News

2009

March

30

• Senator tackles out-of-network insurance issue. Ever wonder how that bill was calculated if you had to pay to see a doctor outside your insurance network? Might be a scam, says a senator investigating the issue. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, chairman of

• New push to limit cellphone use while driving. More than 250 bills prohibiting or restricting cellphone use while driving are pending in 42 state legislatures despite disagreement over the risks cellphones pose and the effectiveness of enforcement. The number is up from about 120 bills in

29

• Health insurers pull a 'reform' fast one. It might have looked as if real progress toward healthcare reform was made last week when leading insurers proposed ending their long-standing practice of charging higher rates to sick people and denying coverage to those

• Home swaps help make vacations affordable. Swapping houses with other would-be vacationers is a way to stay away from home for free. "The word's getting out that exchanging homes is really a recession-beater," HomeExchange president Ed Kushins said. HomeExchange.com is

• Down but not out: Overcoming job loss. He worked hard. He saved well from the $85,000-a-year job he had as communications director for a nonprofit in Washington. He bought a home he could easily afford. In fact, he had saved about a

27

• Rechazo de seguros. Si usted está tratando de conseguir un seguro de salud por su cuenta, y tiene cálculos en la vesícula, le negarán la cobertura automáticamente. ¿Artritis reumatoide? Una negativa automática. ¿Acné

26

• Proposal to vastly expand government oversight. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner plans to propose today a sweeping expansion of federal authority over the financial system, breaking from an era in which the government stood back from financial markets and allowed participants

24

• 1 in 5 American workers are uninsured. American workers — whose taxes pay for massive government health programs — are getting squeezed like no other group by the nation's health insurance woes. While just about all retirees are covered, and nearly 90% of children have

23

• Bankruptcy 're-reform' now on table. Cash-strapped families are seeking bankruptcy protection at nearly the same rate and in the same manner as they did before the much-debated 2005 bankruptcy law reform, a trend critics say proves the reform was a failure.

21

• Federal regulators seize two big credit unions. Federal regulators yesterday seized two large companies that provide critical banking services to the credit union industry after finding that the companies had sustained debilitating losses, threatening the health of thousands of credit unions. The

19

• It’s the regulations, not the regulator. It has become a truism of the financial crisis that the system was prone to collapse because there was no single regulator who had the legal tools and authority to prevent a systemwide meltdown. That

• Health tax break no more?. Get ready. Washington is again debating how to fix the health care system. And the outcome might affect your wallet. The discussions are just beginning and much remains undecided. But expect at least one thing:

• How will the Fed's actions affect you?. The Federal Reserve yesterday renewed its commitment to encouraging consumer lending by announcing steps aimed at helping push down interest rates. Here are answers to questions about how those steps might affect consumers: Q: I'm

18

• Team effort in House to reform health care. Three powerful House committee chairmen have agreed to work together on legislation to overhaul the health care system, starting with the view that most employers should help finance coverage and that the government should offer

17

• Comparison shopping for medicine. What's best for insomnia -- Lunesta, at about $6 a pill, or Zolpidem, at $2? Should a man with prostate cancer choose radiation, surgery or "watchful waiting"? Is it better to operate on a bad knee or

• Mortgage fraud up as credit tightens. Mortgage fraud jumped by 26 percent last year even though fewer loans were issued nationwide, and Maryland ranked among the top five states with the most serious problems, according to an industry study released yesterday. The

15

• Tax law changes for 2008 tax year. Economic stimulus payments are not taxable, and they are not reported on 2008 tax returns. However, the stimulus payment does affect whether a taxpayer can claim the Recovery Rebate Credit and how much credit he or

• Moneybloggers share the wealth. It's often said that talking about money is the last taboo. But our cash coyness appears to be disappearing along with the growth of personal finance Web logs, where writers share their money mistakes and

• Bargaining down the medical bills. When money is tight, everything is negotiable — including your health care bills. As the economy sheds jobs and more people lose their health insurance or are forced to switch to less generous plans, doctors and

12

• Workers' health benefits eyed for taxation. With President Obama's plan to tax the rich to pay for health care facing deep skepticism on Capitol Hill, key lawmakers are pressing a different way to raise money: taxing the health benefits workers receive