Another installment of ‘Opera in Cinema,’ this time it is La Bohème by Puccini from the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. Four young artists live out their everyday lives amid dreams and disappointments, waiting for the event that is to win them renown, but poverty and misfortune deprive the leading characters — Mimì and […]
Kudos to Rhode Island Health Insurance Commissioner Christopher F. Koller; it would appear that he has heard the desperate chorus of voices from the direct payer cohort. Not only has Koller issued an order lowering the effective overall average* rate for the Direct Pay plan by 1.1 percent, but according to the Providence Business News,
The Commish Comes Through For Direct Payers — Denies Blue Cross Rate Hike Read More »
[Address Correction: The hearings are being held at the RIPUC at 89 Jefferson Boulevard, Warwick. The address below is that of the OHIC. Apologies for this error and the inconvenience it may have caused. BC] The Rhode Island Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner (OHIC) has scheduled a public hearing regarding a petition by Blue
Attention Direct Payers — Blue Cross Rate Hike Hearings Tuesday Read More »
Happy New Year direct payers, some of you can look forward to double-digit rate hikes in 2012. Once again Blue Cross Blue Shield direct payers (who have no other choice in Rhode Island) are being asked to supplement the benefits afforded to the groups with bargaining power and clout. According to an article on A-2
Blue Cross Blue Shield To Put The Squeeze On Direct Payers Read More »
(10.19) Rhode Island Community Forums, presented by The Rhode Island Foundation and Rhode Island Public Radio, is hosting a panel discussion on the state’s plans to create a new healthcare insurance exchange on Wednesday, October 19 from 5:30pm to 7:30pm at the Crowne Plaza, Warwick. Rhode Island Public Radio’s Health Reporter Megan Hall will moderate
Demystifying The RI Healthcare Insurance Exchange Read More »
On May 14th Lt. Governor Elizabeth Roberts (Chairwoman of the Rhode Island Healthcare Reform Commission) wrote a column for the Providence Journal trying to explain how millions of dollars in federal grants resulting from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 has benefited Rhode Islanders so far. Four days later the Journal ran the column
Less Care + Higher Costs = Big Profits For Insurers Read More »
Dave is apparently too busy to post this. You may have seen Wendell Potter, medical insurance industry whistleblower, on Rachel Maddow or Bill Moyers, or any number of other shows. And tonight you can hear/meet him (and Dave Segal) in person. PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS OF AMERICA, Rhode Island Chapter cordially invites you to spend an evening
Wendell Potter — Insurance Industry’s Worst Nightmare Read More »
. . . make sure they are the really really tasty-looking kind. Following the confirmed sighting of a great white shark off the coast of Massachusetts, the Coast Guard issued a shark warning last Friday. According to WBZ the Coast Guard suggests that the sharks are attracted by the growing seal population. “Predation is not
I’ll give you a second to catch your breath. According to The Providence Journal, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island CEO James Purcell will ask the state to approve premium rate increases* in May, citing rising costs and increased use. But that new office building downtown? Nope, that was a cost-saving measure. Purcell said
Froma Harrop says it today in The Sunday ProJo, Doris Kearns Goodwin said it last week on The Daily Show, and I’ve been saying it for weeks — although I seem not to have actually written it down anywhere so I can’t prove it — let the Republicans be seen filibustering a Health Care Reform
Because out here on the street it is easier to score peyote buttons than the H1N1 vaccine. I’m guessing this particular phrase is coming from the office of Dr. Gifford at the Department of Health because it is being used across the board by local media outlets, print and television. As it happens, earlier today
ProJo columnist Edward Fitzpatrick casts a gimlet eye on the new biodegradable/compostable/recyclable Blue Cross office building and sees right through to the fancy new offices, cafeteria and gym with their sweeping views of Waterplace Park and beyond. The costs of this new building are apparently to be borne by the direct payers, subscribers with no
HealthAccessRI (which David Segal wrote about here) is the nation’s first primary care subscription program, homegrown right here in Rhode Island. Essentially, it’s a network of primary care doctors offering affordable primary care to patients who lack health insurance or have high-deductible insurance. And HealthAccessRI is launching a campaign to grow to a total of
Shame on The Providence Journal for its top-of-the-fold headline “Seniors feel pinch of steep premiums”. (Hard copy only — the one they can wave around the breakfast table.) Attention old people — the only people whose premiums are not increasing are the millions of Americans with no insurance at all. These articles only inflame the
Save the date for a health care reform roundtable discussion next Monday, November 30th. Rhode Island Representative Patrick Kennedy is scheduled to participate along with: Edward Wing MD, Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences; Vincent Mor PhD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Community Health; and Erin Kelly ’11. This is the final event
We suggest that those of you in need go check out HealthAccessRI. (Entirely on the level, despite sounding too good to be true.) Here’s a pitch from its managing director, Dr. Michael Fine, who also served on the National Health Policy Council for Obama’s campaign and transition team. The Most Affordable Health Care in RI:
While We’re Waiting For That Universal Health Care Thing… Read More »