Affordable Health Insurance

An estimated 43.8 million Americans had no health insurance in 2008, approximately 2.8 million more than in 1997, according to new data from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.

The report, “Health Insurance Coverage: Early Release of Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, 2008,” presents the latest insurance estimates for the United States.

A slight majority of Americans support the reform of the healthy care system that aims to make health insurance affordable for millions of Americans, and which the president Barack Obama wants to go to Congress. However, people also fear that there will be an increase in health care spending, according to a poll releases Wednesday.

After the pomp and circumstance marches, the commencement addresses and that most exciting moment when you moved the tassel from one side of the mortar board hat to the other, your parents beamed broad smiles and burst with pride. You made it through a rigorous four years of coursework to meet the requirements of your college or university to be granted a bachelor’s degree. It’s a great day, one of unlimited joy and optimism. Nothing could be better. Nothing can go wrong. However, stuff happens and you really need to be ready for it. Now you need health insurance coverage.

As health care coverage becomes an increasing concern for many working families, the Child Health Plus program has been expanded from 250-percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) to 400-percent of the FPL making comprehensive, affordable coverage accessible for all uninsured children in Rockland County.

American Association of Long Term Care Insurance publishes a comprehensive women's guide to long term care insurance protection. The guide takes a comprehensive lookg at issues and options facing women with spouses and women living alone.

The eight-page booklet available to long term care insurance and financial professionals specifically addresses the issues and options facing women.

Though we support the "competitive public health insurance option" as a possible gateway to universal single-payer insurance, the current debate that has grown up around this discussion often misses much of the point. That’s because more advanced reform of the way medicine and health care are practiced is needed; without it, no form of health insurance will tame the beast of rising costs - and no approach to health insurance reform will be meaningful.

Children will hopefully fare better in the health insurance debate than those with chronic or life-threatening illnesses due to the recent passage of the Children’s Health Insurance Program. In the bill, six billion dollars were made available to insure eleven million children. These are kids in families that do not qualify for welfare (Medicaid) or other insurance coverage.

Travelers who go on vacation in one of the 27 European Union countries will be able to pay their health care costs by using the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). This card also works in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. It allows the management of medical services required by public health services of the countries concerned. It is available free of charge and is valid for one year.

The American pharmaceutical industry has agreed to spend 80 billion dollars over ten years to help reform the welfare system and improve health insurance coverage for the elderly. This constitutes "a milestone" in the implementation of the promise of the President Barack Obama to ensure all its citizens have access to affordable health insurance and health care.

"We are at a turning point of a journey leading the United States to a health care reform," said the president a week ago.

Nearly half of individuals purchasing asset-based long term care insurance in 2008 were under age 65 according to the first national study of buyers. Two thirds (66%) of purchasers were women and the average single premium paid was just under $71,000 ($70,975).