Quantcast
Channel: Health Insurance Headlines on One News Page [United States]
Viewing all 22794 articles
Browse latest View live

Health insurance and the paradox of care

0
0
‘Care’ began as an emotion but now is an activity accounting for nearly a fifth of the United States economy. Reported by Christian Science Monitor 3 hours ago.

Uninsured rate continues to decline in Albany area

0
0
As the debate on what's next for the Affordable Care Act continues, new data from the U.S. Census Bureau makes one thing clear: the controversial health care law has reduced the number of uninsured people in the Capital Region over the past few years. The federal agency released its annual Small Area Health Insurance Estimate report for 2015 this week, which looks at the county-by-county rates of uninsured people. The numbers show more than 71 percent of counties across the country had their uninsured… Reported by bizjournals 1 hour ago.

Here Are "The Most Profitable Corporations You've Never Heard Of"

0
0
Here Are The Most Profitable Corporations You've Never Heard Of Authorerd by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg

When I first started becoming aware of how sleazy, parasitic and corrupt the U.S. economy was, I only had expertise in one industry, financial services. Coming to grips with the blatant criminality of the TBTF Wall Street banks and their enablers at the Federal Reserve and throughout the federal government, I thought this was the main issue that needed to be confronted. What I’ve learned in the years since is pretty much every industry in America is corrupt to the core, more focused on sucking money away from helpless citizens via rent-seeking schemes versus actually producing a product and adding value. Unfortunately, the healthcare industry is no exception.

Today’s post zeros in on a particular slice of that industry. A group of companies known as Pharmacy Benefit Managers, or PBMs. Companies that seem to extract far more from the public than they give back. It’s a convoluted sector that is difficult to get your head around, which is why we should be thankful that David Dayen wrote an excellent piece on the topic recently. What follows are merely excerpts from his lengthy and highly informative piece, The Hidden Monopolies That Raise Drug Prices. I strongly suggest you read the entire thing.

Below are a few highlights from the piece published in The American Prospect:



Like any retail outlet, Frankil purchases inventory from a wholesale distributor and sells it to customers at a small markup. But unlike butchers or hardware store owners, pharmacists have no idea how much money they’ll make on a sale until the moment they sell it. That’s because the customer’s co-pay doesn’t cover the cost of the drug. Instead, a byzantine reimbursement process determines Frankil’s fee.

 

“I get a prescription, type in the data, click send, and I’m told I’m getting a dollar or two,” Frankil says. The system resembles the pull of a slot machine: Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. “Pharmacies sell prescriptions at significant losses,” he adds. “So what do I do? Fill the prescription and lose money, or don’t fill it and lose customers? These decisions happen every single day.”

 

Frankil’s troubles cannot be traced back to insurers or drug companies, the usual suspects that most people deem responsible for raising costs in the health-care system. *He blames a collection of powerful corporations known as pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs.* If you have drug coverage as part of your health plan, you are likely to carry a card with the name of a PBM on it. These middlemen manage prescription drug benefits for health plans, contracting with drug manufacturers and pharmacies in a multi-sided market. *Over the past 30 years, PBMs have evolved from paper-pushers to significant controllers of the drug pricing system, a black box understood by almost no one. Lack of transparency, unjustifiable fees, and massive market consolidations have made PBMs among the most profitable corporations you’ve never heard about.*

 

Americans pay the highest health-care prices in the world, including the highest for drugs, medical devices, and other health-care services and products. Our fragmented system produces many opportunities for excessive charges. But one lesser-known reason for those high prices is the stranglehold that a few giant intermediaries have secured over distribution. The antitrust laws are supposed to provide protection against just this kind of concentrated economic power. But in one area after another in today’s economy, federal antitrust authorities and the courts have failed to intervene. *In this case, PBMs are sucking money out of the health-care system—and our wallets—with hardly any public awareness of what they are doing.*

 

Even some Republicans criticize PBMs for pursuing profit at the public’s expense. “They show no interest in playing fair, no interest in the end user,” says Representative Doug Collins of Georgia, one of the industry’s loudest critics. *“They act as monopolistic terrorists on this market.”* Collins and a bipartisan group in Congress want to rein in the PBM industry, setting up a titanic battle between competing corporate interests. The question is whether President Donald Trump will join that effort to fulfill his frequent promises to bring down drug prices.



Here’s how it works…



In the case of PBMs, their desire for larger patient networks created incentives for their own consolidation, promoting their market dominance as a means to attract customers. *Today’s “big three” PBMs—Express Scripts, CVS Caremark, and OptumRx, a division of large insurer UnitedHealth Group—control between 75 percent and 80 percent of the market, which translates into 180 million prescription drug customers. All three companies are listed in the top 22 of the Fortune 500, and as of 2013, a JPMorgan analyst estimated total PBM revenues at more than $250 billion.*

 

The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, the industry’s lobbying group, claims that PBMs will save health plans $654 billion over the next decade. But we do know that PBMs haven’t exactly arrested skyrocketing drug prices. According to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, between 1987 and 2014, expenditures on prescription drugs have jumped 1,100 percent. Numerous factors can explain that—increased volume of medications, more usage of brand-name drugs, price-gouging by drug companies. But PBM profit margins have been growing as well. *For example, according to one report, Express Scripts’ adjusted profit per prescription has increased 500 percent since 2003,* and earnings per adjusted claim for the nation’s largest PBM went from $3.87 in 2012 to $5.16 in 2016. That translates into billions of dollars skimmed into Express Scripts’ coffers, coming not out of the pockets of big drug companies or insurers, but of the remaining independent retail druggists—and consumers.

 

Why haven’t PBMs fulfilled their promise as a cost inhibitor? The biggest reason experts cite is an information advantage in the complex pharmaceutical supply chain. At a hearing last year about the EpiPen, a simple shot to relieve symptoms of food allergies, Heather Bresch, CEO of EpiPen manufacturer Mylan, released a chart claiming that more than half of the list price for the product ($334 out of the $608 for a two-pack) goes to other participants—insurers, wholesalers, retailers, or the PBM. But when asked by Republican Representative Buddy Carter of Georgia, the only pharmacist in Congress, how much the PBM receives, Bresch replied, “I don’t specifically know the breakdown.” *Carter nodded his head and said, “Nor do I and I’m the pharmacist. … That’s the problem, nobody knows.”*

 

The PBM industry is rife with conflicts of interest and kickbacks. For example, PBMs secure rebates from drug companies as a condition of putting their products on the formulary, the list of reimbursable drugs for their network. However, they are under no obligation to disclose those rebates to health plans, or pass them along. Sometimes PBMs call them something other than rebates, using semantics to hold onto the cash. *Health plans have no way to obtain drug-by-drug cost information to know if they’re getting the full discount.*

 

Controlling the formulary gives PBMs a crucial point of leverage over the system. Express Scripts and CVS Caremark have used it to exclude hundreds of drugs, while preferring other therapeutic treatments. (This can result in patients getting locked out of their medications without an emergency exemption.) *And there are indications that PBMs place drugs on their formularies based on how high a rebate they obtain, rather than the lowest cost or what is most effective for the patient.*

 

*Additionally, The Columbus Dispatch explained last October how, in some cases, a consumer’s co-pay costs more than the price of the drug outside the health plan. But the pharmacy is barred from informing the patients because of clauses in their PBM contracts; they can only provide the information when asked. The excess co-pay goes back to the PBM.*



Absolutely disgusting and should be criminal.



Game-playing with brand-name drugs pales in comparison to more profitable schemes for generics, which represent the vast majority of filled prescriptions (though they account for only about half of the revenues, since brand-name drugs are so much more expensive). PBMs reimburse pharmacies for generics based on a schedule called the maximum allowable cost (MAC). But the actual number is hidden until the point of sale. *“The contracts are written in the form of algorithms,”* says Lynn Quincy, director of the Healthcare Value Hub for Consumers Union. “It’s not a list of drugs with a price next to it. *Nobody knows what they’re up to.”*

 

The MAC list that goes to the pharmacy does not necessarily match the one for the health plan. By charging the plan sponsor more than they pay the pharmacy in a reimbursement, *PBMs can make anywhere from $5 to $200 per prescription, without either player in the chain knowing*. While some spread pricing can be expected, the opacity of the profit stream masks the allegedly low costs PBMs tout to health plans to get them to sign up.

PBMs can also charge pharmacies additional fees months after a sale. Direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees were originally conceived as a way for Medicare to discover the true net cost of the drugs Medicare beneficiaries purchased through Part D, by forcing disclosure of all rebates from drug manufacturers. But PBMs secured a key loophole keeping their disclosures to the federal government confidential, while arguing that DIRs also legally apply to pharmacies.

 

*The PBMs’ use of these fees also harms patients and taxpayers. Consumers pay co-pays or deductibles for drugs based on the list price, without DIR fees or rebates that would lower them. And retroactive DIR fees are routinely not reported to Medicare, as PBMs call them “network variable rates” or “pharmacy performance payments” and keep them for themselves.* Obscuring DIR fees makes the net costs of drugs look higher to Medicare than they actually are. As a result, patients hit the “donut hole” coverage gap in Medicare Part D faster, forcing them to pay the full cost of their drugs. And it accelerates high-usage patients into catastrophic coverage faster as well, where Medicare pays 80 percent of all costs. All of this leaves subscribers and Medicare, i.e. the taxpayers, to pay more out of pocket, as the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services noted in a January report.

 

The question begging to be asked is why all the players in the market—plan sponsors, drug companies, and pharmacies—put up with a middleman that extracts profits from all of them?* And the answer is the failure of federal antitrust policy.*



Consolidation…



Three years later, Optum gobbled up Catamaran, creating *the current situation where three firms control 80 percent of the market. Brill adds that the Big Three carve up the market geographically, effectively not competing in certain regions of the country.* Amid such concentration, plan sponsors have little ability to select the best PBM on price or quality. “I just sat down with [one of the Big Three PBMs], I had half a billion dollars on the table,” says Susan Hayes. “They said, ‘Where are you going to compromise?’ Really? Where else do I bring half a billion and they say where will you compromise?”

 

*With such monopolized control, PBMs offer pharmacies take-it-or-leave-it contracts, with no opportunity to negotiate. *These contracts employ punitive terms, including allowing the PBM to audit pharmacies, allegedly to ferret out waste, fraud, and abuse. “Minor technicalities are used to extract money,” says Susan Pilch, vice president of policy and regulatory affairs for the NCPA. “There are examples where you were supposed to initial on the bottom right of prescription, not the bottom left. The PBM recouped all claims on that.”



Gotta love that “free market.”



*Other pharmacies have little recourse to fight back. PBM contracts frequently contain gag orders, preventing them from talking to local elected officials or disclosing the terms of the contract.* Pharmacists complain of being threatened for mailing or delivering drugs to local patients, which would compete with PBM mail-order operations. The combined toll makes it difficult for independent pharmacies to stay in business. “This takes away a medical provider patients have used for years,” said Representative Buddy Carter. “I’ve had grandparents come to my store in tears and say ‘I can’t come here anymore.’”

 

Worst of all, PBMs don’t stop at legal money-making schemes. At his site PBM Watch, attorney David Balto compiled 56 pages’ worth of state and federal litigation against PBMs. *Just a handful of these cases yielded $370 million in damages for undisclosed rebates, artificial price inflations, kickbacks, steering, and other deceptive practices.*

 

Last year, Anthem sued Express Scripts for $15 billion, claiming the PBM violated their agreement by charging excessive rates for drugs. Federal agents from two states issued subpoenas for Express Scripts last fall, seeking information on the company’s business practices. In January, diabetes patients sued three drug manufacturers for conspiring with PBMs to triple the price of insulin.

 

*PBMs may even have contributed to the worst public health crisis in America—the opioid epidemic. An investigation by Stat News found that Purdue Pharma, makers of OxyContin, paid off PBMs to keep prescriptions flowing for their product, over the howls of a state employee health plan in West Virginia. In exchange for rebates, PBMs kept OxyContin on their formulary with low co-pays, and without requiring prior authorization from the health plan to dispense the drug. Overprescribing of OxyContin laid the groundwork for a crisis that killed more than 20,000 Americans in 2015.*



Naturally, this won’t prevent Jeff Sessions from blaming recreational marijuana.



“They were making a profit on people’s addiction, which is fricking criminal,” says consultant Susan Hayes.* “Rubbing their hands with glee that people are becoming addicted to opioids.* I can’t believe it.”



Solutions?



Another model would empower pharmacies. A 2016 report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance highlights a quirk of law in North Dakota, which only allows drugstores to operate if owned by pharmacists (similar laws exist in Europe). The law prohibits chain pharmacies from entering the state. *Not surprisingly, North Dakota’s independents deliver among the lowest prescription drug prices in the country, along with better health outcomes and more drugstores per capita than any other state.* This flies in the face of industry claims that big chains and giant conglomerates save consumers money or improve services.

 

Why can’t this successful model be replicated elsewhere? “The answer is PBMs,” says Stacy Mitchell, the report’s author. “Because in North Dakota, independents are the only game in town, PBMs have to negotiate with them. In other states, they have no leverage.” Unsurprisingly, PBMs and chains want the North Dakota law overturned rather than adopted in other states.

 

For a more immediate impact, we must turn to Washington. And there, solutions often emerge when one large industry starts pointing the finger at another. Under fire for their many drug-pricing scandals, from Martin Shkreli to Valeant, the pharmaceutical industry has tried to deflect blame by citing PBMs. GlaxoSmithKline CEO Andrew Witty said in a February conference call that so much of the list price on the company’s drugs went to “non-innovators in a system which thinks it’s paying high prices for innovation,” a veiled reference to PBMs.* An industry-funded report in January asserted that manufacturers took only 63 percent of gross drug revenues, attributing the decline to discounts and rebates paid to PBMs.* (Of course, this hasn’t stopped pharmaceutical companies from earning higher profit margins than any other industry.)

 

Doug Collins, a third-term House member, experienced the PBM issue personally, when his mother couldn’t get her regular medications and her plan had no substitute on the formulary. “I am a free-market person, as conservative as they come,” Collins says. “When dealing with this, it’s not a free market.” Buddy Carter, his colleague, has worked in independent pharmacies since 1980, and sees himself as their voice in Congress. I asked him if he had difficulty explaining the PBM market and its problems to his colleagues. *“Heck, it’s difficult for me to understand and I’ve worked in the industry over 35 years!” Carter says.*

 

If the FTC determined that the PBM market was anti-competitive, they could sever the relationship between PBMs and pharmacies through sanctions or divestiture demands. They could even break up the entire industry to generate competition. And the FTC has the power to demand the very transparency members of Congress and state legislatures believe is the key to ending profiteering. But this would require a radical shift at the FTC, which has often opposed state legislation to regulate PBMs or increase transparency. “The FTC had argued now for over ten years that lack of transparency is necessary because it can drive prices down,” says Brill, citing recent FTC statements. *“Prices have not been driven down, and we need to take a different route.”*

 

The wild card in all this is Donald Trump. At his one and only pre-inauguration press conference, Trump singled out drug companies for “getting away with murder,” vowing to create “new bidding procedures” for Medicare and earning praise from the likes of Bernie Sanders. But when Trump met with pharmaceutical executives two weeks into his presidency, he focused more on speeding up new drug approvals from the FDA and cutting regulations than on reducing industry profits. This lines up with the perspective of a key aide, Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel, who wants to overhaul the FDA process. (In fact, the Republican Congress just overhauled the FDA process in one of the last bills signed by Barack Obama.) Trump doesn’t appear to understand the cost excesses in the supply chain.

 

Trump did say in his address to a joint session of Congress that he would “bring down the artificially high price of drugs.” And in his confirmation hearing, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, discussing Trump’s idea for competitive bidding in Medicare, said that “right now the PBMs are doing that negotiation. … I think it is important to have a conversation and look at whether there is a better way to do that.”

 

*But where Trump’s team will ultimately land is unknown.* “We need to get to a point of clarity about whether the administration is serious,” says the NCPA’s John Norton. Furthermore, any attempt to move forward legislatively on any part of health-care policy will run headlong into the deeply polarized debate over the Affordable Care Act. While a bipartisan alliance appears possible on the PBM issue in isolation, it will be difficult to separate anything health-related from the Obamacare vortex.

 

The PBM industry’s leading trade group isn’t sleeping on the possibility of an attack. Days after Trump met with pharma execs, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association issued an internal memo leaked by Buzzfeed, stressing the need for “building a political firewall” in Congress to stop any legislative action.Frightened about drug manufacturers highlighting a “bloated supply chain,” PCMA CEO Merritt laid out a six-point strategy that included meetings

 

with White House staff and key members of Congress, a digital ad campaign targeting congressional leaders, partnerships with right-wing think tanks like the American Action Forum, and working groups to shape regulatory changes that make PBMs the savior instead of a villain. *“We will continue to show how competition—not government intervention—is the way to manage high drug costs,”* Merritt wrote, apparently without irony. Merritt even scheduled a meeting with the main health insurance lobby, AHIP, “to make sure the payer community is aligned and coordinated.”



Only in America can three companies controlling 80% of the market be seen as competition. No wonder our economy is a total neofeudal nightmare. Reported by Zero Hedge 29 minutes ago.

Will Trump Continue To Pull From A Pro Wrestling Playbook?

0
0
*By R. Tyson Smith, Muhlenberg College*

During a panel at Harvard on March 7 on press and the presidency, political journalist Jessica Yellin described Donald Trump’s conflict with the press as “WWF, media edition: In one corner, Donald Trump, defending the anti-institutionalist position, fighting the elites. In the other corner, the media, defending their honor. We all know conflict does well with readers, with viewers.”

Yellin’s reference to World Wrestling Entertainment (the WWE, formerly known as the WWF) points to something deeper: the striking parallels between Trump’s political style and professional wrestling.

His connections to professional wrestling run deep, and, even if he isn’t consciously drawing from the professional wrestling playbook, at the very least he intuitively understands its performative power – its ability to enrapture audiences, tell a story and dominate headlines.

As a scholar who researched professional wrestling, I saw, in Trump the candidate – with his bombastic rhetoric and bravado – a distinctly pro-wrestling style. But now that he has transitioned from campaigning into an actual leadership role, can it translate into legislative action? Can he be a showman who also establishes legitimacy, builds alliances and delivers the goods?

*Trump’s wrestling ties*

In professional wrestling, two (or more) opponents stage a violent fight in front of paying spectators. Unlike competitive sports, pro wrestling is premised on telling the best story. As a performer it doesn’t matter if you win; what matters is the strength of the emotional response you generate from fans.

Matches are typically fought between a good guy (in wrestling parlance, a “baby-face” or “face”) and a bad guy (“heel”). Characters and storylines commonly revolve around age-old scripts about injustice, vengeance and good triumphing over evil – with violence always celebrated as a means to resolve conflict.

The American understanding of pro wrestling has come to be synonymous with the highly profitable and powerful World Wrestling Entertainment Corporation. The publicly-traded business, founded by Jess McMahon in the early 1950s, produces televised live events that are broadcast to millions of homes around the world year-round.

Trump doesn’t simply possess a performative style that resembles those of pro wrestlers. For years he’s been connected with WWE and has actually participated in several of their shows.

Atlantic City’s Trump Plaza hosted WrestleMania IV and V. In 2007 he performed in WrestleMania 23, attacking WWE CEO Vince McMahon in the “Battle of the Billionaires.” Two years later, he reemerged in a storyline in which he claimed to have bought Raw, WWE’s Monday night program, from McMahon, setting off another “feud” between the two.

His close ties to pro wrestling are such that he picked Linda McMahon, the wife of Vince McMahon and the former CEO of WWE, to lead his administration’s Small Business Administration.

*A WWE campaign*

Trump’s campaign kickoff certainly had a WWE feel to it.

On June 16, 2015, with Neil Young’s “Rockin in the Free World” blaring, he descended an escalator at Trump Tower before a crowd of onlookers – some paid – who flashed their cellphone cameras and waved signs.

The stage was smaller, and there weren’t any pyrotechnics, but the parallels were unmistakable. And after the opening bell, it was one brash pugilistic move followed by another.

He dispatched soundbite slogans and 140-character tweets that reduced complex groups and issues into simplistic stereotypes and remedies (“Build That Wall,” “Lock Her Up,” “Drain the Swamp” and, most famously, “Make America Great Again!”). Like the catchy slogans of wrestling stars – “You’re fired!” (Vince McMahon), “Rest in Peace!” (The Undertaker), “Know Your Role and Shut Your Mouth!” (The Rock) – the phrases can be easily remembered, even emblazoned on T-shirts, hats or signs.

During a rally in New Hampshire, Trump took a page directly out of the pro-wrestling playbook, working the crowd with an interactive call-and-response. Feigning the constraints of political correctness, he got a supporter to call Ted Cruz a “pussy” for not endorsing torture.

The in-ring action in pro wrestling is often a minor part of the drama. Behind the scenes, extensive backstaging, communications, and props – from in-ring whispers exchanged with opponents to colorful tales of infidelity made by commentators – enhance the drama and optics. A two-hour WWE show often displays less than 15 minutes of in-ring physicality.

Trump utilized similar tactics, like when he brought a group of women who had accused Bill Clinton of infidelity to one of the debates.His January press conference – which was supposed to allay concerns about his involvement in the family business – was another command performance. He enlisted paid staffers to applaud his answers, attacked a CNN reporter (calling the network’s coverage “fake news”) and covered a table with stacks of folders that were purportedly brimming with important business documents.

Finally there’s the “us vs. them” dynamic – which Jessica Yellin alluded to – that became central to Trump’s style and appeal. He identified and tapped into a strand of voter malaise – especially among whites – that few others saw, formulating a basic storyline that resonated: He was the underdog out to exact revenge on the powerful establishment – the political, business and media elites who had sold out the interests of the little guy in their embrace of trade deals, corruption and open borders.

Trump, on the other hand, would be their fist-pumping champion.

*What happens when the show’s over?*

Blurring the line between truth and fiction has always been at the heart of pro wrestling. Just like moviegoers, fans know that it’s an act. But for the sake of being entertained, they’re willing to suspend disbelief.

It worked in Trump’s campaign, but can this style succeed during a presidency? It’s difficult for a leader to maintain legitimacy when he’s repeatedly caught in lies, whether it’s the size of his inauguration crowd or the homicide rate being at an all-time high.

Moreover, some early decisions have directly contradicted earlier rhetoric. With Cabinet picks that have accumulated more than US$15 billion in wealth, it’s difficult to see how Trump will “drain” the D.C. “swamp” of special interests.

In the end, actual policy will most likely make or break Trump’s presidency. He must be able to help voters and work with Congress to pass his agenda.

While wrestling stars usually appear invincible on screen, most of the work is bruising and far from glamorous. Aside from a small cadre of top WWE performers, most pro wrestlers perform for little to no pay in local venues before small crowds of devoted fans. They destroy their bodies, receive little, if any, healthcare and endure grueling schedules.

Although they face little physical danger, politicians also conduct extensive behind-the-scenes work that can be grueling and thankless. Successful politics requires building coalitions, consideration of opposing viewpoints, understanding policy and sitting through numerous meetings. Is Trump willing to put in such work?

The health of American bodies, interestingly enough, has been his biggest leadership test to date. In the weeks after the election, some Trump voters were surprised to find out that they really might lose their health insurance. Nonetheless, Trump made repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act his first major legislative initiative. The plan – which would have cut the coverage of an estimated 24 million Americans – never even made it to a vote.

One reason could be that Trump and Congress spent only 63 days formulating and debating the legislation, compared to the year it took the Obama administration to advance and pass the Affordable Care Act.

While health care has captured headlines, significant threat comes from his proposed budget cuts, which will slash environmental, housing, diplomatic, educational and food programs, such as “meals on wheels.”

Like most forms of entertainment, the fans of pro wrestling want to get lost in the drama and yearn to be distracted from everyday life. Performers routinely get injured – and sometimes even die – yet the crowd is safe and removed from the violence.

With Trump, the tables are turned: He’ll likely emerge with his health and finances intact while the crowd bears the risk. If millions of his supporters realize the pain, they will soon be seeing him as a “heel.”

R. Tyson Smith, Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology, Muhlenberg College

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

-- 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 18 hours ago.

F&M Bank, Corp. Brings Big City Banking To Rural Communities

0
0
Independently-Owned Community Bank Turns to Carousel Industries and the Cloud to Offer Enhanced Digital Services to Local Businesses and Consumers

Exeter, RI (PRWEB) March 30, 2017

F&M Bank Corp. (OTCQB: FMBM), parent company of Farmers & Merchants Bank ("F&M Bank"), has completed a significant technology upgrade to better support the organization’s rapid local growth and provide more efficient and personalized banking services to businesses and consumers in multiple rural communities. View a brief video on F&M’s digital transformation at: https://www.carouselindustries.com/resource/fm-bank-corp/.

The primary driver for F&M’s investment was to stay ahead of the technology trends that enable digital banking services customers expect today. As a small community bank, F&M balances the need to provide a local, familiar presence while delivering the option of a convenient and efficient digital banking experience. To help accomplish this, F&M partnered with Carousel Industries as part of a cloud migration strategy, which included Microsoft Office 365. Carousel designs, implements, and supports technology solutions that change the way businesses connect and collaborate with their employees and clients. Through Carousel’s installation of the Office 365 platform, F&M gained an agile and secure path to roll out digital services in branches spanning Rockingham, Shenandoah, Page, and Augusta counties in Virginia–affecting up to 100,000 customers.
 
“F&M has grown from five to fifteen banking locations in just over two years. As we continue to expand, we remain committed to providing highly individualized attention to our business and individual clients,” said Neil Hayslett, Chief Administrative Officer and EVP, F&M. “Carousel and Microsoft have made it possible for a seamless migration to the cloud, enabling us to grow our business exponentially without a substantial increase in cost or staffing. We are much more efficient and able to expedite decision making at the local branch level. This also means we can provide enhanced customer service and programs to our remote locations—a benefit only our urban customers have previously enjoyed.”

“We are excited to expand our business relationship with F&M through the adoption of Carousel cloud services. Carousel’s Exchange Migration and Office 365 set-up and consumption plan ensured F&M received the most efficient return on their cloud investment,” said John Drolet, Senior Director, Microsoft Business Unit, Carousel Industries. “Now F&M and its customers will jointly benefit from increased efficiencies, easier access to information and data, as well as a technology platform that is easy to deploy, manage, and grow with their business. Carousel’s Office 365 day-two services offloads a support burden that F&M had with on-premise (Exchange™) equipment. Carousel’s support for Office 365 provides help desk support, while providing ongoing education in the ever-changing opportunity within the Office 365 platform.”

New Technologies, New Capabilities
F&M’s adoption of the latest technologies benefits their business clients and individual consumers, as well as their own employees. Business clients are able to speed the onboarding process, effect remote deposits, and more conveniently utilize loan services. Individual bankers benefit from mobile and online banking–including person-to-person money transfers and account management. A personal financial management tool is also underway. Following the adoption of the Office 365 platform, F&M’s employees can receive the full Office 365 suite of productivity tools without waiting for workstations to be updated. Mobile employees gain 24x7 access to shared information through OneDrive™, whether they are in the office, on the road, or at other branch locations. Administrators are rolling out services with confidence in both the run-time consistency of the Office 365 platform, powered by Carousel, as well as built-in compliance and security capabilities.

For more information on Carousel Industries’ Microsoft practice, please go to https://www.carouselindustries.com/services/it-as-a-service/collaboration-as-a-service/

About F&M Bank Corp.
F&M Bank Corp. operates as the holding company for Farmers & Merchants Bank, which provides commercial banking and financial services to individuals and businesses in Virginia. The company's deposit products include interest bearing and noninterest bearing demand, savings, and time deposits, as well as money market accounts. It also offers residential mortgage and construction loans; consumer installment loans; commercial loans, such as agricultural loans; and credit card loans. The company also provides title insurance, brokerage services, and property/casualty insurance to its banking customers. F&M Bank Corp., through its other subsidiary, TEB Life Insurance Company, reinsures credit life, and accident and health insurance. F&M Bank operates locations in Rockingham County, Shenandoah County, Page County, Augusta County, and the Cities of Harrisonburg and Staunton, Virginia. The company was founded in 1908, is headquartered in Timberville, and is the only publicly traded corporation based in Rockingham County, VA.

About Carousel Industries
Carousel Industries is a recognized leader in helping organizations evolve the way they communicate and orchestrate the flow of information throughout their networks. Carousel enables clients to connect and collaborate the way modern IT users demand and advance from their current network infrastructure to meet tomorrow's standards. With deep expertise across a vast portfolio of communication, network, and security technologies, Carousel is able to design, implement, and support solutions tailored to meet the unique needs of each customer. By offering professional and managed services with flexible deployments in the cloud, Carousel ensures clients achieve agility and utilize technologies in the way most effective for their business.

Founded in 1992, Carousel serves more than 6,000 customers, including 35 of the Fortune 100. Carousel has been recognized by multiple publications and industry consortiums as a top technology integrator, managed services and cloud solution provider–including the Inc. 500/5000, Healthcare Informatics 100, and CRN MSP Elite 150. Headquartered in Exeter, RI, Carousel has 27 offices nationwide–with three Network Operations Centers. Reported by PRWeb 19 hours ago.

Workers Of The World Unite Against Global Greed

0
0
A few years ago, no one had ever heard of XPO Logistics. But today, after borrowing billions of dollars to buy up and attempt to integrate freight and drayage companies, warehouses and other pieces of the global supply chain, XPO is acclaimed as one of the largest transportation companies in the world. And its CEO, Bradley Jacobs, is lauded by some as an industry titan.

But there is a monumental speed bump on Jacobs’ limousine ride to the top of the logistics industry: the haunting specter that Jacobs’ workers across globe are beginning to organize and fight back—together! In the U.S., workers at XPO are eager to build a union with the Teamsters. The company’s response is to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in an ongoing effort to deny these workers their federally protected right to organize.


Workers are standing up against this greedy, global giant around the world.

In 2015, XPO bought Con-way Freight for $3 billion. XPO’s revenue has grown to more than $15 billion, but rather than investing in the workforce to provide stability, the 19,000 employees of Con-way Freight face inadequate health insurance that costs them more and more each year, no retirement security, and no voice on the job.

Warehouse workers at XPO in the U.S. are poorly paid: workers in North Haven, Conn. package and distribute parts for military helicopters to governments all over the world, yet are paid about $12 an hour. They cannot support their families without government assistance. To fight back, North Haven workers recently voted to become Teamsters.

XPO’s port drayage drivers are misclassified as independent contractors forced to pay for their own truck, insurance, parking, maintenance and fuel. Some drivers end up with checks for zero dollars at the end of the week. This has led to government investigations and multiple wage theft lawsuits that have the potential to cost the company tens of millions in stolen wages. XPO managers retaliated against port drivers, along with other unfair labor practices, resulting in drivers making the courageous decision to go on strike five times at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in California.

Meanwhile, XPO’s board of directors recently rubber-stamped a plan that could enrich Jacobs with more than $100 million worth of stock per year—an industry leading giveaway even as Jacobs’ salary was raised 481 percent over the last couple of years. This, and the way XPO treats its workforce, neatly illustrates the reason for growing income inequality in the U.S.


When Jacobs attacks the Teamsters, it is an attack on all workers who are united in this fight.

Jacobs, facing increasing discontent from his workers, has repeatedly attacked the Teamsters, most recently at an industry conference where he said that the union was “out of control.” Jacobs has tried to drive a wedge between the Teamsters and European unions with whom he claims XPO has “cordial, respectful, courteous” relations.

That assertion flies in the face of XPO’s recent labor strife in Europe. In France, an estimated 40 percent of the XPO supply chain workforce affiliated with the union CFDT went on strike in April 2016 at 20 of the company’s 75 locations in the country. Workers struck after XPO broke its promise to not lay off workers for at least 18 months after it purchased Norbert Dentressangle.

In Spain, a XPO worker went on a 10-day hunger strike to denounce his misclassified status as an independent contractor, which denies him the right to join a union. And there is a long-standing, ongoing controversy over the working conditions of thousands of warehouse workers XPO manages for its client ASOS at a large facility in the United Kingdom.

Jacobs’ business record is to flip companies like real estate speculators flip houses. He buys companies, builds revenue through acquisition, slashes the workforce, cuts benefits, and sells the final entity for a huge profit. There is no thought of the interests and futures of workers and their families.

The truth is, the Teamsters are out of Jacobs’ control. Workers are standing up against this greedy, global giant around the world. When Jacobs attacks the Teamsters, it is an attack on all workers who are united in this fight. Our overseas allies, the International Transport Workers Federation, stands with the Teamsters in this battle against global greed. Fifteen unions representing XPO workers in nine countries have declared their willingness to take on XPO. We are one union family and will not be torn apart.

-- 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 19 hours ago.

Colorado Senate OKs budget that cuts hospital and film funding

0
0
Colorado senators added a little bit of money for transportation and for the state-chartered health insurance exchange but failed fund film incentives or increase funds for rural broadband expansion in the $26.8 billion state budget given final passage on Thursday. They also did nothing to alleviate a $528 million cut currently in the budget for the state’s hospital provider fee, despite warnings that such a significant drop in funds could cause one or two rural health-care facilities to shut… Reported by bizjournals 16 hours ago.

United Security Health and Casualty Insurance Company Gains Approval To Offer Its Short Term Major Medical Plan In The States of Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri

0
0
Short Term Major Medical From United Security Health & Casualty provides affordable, yet comprehensive, temporary health coverage until a more permanent plan can be obtained.

Bedford Park, IL (PRWEB) March 30, 2017

United Security Health and Casualty Insurance (USH&C) recently obtained state approval to offer its Short Term Major Medical product in the states of Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Nebraska.

“No one ever thinks that they will be subject to an unforeseen hardship such as an accident or sudden illness. But the truth is, it only takes a moment for an injury or illness to strike,” began Robert Dial, Vice President, USH&C. “Our Short Term Major Medical product was designed to fill the gap until permanent major medical insurance can be secured. More importantly, it protects the insured from the devastating financial burden of not having any health insurance”

USH&C’s Short Term Major Medical plan is the perfect solution for:· Young adults no longer covered by their parent’s plan
· Individuals between jobs or laid off, including those who cannot afford the high cost of a COBRA plan
· Individuals & families who are looking for an alternative to the ACA Exchange Plans
· Individuals & families who need coverage until the next Open Enrollment Period
· Individuals waiting for group or individual major medical coverage to begin

Dial remarked, “USH&C’s Short Term Major Medical plan has several distinct customer advantages. For example, although the use of network providers is not required in this plan, insureds can maximize benefits and save money by receiving care from a provider in the PHCS PPO network. The insured may also visit any out-of-network doctor or hospital of their choice without incurring an out-of-network penalty. In addition, prescription drug coverage is included. The insured is allowed to select the deductible amount, $500, $1,000, $2,000 or $5,000, that best aligns with their budget. Along with a single pay or monthly payment plan, this product was designed to ensure all aspects of the insured’s needs were addressed.”

The USH&C Short Term Major Medical plan does not cover pre-existing conditions, preventative or wellness doctor visits, or optical and dental treatments. A full list of other exclusions are listed in detail in the plan’s Policy and can be reviewed by a USH&C agent or one of the company’s multi-lingual representatives.

Founded in 1973, USH&C is licensed to sell its products in Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Nebraska through a network of independent insurance agents. Along with Short Term Medical, USH&C also offers Dental Plus Vision & Hearing, Critical Illness, Cancer, Disability Income, Accident Hospital Indemnity, and Fixed Indemnity products. USH&C specializes in providing insurance coverage to individuals and families. The company’s headquarters is in Bedford Park, 6640 S. Cicero Ave., Bedford Park, IL 60638, http://www.ushandc.com 1-800- 875-422 or 1-708-475-6100 Reported by PRWeb 13 hours ago.

Car, motorcycle and health insurance will cost more from tomorrow

0
0
Car, motorcycle and health insurance will cost more from April 1 with regulator Irdai giving go-ahead. Reported by Zee News 8 hours ago.

With US Health Care uncertain, Childless Couples Look for Ways to Manage High Surrogacy Costs and Unexpected Medical Care

0
0
Sensible Surrogacy has published an online guide to surrogacy costs and funding options, including articles to help Intended Parents navigate the changing landscape of health care in the United States.

(PRWEB) March 31, 2017

With the unfolding drama in Washington over health care reform, the high cost of surrogacy has once again jumped to the forefront. Questions about financing and insurance options have become the most asked topics from Intended Parents according to consulting service Sensible Surrogacy.

To respond to questions from Intend Parents, Sensible Surrogacy has published an online guide to surrogacy costs and funding options. The new series of articles is a resource for Intend Parents who are looking for ways to manage the high cost of surrogacy.

Basic surrogacy programs can cost from $75,000 to $140,000 USD in the United States. Few couples have that amount of money to pay in cash for a program. The Surrogacy Cost Guide reviews financing options, crowdfunding programs, insurance strategies for Intended Parents, and of course details on the cost of surrogacy worldwide.

“Surrogacy is rarely the first option for a couple confronting infertility,” says Bill Houghton, director of Sensible Surrogacy. “By the time couples are looking for a gestation carrier, they have already been through years of fertility treatments and failed IVF procedures – most couples have been financially as well as emotionally drained. A big part of what we do is to help them understand the options for conceiving their new family. That includes surrogacy costs and payment options.”

In addition to the high price tag for surrogacy programs, unexpected medical complications can more than double the parents’ projected surrogacy costs. NICU costs in the United States can run $5,000 USD per day, and a stay of several weeks is common if a baby is born a few weeks early.

“We get a lot of questions about Obamacare, and whether it will be possible to get health insurance for a surrogate mother if the program is repealed,” says Houghton. “The answer is yes, there are private insurance policies that will protect Intended Parents in case of a serious complications during the pregnancy or delivery.” But the cost of those polices will depend on government decisions towards Medicaid and Insurance Exchanges. Houghton suggests that Intended Parents include a contingency budget to cover at least $10,000 USD, which is the out-of-pocket maximum of a typical insurance strategy.

The Surrogacy Cost Guide is part of the consulting service's Online Surrogacy Guide. The Guide is a searchable catalog of everything Intended Parents need to know about Surrogacy… from deciding if surrogacy is an appropriate option for their family, to returning home with their new baby.

About Sensible Surrogacy:

Sensible Surrogacy is an ethical IVF & surrogacy consultancy with client support in Europe and North America. Their consultants arrange affordable, complete and experienced surrogacy services through worldwide clinics and service providers. The consulting service has relationships with clinics in Kiev, Cancun, Los Angeles, and Mumbai. Their mission is to help couples create loving families. Reported by PRWeb 6 hours ago.

Wüstenrot & Württembergische AG: W&W Group pleased with financial year 2016

0
0
DGAP-News: Wüstenrot & Württembergische AG / Key word(s): Final Results

31.03.2017 / 10:42
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
--------------------

 

*- Forecast surpassed: Consolidated net earnings total approximately EUR235 million.*

*- Wüstenrot Bausparkasse increases net new business and gains market share in a declining market.*

*- Property/casualty insurance increases gross premiums and further improves combined ratio. *

*- W&W@2020 programme: New digital offers well received by customers.*

*- Jürgen A. Junker, Chairman of the Management Board, observes: "The W&W Group has great potential, provided that we consistently use both our traditional sales channels and the opportunities of digitisation."*

Despite the persistently difficult market environment, the Wüstenrot & Württembergische Group (W&W) achieved good results in the 2016 financial year. Last year, the expert for financial provisions generated consolidated net profit of EUR235.3 million. Thus, the forecast of at least EUR220 million was comfortably reached. In its divisions including the home loan and savings business, part of the new business outperformed the sector trend. New products and services were taken up positively by the customers, especially due to the intensified development of the digital offers. For 2017, the W&W Group expects further growth in new business along with continued high investments in digitisation.

"In view of the persistently low interest rates, changed customer expectations and increasing regulation, the results of 2016 are more than respectable" says Jürgen A. Junker, Chairman of the Executive Board of W&W AG since 1 January 2017. All product categories and all sales channels contributed to the bottom line - our own sales forces, partnerships, brokers, and direct sales. Junker adds: "However, we must not stop at this point. In the coming years, our focus will greatly depend on duly handling the question of which products and which channels are most suitable for our existing customers and potential new customers. In this context, our successful traditional sales channels are just us important as the digital approaches in which we plan to invest about EUR100 million in the next three years. The objective is to establish our Group as a modern platform in the fields of financial provisions, housing and savings."

*Key indicators of the Group for 2016*

*- *Consolidated net profit amounted to EUR235.3 million. As planned, the figure remained below last year's record figure of EUR274.3 million, but was nevertheless higher than we had expected.

- As in the previous year, the property/casualty insurance segment provided the greatest net income contribution of EUR108.3 million (2015: EUR114.9 million). This figure reflects the improved underwriting income as a result of a sustainable, risk-conscious underwriting policy.

- Compared to 2015, the profit contributions of the Home Loan and Savings Bank and Life and Health Insurance segments were higher in 2016.

- Mainly due to the low interest rates, net financial income amounted to EUR1.82 billion (previous year: EUR2.03 billion).

- Benefits paid under insurance contracts dropped to EUR4.08 billion (2015: EUR4.28 billion). This was partly due to the favourable claims history in property insurance.

- Despite the higher contributions to the deposit guarantee and high IT investments, steadfast cost management resulted in a reduction of general administrative expenses by about 3% to approximately EUR1.08 billion.

*Stable dividend planned*

The Executive Board and the Supervisory board propose to the Annual General Meeting on 1 June 2017 to pay a dividend of EUR0.60 per W&W share, as in the previous year. This would mean a distribution of about EUR56 million. Calculated on the basis of the year-end price of the share, which has been listed in the SDAX since 21 March 2016, the dividend yield would amount to an attractive 3.2%.

*Performance of the divisions in 2016*

*Home Loan and Savings Bank*

In 2016, the net new business of Wüstenrot Bausparkasse increased almost 2% to EUR11.9 billion. This growth took place despite the drop of 9% in net new business throughout the sector in general. Wüstenrot managed to expand its market share significantly, reinforcing its position as the sector's Number Two. The future-oriented Wüstenrot "Wohnsparen", a concept that was introduced in February 2016 and that further develops conventional home loan and savings schemes, was a key success driver. Wüstenrot Bausparkasse's multiple award-winning Riester offer (Wüstenrot Wohn-Riester) also benefited from the good performance of Wüstenrot Wohnsparen. The gross new business amounted to EUR13.6 billion (previous year: EUR14.1 billion).

In the field of construction financing, the new business throughout the group amounted to almost EUR5.4 billion in new business, 1.6% less than in the previous year. Thus, Wüstenrot outperformed the sector in general (-4%).

*Insurance*

Gross premiums written in property and casualty insurance increased by another 2.4% to EUR1.68 billion. The new business amounted to EUR207.9 million, a figure close to that of the previous year (-0.9%). In the private customer field, Württembergische Versicherung launched new modular rates for accident, household and building cover. The growth in the corporate customer segment was mainly borne by the core product "company policy", whose scope was further expanded, e.g. by including photovoltaic plants of commercially utilised buildings. In 2016, the cautious underwriting policy and the resulting good net income performance led to a further improvement of the gross combined ratio to 90.1% (previous year: 92.1%; 2014: 95.5%).

Gross premiums written in life insurance dropped 3.5% to about EUR2.10 billion. The decrease was caused by the declining new business in the generally shrinking market and portfolio losses. Last year, Württembergische Lebensversicherung supplemented its product offer with new, optimised risk life insurance rates with Premium, Compact and Combined protection. Since October 2016, it has also been possible to buy Compact and Premium online.

Gross premiums written in health insurance increased more than 9% to some EUR216 million in 2016. This good growth is mainly attributable to the success of the supplementary health and long-term care rates of Württembergische Krankenversicherung, which regularly win awards in product tests.

*Digital product innovation on the march*

Last year, the W&W Group expanded its range of digital offers under the W&W@2020 programme. These offers supplement the successful conventional sales channels of our own mobile sales force and of the sales forces of cooperation partners. Following the central bundling of the construction financing business at Wüstenrot Bausparkasse, Wüstenrot Bank AG now concentrates entirely on its role as a digital bank for private customers with an attractive product offer in the account, card and securities business, which can also be accessed online.

In 2016, W&W customers made use of video advice more than 2,000 times. This usually takes place when they visit their local advisor in order to reinvest maturing assets and simply ask for an investment advisor of Wüstenrot Bank to join in via Skype. The conversion rate from such video consulting is close to 60%.

In autumn 2016, Wüstenrot Bank introduced computer-aided advice technology (robo-advising). For example, an automated fund management routine continually optimises the investment strategy selected by the client for the "Wüstenrot ETF Managed Custody Account". As a result, our gross fund sales in the retail business went up by more than 7% to EUR381 million. The number of customer custody accounts increased more than 5% to almost 79,000.

Jürgen A. Junker, Chairman of the Executive Board of W&W, notes: "The Internet has massively changed people's purchasing behaviour, also in the field of financial products. Generally, we want to become even more agile and mobile in order to gain the online-oriented target group as new customers while continuing to fulfil the expectations of our existing customers, who appreciate the high quality of our advisory services. The W&W Group will make a determined effort to shape its future positively."

 

*Outlook for the 2017 financial year *

In view of the ongoing real estate boom in Germany, Wüstenrot expects 2017 to see growth in the fields of home loan and savings and construction financing. Württembergische is also positive as to the performance of the insurance business. The high investments under the W&W@2020 programme will continue for the purpose of reaching new customers and market segments through all sales channels, supporting the growth strategy of the W&W Group.

Against this backdrop, the Executive Board is confident that the consolidated profit for 2017 will reach a similar level as in 2016.
--------------------

31.03.2017 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
Archive at www.dgap.de --------------------

Language: English
Company: Wüstenrot & Württembergische AG
Gutenbergstrasse 30
70176 Stuttgart
Germany
Internet: www.ww-ag.com
ISIN: DE0008051004
WKN: 805100
Indices: SDAX
Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Stuttgart; Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Tradegate Exchange
 
End of News DGAP News Service Reported by EQS Group 5 hours ago.

Atmosera Partners With Healthcare Organizations Who Seek HITRUST Compliance

0
0
Atmosera is using its own compliance cloud and Microsoft Azure to implement environments ready to meet the compliance requirements under HITRUST.

Portland, Ore. (PRWEB) March 31, 2017

Atmosera, a premier Microsoft Azure solutions provider, is actively working with customers who seek to meet the requirements under the Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST) Common Security Framework (CSF). HITRUST comprises a robust set of security requirements and controls designed and maintained to keep confidential data safe and secure. It is the next evolution for many healthcare providers who seek to demonstrate their commitment to keeping patient data secure and private.

Atmosera has enabled customers to meet compliance and regulatory requirements since 2011. Customers benefit from a methodology which encompasses design through deployment and focuses on delivering solutions which are realistically implementable. Atmosera’s compliance services span the entire computing stack, from connectivity to applications, with stringent physical and logical security controls. This includes private clouds and public clouds in Azure which recently became HITRUST certified. HITRUST is similar to PCI-DSS in the way it recommends for controls to be implemented. Atmosera is leveraging its PCI-DSS experience to extend its compliance cloud and offer customers seeking HITRUST compliance an environment which will satisfy audit requirements.

“We always put security first in all our deployments and strive to architect and maintain clouds which deliver peace of mind for our customers,” said Jared Cheney, Atmosera’s Senior Vice President of Client Operations. “HITRUST is a specific security implementation which goes beyond HIPAA/HITECH. It delivers a framework with more comprehensive controls which is the right evolution for many of our healthcare customers who want to ensure their data is safe and want the certification to prove it.”

In addition to HITRUST, Atmosera offers a comprehensive compliance cloud which has enabled customers to successfully meet the compliance needs for the following standards:· HIPAA/HITECH – the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA) and Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) acts focus on protecting healthcare information. Atmosera meets all operational, administrative, technical and physical security controls to achieve a state of compliancy of “1,” demonstrating strong design in every respect.
· PCI-DSS Level 1 – the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) focuses on protecting online financial payments. Atmosera achieved the highest certification level designated for any service provider that stores, processes and/or transmits over 300,000 transactions annually.
· IRS-1075 – the Internal Revenue Service Publication 1075 (IRS-1075) provides guidance for US government agencies and their agents to protect Federal Tax Information (FTI). Atmosera has architected and deployed environments for customers who will seek certification in 2017.
· SSAE 16 – the Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements 16 (SSAE 16) is a widely-recognized audit standard maintained by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Atmosera has a long tenure meeting this compliance standard and has an SSAE audit report to provide independent third party verification regarding the state of internal controls that govern the services provided to customers.

Find out more on the Atmosera Compliance page.

About Atmosera
Atmosera is a leading Microsoft Azure solutions provider leveraging both the Microsoft Cloud Platform System and Azure. We engineer and operate highly scalable Azure cloud environments that support business critical (they can never go down) applications. We were one of the first Microsoft Cloud Solution Providers (CSPs), we are Cloud OS Network (COSN) certified with a number of large, complex, compliant production environments for customers on Cloud Platform System including Azure Certified Hybrid (ACH) deployments leveraging private and public Azure on a global basis. We know Azure.

With over 20 years of industry experience and real-world best practices, Atmosera is a trusted and secure (HIPAA/HITECH, HITRUST, PCI DSS V.3, IRS 1075, and SSAE 16) global cloud partner to SaaS providers, financial institutions, healthcare providers, retailers, government agencies, manufacturers, and other industries of commerce. Reported by PRWeb 2 hours ago.

Obamacare might have made health insurance more accessible, but has it made care more affordable?

0
0
To the editor: I feel that former U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello’s (D-Va.) support for the Affordable Care Act in 2010 despite the dire risk it posed to his reelection was both noble and honest. He is rightly proud of the fact that so many Americans can now purchase or receive subsidies for health insurance.... Reported by L.A. Times 22 minutes ago.

U.S. Army Medicine Civilian Corps to Exhibit at Upcoming Disability Conferences

0
0
The Civilian Corps of the U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) is highlighting their schedule of exhibits at several upcoming career fairs and expos for individuals with disabilities.

Fort Sam Houston, TX (PRWEB) March 31, 2017

The Civilian Corps of the U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) is highlighting their schedule of exhibits at several upcoming career fairs and expos for individuals with disabilities.

Exhibit Information
In April, May, and June, the Civilian Corps will send a representative to events in Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C. to inform individuals with disabilities about civilian job openings available within Army Medicine.

The Civilian Corps’ Ms. Maria Rodriguez, Disability Hiring Manager, will be present at the following events:· Careers and the disABLED Magazine’s Career Expo in Boston, MA on April 21, 2017
· Careers and the disABLED Magazine’s Career Expo in Washington, D.C. on May 19, 2017
· Tennessee’s Disability Mega Conference in Nashville, TN on May 25-26, 2017
· EOP’s STEM Diversity Career Expo in Washington, D.C. on June 9, 2017

By attending these events, Ms. Rodriguez will be able to actively engage with individuals with disabilities to share the recruitment goals of the Civilian Corps. Using the Schedule A Hiring Authority, the Civilian Corps is dedicated to placing qualified individuals with disabilities into permanent or time-limited appointments, under this appointing authority, within the U.S. Army Medical Command.

"By filling these positions with qualified candidates, the Civilian Corps can continue in its mission to provide the best quality of care to U.S. Army uniformed service members, the retired service members, their families and other eligible beneficiaries,” says Rosalinda Jenkins, Chief, Recruitment and Retention, Headquarters U.S. Army Medical Command, Civilian Human Resources Division.

The U.S. Army Medicine Civilian Corps is committed to reducing discrimination against workers with disabilities, eliminating the stigma associated with disability, and encouraging Americans with disabilities to seek employment in the federal workforce.

Employees of the Civilian Corps are not subject to military requirements, such as enlistment or deployment, and receive excellent benefits, including flexible work schedules, competitive salaries, and extensive health insurance coverage options.

If you are interested in learning more about the Civilian Corps hiring program for individuals with disabilities, please visit https://www.civilianmedicaljobs.com/jobs-for-individuals-with-disabilities/.

###

Contact: Colin Gerrity
colin(at)agencymabu(dot)com | (443) 330-5497 Reported by PRWeb 21 minutes ago.

We now know what Hispanic chamber's Angela Franco will be doing next

0
0
In the face of lingering congressional challenges to the Affordable Care Act, local business leader Angela Franco will join D.C. Health Link, the District's health insurance exchange, as part of its government relations team. Franco, who will step down June 30 as Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's president and CEO, will be a senior adviser for the D.C. Health Benefit Exchange Authority, the D.C. agency that oversees the exchange. She will primarily be working to strengthen relationships… Reported by bizjournals 18 hours ago.

How Moderates Took Back Kansas

0
0
This week, the Kansas Senate voted by a wide margin to expand the state’s Medicaid coverage. A majority of Democrats supported the bill, as might be expected, but so did a majority of Republicans. That the vote was both bipartisan and decisive is a modest but promising sign for the future of public health insurance. But the vote had an added significance because it took place in Kansas. For the six years that Sam Brownback has been Governor, the state has been the scene of what may be the nation’s most extreme experiment in conservatism. The Medicaid vote capped an extraordinary year-long turn against Brownback, in which many of his allies in the legislature were defeated in primary and general elections, and, in the legislative session now coming to a close, his budget and priorities were rejected. The political history of the past quarter century has been one of deepening polarization. The reaction in Kansas suggests that it is still possible for a party to go too far—that there is still a center in American life which may yet hold. Reported by The New Yorker 16 hours ago.

Could Medicare Part C be the answer to our health insurance mess?

0
0
Reported by DallasNews 16 hours ago.

Car, motorcycle and health insurance will cost more from today

0
0
You will have to pay more premiums for car, motorcycle and health insurance from April 1 as Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) has given a green signal to insurers for a commission revision for agents. Reported by Zee News 9 hours ago.

New fiscal year, new rules: From insurance premium to income tax rules, here's what changes from today

0
0
While April 1 may be famous for pranks, hold in your laughter till you read the new rules that will come into effect hereon. The changes range from higher insurance premiums, lower savings scheme interest rates, penalties on late income tax returns filing, and more. 

-*1) Car and health insurance to get expensive*-

Car and health insurance will go up by about 5% as the insurance regulator Irdai gave a go-ahead to the insurers to revise the commission of its agents. This will directly take the cost of your car or health insurance up. 

-*2) Bank charges on non-maintainance of minimum balance, deposits, ATM transactions*-

HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank will charge a minimum of Rs 150 on bank deposits after four free monthly transactions. 

SBI will also penalise for not maintaining minimum balance in the savings bank account. The penalty may be in the range of Rs 20 to 100, and up to Rs 500 for current accounts. It will also charge for ATM transactions and cash withdrawal from banks after specified limits. 

-*3) Cash transactions above Rs 2 lakh banned*-

From today, you will not be allowed to make any cash transactions above Rs 2 lakh. If caught, there could be a hefty penalty, even amounting to the amount over Rs 2 lakh paid in cash. 

-*4) Income tax rates*-

If you earn an income between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, income tax levied on the slab will be cut to 5% from the 10%, reducing the tax liability to half. All the other slabs will have a lower tax liability up to Rs 12,500 per person. 

A surcharge of 10% will be levied on persons with income between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore. 

-*5) Lower returns on small savings schemes*-

The government has cut the interest rates of nine small savings schemes by 0.1%. This includes interest rates on Public Provident Fund (PPF). 

The lower interest rates will come into effect from today, however, i will only remain effective till June 30. 

-*6) Changes to income tax return form*-

The government has introduced a one-page form to let taxpayers file their returns easily and without taking much time. 

However, from today, it will be mandaory to mention your Aadhaar card number to file tax returns. According to the Finance Bill 2017 introduced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Lok Sabha, and subsequently passed, mentioning Aadhaar card details for filing tax returns has been made mandatory. 

-*7) Disclose bank deposits over Rs 2 lakh *-

If you deposited over Rs 2 lakh between November 9 and December 31 (demonetization), you will have to declare that in the income tax returns form. 

-*8) Ban on sale of BS - III compliant cars*-

Effective from today, India has made the switch to BS IV emission norms in line with the stringent Euro IV norms. The Supreme Court has ordered a ban on the sale of BS III compliant vehicles from today which will create a stockpile of about nine lakh unsold BS III inventory that is lying with car dealers. 

-*9) No refund on Delhi Metro smart cards*-

Delhi Metro's smart cards will become non-refundable from April 1. All the smart cards sold from today and those already in circulation will become non-refundable. 

If you have old Delhi Metro smart cards, the DMRC said commuters would only get back the security deposit after relevan deductions after today. 

-*10) No tagging, stamping of hand baggage at 7 airports *-

Any hand baggage carried by you while flying from seven domestic airports on domestic routes will need not need stamping from today. The civil aviation ministry has done away with the need to tag and stamp bags while flying out from New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, and Cochin. 

The Ministry expects this will save time. However, passengers flying to international destinations will have to get their baggage stamped. 

ReportMoneyDNA Web TeamDNA webdeskMumbai

· Arun Jaitley
· Axis Bank
· HDFC Bank
· ICICI Bank
· Lok Sabha
· Cash Transactions
· Income Tax Returns
· Airport
· Civil Aviation Ministry
· Government
· Public Provident Fund (PPF)
· DMRC

Sat, 1 Apr 2017-11:21am
Date updated: 
Saturday, 1 April 2017 - 11:21am
Article Images: 
zeebiz.com
Short URL: 
dnai.in/2
Embargo: 
Syndicate: 
Hide lead image: 
Page views: 
1
From Print Edition:  Reported by DNA 7 hours ago.

Freedom Caucus would lower premiums ... for healthy people

0
0
Lower health insurance premiums. Reported by CNNMoney 1 day ago.
Viewing all 22794 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images