womens-health

AAA Estimates Drivers Pay Almost $8,100 per Year Media Contact: Jennifer Mack San Francisco, April 08, 2009 New research from AAA finds that the average annual cost of owning and operating a new car has remained fairly steady over the past year, despite lower fuel costs. The 2009 edition of AAA's annual "Your Driving Costs" study estimates the overall cost of owning and operating a typical new sedan at 54 cents per mile, just a tenth of a cent less than in 2008. For a car driven 15,000 miles a year, that amounts to $8,095 annually. That's $26 less than last year's estimated cost of $8,121.

New Health Dialogue - logo Health Policy Facts February 27, 2008 - 1:57pm - admin "We're raising the first generation of children who may live sicker and die younger than their parents." --Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Upcoming Events February 27, 2008 - 2:11pm - Paul Testa Upcoming Events Obama and Health Care Reform Wednesday, September 23, 2009 12:00pm - 1:30pm American University Washington College of Law 4801 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Room 603 RSVP here Recent Events: Health CEOs for Health Reform To see a webcast of this event click here The Wireless Future of Health IT For a summary of this event click here New Health Insurance Marketplace For a summary of this event click here CEOs for Health Reform To see a webcast of this event click here For previous events click here Health Policy Links February 27, 2008 - 2:17pm - Joanne Kenen * Who We Are * NEW SITE: The State of State Health * Health Policy Program Website * Guide for Journalists * Guide for Hill Staff New America Blogs * The American Strategist * Blockbuster Democracy * Climate Action * Ed Policy Watch o Early Ed Watch o Ed Money Watch o Higher Ed Watch * The Ladder * New America Voices * New Health Dialogue * Political Reform * The Religious Center * US Budget Watch * Wireless Future * The New America Network Topics Ambulance Diversion California California Cancer Chronic Disease Comparative Effectiveness Comparative Effectiveness Congress Cost Cost Coverage Disparities Emergency Rooms Employer Burden Global Health Good News HC4HR Health Care Health Insurance Health Insurance Health IT Health Politics Health Reform Health Reform Hospitals Hospitals Individual Mandate In the News In the States Lessons of 93 Mandate Massachusetts Medicaid Medical Errors Medical Homes Medicare Nurses Obama palliative care Payment Policy Payment Reform Prevent

New Health Dialogue - logo Health Policy Facts February 27, 2008 - 1:57pm - admin "We're raising the first generation of children who may live sicker and die younger than their parents." --Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Upcoming Events February 27, 2008 - 2:11pm - Paul Testa Upcoming Events Obama and Health Care Reform Wednesday, September 23, 2009 12:00pm - 1:30pm American University Washington College of Law 4801 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Room 603 RSVP here Recent Events: Health CEOs for Health Reform To see a webcast of this event click here The Wireless Future of Health IT For a summary of this event click here New Health Insurance Marketplace For a summary of this event click here CEOs for Health Reform To see a webcast of this event click here For previous events click here Health Policy Links February 27, 2008 - 2:17pm - Joanne Kenen * Who We Are * NEW SITE: The State of State Health * Health Policy Program Website * Guide for Journalists * Guide for Hill Staff New America Blogs * The American Strategist * Blockbuster Democracy * Climate Action * Ed Policy Watch o Early Ed Watch o Ed Money Watch o Higher Ed Watch * The Ladder * New America Voices * New Health Dialogue * Political Reform * The Religious Center * US Budget Watch * Wireless Future * The New America Network Topics Ambulance Diversion California California Cancer Chronic Disease Comparative Effectiveness Comparative Effectiveness Congress Cost Cost Coverage Disparities Emergency Rooms Employer Burden Global Health Good News HC4HR Health Care Health Insurance Health Insurance Health IT Health Politics Health Reform Health Reform Hospitals Hospitals Individual Mandate In the News In the States Lessons of 93 Mandate Massachusetts Medicaid Medical Errors Medical Homes Medicare Nurses Obama palliative care Payment Policy Payment Reform Prevent

Women Buying Health Policies Pay a Penalty * Sign in to Recommend * comments * Sign In to E-Mail * Print * Single Page * Reprints * ShareClose o Linkedin o Digg o Facebook o Mixx o MySpace o Yahoo! Buzz o Permalink o Article Tools Sponsored By By ROBERT PEAR Published: October 29, 2008 WASHINGTON - Striking new evidence has emerged of a widespread gap in the cost of health insurance, as women pay much more than men of the same age for individual insurance policies providing identical coverage, according to new data from insurance companies and online brokers.

Prevention First: Policy Initiatives Insurance coverage for birth control While most insurers generally cover prescription drugs, not all are required to cover prescription birth control. Women pay roughly 68 percent more in out-of-pocket medical expenses than men, mostly due to their reproductive health care needs. We have made some progress on this issue: today, 24 states have laws that require insurance companies to cover birth control. Despite this advancement, nearly 17 million women - most of whom are young, low-income or women of color - do not even have private insurance or Medicaid coverage and cannot benefit from these state mandates.

Women are more likely than men to need medical services. Nationally, women make 58% more visits each year to primary care physicians than do men and are more likely to take at least one prescription drug on a daily basis. Women have greater annual health care expenses than men ($2,453 vs. $2,316), and a greater proportion of their health care expenses are paid out of pocket (19% vs. 16%).

The Commonwealth Fund released Women at Risk: Why Many Women Are Forgoing Needed Health Care, a report by Sheila Rustgi, Michelle Doty and Sara Collins, on May 7, 2009. The authors reported that about half of working-age women said they have problems accessing needed care because of costs. About 40 percent of men responded they have problems accessing care. Women who have insurance but are not fully covered are at the most risk of not getting the necessary care, Rustgi said. About two-thirds of underinsured women have problems accessing care compared to about half for men. According to the report, about 64 million women or 70 percent of Americans have no health insurance coverage

If serious diseases are not taken into account, women have to pay more for their health, it's true. Let's take birth control for instance. All methods are pretty expensive, not everyone can afford some of them. If you are interested, check https://birthcontrol.com/ for more information.

Women and older individuals are more likely to have high out-of-pocket costs. Individuals in high-cost households are, on average, 8 years older than those in lower-cost households. In addition, women represent 55 percent of individuals in high-cost households, compared with 50 percent of those in families without high out-of-pocket costs.7

<< [Back to News Releases] Auto Affordability Worsens Slightly Comerica Bank Chief Economist Reports DALLAS, Nov. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The purchase of an average-priced new vehicle took 24.1 weeks of median family income in the third quarter, according to the Auto Affordability Index compiled by Comerica Bank. The latest reading is up 1.0 week from the second quarter and down 1.1 weeks compared to a year ago. Including finance charges, the total cost of buying an average-priced light vehicle was $28,929 in the third quarter, up about $1,200 from the second quarter. Family income barely increased in the latest quarter. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010807/CMALOGO) "The surprise to me was that the average amount of money spent on a new car increased about 5 percent to $25,200 last quarter, excluding financing costs," said Dana Johnson, Chief Economist at Comerica Bank. "In all likelihood, many moderate income buyers pulled out of the market due to the limited availability of financing, thereby temporarily inflating the average amount of money spent on a new car. A sharp drop in loan to value ratios, to the lowest level in three years, was another indication that tight auto financing conditions were a restraint for many potential buyers."

Up to Speed The latest buzz in L.A.'s car culture. « Previous Post | Up to Speed Home | Next Post » Price of a new car hits 30-year low -- but not in California May 14, 2009 | 8:00 am Dealerprices Californians may not agree, but a new car is more affordable to the average family now than at any time in the last 30 years, according to a new report. Buyers can expect to see an average of $2,931 in incentives off the price of a new vehicle. In some cases, such as buying a Chrysler, a consumer can expect to get as much as $6,000 off the price of a new vehicle as dealers seek to move inventory amid a recession -- and in Chrysler's case, a bankruptcy -- and a sudden downshift in sales nationwide. The average price of a new vehicle nationwide is $1,700 less than in the final quarter of 2008, according to Comerica Bank's Auto Affordability Index, which has tracked auto prices since 1979. California buyers likely will see a smaller drop in average price. A temporary 1% rise in the state's sales tax that began April 1 and a doubling of license fees to arrive May 19 add about $400 to the average price of a new car. A provision of the nationwide economic stimulus package, however, allows them to write off a portion of the sales tax and license fee on any new vehicle bought between Feb. 17 and Dec. 31 this year. Nationally, the survey found it took 21.5 weeks of work for a median family to buy an average-priced new car or truck, or 1.3 weeks less than in the fourth quarter of 2008. It also found that consumers are getting better interest rates from dealers as credit slowly returns to the market. Financing, though, may not be available to as many potential buyers as before.

send to a friend printable version What that car really costs to own Knowing a vehicle's cost over time can save you thousands in the long haul Illustration of a car blowing money out the exhaust Illustration by Carlo Stanga A less-expensive car can cost you more in the long run than a more-expensive alternative, our new ownership-costs comparisons have found. At about $17,500, a Mitsubishi Lancer could cost $4,000 less than a base Mini Cooper to drive home. But when you estimate the total costs of ownership for each car, the Lancer could cost you $5,000 more over five years. A Toyota Highlander can cost you $3,000 more to purchase than a Ford Explorer V6, but owning the Ford after five years can cost $6,750 more. In addition to shopping for a good deal, car buyers should also consider how much a model will cost them to own. That includes depreciation, fuel costs, interest, insurance, sales tax, and maintenance and repair costs. To help, Consumer Reports is introducing its new owner-costs estimates, which can help you compare models and could save you thousands of dollars. The "owner costs" Ratings cover one, three, five, and eight years of ownership and are based on a comparison of all models within the Consumer Reports database over eight years. Because depreciation is factored in our estimates, we assume that the vehicle will be traded in at the end of the term.

Top Five Car Care Do's That Don't Get Done Car Care Month AAA Gives Tips on How to Prevent Costly Breakdowns Media Contact: Jennifer Mack San Francisco, October 11, 2007 An oil change or tire rotation is one more chore on your never-ending to-do list that never takes priority and seldom gets done. AAA of Northern California points out that October Car Care Month is a great time to take care of routine auto maintenance before winter sets in, and to prevent budget-busting repair bills later. "Not only will better vehicle maintenance improve fuel economy, in many cases it also will prevent expensive, unforeseen repair bills," said AAA of Northern California automotive expert Mark Woods. "Your savings account isn't the only thing you'll protect by paying attention to your vehicle. A car that is in top working condition is much safer for you and your passengers."

Women Pay The Price For Health Insurance by Sarah Varney April 2, 2009 Listen to the Story Morning Edition [4 min 40 sec] * Add to Playlist * Download * Transcript In Depth Search For Health Insurance Learn About COBRA Read About A Government Subsidy For COBRA A State-By-State Guide to Health Insurance text sizeAAA April 2, 2009 During the last economic bust, I got laid off and couldn't afford the monthly COBRA payments for my health insurance. I applied for an individual plan through Blue Cross. I was 28 at the time and had no health problems. I was thin and athletic. In fact, I'd done a triathlon and biked from San Francisco to Los Angeles twice. I got a letter from Blue Cross saying I was denied. They told me it was because my medical records showed I'd gone to the doctor complaining of stomach pain. The pain had long since gone away, but Blue Cross said if I wanted insurance, my doctor would need to fax a note guaranteeing I didn't have stomach cancer. He faxed the letter, and eventually I got a plan. It makes you wonder, though, if Blue Cross didn't want to insure me - a healthy 20-something - how on earth do actuaries determine who's a good risk and who's not? "It's very scientific and fact-based," says Jeff Fluke a senior underwriter with the risk management company Ingenix in Minneapolis. Fluke says actuaries first calculate average health costs over a broad population like 28-year-old women or 50-year-old men. Then the underwriter adjusts those averages based on your medical history and health status - your height and weight, and whether you have high blood pressure, asthma or hay fever. "Maybe there's a heart condition," Fluke says. "How long ago was it? What were the treatments? Are you on treatment now? What are the medications you're taking? Because some medications [are] expensive and some aren't." Complex Calculations These complex algorithms boil down to: Will you cost the insurance company more money than the insurer c

Women Pay The Price For Health Insurance by Sarah Varney April 2, 2009 Listen to the Story Morning Edition [4 min 40 sec] * Add to Playlist * Download * Transcript In Depth Search For Health Insurance Learn About COBRA Read About A Government Subsidy For COBRA A State-By-State Guide to Health Insurance text sizeAAA April 2, 2009 During the last economic bust, I got laid off and couldn't afford the monthly COBRA payments for my health insurance. I applied for an individual plan through Blue Cross. I was 28 at the time and had no health problems. I was thin and athletic. In fact, I'd done a triathlon and biked from San Francisco to Los Angeles twice. I got a letter from Blue Cross saying I was denied. They told me it was because my medical records showed I'd gone to the doctor complaining of stomach pain. The pain had long since gone away, but Blue Cross said if I wanted insurance, my doctor would need to fax a note guaranteeing I didn't have stomach cancer. He faxed the letter, and eventually I got a plan. It makes you wonder, though, if Blue Cross didn't want to insure me - a healthy 20-something - how on earth do actuaries determine who's a good risk and who's not? "It's very scientific and fact-based," says Jeff Fluke a senior underwriter with the risk management company Ingenix in Minneapolis. Fluke says actuaries first calculate average health costs over a broad population like 28-year-old women or 50-year-old men. Then the underwriter adjusts those averages based on your medical history and health status - your height and weight, and whether you have high blood pressure, asthma or hay fever. "Maybe there's a heart condition," Fluke says. "How long ago was it? What were the treatments? Are you on treatment now? What are the medications you're taking? Because some medications [are] expensive and some aren't." Complex Calculations These complex algorithms boil down to: Will you cost the insurance company more money than the insurer c