News

2008

November

03

• Gouging women on health insurance. As tens of thousands of workers lose their jobs — and their group health insurance — in a worsening economy, they will have to scramble to find affordable insurance policies in the open market. The problems will

02

• Shouldn't have to show 'em no stinkin' SSNs. For 43 trouble-free years, John Murray never left home without his American Express card. The retired data coordinator dutifully paid an annual fee every year and diligently paid his balance in full every month. When it

• Women pay a premium on health insurance. Striking new evidence has emerged of a widespread gap in the cost of health insurance, as women pay much more than men of the same age for individual insurance policies providing identical coverage, according to

October

30

• Federal government may back revised mortgages. Federal officials moved closer Wednesday to guaranteeing as much as $500 billion in mortgages after they are modified to make them more affordable to homeowners, part of the multifront battle to resuscitate the country's flagging economy.

• ¿Cuánto cuesta tu salud?. Si eres como la mayoría de quienes viven en Estados Unidos, casi seguro que no tienes, en realidad, una idea muy clara de cuánto puede costarte tu salud. Hace un tiempo, una encuesta

28

• Election: Your health insurance at stake. Both presidential candidates want to turn employer-sponsored health insurance on its head. A principal goal: to make sure more Americans get coverage. But in helping the 45 million uninsured, both Republican nominee John McCain and his

27

• Quickly vetted, therapies offered to patients. After a surgeon removed a cancerous lump from Karen Medlock’s breast in November, he recommended radiation, a routine next step meant to keep cancer from recurring. Instead, the surgeon referred her to a center

26

• Consider buying flood insurance. If you own a home in California, chances are you already have some type of fire insurance. But many people don't realize that it's flood insurance -- not fire insurance -- that protects them from

• Still time for a health savings account. It's not too late to set up a health-savings account this year and contribute the maximum amount - as long as you get moving by Dec. 1. Health-savings accounts are tax-favored, individual accounts used in conjunction

24

• 4 programs to help troubled homeowners. Assistance is growing to help financially distressed homeowners, but the nation's mounting caseload of foreclosures and mortgage delinquencies is rising faster. The Bush administration should have a plan for a systematic approach to help homeowners

• Webcams watch teens in cars. Ken Richardson does not have to ride in his 17-year-old daughter's Ford Escort to know when she takes a turn too fast. The camera system installed in her car will e-mail him about it. "She's

• Treasury may help homeowners. The federal government may start guaranteeing home mortgages to persuade lenders to ease the monthly financial burden on struggling homeowners, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila C. Bair said yesterday. The proposal, presented to the

22

• Banks mine data and woo troubled borrowers. Brenda Jerez hardly seems like the kind of person lenders would fight over. For months after she emerged from insolvency last fall, 6 to 10 new credit card and auto loan offers arrived every week that specifically

21

• An eroding model for health insurance. Jennifer and Greg Danylyshyn of Pasadena are conscientious parents. They keep proper car seats in their used BMW, organic vegetables in the family diet and the pediatrician's number by the phone. They don't have access

• Parents push for autism therapy coverage. In Washington state, Reza and Arzu Forough pay more than $1,000 a week for behavior therapy for their 12-year-old autistic son. In Indiana, Sean and Michele Trivedi get the same type of therapy for their 11-year-old

• Medicare says 'no' to bed sores. Hospitals will no longer get paid for some specific treatment errors, including infections, bed sores and objects left inside patients after surgery, under a new Medicare policy. Regulators at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid

20

• Mortgage market remains intact. Everybody knows how severe and painful the global financial breakdown has been, with banks unwilling to lend even to other banks. But what about mortgages and real estate? Can you still get a home loan

19

• Fixing common money mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes. But when it comes to money, even little errors can prove devastating. Bruce McClary, communications director for Clearpoint Financial Solutions, recalls a senior on a tight budget who was getting along fine

16

• Social Security benefits going up. Social Security benefits for 50 million people will be go up 5.8 percent next year, the largest increase in more than a quarter century. The increase, which will start in January, was announced Thursday by the Social

14

• Both sides of the aisle see more regulation. For 30 years, the nation’s political system has been tilted in favor of business deregulation and against new rules. But that is about to change, now that the government has been forced to intervene in