Local Parents Worry About Losing Federally Funding Health Insurance For Kids (WITN 7 North Carolina)

With so many children in our state uninsured, parents in our area hope the federal budget will include low cost health insurance for kids.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Children's health insurance program set to expire (Columbian Missourian)

With a federal health insurance program for low-income children set to expire Sunday, legislators have been working to help states brace for the possibility that hundreds of thousands of children could lose health coverage if President Bush vetoes its reauthorization.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

National health insurance fund faces restructuring as costs rise (Vi?t Nam News)

HA NOI The national health insurance fund is facing over-expenditure, the Health Ministry said at a meeting in Ha Noi on Thursday. The ministrys statistics showed that in 2006 alone, health insurance revenues were VND4.8 trillion (US$300.6 million).

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

John Stossel: How we get health insurance makes no sense (New Hampshire Union Leader)

Almost daily, we're bombarded with apocalyptic warnings about the 47 million Americans who have no health insurance. Sen. Hillary Clinton wants to require everyone to have it, big companies to pay for it and government to buy it for the poor.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Health insurance for BPL unorganised sector workers from Oct 2 (PTI via Yahoo! India News)

New Delhi, Sep 30 (PTI) In keeping with the promise made by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his Independence Day address, the Government will launch on October two a Health Insurance Scheme for

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

How They Voted -- Iraq, Children's Health Insurance (Central Florida News 13)

Central Florida's representatives in Washington split along party lines this past week in voting on the S-Chip program -- the State Children's Health Insurance Program. The Senatealso voted overwhelmingly in favor of splitting Iraq into three regions.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Children's health insurance program set to expire (Columbia Missourian)

With a federal health insurance program for low-income children set to expire Sunday, legislators have been working to help states brace for the possibility that hundreds of thousands of children ...

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Is health insurance really working? (The Post and Courier)

The estimated 46 million Americans who go without health insurance get a lot of media attention. But how happy are the 256 million with coverage? A snapshot of primary care taken one September morning at Dr. Marshall Newton's West Ashley office showed a system that's working, but only just....

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

State's senators vote against children's health insurance (The Greenville News)

WASHINGTON -- South Carolina's senators voted against expanding funds for a children's health insurance program, but the bill passed overwhelmingly and sets up a veto fight with President Bush.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Bush calls for "more responsible" approach on children's health insurance (KOIN News 6 Portland)

WASHINGTON (AP) - In his weekly radio talk tomorrow President Bush will call on lawmakers to take a "more responsible" approach to children's health insurance than the expansion overwhelmingly approved by Congress.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Survey says: Health care, insurance our top priority (Rocky Mountain News)

Steadily rising costs have made health care and health insurance the No. 1 issue in the minds of Colorado voters, according to poll results released this morning by the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Pelosi 'praying' Bush doesn't veto children's health insurance bill (CNN.com)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday she is "praying" that President Bush has a change of heart and does not veto a bipartisan children's health insurance bill that he has labeled an unwarranted expansion of government-run health insurance.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

State's 7 Republicans vote against expanded kids health insurance (The Daily Comet)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Alabama's seven Republicans in Congress voted against an expansion of a government health insurance program for children, saying it would lead to "socialized medicine" and objecting to a cigarette tax increase that would be used to pay for it.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

ID gov's health recommendations: med school, health insurance (The Olympian)

Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter's recent health care summit suggested requiring Idaho residents to carry health insurance and increasing access to medical school education, the governor said Friday.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Capitalizes on Tremendous Market Opportunity for Pet . Health Insurance in the United States (InfoBolsa)

Vsurance, Inc. Health Insurance in the United States 28/09/2007 20:07:00 Business Wire Vsurance, Inc. (OTCBB:VSUR), a leading provider of pet health insurance through its Get HIP Health Insurance for Pets program, is fast becoming a leader in the rapidly growing U.S.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Ignoring veto threat from Bush, Senate approves child health insurance bill (International Herald Tribune)

By a 67-to-29 vote, following speeches by Republicans supporting the bill, the Senate approved a measure that would extend health insurance to more than 10 million children

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

State's 7 Republicans vote against expanded kids health insurance (NBC 15 Mobile)

Alabama's seven Republicans in Congress voted against an expansion of a government health insurance program for children, saying it would lead to "socialized medicine" and objecting to a cigarette tax...

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Health initiative requires Arizonans to purchase health insurance (The Daily Dispatch)

PHOENIX - Two doctors launched an initiative drive Tuesday to preclude lawmakers - or even voters - from ever requiring Arizonans to purchase health insurance.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

3,600 county kids may lose health insurance (CentralOhio.com)

NEWARK -- As many as 3,600 Licking County children could lose health insurance Monday if President Bush vetoes a bill, which he has vowed to do. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday calling for the extension of the federally funded State Children's Health Insurance Program.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Senate passes children's health insurance bill, Bush vows to veto (CNN.com)

The Senate voted 67-29 Thursday night to expand the State Children's Health Insurance program, a measure President Bush has vowed to veto as a step toward universal coverage.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Health insurance recommendation detailed (Lisbon Morning Journal)

EAST LIVERPOOL A consultant hired by the city school board outlined the methods used in determining which employee health insurance plan to recommend, following complaints by one board member about the matter.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Senate is debating bill on children's health insurance (Asbury Park Press)

The Senate is debating legislation that would add $35 billion to a popular children's health program over the next five years, despite President Bush's veto threat. The measure to renew the State Children's Health Insurance Program is expected later today to win more than the 67 Senate votes required to override a veto. On Tuesday, the House passed the same measure 265-159. That margin is ...

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Veto battle looms on children's health insurance (The Kansas City Star)

WASHINGTON | The Senate, with an overwhelming bipartisan vote Thursday, sent President Bush a $35 billion expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, launching a fight that will reverberate into the elections.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Americans Finding Affordable Health Insurance Online (Richfield Reaper)

(ARA) - Think you can't afford to pay for health insurance if your employer doesn't provide it, or if you're unemployed? Think again. "Everyone needs health insurance and new types of policies and benefit options, readily available through online resources, are making coverage accessible to nearly everyone, no matter how much they earn," says Jon Engleking, co-founder and managing partner of ...

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

House Passes Kids Health Insurance Bill (AP via Yahoo! Finance)

The debate over expanding a popular health insurance program for children is likely to continue beyond this week and into next year's elections.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Children's health-insurance program faces uncertain fate in Senate (The Nashua Telegraph)

Sen. John Sununu is supporting an expansion of health insurance for children, but fellow Republican Sen. Judd Gregg opposes the bill, claiming it will move the country toward a nationalized health-care system. ... - By ALBERT McKEON Telegraph Staff

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Our view on medical insurance for children: Plan to protect kids' health spawns needless veto fight (USATODAY.com via Yahoo! News)

The argument between Congress and President Bush over whether to expand health insurance for low-income children should have an easy answer: Yes.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

PHILIPPINES URGED TO PASS HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY BILL (Asia Pulse via Yahoo!7 Finance)

Regulations / Law The Philippines needs to pass the health insurance portability bill to boost its medical tourism industry and capture the global US$3 trillion retirement industry by 2010, an official of the Department of Health (DOH) said Wednesday.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

For Some Retirees, Health Insurance Is Tax-Free (Washington Post)

Since 2000, federal employees have been able to pay their health insurance premiums on a tax-free basis. The tax code does not extend this perk to federal retirees, to their dismay.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Philippines Urged To Pass Health Insurance Portability Bill (Asia Pulse via Yahoo!7 News)

The Philippines needs to pass the health insurance portability bill to boost its medical tourism industry and capture the global US$3 trillion retirement industry by 2010, an official of the Department of Health (DOH) said Wednesday.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

CMA introduces health insurance for all members (The Tennessean)

There are a lot of perks to being a musician adoring fans, no punching the clock but health insurance isn't one of them.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

House votes to expand health insurance for children despite Bush veto threat (Seattle Times)

House votes to expand health insurance for children despite Bush veto threat WASHINGTON The House voted Tuesday to expand health...

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

House expands kids' health insurance program (San Francisco Chronicle)

The House Tuesday approved an expansion of a health insurance program that would cover 10 million poor children at a cost of $35 billion, but fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto threatened by President Bush. The vote was closely...

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

House approves kids health insurance expansion (Market Watch)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The U.S. House of Representative on Tuesday approved a plan to more than double funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program to $35 billion, despite repeated veto threats from the president.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Health groups work for kid's insurance (AP via Yahoo! News)

Groups representing most facets of the nation's health care system are lining up in support of a large spending increase for a popular children's insurance program, even as President Bush renewed his veto vow Tuesday.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

WASHINGTON - The House voted Tuesday to expand health insurance for children, but the Democratic-led victory may prove ... (WIBW-TV Topeka)

Embarking on a health care debate likely to animate the 2008 elections, the House voted 265-159 to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, by $35 billion over five years.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

House votes to expand children's health insurance program (Sports Illustrated)

The House voted Tuesday to expand health insurance for children, but the Democratic-led victory may prove short-lived because the margin was too small to override President Bush's promised veto.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

House passes children's health-insurance bill (Akron Beacon Journal)

Associated Press WASHINGTON: The House voted Tuesday to expand health insurance for children, but the Democratic-led victory might prove short-lived because the support wasn't enough to override President Bush's promised veto.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Health insurance vote sets up veto (Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune)

WASHINGTON - The House voted Tuesday to expand health insurance for children, but the Democratic-led victory may prove short-lived because the margin was too small to override President Bush's promised veto. The House voted 265-159 to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, by $35 billion over five years. Bush says he will veto the bill because of its cost, its reliance ...

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

House Votes to Expand Children's Health Insurance (Fox News)

The House on Tuesday evening voted to expand a program providing health insurance to children; President Bush has promised to veto the legislation.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

House OKs Child Health Insurance Bill (CBS News)

The House voted to expand health insurance for children, but the Democratic-led victory may prove short-lived because the margin was too small to override President Bush's promised veto.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

How healthy is your health insurance? (Minnesota Public Radio)

Workplace health insurance isn't the deal it once was, for many of us.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Most lack health insurance for long period (UPI)

Nearly 90 million Americans, or 35 percent of U.S. adults and children under age 65, had no health insurance during some part of 2006 and 2007, a study said.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Most lack health insurance for long period (EARTHtimes.org)

Nearly 90 million Americans, or 35 percent of U.S. adults and children under age 65, had no health insurance during some part of 2006 and 2007, a study said. Most of the uninsured individuals lacked coverage for lengthy periods of time: nearly two- third...

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Children's health insurance: How much aid is enough? (USA Today)

The escalating battle over the Children's Health Insurance Program, which insures more than 6 million children and adults, is helping to fuel a larger debate over health care that will heat up in next year's presidential race.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

New health insurance extends more benefits to students (The Mass Media)

UMass Boston's student health insurance, administered by Chickering Claims Administrators and underwritten by Aetna Life Insurance, got a little more expensive and more beneficial. The school, through Delta Dental, is also offering a $259 dental plan to cover what the health insurance does not.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Congress set to OK expansion of kids' health-insurance plan (Market Watch)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- House and Senate lawmakers are expected this week to approve a $35 billion expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program despite repeated veto threats from President Bush.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Congress set to OK expansion of kids' health-insurance plan (MENAFN)

Congress set to OK expansion of kids' health-insurance plan

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Proposed children's health insurance bill defies Bush's veto threat (The Daily Record)

WASHINGTON - Defying President Bush's veto threat, a bipartisan group of lawmakers issued details Friday of a planned expansion of a children's health insurance program.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Insurance for all: United Way has big health idea with big-time backers (The Salt Lake Tribune)

Imagine a Utah where everyone has health insurance. Coverage would be purchased from the private market, but at affordable prices.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

State ranks 21st for health insurance coverage (Billings Gazette)

HELENA - A new report says one-third of Montanans under age 65 have been without health insurance at some time in the past two years - about the same amount as seven years ago.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Democrats call for passage of expanded health-insurance measure (KPLC)

Despite a veto threat, Democrats are calling for passage of a $35 billion expansion to a children's health-insurance program.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Democrats call for passage of expanded health-insurance measure (WTOL 11 Toledo)

Associated Press - September 22, 2007 12:23 PM ET Despite a veto threat, Democrats are calling for passage of a $35 billion expansion to a children's health-insurance program.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

State ranks 21st for health insurance coverage (Billings Gazette)

HELENA - A new report says one-third of Montanans under age 65 have been without health insurance at some time in the past two years - about the same amount as seven years ago. The report issued Thursday by Families USA, a consumer group that advocate ...

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Senate and House Reach Accord on Health Insurance for Children (Washington Post)

Senate and House negotiators from both parties reached a final deal yesterday on an expansion of a health insurance program for the children of the working poor, just a day after President Bush vowed to veto it.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Legislators defy Bush veto threat with kids' health insurance bill (The Plain Dealer)

Washington -- Defying President Bush's veto threat, a bipartisan group of lawmakers issued details Friday of a planned expansion of a children's health insurance program.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Bush, Democrats clash over funding health insurance (Lawrence Journal-World)

President Bush again called Democrats irresponsible on Saturday for pushing an expansion he opposes to a childrens health insurance program.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

SCHIP - State Children's Health Insurance Program (KBCI Boise)

The State Children's Health Insurance Program, SCHIP, will expire September 30th and that could leave many kids without health care.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Feds OK state health insurance plan (The Times of Northwest Indiana)

INDIANAPOLIS | Indiana has secured federal approval for a cigarette tax-funded health care plan that, beginning next year, will provide insurance coverage for up to 130,000 working poor Hoosiers, Gov. Mitch Daniels announced Friday.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Senate and House Reach Accord on Health Insurance for Children (Washington Post)

Senate and House negotiators from both parties reached a final deal yesterday on an expansion of a health insurance program for the children of the working poor, just a day after President Bush vowed to veto it.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Proposed children's health insurance bill defies Bush's veto threat (The Standard-Times)

WASHINGTON Defying President Bush's veto threat, a bipartisan group of lawmakers issued details Friday of a planned expansion of a children's health insurance program.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Americans Evenly Split On Universal Health Insurance (KOLR/KSFX Ozarks)

Americans are evenly divided in their opinion of universal health insurance. The latest Rasmussen Reports survey found 50 percent of those questioned support the idea of universal health coverage.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Doctors group calls for statewide health insurance (Dayton Daily News)

COLUMBUS The Ohio State Medical Association on Thursday called for a state mandate requiring that all Ohioans have basic health care coverage, either through private insurance for those able to pay or through publicly subsidized coverage for low-income Ohioans without insurance.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Hatch, Bush butt heads over children's health insurance (The Salt Lake Tribune)

Posted: 8:23 PM- Sen. Orrin Hatch is normally one of President Bush's biggest allies, but the two are at odds over efforts to expand a program giving health insurance to children of the working poor.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Bush urges Democrats on health insurance (AP via Yahoo! News)

President Bush challenged Democrats on Thursday to quickly renew a popular children's health insurance program and accused them of "putting poor children at risk" for political purposes.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Study finds 89.6 million lacked health insurance (Los Angeles Times)

One-third of people in the U.S. under 65 went without coverage for some or all of the last two years, reports an advocacy group. -- More than one-third of the people in the United States under the age of 65 had no health insurance for some or all of 2006 and 2007, according to a study released Thursday by Families USA, an advocacy group for the uninsured.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Bush Headed Towards Showdown With Congress Over Children's Health Insurance Program (Nasdaq)

(RTTNews) - Millions of children could be without health insurance if President Bush follows through with his threat to veto legislation that would expand a children's health insurance program with increased federal tobacco taxes.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Plaintiffs Await Ruling on Canceled Health Insurance Policies (Law.com via Yahoo! Finance)

A California appeals court will hear arguments next week in a closely watched case that challenges an insurance company's practice of rescinding health coverage based on errors in an application.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

One-third of U.S. lacked health insurance: survey (Reuters via Yahoo! News)

More than one-third of the U.S. population under the age of 65 went without health insurance for all or part of the last two years, a consumer group said on Thursday.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Plaintiffs Await Ruling on Canceled Health Insurance Policies (Law.com)

A California appeals court will hear arguments next week in a closely watched case that challenges an insurance company's practice of rescinding health coverage based on errors in an application. One plaintiffs lawyer says that litigation over the practice, often referred to as post-claims underwriting, has increased in recent years, but so far hasn't led to any significant case law. If the ...

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Bush challenges Democrats on children's health insurance program (WTVG-TV Toledo)

The State Children's Health Insurance Program is set to expire Sept. 30. Democrats are pushing for a $35 billion spending increase. But Bush has threatened to veto it and has proposed a $5 billion increase.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Council scraps health-insurance bids (The Joplin Globe)

After a two-hour debate Wednesday night, a split Joplin City Council scrapped health-insurance bids solicited by an employee committee and voted to take new bids.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Gingrich lobbies for health insurance plan (EARTHtimes.org)

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich Wednesday lobbied Congress to support a health insurance measure he said would aid children. Gingrich, founder of the Center for Health Transformation, urged Republican lawmakers to support funding for the State Chi...

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Most state employees health insurance rising 15% (Lincoln Journal Star)

Premiums for most of the states health insurance options will go up more than 15 percent in January, according to a memo sent to employees early this month.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Gingrich lobbies for health insurance plan (UPI)

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich Wednesday lobbied Congress to support a health insurance measure he said would aid children.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Seed company offers farmers group health insurance (The Indianapolis Star)

Farmers know Beck's Hybrids as a place to buy seed for corn, soybean and other crops. Now the family-owned Hamilton County seed business is offering farmers something else: health insurance.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Wal-Mart Expands Staff Health-Insurance Benefits (Washington Post)

Wal-Mart is adding $4 generic drugs to its health insurance plans and offering lower premiums and deductibles, the third consecutive year of changes to the employee health benefits that unions have criticized.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Easley pushes for health insurance (The News & Observer)

Congress needs to extend a federal-state health insurance program for low-income families before it expires at the end of the month or North Carolina will soon run out of money to provide medical coverage to 120,000 children, Gov. Mike Easley wrote today.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Further talks on health insurance reform (The Budapest Sun)

Negotiations involving top-level party representatives of the ruling Hungarian Socialist Party (MSzP) and the junior coalition Alliance of Free Democrats (SzDSz) failed to deliver an agreement on a new health insurance system on Monday night (Sep 17).

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Wal-Mart improves health insurance for workers (San Antonio Express-News)

More than 1.3 million Wal-Mart Stores Inc. employees, including 10,353 in the San Antonio area, are getting better health insurance options.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Autism Health Insurance (FOX 40 Sacramento)

SACRAMENTO Autism. It is a disease that affects 1 in 150 kids, yet many health insurance companies in California are looking the other way when it comes to complete coverage.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Democrats opt for lesser of two spending increases for children's health insurance program (Savannah Morning News)

WASHINGTON - Democratic lawmakers have settled on a $35 billion increase for a children's health insurance program, a move they hope will enhance the prospects for overriding a veto.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Blunt unveils plan to help low-income people get health insurance (The Kansas City Star)

Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt unveiled a plan Tuesday to help low-income workers obtain health insurance through government subsidies totaling some $600 million a year by 2010.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Easley urges resolution on child health insurance program (WAVY 10)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Gov. Easley says Congress needs to extend a federal-state health insurance program for low-income families before it expires at the end of the month.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Clinton tackles compulsory health insurance (Addict 3D)

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton today announced a $110 billion health care plan that would require all Americans to have health insurance.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Clinton unveils health care plan requiring insurance for all Americans (ABC 13 Texas)

Thirteen years after her attempt at improving the nation's health care was abandoned, Clinton offered a new approach to require every American to have health insurance.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Health Insurance Industry Looks to Senior Lobbyists (Washington Post)

If the rumor mill is correct, Karen M. Ignagni is about to notch a major victory for her employer, the nation's health insurance industry.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Clinton pitches health insurance plan (Mid-Iowa News)

DES MOINES - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton announced a health insurance plan Monday that spreads the responsibility around. "We can no longer tolerate the injustice of a system that shuts out one in six Americans," Clinton said, speaking at a Des Moines hospital.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Uganda: Health Insurance Scheme Eyes Workers Fund (AllAfrica.com)

A dialogue between government and workers could come up with a decision to slice off a fraction of workers social security monthly contributions to be channelled towards the National Social Health Insurance contribution.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Smaller Companies Can Self-Fund Health Insurance, Business Benefits President Writes (Marketwire via Yahoo! Finance)

"Smaller companies can benefit from self-funding health insurance, but too few take advantage of it," says James Edholm, president of Business Benefits, Andover, Mass.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Clinton unveils mandatory health care insurance plan (CNN.com)

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton announced a $110 billion health care reform plan Monday that would require all Americans to have health insurance.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

US President Hopeful Clinton Calls For Mandated Health Insurance (Nasdaq)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)--Thirteen years after her first effort at improving the nation's health care was abandoned, Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton offered a new approach that would require every American to have health insurance with federal assistance to help defray the cost.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Federal restrictions on childrens health insurance program worry state officials (The Hill)

New federal restrictions on the State Childrens Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) have created widespread anxiety at the state level, where officials are uncertain about not only their expansion plans but also the future of their existing initiatives.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Deal reached on health insurance bill (The Olympian)

WASHINGTON - Senate and House negotiators said Sunday that they had agreed on a framework for a compromise bill that would provide health insurance to 4 million uninsured children while relaxing some of the limits on eligibility imposed by the Bush administration.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Clinton to offer health care plan (AP via Yahoo! News)

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton is unveiling a sweeping health care reform proposal Monday that would require every American to carry health insurance and offer federal subsidies to help reduce the cost of coverage.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Clinton Health Plan Outlined (Washington Post)

DES MOINES -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's sweeping health-care proposal, which she plans to unveil today, would require every American to carry health insurance and offer federal subsidies to help reduce the cost of coverage.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

O'Malley Takes Exception to New Federal Health Insurance Rules (Washington Post)

Maryland's governor is among those speaking out against new federal rules that would make it harder to enroll middle-income children in a popular government-subsidized health insurance program.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Winning at the Health Insurance Game (Benton Evening News)

(ARA) - Are Americans paying too much for health insurance? While health care costs continue to skyrocket, more and more consumers are finding affordable health insurance solutions online.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Star Health & Allied Insurance launches online portal (Deepika)

Chennai, Sep 16 (UNI) Star Health & Allied Insurance today launched www.starhealth.in, an exclusive health insurance website to enable online subscription of insurance policies.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Finance leaders seek studies on children's health insurance system (Battle Creek Enquirer)

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Ranking Republican Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) are calling on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to release information on a number of Congressionally-mandated and other evaluations of the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP) which appear to be either completed or pending with HHS.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Veto Risk Seen in Compromise on Child Health (New York Times)

A compromise between the Senate and House on a bill that would provide health insurance to uninsured children sets the stage for a battle with President Bush.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Finding Affordable Health Insurance Is Easy (Benton Evening News)

(ARA) - Having health insurance gives us piece of mind. But have you ever thought you might be overpaying for your coverage? Or what if you find yourself without health coverage and need to find something affordable fast? The answers to these questions can easily be found on the Internet.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Lynch, Reynolds focus on health insurance (The Citizen of Laconia)

Sen. Deborah Reynolds, D-Plymouth, welcomed Gov. John Lynch on a visit to the Whole Village Family Resource Center Friday, where she pledged to work with him to expand children's access to health insurance.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Health risks tied to charges for insurance (Courier-Post)

First they tried nudging. Now companies are penalizing workers who have high health risks such as obesity and high blood pressure or cholesterol as insurance costs climb.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Insurance Superintendent Weighs Dirigo Health Savings (WMTW Auburn)

Maine's insurance superintendent is weighing arguments on the Dirigo Health program's third-year savings and will be issuing his determination on Monday.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Your health insurance: Get ready to pay more (The Florida Times-Union)

For most cubicle jockeys, October is synonymous with open-enrollment season - when workers commit to next year's employer-sponsored health insurance plans.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Clinton to detail plan for health insurance / She wants affordable coverage for all (San Francisco Chronicle)

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday will lay out a plan to secure health insurance for all Americans while severely limiting the ability of insurers to deny coverage or charge higher premiums to people with chronic illnesses and other medical problems, her...

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Health Insurance Costs Rise Again (US News & World Report)

The average worker's premium payment for a family insurance policy has increased to nearly $3,300.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

National Health Insurance Fund hits pricing snags (IPP Media)

Dishonest pharmaceutical dealers in Arusha Region have been randomly hiking the prices of medical drugs and charges for health services, disrupting the operations of the National Health Insurance Fund.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Clinton Readies U.S. Health Insurance Plan as Pitfalls Loom (Bloomberg via Yahoo! News)

Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Hillary Clinton, offering a new prescription for providing all Americans with health-care insurance, is seeking to avoid a repeat of her first, failed bid to revamp the system.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Mayo Clinic Recommends Universal Health Insurance Plan (New York Times)

The Mayo Clinic proposal doesn?t advocate a government-run single-payer system, but urges private insurance companies to offer plans with many options. The Mayo Clinic proposal doesn?t advocate a government-run single-payer system, but urges private insurance companies to offer plans with many options.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Health insurance burden gets heavier (The Record)

Health insurance premiums paid by workers and their employers rose an average of 6.1 percent this year, outpacing inflation and pay increases and taking a bigger chunk out of families' budgets, according to a new survey.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Steve Wiegand: The health insurance enchilada (The Sacramento Bee)

Given the desperate efforts of California's elected officials to stitch together a vibrant, functioning health insurance plan from the decaying parts of the current system, the surname of the California Medical Association's president-elect may be altogether fitting:

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Congress nears a deal on children's health insurance program (The Kansas City Star)

WASHINGTON | House and Senate Democratic leaders are on the verge of a deal to expand the state-federal health insurance program for the children of working parents, senior aides said Friday.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Americans Finding Affordable Health Insurance Online (Benton Evening News)

(ARA) - Think you can't afford to pay for health insurance if your employer doesn't provide it, or if you're unemployed? Think again. "Everyone needs health insurance and new types of policies and benefit options, readily available through online resources, are making coverage accessible to nearly everyone, no matter how much they earn," says Jon Engleking, co-founder and managing partner of ...

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Instant Health Insurance Quote, Information Now Available through Thousand Oaks Insurance Web Site at ... (PRWeb)

An instant health insurance quote and related insurance information and advice is now available from HealthInsuranceShopper.com, a new Web site launched by Thousand Oaks Insurance, a California health insurance company. (PRWeb Sep 15, 2007) Post Comment:Trackback URL: http://www.prweb.com/pingpr.php/Q3Jhcy1QaWdnLVByb2YtSW5zZS1UaGlyLVplcm8=

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Clinton Readies U.S. Health Insurance Plan as Pitfalls Loom (Bloomberg.com)

Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Hillary Clinton, offering a new prescription for providing all Americans with health-care insurance, is seeking to avoid a repeat of her first, failed bid to revamp the system.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Health Insurance Costs to Rise 2.1% Next Year (Washington Post)

For the second consecutive year, federal employees are getting a big break on their health insurance premiums.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Contact us | No health insurance? (The Charlotte Observer)

Are you a 20- or 30-somethings without health insurance? Maybe you are between jobs. Or, maybe you are self employed or your job doesn't come with benefits. If this sounds like you, staff writer Amy Baldwin wants to talk to you for a story. Please e-mail abaldwin@charlotteobserver.com or call 704-358-5179. Please leave your name and daytime phone number.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Kaiser Quotes Health Insurance Launches New, User-Friendly Website (PRWeb via Yahoo! News)

Kaiser Quotes Health Insurance restructures its website with easier navigation tools and a more visually-pleasing design.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

US health insurance costs rise nearly twice as fast as pay: survey (AFP via Yahoo! News)

The cost of health insurance in the United States climbed nearly twice as fast as wages in the first half of 2007, with family coverage costing employers around 1,000 dollars (714 euros) a month, a poll showed Wednesday.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Health Insurance Premium Growth Slows For Fourth Straight Year, USA (Medical News Today)

Health insurance premiums increased at the slowest pace in eight years, marking the fourth consecutive year premium increases have declined, according to a new report released recently.Published by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust, the Employer Health Benefits 2007 Annual Survey found that health insurance premiums increased by 6.1 percent in 2007. [click ...

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

As costs rise, having health insurance isn't enough (Detroit News)

The news from the U.S. Census Bureau that almost 1 in 6 Americans lacked health insurance during at least part of last year made big headlines a few weeks back.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

U.S. Should Implement Measures For Portable Health Insurance Among Women, Letter To Editor Says (Medical News Today)

The "time has come" to provide "married women who work" with health insurance that is independent from their employers, Grace-Marie Turner, president of the not-for-profit Galen Institute, writes in a Wall Street Journal letter to the editor in response to a recent Journal opinion piece. Turner writes that the U.S. [click link for full article]

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Kaiser Quotes Health Insurance Launches New, User-Friendly Website (PRWeb)

Kaiser Quotes Health Insurance restructures its website with easier navigation tools and a more visually-pleasing design. (PRWeb Sep 14, 2007) Post Comment:Trackback URL: http://www.prweb.com/pingpr.php/Q3Jhcy1Ib3JyLVNpbmctTWFnbi1UaGlyLVplcm8=

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Federal Employees to See Moderate Rise in Health Insurance Premiums (Washington Post)

Health insurance premiums for federal employees and retirees will increase by an average of 2.1 percent next year, the Office of Personnel Management announced this afternoon.

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[Source: Yahoo! News Search Results for health insurance]

Time Running Out For California

California's state legislative session is scheduled to end in September, but officials are newhere near reaching an agreement on proposed healthcare reform legislation. According to the Ontario (Calif.) Daily...

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[Source: About.com Health Insurance]

Health Care Reform Compromise Rumors

Here’s a post that could be out of date by Wednesday, if not sooner:Rumor has it Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s and Speaker Fabian Nunez’s staffs are busy hashing out a compromise that could be brought before the Legislature early this coming week. (I assume Senate Pro Tem Perata’s staff is involved, too). The broad outline is [...]

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[Source: The Alan Katz Health Care Reform Blog]

Field Poll Reflects Non-Stop Industry Drubbing

On Wednesday, the venerable Field Poll released its latest surveyon California voters’ attitudes towards health care reform. It shows a remarkable shift in public opinion since Field’s previous survey,conducted in December 2006 and released inJanuary 2007.By remarkable, Imean earthshaking. Consider the percentage of respondents preferring to make change within the current system versus those willing [...]

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[Source: The Alan Katz Health Care Reform Blog]

Insurance group reaches out to underserved areas

A major insurance group said it will distribute $25 million in grant money to improve health care in medically underserved areas of California such as the San Joaquin Valley.

Health clinics, hospitals and community organizations can apply to UnitedHealth Group and its subsidiary PacifiCare for grants ranging from $100,000 to $5 million. The program grew out of regulatory approvals for UnitedHealth Group's acquisition of PacifiCare in 2005. The $8.1 billion acquisition created a larger health insurance group serving about 70 million people nationwide.

Grants will be awarded over the next three years for technology improvements, medical education, efforts to prevent chronic disease, telemedicine and coordinated care initiatives. Last year, UnitedHealth awarded a $5 million grant for developing a medical school at the University of California at Merced.

"We would encourage organizations in Stanislaus and neighboring counties to apply for these funds," said Tyler Mason, a spokesman for UnitedHealthcare, a division of UnitedHealth Group. "These dollars are available to improve access to health care by using technology and education."

The program has given money to telemedicine projects for improving prenatal care in rural areas, Mason said. Another area of interest is coordination of care for patients who are discharged from hospitals to skilled nursing facilities. Often, the nursing facility isn't close to the hospital and patients don't receive the follow-up care they need, Mason said.

The UnitedHealth Group grants also are intended to address physician shortages predicted in a 2005 University of California study. That study said the southern part of the Central Valley is prone to shortages of health care workers.

Click here for your free California health insurance quote today!

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[Source: Health Insurance Blog]

The Politics of Health Care Reform Vote

Pretend for a moment you’re a Democratic legislator. Your party controls your chamber. You sit on committees that both interest you and benefit your district. You even have a nice office and, while you could always use more, you have sufficient staff to get your work done.As aconscientious representative you want to address the needs [...]

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[Source: The Alan Katz Health Care Reform Blog]

Park Differences and Reaction Distances

If you have been following the PITCHf/x data this season, you've probably realized that the system has been implemented in more stadiums since the All-Star break, and is in 23 stadiums now. You've also probably noticed that the data provided from each stadium is slightly different. The velocity isn't very consistent between starts by the same pitcher in different stadiums, the movement of pitches seems to change and the release point has been shown to jump around as well.

The release point differences are the most important because as I learned last week, there are only nine parameters captured for each pitch. The three dimensional location of the ball, as well as acceleration and initial velocity, are all captured by the camera system, with the rest of the values that are shown, either in Gameday or the xml itself, being calculated from those nine values. Any discussion about how parks affect the speed or movement of pitches has to begin with a look at the data captured at release point. Below is a table that has the average release point height (in feet) for a team's staff, both at home and in all road stadiums. The way to read the table is that the average release height for all pitchers on the Red Sox while at Fenway was 5.30 feet, and was 6.08 feet for Red Sox pitchers on the road. One problem with using this method is that it doesn't use exactly the same group of pitchers for home and road, which is due to a lack of data, but it gives a rough idea of the release point height at each stadium.

Team    Home    Road     Home-RoadBOS     5.30    6.08    -0.78SDN     5.61    5.83    -0.22MIL     5.75    5.97    -0.21CHA     5.61    5.81    -0.19SLN     5.96    6.08    -0.12CHN     6.20    6.31    -0.11LAN     5.95    6.04    -0.09SEA     5.81    5.89    -0.08ARI     5.99    5.98     0.01CLE     6.00    5.98     0.02KCA     5.93    5.87     0.06ATL     5.97    5.91     0.06OAK     6.06    5.97     0.09ANA     6.20    6.11     0.09HOU     5.86    5.76     0.10DET     6.03    5.91     0.12TOR     5.79    5.65     0.14TEX     6.43    6.29     0.14CIN     6.32    6.17     0.16PHI     6.33    6.11     0.23MIN     6.18    5.95     0.23COL     6.29    5.85     0.44SFN     6.59    6.11     0.49

Most of the home heights are within .2 feet of their road data, with the exception of Boston, Colorado and San Francisco. However, even among these three stadiums, Fenway stands out, with the release point being .78 feet lower than the road. Every Red Sox pitcher had at least a .40 foot higher release point on road and looking at the average starting velocity of a pitch at each stadium, Red Sox pitchers throw 6.5 MPH faster on the road than at home. Clearly something is going on with the PITCHf/x system at Fenway and to a lesser extent at Coors and AT&T, and could be going on at other stadiums as well. Until we have confidence in the release points being tracked at every park, comparing data gathered at different stadiums without adjusting it will give misleading results.

ParkName                Pit    pfx_x(")   pfx_z(")    x0(')     z0(')    vy0(ft/s)Home    Josh Beckett        338   -4.19       3.47       -1.69      4.85     127.59Road    Josh Beckett        106   -4.51       8.36       -1.95      5.37     134.55Home    Manny Delcarmen     103   -5.93       7.28       -0.95      5.55     127.83Road    Manny Delcarmen     35    -4.07       10.07      -1.34      6.12     136.95Home    Eric Gagne          32    -2.14       3.01       -0.84      5.23     116.06Road    Eric Gagne          48    -3.54       9.03       -0.78      5.82     131.21Home    Jon Lester          97     0.96       4.27        2.98      5.66     117.52Road    Jon Lester          192    1.76       6.15        2.57      6.29     128.25Home    Daisuke Matsuzaka   314   -2.31       5.47       -2.08      5.14     123.67Road    Daisuke Matsuzaka   111   -3.56       9.06       -2.31      5.54     134.94Home    Hideki Okajima      71     2.60       8.02       -0.01      5.82     118.96Road    Hideki Okajima      27     3.34       6.38       -0.37      6.59     120.71Home    Jonathan Papelbon   64    -7.68       6.35       -2.28      4.98     132.33Road    Jonathan Papelbon   31    -6.57       9.84       -2.65      5.48     138.27Home    Kyle Snyder         87    -1.81       1.58       -1.51      6.22     112.67Road    Kyle Snyder         39    -1.69       6.28       -1.73      6.73     123.94Home    Julian Tavarez      248   -7.04       2.80       -1.70      5.16     122.88Road    Julian Tavarez      41    -6.90       5.31       -2.03      6.12     127.34Home    Mike Timlin         96    -3.50       6.91       -2.14      6.06     124.26Road    Mike Timlin         63    -2.86       8.44       -2.56      6.71     130.85Home    Tim Wakefield       316    0.88       1.98       -0.65      5.80      94.85Road    Tim Wakefield       71     3.03       3.65       -0.84      6.67     103.41

Looking at individual pitchers for the Red Sox, you can see how Fenway's camera system impacts the different pitchers. X0 and z0 are the coordinates for the release point, measured as a distance from the pitcher's body and from the ground respectively, and the release point is lower at home for all the pitchers. Almost all of the pitchers also get a smaller pfx_z value at home, which would seem to indicate that their pitches have more sink at Fenway, but is actually a result of the lower release height combined with the fact that, overall, the average height when a pitch crosses the plate at Fenway is similar to the height at other parks. The initial velocity is vy0, measured in feet/second, and is slower in every case. I didn't break this chart up by pitch, which is fine for examining the release points, but when looking at the velocity it gives an average that doesn't really mean anything.

Getting back to making an adjustment, the z coordinates of the release points are all roughly 10% too small at Fenway. If the Fenway x values were increased by 10% they would be a closer match for the release points on the road. However, once you make that adjustment, you need to adjust each of the other 8 parameters so that they are "measuring" at the new, adjusted release point, rather than the low release point. If you say that Fenway lowers the release point for every pitcher by 10%, and apply these adjustments to every pitch thrown at Fenway, here's what happens for Josh Beckett.

Park    Name       Pit     x0      z0      vy0Road    Beckett    106    -1.95    5.37    134.55Fenway  Beckett    338    -1.69    4.85    127.59Adj.    Beckett    338    -1.99    5.39    136.53

Even through the adjusted numbers match the road numbers, I'm not very confident in using this method to make large-scale adjustments. For one thing, the road numbers could be off too. For Beckett I'm looking at one road start, made in Safeco, so I could be making too big of an adjustment. The lack of a large sample of road starts for pitchers is a major weakness of the type of separation I used in the home/road charts, but once there are more starts made in stadiums with the pitch f/x system, that hopefully can change. I think any true park factors are going to need to wait until there is more data captured at all stadiums.

 

Here are two graphs of a randomly selected Beckett fastball and curveball at Fenway and Safeco, as viewed from the first base line. You can really see the difference that the release height makes from this view. There appear to be some differences in how the curveball moves at the different stadiums, but the fastball follows virtually the same path, just at different heights, in both cases. Each dot represents the ball's position in .05 second intervals, which segues nicely into my last section.

I received a comment yesterday on my article from last week that suggested a better way to quantify the speed of a pitch was to determine how far away the pitch is when the batter has to decide whether to swing. It probably is even more intuitive to think of it like this compared to how many seconds the ball takes to arrive, so I went ahead and calculated some distances.

You can test your reaction time here, and after some extensive research (emailing the link to five friends) I think a rough proxy for an MLB reaction time is around .2 seconds. If a pitch takes .513 seconds to reach the plate, as a Wakefield knuckleball does, then the hitter can let the pitch travel for .313 seconds out of Wakefield's hand before making a decision. The pitch is 19.75 feet from home plate at .313 seconds, so the hitter can wait until Wakefield's knuckleball is about 20 feet from him before making a decision. A hitter has to make a decision on a fastball on a Beckett fastball 27 feet from home, while on a Rich Hill curveball the hitter has to decide when the pitch is 21 feet from home.

The hard part of finding these numbers is determining the reaction time. The test above only involves clicking a mouse button, which is nearly instantaneous, but swinging a bat takes much longer. Even if the hitter had a reaction time of .2 seconds, once he recognized the pitch and reacted, actually swinging the bat would take some time as well. If you add on another .1 second to account for the swing, the distances are pushed back to 29 feet for Wakefield's knuckleball, 41 feet for Beckett's fastball, and 31 feet for Hill's curve.

I have no idea if the .1 second swing time is accurate, but at 41 feet from the plate most pitches look very similar. Hill's curveball hasn't began to break yet and it looks very similar to Beckett's fastball. If you had a reaction time of .2 seconds and a swing that lasts .2 seconds after the reaction time, you would need to artificially speed up your reaction time and decide whether to swing at Beckett's fastball before he even released his pitch. If he were throwing his curveball or changeup instead...well, Beckett does have 148 strikeouts this year. I believe there is some overlap on reaction time and when the swing begins, which lowers the overall time used, and I think there is also some element of "Blink" involved here, where good hitters "know" to swing at a pitch before they realize why they are swinging at it. Either way, hitting is hard.

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[Source: Baseball Analysts]

The Anatomy of a Slide

When play was said and done on May 13, the Milwaukee Brewers had a record of 25-12, good for a .676 win percentage. On June 22, they had an 8.5 game lead in the National League Central. Today, they trail the Chicago Cubs by one game in the NL Central, have gone 40-49 since May 13 and have just a .516 win percentage overall. Since June 22, they are 23-29. I will concede this is not the timeliest of pieces given that Milwaukee has taken two of three in Arizona from the D-Backs but I wanted to follow up Rich's effort on Monday featuring Ryan Braun with a look at the team as a whole.

How can a team be so good for a sustained stretch, and then so bad thereafter? Well check out the numbers below.

          4/1 - 5/13          5/14 - 8/21Estrada  .304/.328/.461      .263/.282/.380Weeks    .237/.344/.443      .204/.342/.306Hardy    .325/.376/.616      .252/.304/.412Jenkins  .323/.374/.616      .251/.327/.472

As for the pitchers most responsible for the slide, presented in the respective columns is the same chronological timeframe.

          ERA  K/9  K/BB    ERA  K/9  K/BBSuppan   3.00  4.7  2.80   5.89  4.9  1.22 Capuano  2.93  7.0  2.20   6.59  8.8  2.89Vargas   2.65  9.8  2.85   5.50  6.3  1.66Cordero  0.54  12.4 3.29   4.50  11.6 4.00

It's not rocket science, but it helps to see it laid out in plain view. The Brewers have slid as far back as they have because eight players who were tremendous for them at the start of the season have been terrible since they topped out with their .676 win percentage.

What has gone wrong is that Johnny Estrada, Rickie Weeks, J.J. Hardy, Geoff Jenkins, Jeff Suppan, Chris Capuano, Claudio Vargas and Francisco Cordero - key players all - started off phenomenally, maybe above their heads, and have since played well short of their respective ability levels since. Ben Sheets had been pitching phenomenally when he went down and his absence had done the Brew Crew no favors.

All is not even close to lost for the Brewers, as they are demonstrating in the desert right now. Last season's American League representative in the fall classic, the Detroit Tigers, went 25-32 over their final 57 games. There's a reason they play 162 of these things. If Milwaukee, and specifically the players mentioned above (save Capuano, who is no longer with the Big Club), can play somewhere around their ability levels, I give them a good chance to make the post-season.

That's because those first 38 games counted, even though the weather was raw and the NBA and NHL playoffs might have diverted some attention from our national pastime. Still, the time is now for these Milwaukee Brewers and it will be fascinating to see if they can reverse course once again down the stretch.

**********

Thanks to Baseball Musings' Day By Day Database.

Also, for excellent Wisconsin sports coverage (something dear to my heart at the moment since I have a man-weekend trip to Madison for the Michigan-Wisconsin football game in November), be sure to check out The Wisconsin Sports Bar.

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[Source: Baseball Analysts]

Hasty Health Care Reform a Bad Idea

I’ve written ad naseum on the danger inherent in the Legislature hastily passing health care reform.The unintended consequencesfrom enacting changes in something as complicated as health care without thoroughly vetting the ramifications could make matters worse, not better.I’m not alone in this concern:“I hope that none of these ill-conceived, quickly thrown together plans will pass [...]

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[Source: The Alan Katz Health Care Reform Blog]