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Starting a business is risky enough in the best of circumstances. Most new ventures fail, and the prospect of forgoing a salary is enough to keep many would-be entrepreneurs from taking the plunge. But think about how much harder it would be if your child had a health condition, and you couldn't get her insurance if you struck out on your own. That's less of a problem in the U.S. than it was a few years ago, thanks to Obamacare, but until recently it was a very real conundrum. So does the extension of publicly provisioned health insurance prompt more people to start companies? That's the question asked by a paper released earlier this year by Gareth Olds of Harvard Business School. Olds analyzed Census data from before and after the passage of the Children's Health Insurance Program in the U.S. in 1997 to assess its impact on entrepreneurship. CHIP, or SCHIP as it was previously known, provides publicly funded health insurance to children whose families don't qualify for Medicare, but whose incomes still fall below a cutoff (typically around 200% of the federal poverty line). His results suggest that the policy did significantly increase business creation by those families affected. The self-employment rate for CHIP recipients increased from just under 15% of those eligible to over 18%. That amounts to an a 23% increase. The rate of ownership of incorporated businesses - a better proxy for sustainable, growth entrepreneurship - increased even more dramatically, from 4.3% to 5.8%, an increase of 31%. What about all the other factors that might skew this sort of analysis? Olds used several quasi-experimental statistical methods in his research to control for such variables. The basic intuition behind his methods is that a family just above the CHIP cutoff isn't all that different from a family just below it. Whether you make 199% of the poverty line or 201% doesn't matter for much, except whether or not you'll be able to enroll in the program.

"About Westhill Healthcare Consulting is not selling insurance and is not an insurance agency. Description Westhill Healthcare Consulting has a complete editorial freedom over the content on its pages since it was published. Some information we provide such as view expressed are our editors' and this are not to be shared by other sites we link to or partner with. About Westhill Healthcare Consulting Westhill Healthcare Consulting is one of the internet's oldest sites that offer consumer information on reasonably priced health and medical coverage since it was published during early 90's. It is the most-trusted independent site, respect and loyalty was earned through the years of hard work. All the information on this site is projected to the general consumer audience. Westhill Healthcare Consulting is not selling insurance and is not an insurance agency Your concern is our business, as service to our visitors, we provide health insurance quotes from carefully chosen partners who are in the business of selling health insurance, and who meet Westhill Healthcare Consulting strict standards. It is the referrals that pay us "

According to her friends, Cynthia McGee Bryant was a religious woman who owned her own insurance agency, worked hard and didn't have enemies. But on Monday, someone shot McGee Bryant, 53, to death inside her office at 400 W. 25th St., police said. Few details were released by the investigators however they did not mention if the motive was robbery. Officers received a 911 call about 12:15 p.m. and found Bryant's body a couple of minutes later at McGee Insurance and Financial Services, Police Department spokeswoman Shannon Cordingly said. Detectives were hesitant in revealing where in the office Bryant's body was found or what part of the body she was shot in and whether anyone witnessed the crime. They would not even say who was responsible in calling 911. McGee Bryant's former husband, Reginald Bryant, said his ex-wife was focused on her job and on evangelical work. She was a longtime member of Livingston Street Church of God in Orlando. "She was a God-fearing woman," Bryant said. McGee Bryant, who lived near Lake Mary, was from a small town in Georgia and also lived in upstate New York before moving to Central Florida to be near extended family, her ex-husband said. She was named Allstate agent of the year in her territory in 2005 and started her own Allstate agency in Sanford in 2007, according to her website. She started her current business in 2009. Her business is selling personal and business insurance. Her motto was "Integrity. Commitment. Dedication. Loyalty. Respect. Responsive." Bishop Antonio Richardson, whom Bryant recruited a few months ago to be spiritual leader at Livingston Street Church of God, described McGee Bryant as "a very soft-spoken, giving person" who sometimes paid clients' premiums when they could not afford to, ministered to the homeless and handed out money on the street if she saw a needy person. She as well was a licensed minister who was about to become outreach director for her congregation. "It's a shock," Richa

According to healthcare attorney Susan Miller, detailed evidence of HIPAA compliance and going beyond just the black letter HIPAA rules will be important factors when the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) makes its HIPAA audit rounds this fall. Miller said that OCR has been talking about evidence of compliance since 2009, when it first released the HIPAA Omnibus Rule Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM). Evidence of compliance, in my view, goes beyond what the rule asks of an organization, such as where its policies and procedures are. This includes the Notice of Privacy Practices (NPPs), business associate agreements (BAAs), but they've also [made it clear] that organizations must have a breach plan. In no place in the regulation does it say that an organization has to have a breach plan or process. It does makes sense to have a breach plan to know what the organization will do when it has a breach event. I would suggest that organizations have a breach plan that they look at and update yearly. OCR will be looking for specific things in the plans, Miller said, including communication tactics within a breach plan. And Miller tells her clients that they need a detailed training plan, as well as the training materials and sign-in sheet or even some way to know when staff completes computer based training (CBT) modules, depending on how they do training. The important thing is knowing the training was completed. And organizations need something similar to a contingency plan, which is in the Security Rule but the larger organizations name as business continuity and disaster recovery plans. "Think of [the Boston Marathon bombings] - you need something that's going to help you continue to function during these events that are out of the control of the covered entity or business associate (BA)," Miller said.

Texas pays out $28 billion a year to some 4.8 million people, according to Kaiser. The state picks up one-fourth of the tab, and the feds pay the rest.  The FBI estimates that 10% of Medicaid claims are fraudulent, which comes out to $2.8 billion a year in Texas alone. On Monday, Austin company 21CT launches a new computer system called "Torch" to help the state bring scammers to justice. Torch will collate state data around the clock. The system will monitor frequency of claims, the size of claims and any funny patterns or anomalies. 21CT has grown to over 100 employees, most of them devoted to the crackdown. Company officials say what they are finding is eye opening. "You know it's there," said Kyle Flaherty, Vice President of Marketing for 21CT. "What's so surprising is how complex and entrepreneurial the fraudsters can be. This is a business for them and we need to disrupt the business they are creating." Torch will eyeball providers: businesses, medical supply companies, doctors, therapists, dentists, ambulance firms, hospitals and more. The system will make it easier to sort out.

Westhill Healthcare Consulting has a complete editorial freedom over the content on its pages since it was published. Some information we provide such as view expressed are our editors' and this are not to be shared by other sites we link to or partner with. About Westhill Healthcare Consulting Westhill Healthcare Consulting is one of the internet's oldest sites that offer consumer information on reasonably priced health and medical coverage since it was published during early 90's. It is the most-trusted independent site, respect and loyalty was earned through the years of hard work. All the information on this site is projected to the general consumer audience. Westhill Healthcare Consulting is not selling insurance and is not an insurance agency Your concern is our business, as service to our visitors, we provide health insurance quotes from carefully chosen partners who are in the business of selling health insurance, and who meet Westhill Healthcare Consulting strict standards. It is the referrals that pay us and in turn this is what we use to pay the cost of publishing this site. Editorial policy Westhill Healthcare Consulting has a complete editorial freedom over the content on its pages since it was published. Some information we provide such as view expressed are our editors' and this are not to be shared by other sites we link to or partner with. On behalf universal health insurance access, advocacy efforts are issue-specific. Also, they are not supposed to be considered an endorsement of any particular elected official, political party or ideology. Personal advice We are qualified to give advice on individual situations or legal issues. Aside from our individual state pages that offers links to all state departments of insurance, Westhill Healthcare Consulting, also offers personal consulting. If you have questions about your

SACRAMENTO, California - Aetna Inc. discontinue selling individual health insurance policies in California, just weeks after opting out of the exchange that is being established as part of the national health care reforms, a state regulator said last month. California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said he was disappointed in Aetna's decision because consumers need more choices. The decision does not affect people who have Aetna insurance through their employer. "This is not good news for California consumers," Jones said in a statement. "A competitive market with more choices for consumers is important, as we implement the Affordable Care Act and health insurance coverage is a requirement." In California's individual health insurance market, Aetna is a quite small player. According to 2011 figures compiled by the California HealthCare Foundation, Aetna has about 5 percent of the state's individual health market. By comparison, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield and Kaiser share 87 percent. Aetna says it has about 58,000 individual enrollees in the state and expects to have about 49,000 by the end of the year. It plans to withdraw from the state at the end of the year but will continue to offer small and large group plans, as well as Medicare, dental and life insurance products. Those in search of to buying their own health insurance will be directed to Covered California, the state's new health insurance exchange starting Oct. 1. Aetna was not among 13 insurance carriers that will sell individual coverage to millions of Californians through the exchange. According to Jones' office Under state law, Aetna will not be allowed to sell individual policies in California for five years once it leaves that market. http://www.westhillinsuranceconsulting.com/blog/ http://www.westhillinsuranceconsulting.com/

Westhill Healthcare Consulting is one of the internet's oldest sites that offer consumer information on reasonably priced health and medical coverage since it was published during early 90's. It is the most-trusted independent site, respect and loyalty was earned trough the years of hard work. All the information on this site is projected to the general consumer audience. Westhill Healthcare Consulting is not selling insurance and is not an insurance agency Your concern is our business, as service to our visitors, we provide health insurance quotes from carefully chosen partners who are in the business of selling health insurance, and who meet Westhill Healthcare Consulting strict standards. It is the referrals that pay us and in turn this is what we use to pay the cost of publishing this site. http://www.westhillinsuranceconsulting.com/blog/

Tips for navigating Obamacare http://www.westhillinsuranceconsulting.com/blog/westhill-consulting-tips-for-navigating-obamacare/ Think hard before your drop insurance entirely Tambe said that might not make good business sense despite some companies might be tempted to abolish insurance benefits completely and let employees go to marketplaces to get coverage. The problem is insurance purchased on the marketplace will be more expensive for individuals. Then the company will risk talent leaving the company for a competitor who offers them the less expensive option if the company isn't willing to compensate by raising their salary. "It may work to keep costs down but you'll have a hard time keeping talented folks," he said. Other federal programs could help you For households making under 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, the ACA grants subsidies available on the public marketplace under certain circumstances. Additionally there are current efforts for Ohio to spread out the Medicaid program to households making less than 138 percent of the poverty level. This in turn if acted out would make more people eligible for those programs. Not all individuals will qualify for subsidy even though most Americans will be eligible to obtain coverage through the exchange. Employer-sponsored coverage may affect an employee's ability to meet the criteria for the subsidy. If there are many employees qualify for federal assistance, it will be reasonable to let them use those plans, particularly since employees being offered insurance by an employer aren't allowed onto the marketplace if their employer is offering insurance deemed affordable, or 9.5 percent of their wage rate based on 130 hours per month for single coverage. "A lot of folks qualify for these things, and there's no penalty to employers," Tambe said. Know the paperwor

WEDNESDAY, May 7, 2014 (Health Day News) - there will be almost twice as many elderly Americans in 2050 as there are now, posing serious issues for the nation's health care system, according to two U.S. Census Bureau reports released Tuesday. "The United States is projected to age significantly over this period, with 20 percent of its population age 65 and over by 2030," Jennifer Ortman, chief of the Population Projections Branch at the census bureau, said in an agency news release. The number of people aged 65 and older is projected to reach 83.7 million by 2050, compared with 43.1 million in 2012, the bureau reported. This sharp rise is due to aging baby boomers, which were born between 1946 and 1964 and began turning 65 in 2011. An aging population "will have implications for health care services and providers, national and local policymakers," Ortman added. She said businesses will also have to adapt to meet new demands as a rising number of elderly influences both the "family structure and the American landscape." Baby boomer-influenced growth in health-care related industries began a few years ago, the agency said. According to the census bureau, there were about 819,000 health and social assistance-related facilities and businesses in 2011 - a 20 percent jump from 2007.

When the Bergen County couple filing for unemployment certified they were "able and looking for work," they did so the same way thousands of others do from home every week - by logging into the state Department of Labor website. The online world, however, is not quite as anonymous as many believe. Every computer carries a unique electronic address so it can be found on the internet, and what alerted state investigators to this particular claim was the location of the network being used. It was not in New Jersey. It was registered to Royal Caribbean Cruises in Miami, and no one was under any illusion that the couple was looking for work at sea. Unemployment fraud is a multimillion-dollar business in New Jersey, say officials, with 1,600 to 2,000 attempts to bilk the system each week - from the couple on vacation certifying they were able to work while cruising to the Bahamas, to hackers from all over the world trying to game the system, to people still trying to collect unemployment benefits even after finding new jobs. "No one likes to be ripped off, but the volume of money we put out is staggering," said Harold Wirths, the commissioner of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. New Jersey's Unemployment Trust Fund went broke in 2009, not only under the strain of the severe recession that led to high unemployment levels, but from years of fraud that went on through decades of neglect. Wirths said the fund is now solvent again, due in part to anti-fraud measures being put into play that he said have saved the state $448.7 million the past three years. "We're fighting fraud on every front," the commissioner said. It is a national issue, according to Douglas Holmes, president of UWC Strategic Services, a Washington, D.C., group that represents businesses on unemployment issues.

The Anti-Fraud Division of the Kansas Insurance Department (KID) worked nearly 850 cases of suspected insurance fraud in Kansas during 2013. That's a pretty hefty number for our four-person division, but that figure is an average one for us, unfortunately. How to spot the scam: Use common sense, says Quiggle. Check with your state's department of insurance to see if the company is properly licensed. And remember, if it seems too good to be true, it most likely is. What to do: If your policy is through an organization, report fraud to someone within the organization. Also, report the fraud to the Federal Trade Commission at FTC.gov and your state's department of insurance. On a national level, if insurance fraud was a business, it would be a Fortune 500 company, according to national reports. It is, by all accounts, the second largest economic crime in America; only tax evasion exceeds it. This type of fraud is the intentional misrepresentation of facts and circumstances to an insurance company in order to obtain payment that would not otherwise be made. Insurance fraud costs upwards of $80-120 billion annually, but most importantly, it adds hundreds of dollars to your annual insurance premiums, as companies have to include that cost of doing business in the premiums you pay. The fraudulent activity comes in all shapes and sizes, from accident insurance and annuities through health insurance and homeowners claims to renters insurance and travel insurance. It also includes application or policy fraud, where the applicant-or an unscrupulous agent - provides false information or forged documents. The reasons for committing fraud are as numerous as the people who commit it-the need for money for some legitimate (in their minds) or illegitimate activity, or maybe just plain old greed.

Tulsa - October marks the start of when many health insurance plans open enrollment.Medicare and Obamacare will also soon begin enrolling for next year's coverage. 2NEWSProblem Solver Jamil Donith has a word of caution before you shop for health insurance online. According to the Federal Trade Commission, health insurance scams are preying on consumers shopping for or comparing health plans online. Scammers use websites or phony non-profit sites that seem to offer discount medical plans. In reality, the sites are set up to get your personal information. Things like your age, occupation, contact information, marital status and whether you have pre-existing medical conditions. The FTC advises: Be stingy with your personal information when you're on the web. When a site asks for your personal information know that data could end up in the wrong hands. A health insurance website might look like the real deal, but many are fronts for criminals wanting to steal your money and personal information. Research a company before giving it your business. Enter the company's name and the "complaints" into an online search engine to see what comes up. And, before giving any personal information ask the company for the details in writing about what you want to buy. If it can't provide the fine prince, that's a big red flag. Finally, check to find out if the plan you want to buy is really insurance. The State Insurance Department can tell you whether the plan is legitimate and whether an insurance provider is licensed to do business in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Insurance Department website link is www.oid.ok.gov