Credit Card holders get a reprieve in 2010

New Fed regulations will reign in credit card insurers’ business practices in 2010. Currently insurers can do the following:

Raise interest rates on existing balances at any time
Bury changes and terms in the fine print
Change your terms and rates with 15 days notice
Charge you interest on this and last month’s balance

In 2010 insurers will have to:

Not raise interest rates unless you are 30-plus days late
Provide bills that clearly show terms, fees, and total interest paid
Give 45 days’ notice for new terms and rates
Calculate interest only on what you currently owe

Oh happy day. There are finally some regulations that will help the people, what a refreshing approach.

Save money and stress with these nine secrets health insurers don’t want you to know

On Health.com there is an article by Suz Redfearn that can help you save money and get the health coverage you need. Below are the nine secrets the article shared:

Don’t pay if you don’t have a say. Most plans charge you for seeing an out-of-network doctor. However, if you are in the hospital you may not have control over whether the doctors treating are in your network. If you don’t have control over this, especially during an emergency, you are not liable. So if you get a bill from your insurer, send them a strong letter letting them know that the doctor treating you was out of your control and you will not be paying any additional fees.

You may be eligible for more coverage. Depending on your state you may be eligible for more coverage than your insurer is telling you about. To find out you can contact your state’s insurance commissioner or check with consumer health organizations like Families USA.

To get tested, talk up your symptoms. Insurers in general don’t like to pay for tests. When you visit your voice your health concerns to your doctor so you can receive tests that you feel will put your mind at ease.

Stall first and answer questions later. Sometimes when you go for medical services like during pregnancy your insurer denies coverage while going on a fishing expedition to see if they can deny you coverage don’t sign any release forms allowing your insurer to review your medical history. Your history is private and after about 3 months the insurer will usually pay for your care and drop their investigation.

Letters are your best bet. Don’t overlook the power of a letter. It gives you a paper trail and gets a response from your insurer. When you send letters, make sure you send copies to your state insurance commissioner. And always keep any responses you receive.

Doctors are good weapons. When your insurer won’t pay for care you received under doctor’s orders, ask you doctor for help. They can call your insurer and say they will make a complaint to the state medical board. Another option is to call your congressman and/or Medicare office to lodge a formal complaint.

A little research can go a long way. If there is a test you want but your doctor won’t order it unless it is an absolute must do a little research and get some expert info to persuade your doctor.

There are ways to get drugs cheaper. Always ask for the generic brand. If there isn’t a generic then order your prescription by mail. To avoid extra co-pays ask you doctor to write a prescription for two to three months if you have a chronic condition.

An advocate can help you win. If you are denied coverage a health care advocate may be the answer. They know the laws and will take over the battle with your insurer so you can focus on your medical issues. They may even be able to get policies changed. To find an advocate you can contact the Patient Advocate Foundation or the Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy. You can also check with medical associations for a specific condition because they usually keep a list of advocates.

What can states hope to gain from stimulus package?

In an article on CNNMoney.com, yesterday, Tami Luhby breaks down what states will receive from the stimulus package. According to the article, most of the money will be allocated for Medicaid, education, and infrastructure projects. Experts say that the money should plug about 40% of the deficit in most states. That’s helpful but at least 46 states are facing budget shortfalls totaling over $140 billion. The stimulus bill provides the following:
$87 billion for Medicaid;
$46 billion for transportation projects, including $27.5 billion for highway and bridge construction, $8.4 billion for mass transit and $4 billion for public housing;
$39.5 billion for aid to local school districts, as well as $13 billion for programs for disadvantages students and $12.2 billion for special education;
$8.8 billion for governors' high-priority needs;
$4 billion for law enforcement; and
$2 billion to redevelop abandoned and foreclosed properties.Many governors will still have to fill a shortfall of over $50 million. This means that the federal funds from the American Recovery and reinvestment Act will alleviate but nor eliminate many of the cuts governors will have to make. I know I and everyone else is hoping at the very least it starts moving the American economy in the right direction. Hopefully the plans for the banking institutions and the housing crisis will be put in place shortly so that all these plans are working together to begin fixing the problem.
President Obama is scheduled to sign the bill today in Denver.

How will the new plan for TARP 2 affect us?

On Tuesday Secretary Geithner laid out the plans for how the oversight will work for the second half of the TARP money. Instead of putting in rules on executive compensation or asking that money be used to do mortgage modification these will now be requirements for receiving the money. The problem is that I haven’t seen what happens to these institutions if they don’t comply with the requirements laid out for them. How can oversight be effective if there are no consequences? I hope Americans keep track of what happens to this money. Go to the web site of the US treasury, www.ustreas.gov, to find the web site that will make the spending of TARP 2 funds transparent.

If this money is spent wisely and the banks do what they are supposed to do, more businesses will be able to make payroll and if not hire more people at least keep the people they currently employ. Also, homeowners may get the much needed help they need in revising their mortgages so they stop being upside down on their mortgages. We’ll see if the banks are really committed to saving the US economy or just saving their golden parachutes.

Who will lead HHS?

Tom Daschle is out. But who’s going to be in and will he or she have the qualities Daschle brought to the table? Daschle understands health care policy, he’s a Washington insider and he’s close friend of the President. As they begin the process of searching and vetting candidates to be nominated a the leader of Health and Human Services, I hope the person chosen is clear about the scrutiny that goes along with the nomination. A word of advice – pay your taxes.

President campaigning the people to promote his economic recovery plan

Yesterday, President Obama held town hall meetings to talk to the American people about the economic recovery plan being delayed in Congress by bipartisanship. He also held a prime time news conference to talk about the issue. Treasury Secretary Geithner delayed plans to talk about TARP 2, the other half of the $700 billion financial bailout, until today so that the focus could be on the stimulus bill.

I applaud the President’s efforts for trying to do something bold to boost the economy and get people back to work. No one knows what the catalyst will be that gets the economy moving again. I hope Congress can put aside their differences and pass a bill so their can be movement in the right direction. The American people have put up with the failure of TARP, they will understand if the stimulus bill doesn’t work as it should but we appreciate a bill that’s thinking about us instead of Wall Street.

Taxpayers are being asked for money. Wall Street should do its part.

The bonus culture on Wall Street is alive and well but could be in jeopardy if people begin to make enough noise. The allure of Wall Street is the promise of a big payday. A huge part of this payday comes from bonuses. Some on Wall Street feel that those that made their companies a fortune should still receive bonuses and only deny those, say in mortgage bonds, that ran up loses that crippled the companies finances.

This belief comes from the fact that bonuses are a major part of total compensation salaries. Many individual reviews are weighed more heavily than a company’s overall performance. I can understand the rationale and maybe those that continue to make financial institutions money should be rewarded. But this doesn’t explain the bonuses shelled out in 2008 to persons, especially at the highest level of management, that didn’t make their companies any money. Those at the highest level of management have their salaries tied directly to a company’s overall performance so if the company loses money then their bonuses should be cancelled until the losses turn into gains.

I don’t want anyone to be denied any money. I believe everyone has a right to make as much cash as possible but not at taxpayer expense.