney.cnn.com NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Some 5,000 patients suddenly found themselves without an ob/gyn last November when Dr. Tara Wah closed her practice in Tallahassee, Fla. Wah, 55, informed her patients in a letter that she could “no longer afford to make ends meet.” After 24 years, “I’m working longer hours than ever,” [...]

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Hidden pockets of elderly said to be in poverty

By doris | Published: September 7, 2009

Full Story at msnbc.com WASHINGTON – The poverty rate among older Americans could be nearly twice as high as the traditional 10 percent level, according to a revision of a half-century-old formula for calculating medical costs and geographic variations in the cost of living. The National Academy of Science’s formula, which is gaining credibility with [...]

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Health care divides small business community

By doris | Published: September 4, 2009

Full Story at money.cnn.com (Fortune Small Business) — Congressional efforts to revamp the country’s healthcare system have sparked a fierce debate within the small business community, pitting owners who believe that reform would curb rising healthcare costs against neighbors who fear higher taxes. All sides of the debate were on display this summer as legislators [...]

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Health care’s big money wasters

By doris | Published: August 11, 2009

Full Story at money.cnn.com That’s half of the $2.2 trillion the United States spends on health care each year, according to the most recent data from accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Health Research Institute. What counts as waste? The report identified 16 different areas in which health care dollars are squandered. But in talking to doctors, nurses, [...]

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Are MDs diagnosing us into the poorhouse?

By doris | Published: July 26, 2009

Full Story at Money Features.blogs.money.cnn.com There’s no question about it: When you go to a doctor nowadays, you’re more likely to be diagnosed with something, and sent home with a prescription, than you were a generation ago. A much tougher question to answer is whether or not these new diagnoses, and new tests and treatments [...]

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