From Reuters.com
After the vote: Some useful links to guide you
After a year of often rancorous debate, the House has passed a sweeping overhaul of the healthcare system that expands insurance coverage to nearly all Americans and hands President Barack Obama a landmark victory.
Here are some useful links from around the Web to help guide you through the reforms and what they may mean to you.
The Economist: One part basic decency, one part cost control
PolitiFact.com: Top 10 facts to know about healthcare reform
Kissing Brits land on most popular list
Sex and sexuality in some form or another dominated our best-read list this week, whether a simple kiss, randy nurses or naked activists. There was some serious stuff in there, too, but really, it’s all about the sex.
1. British pair faces jail time in Dubai over kiss
You, dear readers, were no doubt flabbergasted when you read this headline, so much so that you clicked it straight to the top of our most read list. Dubai authorities arrested the couple in November and now face a month in prison for the crime of … kissing. Egad! Off with their heads! My message to Dubai authorities: You must remember this: a kiss is just a kiss …
2. Insurer targeted HIV patients to drop coverage
This special report about a 17-year-old college freshman who inadvertently exposed wrongdoing in the insurance industry landed late in the week but reached No.2 on our most popular list. The story points out that “the revelations come at a time when President Barack Obama, in his frantic push to rescue the administration’s health care plan, has stepped up his criticism of insurers,” making it not only a gripping read but a timely tale as well.
3. African Jews may have the lost Ark
African Jews have the lost Ark of the Convenant. Who knew?
The health insurance lobbying group AHIP says the MIB, founded more than a century ago, operates the most extensive database of medical information on individuals who have previously applied for health, life, disability income, critical illness and long-term care insurance in North America. The Washington Post says that these medical reports, which are “like credit reports for your health records,” have been created for more than 200 million Americans. The Federal Trade Commission warns that your medical report files may include both medical and non-medical information about you. For instance, personal data collected by the MIB includes medical conditions, your credit report history, driving records, criminal activity, drug use, sexual orientation, lifestyle activities, international travel, participation in hazardous sports, and personal or family genetic history. Using information from these medical report files, insurance companies can charge you higher premiums or terminate your coverage altogether.
https://www.annualmedicalreport.com/deni ed-insurance-because-of-a-medical-coding -error-in-her-mib-report-video/
Remember, the new health care reform laws in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act don’t go in effect until 2014. All insurance applicants and policyholders should order an annual copy of their medical report files from the nationwide specialty nationwide consumer reporting agencies to ensure they aren’t overpaying for insurance or in danger of policy rejection or rescission for pre-existing conditions or errors. (For example, “Denied Insurance Because of a Medical Coding Error in Her MIB Report” from the Consumer Reports Health Blog)
Graphic: Healthcare fund flows
Vital signs for healthcare stocks are improving at the expense of what is shaping up to be a watered down government health reform initiative.
But the sector, which is heavily weighted to U.S. healthcare companies, is still struggling to regain its footing with more investor cash leaving the group than is coming in while the reform debate rages across the United States.
