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​8 reasons small businesses may benefit from working with an insurance broker

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Small-business owners take on multiple roles in their companies out of necessity, but being a health plan expert doesn’t need to be one of them. In order to maximize employee benefits, minimize costs and administrative work, and get help understanding the complexities of health care regulations, many small-business owners look to the expertise of a qualified health insurance broker. “It’s a balancing act to help employers find options that fit their budget and are affordable for employees,”… Reported by bizjournals 2 hours ago.

Employees’ State Insurance Corporation raises wage threshold to Rs 21,000

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The Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) today raised the monthly wage threshold to Rs 21,000, from the current Rs 15,000, for coverage under its health insurance scheme.

The post Employees’ State Insurance Corporation raises wage threshold to Rs 21,000 appeared first on Firstpost. Reported by Firstpost 2 hours ago.

Government survey shows health insurance gains slowing

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s progress in getting more people covered by health insurance slowed significantly this year, the government confirmed Wednesday in a report that tempers a historic achievement of the Obama administration. About 1.3 million fewer people were uninsured the first three months of this year, driving the uninsured rate to a record […] Reported by Seattle Times 1 hour ago.

Government Survey Shows Health Insurance Gains Slowing

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Government Survey Shows Health Insurance Gains Slowing WASHINGTON—The nation’s progress in getting more people covered by health insurance slowed significantly this year, the government confirmed Wednesday in a report that tempers a historic achievement of the Obama administration.

About 1.3 million fewer people were uninsured the first … Reported by Epoch Times 23 hours ago.

New HABRI Survey: Knowledge That Pets Improve Our Health Boosts Animal Welfare

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The More Pet Owners Learn about Scientific Research on the Benefits of the Human-Animal Bond, the Better They’ll Care for their Companion Animals

Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) September 07, 2016

The Human Animal Bond Research Initiative (HABRI) Foundation today announced the findings of a new survey on the impact of knowledge of the scientific benefits of the human-animal bond on how pet owners care for their companion animals. The survey asked pet owners about their awareness of research that shows pets improve human health and found that this knowledge has the power to motivate them to take better care of their pets in important ways.

“Scientific research shows that pets are good for our health, improving heart health, relieving stress and positively impacting conditions from autism to PTSD,” said HABRI Executive Director, Steven Feldman. “Now, for the first time, we have data to show that it’s a two-way street – when we know how good pets are for us, we are more likely to take better care of them!”

According to the survey, seventy-one percent of pet owners were aware of scientifically-documented health benefits from pets. Most importantly, when asked how knowledge of the scientific research on the human-animal bond would affect their actions:· 89% of pet owners said they were more likely to take better care of their pets
· 75% of pet owners said they were more likely to microchip a pet to ensure it can be found if lost or stolen
· 51% of pet owners said they were more likely to purchase pet health insurance
· 62% of pet owners said they were less likely to skip visits to the veterinarian
· 74% of pet owners said they were less likely to give up a pet for any reason
· 88% of pet owners said they were more likely to provide their pets with high-quality nutrition
· 92% of pet owners said they were more likely to maintain their pet’s health, including keeping up with vaccines and preventative medicine

The survey also examined how different generations of pet owners viewed and reacted to the human-animal bond. For millennials, in particular, learning about the scientific research on the health benefits of pets had a large impact:· 80% of millennials said this information makes them more likely to bring their pet along when they go out
· 75% of millennials said this information makes them more likely to travel with their pets
· 74% of millennials said this information makes them more likely to get an additional pet
· 74% of millennials think employers should consider allowing employees to bring pets to work

“When pet owners are educated about the scientific research on the human-animal bond, the response is tremendously positive for the welfare of the pet population,” said researcher Michael Cohen, Ph.D. “This research tells me that veterinarians and animal shelters should be talking about the benefits of pets to human health.”

The survey also asked pet owners about increased support for pet ownership in society:· 84% agree health and life insurance companies should give discounts for owing a pet
· 87% would be more likely to buy products from pet-friendly businesses
· 69% agree the government should help make it more affordable to own a pet
· 88% agree doctors and specialists should recommend pets to patients for healthier living

“As HABRI continues to fund human-animal bond research, it will work hard to educate pet owners and the general public about the positive impacts of pet ownership on human health,” Feldman added. “As more people experience the healing power of the human-animal bond, more and more pets can get the highest level of care and welfare.”

The online survey, conducted by the Cohen Research Group, included 2,000 interviews and had a margin of error of +2.2%.

The HABRI Foundation maintains the world’s largest online library of human-animal bond research and information; funds innovative research projects to scientifically document the health benefits of companion animals; and informs the public about human-animal bond research and the beneficial role of companion animals in society. For more information about the HABRI Foundation, visit http://www.habri.org. Reported by PRWeb 1 day ago.

7 things to know today and where to find the highest-quality health care

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Good morning, Orlando! More Americans may have access to health care today, but cost and quality vary widely from state to state. So, in order to determine which states offer the most cost-effective and highest-quality care, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 29 key metrics ranging from average monthly insurance premium to number of physicians per capita and percentage of adults and children with health-insurance coverage. And the drum roll, please ... Florida… Reported by bizjournals 23 hours ago.

The percentage of Americans without health insurance just hit an all-time low

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The percentage of Americans without health insurance just hit an all-time low The percentage of Americans that do not have health insurance now sits at 8.6%, the lowest on record according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

During the first three months of 2016, 11.9% of Americans aged 18 to 64 (those who do not qualify for Medicare) were without insurance, while just 5.0% of children aged 0 to 17 were lacking coverage, according to the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

"From 1997 through 2010, the percentage of adults aged 18 to 64 who were uninsured at the time of interview generally increased," said the release from the NCHS.

"More recently, the percentage of uninsured adults aged 18 to 64 decreased, from 22.3% in 2010 to 11.9% in the first 3 months of 2016. During this 6-year period, corresponding increases were seen in both public and private coverage among adults aged 18 to 64."

Unfortunately, the percentage of young adults, aged 25-34, had higher levels of uninsurance than those aged 45-64 at 15.9% to 8.1% respectively. While this is generally to be expected, the lack of young people seeking coverage through the Affordable Care Act's, better known as Obamacare, public exchanges has been lower than expected and made it difficult for insurers offering plans. The NCHS' report reiterates just how sizable the gap remains.

Additionally, the NCHS estimates that 4.0%, or 10.8 million, were covered by a private insurance plan obtained through the Obamacare exchanges. This is up from 3.6%, or 9.7 million, from the previous survey.

In a statement following the release of the report, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell applauded the historic uninsured rate and cited the ACA as a primary driver of the drop.

"Under the Affordable Care Act, our nation’s uninsured rate dropped in the first quarter of the year to 8.6 percent – the lowest level on record," said Burwell. "Because of the law, 20 million more Americans had quality, affordable coverage as of early 2016. And it is helping to bend the cost curve, contributing to the slowest growth in the price of health care in 50 years and reducing health expenditures by billions."

*SEE ALSO: Obamacare can succeed, but it needs a huge amount of work*

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Krugman reveals the economic risks of a Trump presidency Reported by Business Insider 21 hours ago.

Is The America Public Ready For Single-Payer National Health Insurance?

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We are not Europe. We are not Canada. We are America. This is not a single pay country. (1)
This has been the uncompromising view of Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), who as chairman of the key Senate Finance Committee in 2008 and 2009 played a leading role in shaping the Affordable Care Act (ACA). As described in my 2010 book, Hijacked: The Road to Single Payer in the Aftermath of Stolen Health Care Reform, he and his committee kept a single-payer option off the table, and even called the police to arrest eight activists who showed up for a hearing before his committee on health care options. (2) Elizabeth Fowler, a former health insurance industry insider as vice president for public policy for WellPoint, was the lead author of the Senate Finance Committee bill that made sure that the industry would be well served by the legislation. (3)

Conservative politicians, including both Republicans and many Democrats, have long been wary of a single-payer public financing system for national health insurance (NHI). They go out of their way to denigrate the Canadian system, even though it is extremely popular in Canada since its enactment in the 1970s, is tied to a private delivery system, and is more efficient and less bureaucratic with better outcomes than our far more expensive system. They tell us that a public financing system would be un-American and antithetical to American values, while overlooking the strengths of traditional Medicare and the Veterans Administration. Their opposition to NHI, of course, is enabled and perpetuated by extensive lobbying and campaign donations by the insurance industry.

These erroneous assertions by conservatives about public opinion concerning health care financing are entirely discredited by national polls over many years, virtually ignored by the mainstream media. Three of four Americans supported NHI during the 1940s (4) Since then, a majority of respondents to many national surveys have supported NHI. A 2009 CBS/New York Times poll found that 59 percent of respondents supported NHI. (5) A 2015 Gallup poll found that satisfaction of enrollees is highest in publicly financed health insurance programs (78 percent for the VA, 77 percent for traditional Medicare, and 75 percent for Medicaid), compared to 69 percent for employer-sponsored private coverage and 65 percent for individually purchased private plans. (6) After seven years with the Romney health care reform plan in Massachusetts, upon which the ACA was based, 72 percent of respondents to a survey prefer NHI to that plan. (7) A 2015 survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 84 percent of respondents support Medicare negotiating discounted prices for prescription drugs. (8)

The U. S. society is in the midst of major political, demographic and cultural change. Noam Chomsky, professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, historian, philosopher and political activist, brings us this perspective of these changes:
There can be no denying that the United States is undergoing a serious ideological and political realignment due to its rapid transformation into a society characterized by an immense gap between rich and poor, unprecedented economic insecurity and growing poverty, the abandonment of public investments in public infrastructure and an overall decline in the standard of living.. . . The [November 2016] elections are quite significant, whatever the outcome, in revealing the growing discontent and anger about the impact of neoliberal programs of the past generation, which, as elsewhere quite generally, have had a harsh impact on the mass of the population while undermining functioning democracy and enriching and empowering a tiny minority, largely in financial industries that have a dubious, if not harmful, role in the economy. . . . The tendencies have been clear for some time, but, in this election, the party establishments have lost control for the first time. . . . It is rather striking, for example, to see how easily the Democratic Party almost openly abandons the white working class, which drifts into the hands of their most bitter enemy, the leadership and power base of the Republican Party. (9)
Health care is primarily not a left-right issue, as a December 2015 national Kaiser public opinion poll found--58 percent of adults in the U. S. supported NHI (Medicare for All), including 81 percent of Democrats, 60 percent of Independents, and 30 percent of Republicans. (10) Since we all depend on access to affordable health care on many occasions, it should not be a partisan issue. Having a large risk pool--all 320 million of us--will benefit the common good most effectively and at lowest cost to us as patients and taxpayers. All of us will need affordable access to care at various points along our journeys in life.

Instead of a left-right issue, health care reform has become a top-down issue--corporate profits and oligarchy vs. democracy and the public interest. So far, democracy is losing, and the pendulum will have to swing back to best meet the needs of all Americans. Robert Reich, professor of public policy at the University of California Berkeley who was secretary of labor in the Bill Clinton administration and served in two previous administrations, sums up our current choice for the future of health care this way:
The real choice in the future is either a hugely expensive for-profit oligopoly with the market power to charge high prices even to healthy people and stop insuring sick people. Or else a government-run single-payer system--such as in place in almost every other advanced economy--dedicated to lower premiums and better care for everyone. We're going to have to choose eventually. (11)
John Geyman, M.D. is the author of The Human Face of ObamaCare: Promises vs. Reality and What Comes Next and How Obamacare is Unsustainable: Why We Need a Single-Payer Solution For All Americans

visit: http://www.johngeymanmd.org

*References: *

1. Baucus, M. As quoted in an interview with Karen Tumulty from Time Magazine in a Health Care Reform Newsmaker Series, March 3, 2009. Kaiser Family Foundation.

2. Robbins, K. Baucus 8 update: Single payer in the news. Healthcare-NOW! May 7, 2009.

3. Conner, K. Chief health aide to Baucus is former WellPoint executive. Eyes on the Ties Blog, September 1, 2009.

4. Steinmo, S, Watts, J. It's the institutions, stupid! Why comprehensive national health insurance always fails in America. J Health Politics, Policy and Law 20: 329, 1995.

5. Public opinion polling on single payer: Americans (still) support it! Everybody In! Healthcare NOW!'s Quarterly Newsletter on the Single-Payer Healthcare Justice Movement, 10, Spring 2016.

6. Saluja, J, Zallman, L, Nardin, R et al. Support for National Health Insurance seven years into Massachusetts healthcare reform: Views on populations targeted by the reform. Intl J Health Services. OnlineFirst--November 3, 2015.

7. Gumpert, K. Americans want Medicare to help negotiate down drug prices--poll. Reuters, July 17, 2015.

8. Polychroniou, CJ. Is the U. S. ready for socialism? An interview with Noam Chomsky. Truth-out, May 18, 2016.

9. Ibid # 6.

10. Reich, R. Why a single-payer healthcare system is inevitable. Common Dreams, August 22, 2016.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 21 hours ago.

Unfavorable Profit Margins and Mixed Enrollment Results for Top Health Plans in First Quarter 2016

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Unfavorable Profit Margins and Mixed Enrollment Results for Top Health Plans in First Quarter 2016 MCMURRAY, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mark Farrah Associates assessed year-over-year enrollment changes and profitability for seven leaders in the health insurance industry between 1Q15 and 1Q16. Reported by Business Wire 20 hours ago.

Affiliated Workers Association Selects Premier Health Solutions to Provide Benefits Administration

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Affiliated Workers Association Selects Premier Health Solutions to Provide Benefits Administration FRISCO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#benefits--Affiliated Workers Association (AWA) announced today a four-year agreement with Premier Health Solutions as the exclusive provider for third party administration services of benefits for all AWA members. This agreement includes providing support for small business, consumer, health insurance and wellness benefits for 7,000 AWA members across the United States. Premier Health Solutions will address three critical needs for AWA through this agreement and a coincidi Reported by Business Wire 18 hours ago.

A Yelp employee publicly complained to the CEO that she couldn't afford to buy groceries — and I tried living on her salary to see how true that is

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A Yelp employee publicly complained to the CEO that she couldn't afford to buy groceries — and I tried living on her salary to see how true that is Earlier this year, a Yelp employee publicly complained to the CEO that she couldn't afford to buy groceries, thanks to the combination of making an $8.15-an-hour after-tax salary while living in the notoriously expensive San Francisco Bay Area.

Hours later, she was fired, which sparked a lively dialogue.

She saw "an outpouring of support, including donations to her personal PayPal account," Business Insider's Matt Weinberger reported. She also received a cacophony of criticism, including a brutal response from one millennial that went viral.

But Talia Jane (not her full name) certainly isn't the only one having trouble making ends meet.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4% of all hourly paid workers (3 million people) earn the before-tax $7.25-per-hour federal minimum wage or less.

Pew Research Center found that 30% of hourly workers (about 20.6 million people) are "near minimum wage" workers — those who make more than the minimum wage in their state but less than $10.10 an hour.

Many states and cities have set their own, higher minimums. For instance, the before-tax minimum wage in San Francisco is $12.25 an hour, and it will be $15 an hour by July 2018. In New York City it is $9 an hour but also is set to climb to $15 an hour.

Is it really that hard to make ends meet with a "near minimum wage" or otherwise limited salary? To find out, I decided to simulate living on Jane's salary for 30 days. I didn't quit my job; I put the overflow in savings, which sets my situation apart from Jane's immediately.

I'm also based in New York City, rather than San Francisco, but considering that the two cities trade off the title of "most expensive in the US," depending on the list you're reading, I felt comfortable with the comparison.

Note that my experience has to be and has been different from hers, and it was worlds away from the millions of Americans who live on minimum or nearly minimum wage day in and day out. Even with the advantages that come with higher pay, including benefits and a safety net of savings, it was difficult. I can't imagine what it must be like to have a consistently limited income. After only a month living on $8.15 an hour, I can say it's even harder than it sounds.

*SEE ALSO: A Yelp employee publicly complained to the CEO that she couldn't afford to buy groceries — hours later, she was fired*

*I withdrew $150 at the start of the month*

Jane didn't specify how much she was making before taxes. She did say she brought home $8.15 an hour after taxes and that her biweekly paycheck was $733.24. That works out to a 45-hour workweek.

A $733 biweekly paycheck means $1,466 for the month. Let's break down my fixed costs:

• Rent and utilities: *$1,250 *

• Cellphone: *$40*

• Internet: *$26 *

My fixed costs are as minimal as it gets; I'm still on my parents' health-insurance plan, I don't have a car, my company covers a nice chunk of my cellphone bill, and I walk to work, which means no monthly MetroCard or Citibike pass. If it weren't for egregious Manhattan rent prices, I'd be doing pretty well.

After taking my fixed costs ($1,316) out of my "new salary," I was left with exactly $150 for the month. On March 27, I headed to Wells Fargo and withdrew my spending money in cash, which would have to carry me through late April.*Initially, I thought the minimum-wage challenge would be a breeze*

I honestly thought the monthlong challenge would be a walk in the park. Would it be fun? Absolutely not. But doable? Absolutely.

After all, I completed the Elon Musk Challenge in January, spending just $60 on food for the month — and that was without getting to eat office snacks. Thanks to a generously stocked Business Insider kitchen, I figured I could spend even less on food, leaving over $90 for the rest of my expenses, which I assumed would be things like transportation and laundry.

Spoiler alert: There are always unforeseeable expenses.*After a week and a half, I was severely over budget*

A $150 monthly budget left me with $5 a day. My "strategy" was simply to spend as little as possible every day, which I did for the first week and a half. I was $22 under budget after 10 days, having spent only $28 ($22 on groceries and $6 on public transportation).

Everything was going according to plan ... until my best friend's 24th birthday party.

Sure, it's more than possible to do meaningful birthday gifts on the cheap — I went with a framed picture ($7.61 for the frame and $0.29 for the photo print) — but birthday events in New York City aren't cheap. Brunch, and the bowling that followed, set me back $80 ($88 if you include the gift), over half my monthly budget.

Could I have said no to my best friend's birthday brunch and bowl? In theory, yes. In practice, no. And technically, I could afford it at the time; I would just have to stretch $34 for the next 2 1/2 weeks.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider Reported by Business Insider 13 hours ago.

How Much Is the Obamacare Penalty? What You’ll Pay for Not Having Health Insurance

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The Affordable Care Act (ACA) removed obstacles that prevented some people from buying health insurance — but not everyone has signed up, and not everyone who did sign up kept their coverage. Reported by ajc.com 14 hours ago.

One of the main reasons insurance companies are ditching Obamacare isn't going away (AET, UNH)

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One of the main reasons insurance companies are ditching Obamacare isn't going away (AET, UNH) Obamacare has a millennial problem, and the healthcare program is struggling to get rid of it. 

To recap, one of the main reasons that large health insurance firms such as Aetna and UnitedHealthcare care ditching the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) public insurance exchanges is because not enough young, healthy people are signing up.

Insurers need young people to (in a basic sense) pay into the system since they tend to be healthier and consume less healthcare, thus partially subsidizing the older and less healthy people that cost more to cover than they pay in.

Since the roll out of the exchanges, the number of young, healthy people signing up has not been enough to offset the sicker population, leading to millions of dollars in losses for many insurers.

According to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) division, it appears that the gap between the percentage of young and old people without insurance is not closing.

15.9% of Americans aged 25 to 34 do not have health insurance according to new data released on Wednesday by the NCHS. 14.3% of those aged 35 to 44 go without coverage as well. When you get to the 45 to 64 year old bracket, however, that drops to just 8.1%.

While the uninsured rate for each of the three age groups has declined, the gap between the age brackets has stayed stubbornly consistent. The roughly 8% gap between the youngest non-Medicare eligible cohort and the oldest is slightly smaller than it was pre-ACA, but evidently has not closed enough to make a difference for the risk pools in the exchanges.

The hope of Obamacare was that with the combination of accessibility and penalties, more young people would get covered. If the gap were to close, this could recalibrate the risk and make the exchanges more financially viable for large insurers.

There is still some hope. The gap, admittedly, has closed but not as much as Obamacare's architects had hoped. Additionally, the full financial penalties for not having coverage are going into effect this year, potentially spurring more healthy and young people to purchase insurance. In order to address this, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed new outreach funding as part of a larger package of adjustments to the administration of the ACA.

*SEE ALSO: Obamacare can succeed, but it needs a huge amount of work*

*DON'T MISS: The percentage of Americans without health insurance just hit an all-time low*

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Paul Krugman weighs in on the Apple tax debate Reported by Business Insider 14 hours ago.

STOCKS GO NOWHERE: Here's what you need to know (SPY, SPX, DJI, IXIC, USO, WTI, OIL)

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STOCKS GO NOWHERE: Here's what you need to know (SPY, SPX, DJI, IXIC, USO, WTI, OIL) Stocks snoozed into the close on Tuesday after the Fed released its latest Beige Book and Apple announced its new line-up.

The Dow and the S&P 500 finished in the red, while the Nasdaq just barely scraped into the green.

First off, let's head to the scoreboard:

· *Dow:* 18,514.53, -23.59, (-0.13%)
· *S&P 500:* 2,185.40, -1.01, (-0.05%)
· *Nasdaq:* 5,277.05, +8.02, (+0.15%)
· *WTI crude oil:* $45.44, +$0.61, (+1.36%)
· *10-year yield:* 1.537, -0.006, (-0.36%)

1. The Fed came out with its latest Beige Book. The economy is still expanding at a modest pace, inflation is "slight," and labor markets in most districts remained tight, the Fed noted.
2. The number of job openings in America jumped to a record high. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the number of job openings hit a record 5.871 million in July. Meanwhile, the quits rate rose to 2.1%, just below the cycle high of 2.2% reached last December.
3. The percentage of Americans without health insurance just hit an all-time low. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that during the first three months of 2016, 11.9% of Americans aged 18 to 64 (those who do not qualify for Medicare) were without insurance, while just 5.0% of children aged 0 to 17 were lacking coverage.
4. Australia has not seen a technical recession for 25 years. The Australian economy grew by 0.5% quarter-over-quarter in the April through June period, slightly below economists' expectations of 0.6%. 
5. JPMorgan announced two big promotions in a key trading business. The firm announced that Mark Leung and Jason Sippel would become global co-heads of equities, effective immediately, following the departure of Tim Throsby to Barclays.
6. Apple shares were up 0.6% at $108.38 after the company announced its latest line-up.
7. Meanwhile, Nintendo shares went bananas after the company announced Mario is coming to the iPhone. Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto took the stage at Wednesday's Apple iPhone 7 launch event to make the surprise announcement of Super Mario Run — finally bringing Nintendo's flagship video game character to smartphones. At one point, shares in the company jumped up over 25%, to $35.45 a share.

*Additionally:*

A 24-year-old Chipotle cook is trying to shake up a huge hedge fund.

Here's how (almost) everything you can buy is doing so far this year since Brexit.

MORGAN STANLEY: 5 ways Bill Ackman could stir things up at Chipotle.

Meanwhile, Wall Street "cannot fathom" why Bill Ackman invested in Chipotle.

Drug prices are back in the spotlight — here are the companies with the most to lose.

There is literally only one bright spot on Wall Street.

Here's everything Apple announced today.

 

*SEE ALSO: This is Saudi Arabia's "Achilles' heel"*

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Sony is unveiling 2 new PlayStations on September 7 — here's what you're getting Reported by Business Insider 14 hours ago.

Business-related Colorado amendments hold leads, polls find

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An initiative to reinstate a presidential primary in Colorado is winning by a significant margin, while a proposal to make it harder to change the state constitution has a narrower lead, according to a pair of polls released Wednesday. The surveys follow a duo released Tuesday by the same Louisville-based polling firm, Magellan Strategies, showing that a constitutional amendment to raise the state’s minimum wage is likely to pass and a proposal to create a single-payer health-insurance system… Reported by bizjournals 14 hours ago.

Hospitals’ CT Scan and Anesthesiology Departments on Average Charge More Than 20 Times Their Costs

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New Johns Hopkins Study Suggests Hospitals Using ‘Chargemaster’ Markups to Maximize Revenue

Baltimore, MD (PRWEB) September 07, 2016

Hospitals on average charged more than 20 times their own costs in 2013 in their CT scan and anesthesiology departments ― suggesting that hospitals strategically use “chargemaster” markups to maximize revenue, according to new research from Johns Hopkins University.

Appearing in the September issue of Health Affairs, the study notes that many hospital executives say the chargemaster prices determined by individual hospitals for billable items are irrelevant to patients.

However, the relation between chargemaster markups and hospital revenue and the variation in markups across hospitals and departments show that the hospitals are still using their chargemaster markups to enhance revenues, say the study’s authors, Ge Bai of the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and Gerard F. Anderson of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

“Hospitals apparently mark up higher in the departments with more complex services because it is more difficult for patients to compare prices in these departments,” states lead author Bai, a Carey Business School assistant professor whose expertise is in accounting issues within the health care industry.

The average charge-to-cost ratios for hospital departments vary from a low of 1.8 for inpatient general routine care to a high of 28.5 for computed tomography (CT) scan, with anesthesiology right behind at 23.5. This means that a hospital whose costs in the CT department are $100 will charge a patient without health insurance and an out-of-network privately insured patient $2,850 for a CT scan.

Anderson, a professor in the Bloomberg School’s Department of Health Policy and Management, says the impact of hospital markups is vast: “They affect uninsured and out-of-network patients, auto insurers and casualty and workers’ compensation insurers. The high charges have led to personal bankruptcy, avoidance of needed medical services, and much higher insurance premiums.”

Hospitals with strong market power, through either system affiliations or dominance of regional markets, were more likely to set high markups, as revealed by financial data in 2013 collected by the authors from all Medicare-certified hospitals with more than 50 beds.

In their paper, the authors examine the average hospital’s overall charge-to-cost ratio, which expresses the ratio of what the hospital charged compared to the hospital’s actual medical expense. In 2013, the average hospital with more than 50 beds had a charge-to-cost ratio of 4.32 ― that is, the hospital charged $4.32 when the cost was only $1.

However, certain types of hospitals had higher markups. In government-run hospitals, the ratio was 3.47; in nonprofit hospitals, 3.79; and in for-profit hospitals, 6.31. System-affiliated hospitals had an average ratio of 4.76, versus 3.54 for independent hospitals, and hospitals with regional market power had an average ratio of 4.56, versus 4.16 for hospitals that lacked such clout ― supporting the researchers’ finding that hospitals that can mark up prices will do so. The markups help their bottom lines; a one-unit increase in markup, such as from 3.0 to 4.0, is linked with a $64 higher revenue per adjusted discharge.

Besides the setting of a cap on the maximum markup hospitals can charge, Bai and Anderson recommend two solutions to high markups. First, improve the transparency of markups by requiring hospitals to provide a benchmark rate, such as what Medicare would pay for the same services, on all medical bills so that patients can compare the amounts, while also requiring hospitals to disclose the total charges as a separate line item on their annual income statements. Second, improve the consistency of the charge-to-cost ratios across all departments and services within each hospital.

“Mandatory disclosure on medical bills and financial statements will be an important step toward markup transparency,” says Bai.

“We realize that any policy proposal to limit hospital markups would face a very strong challenge from the hospital lobby,” says Anderson, “but we believe the markup should be held to a point that’s fair to all concerned ― hospitals, insurers, and patients alike.”

“U.S. Hospitals Were Still Using Chargemaster Markups to Maximize Revenues In 2013” was written by Ge Bai and Gerard F. Anderson and appears in the September 2016 issue of Health Affairs. Reported by PRWeb 13 hours ago.

Molina Healthcare Announces Support for HHS’ Efforts to Improve the Marketplace Benefit and Payment Parameters

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Molina Healthcare Announces Support for HHS’ Efforts to Improve the Marketplace Benefit and Payment Parameters LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: MOH) today announced support of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) recently released Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters, which seeks to improve the risk adjustment program by providing policy and technical guidance related to the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. The goal of the HHS risk adjustment program is to compensate health insurance plans for differences in enrollee health mix so that plan premi Reported by Business Wire 12 hours ago.

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Payroll City Partners with EaseCentral, Launches Integration of Payroll, HR, Benefits Enrollment, and ACA Compliance to Simplify Administration for Clients and Partners

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The integration of payroll, HR and benefits enrollment reduces the complexity and administrative burden of health insurance, payroll and ACA compliance for small businesses and insurance professionals

Colorado Springs, CO (PRWEB) September 08, 2016

(September 8, 2016): Today Payroll City launched the integration with EaseCentral, allowing for simplified management of payroll, online benefits enrollment, HR and ACA compliance for small businesses with 2-200 employees.

Payroll City already delivers one of the most sophisticated cloud-based Payroll and HR solutions for clients across the U.S. but now with the combined feature set of EaseCentral including real time Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) connection, automated paperless benefit enrollment and an easy onboarding and offboarding solution, employee benefits is being reimagined.

“By streamlining the administration of HR enrollment and quoting processes for insurance brokers, agents and employees, our new integration capabilities are significantly saving time, as a process that often took weeks to complete and process can now be finished in a matter of minutes online,” said David Reid, founder and CEO of EaseCentral.

Currently small/midsize employers are faced with multiple challenges when it comes to competing with the larger company’s health benefits, payroll, onboarding & HR solutions. The burden of compiling data manually into spreadsheets and presenting other required documentation in a compatible format has been a nightmare to say the least.

Both employers & employees get lost in a sea of paperwork and the convoluted process of finding the best tailored health care options, with real-time pricing, has traditionally been financially feasible for only the large companies using costly enterprise solutions.

But now with the partnership of Payroll City and EaseCentral, small and midsize business owners, employees and health insurance professionals can pull quotes and compare information from multiple carriers instantly from any desktop or mobile device and seamless integrated it with payroll date.

“I am very excited about our partnership with EaseCentral. The integration not only provides our customers with a simple end to end solution to manage payroll, HR, benefits enrollment, and ACA compliance, but it also enhances our partnership program for insurance agencies,” said Kathleen Fox, President of Payroll City.

“Health insurance enrollment no longer has to be manual or complex. Our clients can now manage the benefits enrollment process seamlessly, while our insurance agent partners can now offer a complete solution that already includes pay-as-you-go workers’ comp technology, HR solutions, and payroll services to their clients while providing their expert advice.”

Payroll City has transformed into an all-in-one software solution for payroll, employee benefits, HR & compliance. Built for both insurance agents and small employers, the cloud-based combination makes it simple for companies to set up and manage over 50 types of benefits, coordinate payroll and HR, instantly generate employee ID’s and collaborate with employers on new hires, changes and terminations, and deliver completed tax information - all from one location.

The partnership between Payroll City & EaseCentral will bring efficiency, simplicity and accuracy to small business owners and employees, reducing the burden and time spent on processes that are complex and time consuming. Best of all, every small business can enjoy our easy to use, world class solution at a fraction of the cost of the complicated enterprise solutions today.

With Payroll City, business can now receive:·     Cloud based Payroll Software
·     HR Solutions including, HRIS, Online HR Resource, and HR support
·     Employee Portal and Self Onboarding
·     Complex Payrolls (Certified, Restaurant, Job Costing, Multi-State?) No problem!
·     Advanced Reports exportable into various formats
·     Workers’ Comp Pay as You Go
·     ACA compliance Reporting
·     Benefits Enrollment integration with EaseCentral
·     Advanced POS integrations
·     Time and Attendance, Scheduling
·     Superior service with knowledgeable and friendly staff
·     And much more…

About Payroll City:

Founded in 2001 and rated “A+” by the Better Business Bureau, Payroll City provides our clients and partners with best-in-class scalable workforce management solutions, supported by friendly and knowledgeable staff. We deliver comprehensive payroll, tax management, human resources, and insurance technology solutions to our valued clients across the US. Find out more at http://www.PayrollCity.com.

About EaseCentral
EaseCentral is the all-in-one software solution for Employee Benefits and HR. Built for agents and employers, cloud-based EaseCentral makes it simple for companies to set up and manage over 50 types of benefits, coordinate payroll and HR, collaborate with employers on new hires, changes and terminations, and deliver completed tax information - all from one location. Started in 2012 in San Francisco by employee benefits veteran, David Reid, and web and engineering architect, Courtney Guertin, EaseCentral works with insurance brokers and small businesses to create seamless HR and benefits processes on a single, easy-to-use platform, and has offices in San Diego and Las Vegas. In 2015 EaseCentral was launched on the West Coast and is among the most widely adopted, fastest growing solutions for brokers and employers in the area, with over 22,000 employers and 1 million employee users. For more information, head to http://www.easecentral.com. Reported by PRWeb 3 hours ago.
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