BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana has four months remaining of federal money needed to pay for health insurance coverage for low-income children and pregnant women, as Congress allowed financing to expire in September. Louisiana’s health department said Wednesday without congressional reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program by February, Louisiana would have to come […]
Reported by Seattle Times 22 hours ago.
Louisiana children’s health program faces February deadline
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The Latest: Lawmakers fight over money for kids' insurance
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on legislation financing health insurance for millions of low-income children (all times EDT): 4 p.m. A divided House committee is battling over how to pay for an extension of a health insurance program for millions of low-income children. That suggests congressional action on extending the program will take time, despite growing pressure on lawmakers to act. The insurance program is backed by both parties, and approval of legislation financing it for the next five years remains virtually certain. It covers 8.9 million children. Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee want to pay for the extension partly by cutting programs under President Barack Obama's health care law.
Reported by SeattlePI.com 22 hours ago.
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Under growing pressure, House committee battles over extending Children’s Health Insurance Program
A divided House committee battled Wednesday over how to pay for an extension of a popular health insurance program for millions of low-income children, suggesting that congressional approval will take time despite growing pressure on lawmakers to act.
Reported by Denver Post 21 hours ago.
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Sales of Essure birth control coil halted everywhere, except US
Washington D.C., Oct 4, 2017 / 03:09 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- German pharmaceutical company Bayer announced recently that it has suspended from all non-US sales the Essure coil, a controversial form of birth control which has received the strictest possible FDA warning for its side effects, which include chronic pain, bleeding, and severe allergic reactions.
“The device [Essure] was sold to me as a simple and easy procedure. I was told that I’d be in and out of the doctor’s office in 10 minutes and that there’d be no recovery time,” said Laura Linkson, a user of Essure who shared her testimony on the UK show Victoria Derbyshire, according to the BBC.
“I went from being a mum who was during everything with her children, to a mum that was stuck in bed unable to move without pain, at some points being suicidal,” Linkson continued, saying, “I felt like I was a burden to everyone around me.”
Essure is a nickel and polyester coil which is inserted into the fallopian tubes, causing scar tissue growth, as a way of preventing eggs from reaching the womb. This form of birth control, known as hysteroscopy sterilization, has been around since 2002 and is currently manufactured and distributed by Bayer.
Last week, Bayer announced its voluntary decision to halt all sales outside of the U.S., citing “commercial reasons.”
“We would like to reassure the Essure patients and their accompanying healthcare professionals that this decision is made for commercial reasons and that it is not related to a safety or product quality issue,” read a statement from Bayer’s website. “According to our scientific assessment, the positive risk-benefit ratio of Essure remains unchanged.”
Essure sales in the EU were temporarily halted last month, following product license suspension in Ireland due to overall concerns for the product. Bayer also encouraged hospitals in the UK to suspend the use of their existing stocks for the time being.
However, Essure is still being sold in the U.S., its most popular market, although Bayer announced it is no longer marketing outside of the country.
Despite its popularity, more than 15,000 women in the U.S. alone have reported serious health issues resulting from the birth control coil, according to BBC.
In fact, over the past few years a group has surfaced called Essure Problems – an organization of women who are lobbying against Essure in court due to negative experiences with the product. The group now has more than 35,000 members.
Some reported side effects included chronic pain, flu-like symptoms, bleeding, depression, exhaustion, suicidal thoughts, and allergic reactions. In some cases, the coil had moved into other parts of the body, protruding into nearby organs and the pelvis.
These side-effects are a far cry from the device’s label warnings, which include “mild to moderate pain and/or cramping, vaginal bleeding and pelvic or back discomfort for a few days.”
“Whatever they’ve put on the label, multiply it by 200,” said Angela Desa-Lynch, an administrator for the Essure Problems Group, in a previous interview with CNA.
“They don’t tell you that it’s ‘I can’t get out of bed and take care of my kids’ kind of pain,” she continued.
Surgery or a hysterectomy is the only way to remove the Essure coil, which has resulted in additional complications with the birth control device.
The coils can easily break during surgery, causing further health issues such as additional surgeries, inflamed abdomens, and cysts. In addition, most health insurance companies will not cover the cost of the coil’s removal, resulting in a hefty medical bill.
“One woman had a coil in her colon, she went from a business owner to bankruptcy” after four surgeries, Desa-Lynch stated.
The FDA placed its most severe warning on the birth control coil in November 2016. Known as the “black box” label, it is “designed to call attention to serious or life-threatening risks,” according to the FDA’s website.
An FDA spokesman said that the agency “has taken several steps to ensure the ongoing evaluation of Essure's safety and efficacy, as well as to educate healthcare professionals and women about the potential risks of using the device.” Reported by CNA 21 hours ago.
“The device [Essure] was sold to me as a simple and easy procedure. I was told that I’d be in and out of the doctor’s office in 10 minutes and that there’d be no recovery time,” said Laura Linkson, a user of Essure who shared her testimony on the UK show Victoria Derbyshire, according to the BBC.
“I went from being a mum who was during everything with her children, to a mum that was stuck in bed unable to move without pain, at some points being suicidal,” Linkson continued, saying, “I felt like I was a burden to everyone around me.”
Essure is a nickel and polyester coil which is inserted into the fallopian tubes, causing scar tissue growth, as a way of preventing eggs from reaching the womb. This form of birth control, known as hysteroscopy sterilization, has been around since 2002 and is currently manufactured and distributed by Bayer.
Last week, Bayer announced its voluntary decision to halt all sales outside of the U.S., citing “commercial reasons.”
“We would like to reassure the Essure patients and their accompanying healthcare professionals that this decision is made for commercial reasons and that it is not related to a safety or product quality issue,” read a statement from Bayer’s website. “According to our scientific assessment, the positive risk-benefit ratio of Essure remains unchanged.”
Essure sales in the EU were temporarily halted last month, following product license suspension in Ireland due to overall concerns for the product. Bayer also encouraged hospitals in the UK to suspend the use of their existing stocks for the time being.
However, Essure is still being sold in the U.S., its most popular market, although Bayer announced it is no longer marketing outside of the country.
Despite its popularity, more than 15,000 women in the U.S. alone have reported serious health issues resulting from the birth control coil, according to BBC.
In fact, over the past few years a group has surfaced called Essure Problems – an organization of women who are lobbying against Essure in court due to negative experiences with the product. The group now has more than 35,000 members.
Some reported side effects included chronic pain, flu-like symptoms, bleeding, depression, exhaustion, suicidal thoughts, and allergic reactions. In some cases, the coil had moved into other parts of the body, protruding into nearby organs and the pelvis.
These side-effects are a far cry from the device’s label warnings, which include “mild to moderate pain and/or cramping, vaginal bleeding and pelvic or back discomfort for a few days.”
“Whatever they’ve put on the label, multiply it by 200,” said Angela Desa-Lynch, an administrator for the Essure Problems Group, in a previous interview with CNA.
“They don’t tell you that it’s ‘I can’t get out of bed and take care of my kids’ kind of pain,” she continued.
Surgery or a hysterectomy is the only way to remove the Essure coil, which has resulted in additional complications with the birth control device.
The coils can easily break during surgery, causing further health issues such as additional surgeries, inflamed abdomens, and cysts. In addition, most health insurance companies will not cover the cost of the coil’s removal, resulting in a hefty medical bill.
“One woman had a coil in her colon, she went from a business owner to bankruptcy” after four surgeries, Desa-Lynch stated.
The FDA placed its most severe warning on the birth control coil in November 2016. Known as the “black box” label, it is “designed to call attention to serious or life-threatening risks,” according to the FDA’s website.
An FDA spokesman said that the agency “has taken several steps to ensure the ongoing evaluation of Essure's safety and efficacy, as well as to educate healthcare professionals and women about the potential risks of using the device.” Reported by CNA 21 hours ago.
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Bill to Rescue Children’s Health Program Hits Snag in House
The partisan brawl that broke out in the House Energy Committee dashed hopes that the Children’s Health Insurance Program would be quickly refinanced.
Reported by NYTimes.com 19 hours ago.
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Louisiana children's health program faces Feb. deadline
Louisiana has four months remaining of the federal money needed to pay for health insurance coverage for low-income children and pregnant women.
Reported by nola.com 19 hours ago.
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State readies campaign to warn 80,000 of health insurance spikes
The group overseeing the state’s online insurance market is preparing an aggressive outreach campaign to help up to 80,000 people who could see drastic increases to their insurance premiums.
Reported by bizjournals 16 hours ago.
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5 things you do not want to miss when buying health insurance
Reported by Sify 11 hours ago.
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States Worry Funding for Children's Health Program Won't Come in Time
As Congress struggles to reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program, states are concerned lawmakers won’t act quickly enough to help them avoid budget shortfalls and possibly a shutdown of some programs.
Reported by Wall Street Journal 13 hours ago.
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U.S. Household Income Up, Poverty Down, Report Says
Leading Actuary Employment and Career Site Actuary.com Comments on Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Report Series
Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) October 05, 2017
The median household income in the U.S. increased by 3.2 percent from 2015 to 2016, while the official poverty rate decreased by 0.8 percentage points, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population report released on September 12, 2017.
“Household income increased in 2016 for the second consecutive year,” said Jay Rollins, owner of Actuary.com, a leading career website specializing in actuary job postings. “In other encouraging news, the poverty rate also declined for the second straight year and now sits at 12.7 percent, returning to a number not seen since 2007 - a year before the last recession began.”
Median household income in the United States was $59,039, up from $57,230 in 2015 marking the second consecutive annual increase in median household income. “Overall, the total number of people with earnings increased in 2016 by 1.2 million,” said Rollins. “Not only were more people working and earning in 2016 over 2015, but the number of year-round, full-time workers also increased by 2.2 million, suggesting a shift from part-time employment to full-time.”
“The number of people without health insurance coverage for the calendar year was also down in 2016,” said Rollins, dropping from 9.1 percent in 2015 to 8.8 percent last year. “Over half of insured Americans were covered by employer-based health insurance, followed by Medicaid which covered 20 percent of the population. Medicare and direct-purchase insurance both covered around 16 percent of the population, while military insurance covered the remaining 4.6 percent.”
About Actuary.com:
Actuary.com is the leading employment website for actuarial professionals. Actuary.com is updated daily with thousands of job listings. Users can create a profile, upload their resume, apply to positions and engage in our social communities. Employers can post job listings opportunities and browse a resume bank for applicants. Thousands of new jobs are listed each month by geographic location and specialty, including casualty actuarial jobs, health actuarial jobs, consulting actuarial jobs, and more. Reported by PRWeb 11 hours ago.
Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) October 05, 2017
The median household income in the U.S. increased by 3.2 percent from 2015 to 2016, while the official poverty rate decreased by 0.8 percentage points, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population report released on September 12, 2017.
“Household income increased in 2016 for the second consecutive year,” said Jay Rollins, owner of Actuary.com, a leading career website specializing in actuary job postings. “In other encouraging news, the poverty rate also declined for the second straight year and now sits at 12.7 percent, returning to a number not seen since 2007 - a year before the last recession began.”
Median household income in the United States was $59,039, up from $57,230 in 2015 marking the second consecutive annual increase in median household income. “Overall, the total number of people with earnings increased in 2016 by 1.2 million,” said Rollins. “Not only were more people working and earning in 2016 over 2015, but the number of year-round, full-time workers also increased by 2.2 million, suggesting a shift from part-time employment to full-time.”
“The number of people without health insurance coverage for the calendar year was also down in 2016,” said Rollins, dropping from 9.1 percent in 2015 to 8.8 percent last year. “Over half of insured Americans were covered by employer-based health insurance, followed by Medicaid which covered 20 percent of the population. Medicare and direct-purchase insurance both covered around 16 percent of the population, while military insurance covered the remaining 4.6 percent.”
About Actuary.com:
Actuary.com is the leading employment website for actuarial professionals. Actuary.com is updated daily with thousands of job listings. Users can create a profile, upload their resume, apply to positions and engage in our social communities. Employers can post job listings opportunities and browse a resume bank for applicants. Thousands of new jobs are listed each month by geographic location and specialty, including casualty actuarial jobs, health actuarial jobs, consulting actuarial jobs, and more. Reported by PRWeb 11 hours ago.
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Children's health insurance, the Gulf's 'dead zone' and budget woes: Louisiana politics today (Oct. 5)
Here are the most important stories in Louisiana politics today.
Reported by nola.com 6 hours ago.
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CoinMD Will Streamline Emergency Room Visits
Healthcare Network Will Make Patient Data Available to ER Staff
Atlanta, Georgia (PRWEB) October 05, 2017
Many doctors recommend that everyone carry a list of any allergies, prescriptions, and chronic conditions in their wallet or handbag. During a medical emergency, this list can be a lifesaver. Yet how many people actually do it?
Without this list, ER staff query each patient for any allergies, prescriptions, or chronic conditions. But most patients offer incomplete information, since they’re confused or even unresponsive.
This can delay emergency procedures, forcing ER physicians to do routine tests and observations of the patient’s basic health before they begin to provide emergency care. Any information gaps can have serious effects on the outcome of an ER visit.
For example, unexpected drug interactions or unknown allergies can complicate otherwise simple life-saving treatments.
Do ER physicians have to rely on a scribbled piece of paper, a patient’s fuzzy memory, or their own rushed observations? CoinMD has a better answer.
"People who are stressed, confused, sick, or injured often communicate poorly about their medical history. ER doctors say most patients they see skip important details without even realizing it,” says Thomas McMurrain, CEO of CoinMD. “Our network’s unique medical profiles will solve that problem by showing ER physicians everything they need to know about a person’s medical record, quickly and securely."
CoinMD is a private healthcare network powered by its own cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin for healthcare. Once the CoinMD ecosystem is fully developed, the complete medical record of every member will be securely encrypted using blockchain technology. Each member's medical data will be encoded into their smartphone, ready to display as a QR code that can be scanned by another authorized smartphone in a flash.
This will eliminate the need for hospitals to rely on incomplete medical data from their normal data providers. Any physician in any hospital that belongs to the network can see every allergy, checkup, procedure, and prescription in the file of any patient who comes to the ER, even if they’re unconscious.
There are two key benefits to making patient data quickly and securely available to doctors.
First, ER technicians will not need to run extra tests or make observations that eat up valuable time in emergencies. These will be redundant when doctors already have the patient’s complete medical profile.
Second, as uncertainty decreases, the speed and effectiveness of care can improve. For example, since any ER doctor can instantly see the CoinMD member’s blood type, they will not have to wait for bloodwork results before giving a properly matched transfusion.
Of course, the CoinMD infrastructure will comply with all government regulations and privacy laws such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). CoinMD will use advanced encryption to ensure that all private medical data remains private and accessible only by qualified medical staff when they need it.
About CoinMD
CoinMD, Inc. is a private membership network designed to make healthcare more affordable. Linking world-class healthcare providers with an active pool of consumers, CoinMD uses the buying power of the network to negotiate deals that lower costs for members. The network also enables members to earn CoinRewards by making insurance payments on time, using in-network health and wellness providers, and sharing CoinMD with other people.
CoinMD uses a new cryptocurrency powered by a secure blockchain and designed to gain value over time, instead of losing value like national currencies. Anyone of any age—seniors, Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, or Millennials—can join CoinMD to benefit from lower costs today and a more secure retirement tomorrow.
For more information, visit http://www.coinmd.io Reported by PRWeb 6 hours ago.
Atlanta, Georgia (PRWEB) October 05, 2017
Many doctors recommend that everyone carry a list of any allergies, prescriptions, and chronic conditions in their wallet or handbag. During a medical emergency, this list can be a lifesaver. Yet how many people actually do it?
Without this list, ER staff query each patient for any allergies, prescriptions, or chronic conditions. But most patients offer incomplete information, since they’re confused or even unresponsive.
This can delay emergency procedures, forcing ER physicians to do routine tests and observations of the patient’s basic health before they begin to provide emergency care. Any information gaps can have serious effects on the outcome of an ER visit.
For example, unexpected drug interactions or unknown allergies can complicate otherwise simple life-saving treatments.
Do ER physicians have to rely on a scribbled piece of paper, a patient’s fuzzy memory, or their own rushed observations? CoinMD has a better answer.
"People who are stressed, confused, sick, or injured often communicate poorly about their medical history. ER doctors say most patients they see skip important details without even realizing it,” says Thomas McMurrain, CEO of CoinMD. “Our network’s unique medical profiles will solve that problem by showing ER physicians everything they need to know about a person’s medical record, quickly and securely."
CoinMD is a private healthcare network powered by its own cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin for healthcare. Once the CoinMD ecosystem is fully developed, the complete medical record of every member will be securely encrypted using blockchain technology. Each member's medical data will be encoded into their smartphone, ready to display as a QR code that can be scanned by another authorized smartphone in a flash.
This will eliminate the need for hospitals to rely on incomplete medical data from their normal data providers. Any physician in any hospital that belongs to the network can see every allergy, checkup, procedure, and prescription in the file of any patient who comes to the ER, even if they’re unconscious.
There are two key benefits to making patient data quickly and securely available to doctors.
First, ER technicians will not need to run extra tests or make observations that eat up valuable time in emergencies. These will be redundant when doctors already have the patient’s complete medical profile.
Second, as uncertainty decreases, the speed and effectiveness of care can improve. For example, since any ER doctor can instantly see the CoinMD member’s blood type, they will not have to wait for bloodwork results before giving a properly matched transfusion.
Of course, the CoinMD infrastructure will comply with all government regulations and privacy laws such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). CoinMD will use advanced encryption to ensure that all private medical data remains private and accessible only by qualified medical staff when they need it.
About CoinMD
CoinMD, Inc. is a private membership network designed to make healthcare more affordable. Linking world-class healthcare providers with an active pool of consumers, CoinMD uses the buying power of the network to negotiate deals that lower costs for members. The network also enables members to earn CoinRewards by making insurance payments on time, using in-network health and wellness providers, and sharing CoinMD with other people.
CoinMD uses a new cryptocurrency powered by a secure blockchain and designed to gain value over time, instead of losing value like national currencies. Anyone of any age—seniors, Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, or Millennials—can join CoinMD to benefit from lower costs today and a more secure retirement tomorrow.
For more information, visit http://www.coinmd.io Reported by PRWeb 6 hours ago.
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CO.DON AG: Further progress on CO.DON's launch of Spherox in the UK
DGAP-News: CO.DON AG / Key word(s): Miscellaneous
05.10.2017 / 14:27
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
--------------------
*CO.DON: Further progress on CO.DON's launch of Spherox in the UK*
*- *Autologous chondrocyte implantation recommended as first choice for surgical treatment in the United Kingdom
*- *Wholesale licence obtained for the UK
Berlin / Teltow, 05 October 2017 - The British National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends the method of autologous chondrocyte transplantation for persistent symptoms after conservative non-invasive treatment (e. g. physiotherapy and pain medicine) of cartilage defects from 2 cm². NICE has two roles that are separate in Germany: the appraisal of and final guidance on Health and Social Care, and the reimbursement of costs for treatments.
Dirk Hessel, CEO of CO.DON AG: "This is very good news, particularly in the context of the ongoing single technology appraisal for our articular cartilage implantation product Spherox, which was granted marketing authorisation by EMA (the European Medicines Agency) in July. Spherox is currently the only authorised cell-based pharmaceutical for the treatment of cartilage defects in the knee.""We are on track with planning market entries."
This week the UK Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) granted us a wholesale licence and now we are expecting the first treatments in the coming weeks." In addition to marketing authorisation, the licence is an essential prerequisite for finalising and realising the market launch. It gives CO.DON the right to distribute Spherox in the UK. It will be the first European country outside Germany.
*About CO.DON AG:* CO.DON AG develops, produces and markets autologous cell therapies for the minimally invasive repair of cartilage damage in knee joints following traumatic or degenerative defects. The product being marketed is a cell therapy product that uses only the patient's own cartilage cells ("autologous chondrocytes"). CO.DON's method has been used for more than 10 years in over 150 clinics to treat more than 11,000 patients. In Germany the statutory health insurance companies have paid for the treatment of knee and hip joints since 2007. In July 2017 the company received EU marketing authorisation for Spherox. The shares in CO.DON AG are listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ISIN: DE000A1K0227). Executive Board: Dirk Hessel (CEO), Ralf M. Jakobs (CFO).
More information can be found at www.codon.de
Investor Relations and Press Contact:
*Investor Relations and Press Contact:*
Matthias Meißner, M.A.
Corporate communications / IR / PR
Tel. +49 (0)30 240352330
Fax +49 (0)30 240352309
Email: ir@codon.de
--------------------
05.10.2017 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: CO.DON AG
Warthestraße 21
14513 Teltow
Germany
Phone: 03328 43460
Fax: 03328 434643
E-mail: info@codon.de
Internet: www.codon.de
ISIN: DE000A1K0227
WKN: A1K022
Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (General Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange
End of News DGAP News Service Reported by EQS Group 6 hours ago.
05.10.2017 / 14:27
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
--------------------
*CO.DON: Further progress on CO.DON's launch of Spherox in the UK*
*- *Autologous chondrocyte implantation recommended as first choice for surgical treatment in the United Kingdom
*- *Wholesale licence obtained for the UK
Berlin / Teltow, 05 October 2017 - The British National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends the method of autologous chondrocyte transplantation for persistent symptoms after conservative non-invasive treatment (e. g. physiotherapy and pain medicine) of cartilage defects from 2 cm². NICE has two roles that are separate in Germany: the appraisal of and final guidance on Health and Social Care, and the reimbursement of costs for treatments.
Dirk Hessel, CEO of CO.DON AG: "This is very good news, particularly in the context of the ongoing single technology appraisal for our articular cartilage implantation product Spherox, which was granted marketing authorisation by EMA (the European Medicines Agency) in July. Spherox is currently the only authorised cell-based pharmaceutical for the treatment of cartilage defects in the knee.""We are on track with planning market entries."
This week the UK Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) granted us a wholesale licence and now we are expecting the first treatments in the coming weeks." In addition to marketing authorisation, the licence is an essential prerequisite for finalising and realising the market launch. It gives CO.DON the right to distribute Spherox in the UK. It will be the first European country outside Germany.
*About CO.DON AG:* CO.DON AG develops, produces and markets autologous cell therapies for the minimally invasive repair of cartilage damage in knee joints following traumatic or degenerative defects. The product being marketed is a cell therapy product that uses only the patient's own cartilage cells ("autologous chondrocytes"). CO.DON's method has been used for more than 10 years in over 150 clinics to treat more than 11,000 patients. In Germany the statutory health insurance companies have paid for the treatment of knee and hip joints since 2007. In July 2017 the company received EU marketing authorisation for Spherox. The shares in CO.DON AG are listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ISIN: DE000A1K0227). Executive Board: Dirk Hessel (CEO), Ralf M. Jakobs (CFO).
More information can be found at www.codon.de
Investor Relations and Press Contact:
*Investor Relations and Press Contact:*
Matthias Meißner, M.A.
Corporate communications / IR / PR
Tel. +49 (0)30 240352330
Fax +49 (0)30 240352309
Email: ir@codon.de
--------------------
05.10.2017 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: CO.DON AG
Warthestraße 21
14513 Teltow
Germany
Phone: 03328 43460
Fax: 03328 434643
E-mail: info@codon.de
Internet: www.codon.de
ISIN: DE000A1K0227
WKN: A1K022
Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (General Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange
End of News DGAP News Service Reported by EQS Group 6 hours ago.
↧
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Rep. Tim Murphy Is On His Way Out Of Congress
Watch VideoThe anti-abortion congressman who reportedly asked his lover to get an abortion will retire at the end of his term.Rep. Tim Murphy announced he would not run for re-election in 2018 amid criticism over alleged text messages he sent to the woman he had an affair with.
Murphy admitted in September to having an affair with "a personal friend," according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The outlet also published messages between Murphy and the woman, Shannon Edwards.
The Post-Gazette says Edwards texted Murphy in January, "you have zero issue posting your pro-life stance all over the place when you had no issue asking me to abort our unborn child just last week."
Murphy reportedly responded, "I get what you say about my March for life messages," and told her those messages were written by his staff and that he would write them going foward.
*SEE MORE: Congress Let A Health Insurance Program Expire That Covers 9M Kids*
In his retirement announcement, Murphy said he's taking time in the coming weeks to seek help and asked for privacy for him and his family.
Other GOP lawmakers have stepped down suddenly in recent months, though those resignations weren't due to scandal.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz stepped down at the end of June and joined Fox News as a contributor shortly after.
And Republican Sen. Bob Corker also said he would leave his post once once his term expires in 2018. Reported by Newsy 3 hours ago.
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SpendEdge Releases Procurement Research Report for the Health Insurance Market
Global procurement intelligence advisory firm, SpendEdge, has announced the release of their 'Health Insurance Procurement Research Report.' The insights and data in this report provide a strategi...
Reported by FinanzNachrichten.de 3 hours ago.
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Be Careful What You Wish For: Inflation Is Much Higher Than Advertised
Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,What the Federal Reserve is actually whining about is not low inflation - it's that high inflation isn't pushing wages higher like it's supposed to.
*It's not exactly a secret that real-world inflation is a lot higher than the official rates--the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Personal Consumption Expenditures PCE).* As many observers have pointed out, there are two primary flaws in the official measures of inflation:
1. Big-ticket expenses such as rent, healthcare and higher education--expenses that run into the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars annually--are severely underweighted or mis-reported. While rents are soared, the CPI uses an arcane (and misleading) measure of housing costs: owners equivalent rent. Why not just measure actual rents paid and actual mortgages/property taxes/home insurance premiums paid?
Healthcare is 18% of GDP but only 8.5% of CPI. To those exposed to actual costs of healthcare, 8.5% of the CPI is a joke.
The same can be said of higher education: households paying tuition and other college costs are exposed to horrendously high rates of inflation, as illustrated in this chart:
Revealing the Real Rate of Inflation Would Crash the System (August 3, 2016)
The Burrito Index: Consumer Prices Have Soared 160% Since 2001 (August 1, 2016)
Inflation Isn't Evenly Distributed: The Protected Are Fine, the Unprotected Are Impoverished Debt-Serfs (May 25, 2017)
Then there's the hedonic adjustments that are made to reflect improvements in quality, features, safety, etc. So the price of computers is discounted to reflect the increase in memory, etc. compared to previous models. This is a can of worms, as anyone shopping for a new car or truck can attest: yes, the vehicles have more safety features, but the sticker price is much higher. Do we knock off $10,000 the "price" because of these additional features? Why should we, when consumers have to pony up $10,000 more than they did a decade ago?
*More honest and accurate estimates of real-world inflation that include the big-ticket categories of housing, healthcare and higher education reckon annual inflation is around 7% or even as high as 10% in high-cost metro areas, not 2%.* This sets up a very peculiar cognitive dissonance in the financial media.
*On the one hand, government agencies are bending over backward to under-report inflation. On the other, the Federal Reserve is whining that inflation is too low and their efforts to push it higher have failed.* Heck, folks, the solution is obvious: just report real-world inflation without the hedonic adjustments and other shuck and jive, and when the rate of inflation comes in at a hot 7% instead of the official 2%, the Federal Reserve can declare victory.
*Why does the Fed want higher inflation?* The general explanation is higher inflation benefits bankers, borrowers and the expansion of credit that underpins our consumerist economy.
The idea is that as wages rise with inflation (assuming wages are rising, which they're not for the bottom 90%), households will have an easier time servicing existing debt and getting new loans.
The payments due on existing debt become easier to make as inflation expands everyone's paychecks. (Note that this expansion doesn't mean the purchasing power of the wage has increased; it's an illusory expansion that serves the credit industry.)
Banks benefit because they earn fees on originating new loans and rolling over existing debts into new loans.
*But the supposed benefits of high inflation are undercut if wages don't rise as fast as prices.* As many observers have noted, wages for the bottom 90% have not kept pace with higher costs. For the bottom 90%, rising rents, higher property taxes, higher health insurance premiums, higher healthcare co-pays and deductibles, soaring college tuition and so on, have squeezed household budgets while household income has stagnated.
*No wonder the government wants to mask the real rate of inflation.* If it was widely understood that inflation is reducing our purchasing power at an annual rate of 7% while wages are rising at 1% or 2% if at all, people might realize the Fed and other authorities have stripmined the many to enrich the few.
*So what the Federal Reserve is actually whining about is not low inflation--it's that high inflation isn't pushing wages higher like it's supposed to.* In the simplistic models of conventional economics, inflation is supposed to be a monetary function, i.e. a generalized secular dynamic that pushes everything higher--not just prices, but wages, too.
*Alas, the world isn't as simple as the economists' models.* So what we have instead is stagnating wages and soaring wealth-income inequality.
No wonder so many people reckon this was the real plan all along: *it's worked brilliantly for the eight years of "recovery", greatly enriching the few at the expense of the many.*
* * *
If you found value in this content, please join me in seeking solutions by becoming a $1/month patron of my work via patreon.com. Check out both of my new books, Inequality and the Collapse of Privilege ($3.95 Kindle, $8.95 print) and Why Our Status Quo Failed and Is Beyond Reform ($3.95 Kindle, $8.95 print, $5.95 audiobook) For more, please visit the OTM essentials website. Reported by Zero Hedge 3 hours ago.
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One way Trump could change health insurance
A day after the latest "repeal and replace" proposal ran out of steam last week, President Donald Trump told reporters that he would "probably be signing a very major executive order" on associations that could affect "millions of people."
Reported by CNNMoney 7 minutes ago.
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Cigna announces it will no longer cover opioid painkillers
Oct. 5 (UPI) — Insurer Cigna announced Thursday it will no longer cover the opioid painkiller OxyContin, as part of a commitment to reduce overuse of the addictive drug. Cigna, one of America’s largest health-insurance companies, said in a statement that it’s taking a multi-faceted approach to reduce […]
The post Cigna announces it will no longer cover opioid painkillers appeared first on Newsline. Reported by Newsline 55 minutes ago.
The post Cigna announces it will no longer cover opioid painkillers appeared first on Newsline. Reported by Newsline 55 minutes ago.
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Cigna scraps coverage for OxyContin in anti-abuse effort
Oct. 5 (UPI) — Insurer Cigna announced Thursday it will no longer cover the opioid painkiller OxyContin, as part of a commitment to reduce overuse of the addictive drug. Cigna, one of America’s largest health-insurance companies, said in a statement that it’s taking a multi-faceted approach to reduce […]
The post Cigna scraps coverage for OxyContin in anti-abuse effort appeared first on Newsline. Reported by Newsline 55 minutes ago.
The post Cigna scraps coverage for OxyContin in anti-abuse effort appeared first on Newsline. Reported by Newsline 55 minutes ago.
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Southold, Riverhead may join Suffolk plan to save on health costs
Town supervisors in Riverhead and Southold are considering enrolling in Suffolk County's health insurance program to help save thousands of dollars annually on employees' medical coverage.
Reported by Newsday 6 hours ago.
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