News

2009

April

30

• Senators decry flipping of life insurance. A full-page ad in the Chicago Tribune invited people age 50 to 85 to come hear football great Mike Ditka and learn "WHY WALL STREET WANTS TO BUY YOUR LIFE INSURANCE POLICY." The ad shows…

29

• Investors find morbid niche in life insurance policies. While companies across the financial services industry were taking a beating last year, a firm in Waco, Tex., with a less than cheery way of making money was boosting its profit by 46 percent. Its…

• Foreclosure prevention expanded to 2nd mortgages. The Obama administration unveiled an expansion of its $75 billion foreclosure prevention plan yesterday, providing new subsidies to mortgage lenders and investors. Under the expanded plan, some homeowners could see their payments fall significantly and…

28

• Planes médicos peligrosos. Una investigación de Consumer Reports ha descubierto que muchas personas que creen tener seguro médico adecuado en realidad tienen la cobertura plagada de vacíos legales, límites, exclusiones y trampas que no alcanzarán para cubrir los…

26

• When medical bills outpace your means. Medical bills have a way of piling up — especially when you’re sick or underinsured. Just ask Kirk Kupka, 48, and his wife, Susie, 53. Mr. Kupka has multiple sclerosis. The Kupkas, who live in…

25

• Mortgage safety net offers job-loss protection. Is there a rainy day in your personal job forecast? That wouldn't be surprising - with unemployment rates in double digits in several states, 8.2 percent nationwide and widely expected to hit 10 percent or…

23

• Understanding your credit score. It’s the three-digit number that can have a huge impact on your life — now and in the future. I hear from a lot of people about their credit scores. In most cases, they want…

22

• Biggest medical mystery: the bill. Ask most Americans how much it costs to visit a doctor and they probably do not know. Ask doctors what their fees are and they're not likely to know that either. Health care prices -…

21

• Choosing alternatives to layoffs. The women and men, gently prodded by a facilitator, opened up about their daily inspirational practices: "Every morning and every night I create a feeling of gratitude for everything in my life," one woman said.…

20

• Insurance premiums rise. Home, car and life insurance prices are climbing as insurers grapple with lower investment returns and profits. The cost of a typical auto insurance policy will rise 4% to $875 this year, on top of…

19

• When financial ruin is a step away. El Segundo resident Kathy Caliup can't say for sure when it all started slipping from her grasp - the credit card bills, the car payments, the rent. All she knows is that she looked around…

18

• Caveats about your electronic health records. The Obama administration’s plan to spend $19 billion on electronic medical records has generated so much buzz you might think it was the biggest thing in health care since penicillin. But while policy makers, hospitals,…

16

• Who got bailout money?. The companies below have received money from the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) as of April 13, 2009. The Treasury Department's list is mostly organized by date, beginning with Oct. 28, 2008. If a…

15

• Car title database hits snag in California. Consumers have waited more than 16 years for a comprehensive, nationwide system that would help them avoid being tricked into buying vehicles that were stolen or so badly damaged they were written off by insurance…

14

• Health Care Action Issue [Spring 2009]. The Health Care Action Issue features articles on heath care reform, how to get health coverage, health savings accounts, new help for laid-off workers with COBRA premiums, tips to control health care costs and a bold health coverage experiment in San Francisco.

• Overhauling the student loan industry. With the Obama administration proposing to overhaul the programs a majority of American students use to finance their college education, the student loan industry is fighting back. The administration is calling for sweeping changes to…

13

• Electronic health records raise doubt. When Dave deBronkart, a tech-savvy kidney cancer survivor, tried to transfer his medical records from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to Google Health, a new free service that lets patients keep all their health records…

09

• Faster unemployment service on the way. For millions of jobless people dependent on unemployment benefits, the wait for help may be getting shorter. After computer system crashes and overwhelmed phone lines at state unemployment offices inundated with record claims, federal funds…

08

• Critics: health insurance mergers could be painful. Talk of potential mergers in the medical insurance industry has doctors and hospitals worried about health plans having too much clout over consumer choices and prices. Speculation has run rampant that some of the nation's…

07

• GM and Segway unveil new two-wheeled vehicle. A solution to the world's urban transportation problems could lie in two wheels not four, according to executives for General Motors Corp. and Segway Inc. The companies announced Tuesday that they are working together to…