COBRA: Do not Lose Your Health Insurance

Workers Paying 14% More For Family Health Coverage This Year, USA
The US worker is paying an average of $482 extra this year for family health coverage, 14% more than last year, even though total premiums -including what employers contribute -only rose 3% to an average of $13,770 in 2010, according to a survey released by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research &Educational Trust...

States And Firms Seek Health Reform Funds While Opposing Law
News outlets are reporting that some states and businesses who oppose parts or all of the health reform law are applying for the financial relief it provides...

Study: Health Overhaul's Tax Credit For Small Business Could Affect Millions
A new Commonwealth Fund report estimates that "about 16.6 million workers are employed by small businesses that are eligible for health insurance tax credits" under the new health law but only 3.4 million of them are at companies that will take advantage of the credits, The Washington Post reports, adding that those businesses already offer their employees health insurance...

USA Today: Unprecedented Drop In Medical Spending
The growth rate of health spending is at its slowest in a half-century, "a sign that people are forgoing medical care during the recession," according to an "analysis of government data" by USA Today. "Spending on doctors, hospitals, drugs and other medical care climbed at a 2...

N.Y. Senator Adds Voice To Concern About Credit Cards, Echoing Cuomo's Health Credit Probe
MarketWatch: More warnings about credit cards -including those to pay for health care services -are coming from New York's elected officials. Sen. Charles Schumer sent a letter to the Federal Reserve noting a 256 percent leap in solicitations to consumers for professional and business credit cards...

Target Stores Join Field Of Retail Medicine
Chicago Tribune: "Target Corp., renewing its push into retail medicine, will open eight new clinics in the Chicago area and Palm Beach, Fla., giving a boost to a form of health care delivery that has seen slower growth amid the economic downturn. The Minneapolis-based retail giant launched its first health clinic four years ago but has not been as aggressive as rivals CVS/Caremark Corp...

Report Finds Foreclosures Harm People's Health In California; Wash. Small Business Health Insurance Program Starts To Sign Up Members
San Francisco Chronicle: "A report released Wednesday found foreclosures have not only economic consequences, but create health problems for the people and families involved --and those effects can ripple throughout a community...

Today's OpEds: Medicare Private Plans And The Health Law's Impact On Employer Coverage
Debunking Medicare Myths Kaiser Health News What's needed most today in American health care is innovative change which drives up productivity and value. With the right incentives, that's what the private sector can deliver, even as it's been clear for some time that the federal government cannot do likewise (James Capretta, 9/2)...

Family Health Premiums Rise 3 Percent To $13,770 In 2010, But Workers' Share Jumps 14 Percent As Firms Shift Cost Burden
Workers on average are paying nearly $4,000 this year toward the cost of family health coverage an increase of 14 percent, or $482, above what they paid last year, according to the benchmark 2010 Employer Health Benefits Survey released by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research &Educational Trust (HRET)...

Americans Saving More For Health Care In Retirement, First Command Reports
Concerned about rising medical expenses, middle-class Americans are bumping up their monthly retirement savings to cover future health care costs. The First Command Financial Behaviors Index®reveals that average monthly savings solely for health care costs during retirement climbed to $245 in July, up 42 percent from $173 a year ago...