Waves of problems for Flood Insurance

Waves of problems for Flood Insurance 

Flood Insurance Waves of problems New proposals to reform subsidised flood insurance do too little to reduce risk Mar 8th 2014 | CHERTSEY | From the print edition Timekeeper The beauty of risk pooling AT FIRST glance, Foxglove Mead in Chertsey looks like any other housing estate being built in Britain. As many as 98 homes, some worth £600,000 ($1m), are planned. But step onto the show-home’s newly laid lawn, where your correspondent felt his feet sink into the waterlogged soil, and questions over the suitability of this site become clear: these buildings are in an area at high risk of flooding. Pools of water from floods that last month inundated nearby houses (see picture) still cover neighbouring meadows. Sadly, this is but one of many new residential developments going up on floodplains and tide-swept coasts around the world: 21% of new homes built in London since 2010 are in high-risk areas. Instead of discouraging the building of flood-prone houses, governments are unwittingly encouraging homeowners to flush money down the drain. In this section Injured island Revolutionary fervour The times they aren’t a-changin’ Not so sunny Waves of problems Bank, fix thyself In a fix,

Car Insurance For Teens

Car Insurance For Teens

Car insurance is a form of automobile insurance that protects you against damages due to vehicular thefts and traffic accidents. More than 10 million motor vehicle accidents occur in the United States each year, and a significant portion of these accidents involve cars. Your car insurance will pay for the vehicle damages as well as health issues that may occur due to traffic accidents. The main idea is to offer you some financial safety. For a small premium each year, you will end up saving thousands of dollars if you get into an accident. If it is your mistake, your insurance company will also pay the bills of the other driver. Additionally, car insurance is mandatory in most states to drive legally. Parents with young teen drivers are always worried about the safety of their child behind the wheel. Even a small accident can lead to physical, psychological and financial trauma. If you have teenagers with a learner's permit to drive the car, they are required to drive the vehicle only when an adult is present in the front seat. In most states, they are automatically covered by the policy of the adult sitting next to them. But if your teenager is going out with an adult who is not your family member, it is a good idea to check his or her insurance before they leave. Some car insurance companies require you to add the name of the teen with the learner's permit to your insurance policy. Check with your insurance provider for more details. If you have teenagers at home who have a full-fledged driver's license of their own, you must add them to your policy as other drivers, or get them a policy of their own. Teenagers are like adults and therefore cannot drive the car without valid insurance coverage. You should consider several factors before choosing either option. If you add your teenager to your own car insurance policy, you can qualify for multi-car and multi-driver discounts. Your teenager can enjoy all the perks associated with your policy. You may, however, see higher premiums and may also end up risking your own perks for their mistakes if they get into an accident. But getting your child a separate car insurance policy comes with own set of advantages and disadvantages. Your driving records and perks will be independent of each other. Your child will not be able to enjoy your perks, and you will definitely end up paying higher premiums each month. Most parents, therefore, consider this to be their plan B.

News Source :  www.ezinearticles.com

New Study Reveals Patchwork Federal Safety Net Health Care Coverage For Children With Diabetes

Federal Safety Net Health Care Coverage For Children With Diabetes

Federal funding for health care coverage of children with diabetes varies significantly from state to state across the United States, according to new research from the University of Michigan. The new research, published earlier this year in the Journal of Pediatrics, examines a public program for children with chronic diseases called the Children with Special Health Care Needs program, which is funded through Title V of the Social Security Act of 1935, and provides federal support and serves as a safety net for children with chronic diseases. In the study, researchers found geographic disparities in access to coverage for medical services and medications, says lead author Joyce M. Lee, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of pediatrics at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. Detailed state-by-state descriptions are available in this interactive map: http://diabetessafety.net/ "States administer Title V programs individually, defining their own medical and financial criteria for eligibility," Lee says. "This has resulted in a patchwork safety net for children with chronic disease, which could have an impact on future health outcomes. "We performed this study because we wanted to better understand the safety net that exists for kids with diabetes. This is increasingly important, because the overall burden of diabetes in children is rising in the U.S., and diabetes imposes a large financial burden on families who must manage the disease." Lee and her co-authors found that children with diabetes were eligible for Title V programs in just 32 states, which at a minimum would provide assistance with coordination of care for these children. However, only twenty-six states (51%) provided medical coverage to pay for visits with health care professionals and medications like insulin. Only 24 states also covered diabetes supplies (for example, glucometer strips, syringes). "If children do not have access to a private health plan, and they do not qualify for income-based programs like Medicaid, unfortunately children in many states will not have access to the basic elements of care, simply based on geography," Lee says. Title V programs are unique because they designate eligibility based on diagnosis of a chronic disease. Although Title V programs have financial eligibility requirements, in at least 10 states, these income limits were more generous compared with the federal limits for Medicaid or State Children's Health Insurance Program. Title V programs may serve as the insurer of last resort or provide secondary coverage for children with private or public insurance, particularly in children who are underinsured. "We hope this research will further highlight the need for uniformity of health benefits for children across states. Kids who live in different states should not have differential access to the care they need," Lee says. 

News Source :   www.medicalnewstoday.com