Catching you up on clips, commentary and news of the day. Sign up for the daily email update from Scribe. Evict Fannie and Freddie – Ed Feulner Debt Debate: Are the Poor in Poverty? – Z. Byron Wolf How Will al Qaeda Mark the 10th Anniversary of 9/11? – Marc Thiessen Justice Department trying to shield officials in guns scandal, ATF chief says – Richard A. Serrano The Obama administration’s disparate impact on taxpayer – Hans von Spakovsky & Alex Ingram Don’t Forget Welfare Reform – Mike Needham An agenda for …
Experts have warned that Obamacare’s new subsidy program could cause a mass exodus of businesses out of employer-sponsored insurance. New research from McKinsey and Company based on a survey of employers reinforces this concern. According to their findings, 30 percent of employers said they would definitely or probably stop offering insurance once the law’s main provisions go into effect in 2014. The inclination to dump coverage exceeded 50 percent once employers’ understanding of the law’s effects increased. Obamacare encourages employers to dump coverage on two fronts. First, several provisions will …
On Tuesday, May 10, 2011, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a report on the uninsured population and their ability to pay their hospital bills. One of the more interesting takeaways from the report is that if you add up all the savings of the uninsured with incomes over 400 percent of the federal poverty level (or about $88,000 for a family of four), it will cover about 37 percent of their total hospital bills. How do the uninsured get away with not having the assets to …
Brian Riedl argued in a Washington Times piece on Tuesday that the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act should be repealed. CLASS, a government-run long-term care (LTC) insurance program, has been widely panned by actuaries as unsustainable and likely to result in a future taxpayer bailout. Howard Gleckman of the Urban Institute responded in turn with an argument that participation in CLASS should be made mandatory. Gleckman’s argument, however, is flawed. As Americans live longer, demand for long-term care services grows. Gleckman correctly states that Medicaid, which is …
In the February 1, 2010 edition of StateNet Capitol Journal, Lou Cannon notes that “only 12% of Californians with homeowners insurance also have quake insurance” as offered by the California Earthquake Authority. Cannon cites premiums costing “several hundred dollars a year and the deductible is 15 percent of the home’s insured value” as the reason that 88% of Californians don’t buy quake insurance. To protect California’s already bankrupt budget, Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) and Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Diane Feinstein (D-CA) have introduced legislation that would provide a federal …
Extending health care to the uninsured and those who can’t get coverage for pre-existing conditions is the epicenter of Democrats’ health care bills, but achieving that goal requires adding younger, healthier Americans to insurance pools to hold down costs. And achieving coverage for sicker populations comes at a significant price to young Americans, according to a recent report by Rea Hederman and Paul Winfree of Heritage’s Center for Data Analysis. Two provisions in the bills ensure that those with pre-existing conditions will be able to get coverage at an affordable …
What if they ran a bailout program and no one came? Last year, the Bush Administration Treasury Department opened TARP’s doors to insurance companies, a number of which promptly filed for aid. Last week, the applications of six of those were approved, totalling some $22 billion. But rather than rush to claim their winnings, most of the firms are reconsidering. According to the Wall Street Journal, one — Ameriprise Financial — has already said no, and another — Prudential — is expected to decline soon. Two others, Allstate and Principal …
In what can only be described as a rare occurrence, two events occurred that show there is still hope when it comes to disaster management in the United States. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed placing an insurance surcharge on every California home and business that would raise roughly $130 million each year to pay for wildland firefighting. Due to the number of wildland fires that have occurred in California over the last year and the ever-increasing number of Californians who build homes …
