Staff photo by Evan Lewis Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe speaks at a press conference Wednesday morning at the Texarkana Chamber of Commerce. He was in town to discuss ARHealthNet, a state-subsidized health insurance plan for small businesses. Beebe will be touring the state for the rest of the month talking about the new plan, which helps businesses with up to 500 employees. The program is geared toward low-income and other workers in small businesses. .

Low Cost Family Health Insurance - Some New Trends That Will Save ...

Is there such a thing as low cost family health insurance? If you listen to the news and read all the newspapers then I am sure that you are already convinced that health insurance is no longer affordable. There has been an upward trend in the cost of health insurance. The cost for doctor and hospital services is always on the increase and so the cost of health insurance will rise accordingly. This should not surprise any of us who understand basic economics.

Insurers understand this problem and are making every effort to find creative methods to lower health insurance premiums. The health insurance shopper has to take a different approach. There are many ways to fine-tune a health insurance plan without losing the desired benefits. The smart shopper will look into the new approach to purchasing health insurance and reap the benefits.

Humana Unveils New Portfolio Of Health Insurance Plans Under Its ...

7/17/2007 3:22:42 PM Humana Inc. (HUM) revealed the introduction of a new portfolio of individual health insurance plans under its HumanaOne brand, in six states - Arizona, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio and Texas.

By early 2008, the company plans to have introduced the new product portfolio in all 26 states where HumanaOne currently operates.

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Affordable Individual Health Insurance - How To Control Your Own ...

The need for affordable individual health insurance is becoming more prevalent because of the rising numbers of self-employed. Entrepreneurs are changing the landscape. Home-based businesses are growing at a phenomenal pace. The enormous growth of small business has generated a greater demand for individual health insurance. This is a first time experience for many of these new start-ups. Group health insurance is provided by the employer. The employee that is enrolled in the company group health insurance plan rarely examines the coverage or the cost. This changes dramatically when they are forced into purchasing their own individual plan.

COBRA (the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) guarantees a continuance of coverage when you leave your employer. This coverage is made available for 18 months after you leave.

Bills still arriving for mother who gave birth in US

An Ontario woman who had the harrowing experience of being sent to Buffalo to give birth to her premature daughter is now grappling with an unwanted side effect of the U.S. health-care system - the bill collector.

The Rochester Credit Bureau is trying to collect on a $410 (U.S.) medical bill - calling her Guelph home four times last week alone. She was also contacted by them last year when a $400 bill for Hannah's eye exam wasn't paid; it has since been taken care of.

The Political Universe 07.20.07

President Bush has threatened to veto an expansion of the State Childrens Health Insurance Program. It almost seems like the man is on a mission to leave office as the most hated president of all time, doesnt it? Ill tell you why the SCHIP program is a great idea with a bad funding source. Plus, is Hillary Clinton an enemy propagandist? Well talk about this, and the political quote of the week, in the Friday edition of this column.

Bush threatens to veto children's health insurance plan Yesterday against the wishes of President Bush, the Senate Finance Committee approved an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The SCHIP program provides a subsidy for health insurance for children and some adults who live in households that earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford private insurance.

Simple shift could give 10000 kids insurance

The state could save nearly $16 million and use the money to provide about 10,000 more children with government-sponsored health insurance by switching responsibility for handling medical bills from one state office to another, according to a state audit.The state Department of Health and Human Services can process claims for the state children's health insurance plan cheaper than the state health plan, said a report that State Auditor Les Merritt's office issued Tuesday.The state employee health plan office processes the children's health insurance claims for the health and human services department. The insurance is for children from low-income families who don't qualify for Medicaid but whose parents cannot afford to buy insurance. The state and federal governments pay most of the costs.The audit recommends that the state health plan office, whose main job is running the state employee health insurance programs, pursue a law that would give bill-paying authority for the children's insurance to health and human services.George Stokes, executive administrator for the state employee health plan, wrote in response to the audit that it would be up to health and human services officials to ask for the change.

Vivas attract new customers with discount offer

COMPANIES in the South East have the highest level of staff absenteeism in the country. At 5.4% it is the equivalent of 13 days, 4 days more than the national average of 9 days.

Staff absenteeism costs small business 757 million per annum, with 6 million days lost in small business through staff absenteeism last year alone (source SFA Absenteeism Report 07).

By investing in VIVAS Healths new suite of corporate health plans, companies in Waterford can help reduce employee stress through the provision of access to an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) which is fully covered by VIVAS Health.

VIVAS Health announced a 15% introductory discount to its innovative range of Corporate Health Insurance Plans - Total Life Plan and Biz Plan. For a limited time during July, August and September, businesses will be able to avail of an additional 15% off the already highly-competitive VIVAS Health business plan range.