The Health Care Safety Net in a Post-Reform World examines how national health care reform will impact safety net programs that serve low-income and uninsured patients. The "safety net" refers to the collection of hospitals, clinics, and doctors who treat disadvantaged people, including those without insurance, regardless of their ability to pay. Despite comprehensive national health care reform, over twenty million people will remain uninsured. And many of those who obtain insurance from reform will continue to face shortages of providers in their communities willing or able to serve them. As the demand for care grows with expanded insurance, so will the pressure on an overstretched safety net. This book, with contributions from leading health care scholars, is the first comprehensive assessment of the safety net in over a decade. Rather than view health insurance and the health care safety net as alternatives to each other, it examines their potential to be complementary aspects of a broader effort to achieve equity and quality in health care access. It also considers whether the safety net can be improved and strengthened to a level that can provide truly universal access, both through expanded insurance and the creation of a well-integrated and reasonably supported network of direct health care access for the uninsured. Seeing safety net institutions as key components of post-health care reform in the United States-as opposed to stop-gap measures or as part of the problem-is a bold idea. And as presented in this volume, it is an idea whose time has come.

Do you know what percentage of your income the government defines as "affordable" when it comes to what you will pay for your health insurance? Will you be eligible for government subsidies? If your employer offers you coverage you may not be, even if you don't take it. Do you know why most Americans under 65 will not be able to keep the health insurance that they currently have? In this book you will find concise explanations about the sweeping changes Obamacare brings to health insurance in America, what it means to you and what your options are. When finished with this short read you will have a comprehensive knowledge of how this law affects you and things that you can do right now that will save you money in the future. What you will not find in this book is theory, rationale or politics. Obamacare is the law of the land in America and beginning in 2014 it is going to have a huge impact on the way Americans obtain and pay for their health insurance. What you need are the facts provided here, everything else is academic. This book is a must read for every American under the age of 65. For over 30 years, Ronald's clients have benefited from his expertise as a benefits broker and his ability to explain complex matters in easy to understand, simple English. This book deals with Obamacare in that same manner.

Old Risks-New Solutions, or Is It The Other Way Around is the latest in a series of volumes which examines new developments in the political risk insurance (PRI) industry. Based on presentations made at the 2010 MIGA Georgetown Symposium, it provides important insights into challenges facing investors and practitioners from the political risk insurance (PRI) industry, including investors, insurers, brokers, lenders, academics and members of the legal community. This volume reflects the key issues which have faced investors and insurers alike including arbitration and a dynamically evolving marketplace. Contributors to this volume reflect on the evolution of the PRI industry during a period of dramatic changes in the marketplace. Not only has the crisis had a tremendous impact on the volume of investment projects, particularly into developing countries, but also on the perception of risk and claims management. The volume begins with a look at the global market place in the aftermath of the financial crisis from an insurer's perspective. It continues with an overview of claims experience and key issues investors should understand when relying on bilateral investment treaties. The volume then examines challenges facing investors and insurers alike when considering sovereign risk within the context of political risk. The volume concludes with an overview of the PRI industry and its evolution over time - how did insurers see the global marketplace evolving over time, what are they predicting now, and how much has it really changed? Old Risks - New Solutions provides valuable insights for practitioners and investors alike, particularly in today's turbulent and uncertain markets.

If your goal is to pass your insurance test the first time without the hassle of big thick study books, the Life & Health Insurance, Iowa License Exam Manual is right for you. Every effort has been made to reduce the number of pages necessary to pass the test. The fresh format has smaller bites of information. Each exam topic is followed by multiple choice questions to reinforce your learning. Designed to stand alone or be used as a supplement, this easy to read manual is complete with a table of contents, insurance text, over 500 multiple choice practice questions, study tips and test taking tips. You will learn the exam topics needed to successfully pass your Life insurance test: types of policies, policy riders, provisions, options, exclusions, completing the application, underwriting, delivering the policy, taxes, retirement, other insurance concepts, and Iowa rules and regulations. Health insurance test topics include: types of policies, policy provisions, clauses, riders, social insurance, field underwriting procedures, other insurance concepts, and Iowa rules and regulations.

The "Top 25 Insurance KPIs of 2011-2012" report provides insights into the state of insurance performance measurement today by listing and analyzing the most visited KPIs for this industry on smartKPIs.com in 2011. In addition to KPI names, it contains a detailed description of each KPI, in the standard smartKPIs.com KPI documentation format, that includes fields such as: definition, purpose, calculation, limitation, overall notes and additional resources. This product is part of the "Top KPIs of 2011-2012" series of reports and a result of the research program conducted by the analysts of smartKPIs.com in the area of integrated performance management and measurement. SmartKPIs.com hosts the largest catalogue of thoroughly documented KPI examples, representing an excellent platform for research and dissemination of insights on KPIs and related topics. The hundreds of thousands of visits to smartKPIs.com and the thousands of KPIs visited, bookmarked and rated by members of this online community in 2011 provided a rich data set, which combined with further analysis from the editorial team, formed the basis of these research reports.

Why does it seem that even if we heed all the advise floating around about how to build wealth, we never seem to get ahead? Its because most of us tackle wealth-building the way Wall Street wants us to - not the way that makes the most sense for us. Guys like Warren Buffet invest sensibly - why don't we - or why can't we? We can. And it starts by plugging the holes that suck money from us. Only then should we turn our attention to how to grow our money. Rigged suggests there are only three ways to fail at wealth-building. Then shows us how to avoid all three. The outcome is wealth that is not at risk of loss due to market gyrations; wealth that is not subject to taxation - ever; and wealth that doesn't come at the high cost of hidden fees and commissions. But beware. The strategies and positions offered up in Rigged - while logical and verifiable - require that we toss out what the world has been filling our heads with for the last generation. Want a pathway to financial success that's not full of Wall Street potholes? Read on.

The Handbook on Systemic Risk, written by experts in the field, provides researchers with an introduction to the multifaceted aspects of systemic risks facing the global financial markets. The Handbook explores the multidisciplinary approaches to analyzing this risk, the data requirements for further research, and the recommendations being made to avert financial crisis. The Handbook is designed to encourage new researchers to investigate a topic with immense societal implications as well as to provide, for those already actively involved within their own academic discipline, an introduction to the research being undertaken in other disciplines. Each chapter in the Handbook will provide researchers with a superior introduction to the field and with references to more advanced research articles. It is the hope of the editors that this Handbook will stimulate greater interdisciplinary academic research on the critically important topic of systemic risk in the global financial markets.

"Commercial Insurance Claim Secrets Revealed is Russell D. Longcore's follow-up book to his Top Selling book "Insurance Claim Secrets Revealed." This new book concentrates on commercial insurance claims, and shows you how to take control of your commercial insurance claims, and collect thousands more dollars in your claim settlements Russell D. Longcore release his first book, "Insurance Claim Secrets Revealed" in June 2007. By October 2007, the book had reached the Number One Position for insurance claims books at Amazon. It has remained in the #1 position every month continuously to this very day in 2012..nearly FIVE YEARS AT THE TOP The book is also the #1 book on insurance claims for the most general search term "Insurance." "Commercial Insurance Claim Secrets Revealed is the best book you can own on the strategies YOU need to use to get the insurance companies to pay you ALL the money you are entitled to collect when you have a commercial claim. Wouldn't you agree that nothing else matters about insurance other than getting the claim PAID IN FULL? In this book, you will learn: - The games and scams insurance companies use to cut costs and keep claim payments at the lowest amounts possible - When it's the right time to use an attorney - How you can take control of your claim, and not allow the insurance company or claims adjuster to control YOU - What a Public Adjuster is, and the valuable help you can get from Public Adjusters - That the insurance adjuster is NOT there to help YOU - and much more You will learn: - Insider tips about the Commercial Package policies that might save your business - Why Liability Insurance can be more important than Property coverage - Business Income claims can make you or break you. Learn how to win - About Diminished Value on automobiles, and how it can cost you THOUSANDS if you don't fight - Inland Marine coverage: You can't live without it - The Co-Insurance Clause: Miss this and lose untold thousands at claim time - Hopelessly deadlocked with the insurance company? Win with the Appraisal Clause - Using The Unfair Claims Practices statutes to protect yourself and WIN - And so much more Ask yourself these questions: Do you carry a spare tire and jumper cables in the trunk of your car? Do you have a toolbox at home? Have you ever bought a book or read an article that showed you how to fix something? Do you own a first aid kit? Do you have a fire extinguisher or smoke alarms in your home? Why would you do ANY of those things? Answer: So you are prepared BEFORE something bad happens. READ THIS BOOK BEFORE SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS TO YOU READ THIS BOOK AFTER SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS TO YOU, TO KEEP IT FROM GETTING WORSE This book should be on the desk of every CEO and CFO in America.

How much do you pay for your auto insurance? If you are reading this, the answer is most likely "too much " You are looking for information that will help you save your hard-earned dollars, and you have found it.

"Ten Questions" has been completely updated, revised, and expanded for 2012. It has also been reformatted for the Kindle at last, and the most effective way to use the guide is to own both the ebook and paperback versions.

"Ten Questions" is not a book for "dummies," but it is an easy to use, half-hour read, specifically designed to help save you money.

It is a comprehensive and detailed explanation of the underwriting process involved in determining the amount of premium you pay. The facts and clear examples included in the guide are based on my years of experience as a top-rated Sales Agent, and the thousands of auto insurance policies I personally have sold.

Chapter One, "Risk" will help you understand what factors are used to determine your rating "tier," and how to improve them. The amount of premium you pay is determined by the amount of "risk" you are seen to represent. Much of that determination is made through your answers to a series of questions you will be asked, either online, or in person by an agent. These are the "Ten Questions" referred to in the title.

Chapter Two, "Discounts" contains a detailed description of nearly every available auto insurance discount, and how to obtain them. A single 5% discount that you have been missing each policy term is costing you far more than this guide will. You will also gain the knowledge that you will need to progressively lower your rates over time.

Chapter Three, "Coverages" is a comprehensive explanation of nearly every available auto insurance coverage, including what each one does, (and does not do) for you, and how to the determine the proper balance of cost versus benefit when choosing them. When you finish reading it, you will know more about auto insurance than most agents do. "Ten Questions" isn't about getting the cheapest policy at the cheapest price: It's about getting the best policy at the best price.

Chapter Four, "Sample Quote Process," is your ultimate weapon in getting your new policy, because it details an actual phone quote in real time, along with the "correct" answers to the "Ten Questions." Knowledge is power, and this guide is a very powerful tool that you will be able to use as long as you are driving and insuring vehicles.

Advanced Topics is new for 2012, and this section includes "Youthful Driver Strategies," and "State Specific Information," such as a layman's explanation of so-called "No-Fault" coverages, and "Full," versus "Limited" Tort.

The Appendix contains all the technical terms that are used in the guide, to help you understand the "trade talk" in the auto insurance industry.

This guide will save you money in several ways, including: It will help you find and qualify for discounts. It will show you how to improve your rating tier, and lower your "base rate." It will help you allocate your premium dollars more effectively, so that you get the best coverage at the best price.

Find out what the insurance companies don't want you to know, like the fact that you can switch carriers any time you want, as often as you want. You do not have to wait until your current policy renews in order to do so.

Learn the answers to the "Ten Questions "today, and get a better policy for less money, tomorrow.

Providing an analysis of select programmes relating to life insurance, topics covered include the Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance programme (FEGLI) and the retirement benefit and retained asset account disclosures that could be improved; veteran's benefits and current life insurance programs; and the insurance and tax issues of Corporate-Owned Life Insurance (COLI).

There are a handful of Long-Term Care books and Long-Term Care Insurance books which have been published. Some explain Medicare and Medicaid in depth. Others include guidance in elder law issues, or in choosing a care provider or facility (aka "community"). Still others explain Long-Term Care Insurance exhaustively, down to the last industry-specific contractual clause. This book is aimed at those who have decided they need to plan ahead for eventual care, but want data: what is their risk, what does care cost where they live, what sources of funds do they have access to which will pay for care, etc. The book offers an even-handed approach; there is no attempt to coerce the reader into buying a product or service. This book is unique, first because of its primary purpose: to review every possible method of paying for Long-Term Care at some point in the future. It won't help you if you're currently caring for a family member, and it doesn't explain Medicaid, Medicare, or Long-Term Care Insurance in depth. It does give what I believe to be the relevant details of the governmental plans which help pay for care, and the private, insurance industry plans which help pay for care. It's also a resource for those who want to know if it makes sense to self-fund their care with cash or assets. Following the review of all sources of payment, etc., you'll find a workbook which will walk you through the number crunching related to setting a budget and creating a plan to pay for future Long-Term Care. The workbook is also unique. This is your opportunity: don't ignore this issue

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insures home mortgages made by private lenders against the possibility of borrower default. If the borrower does not repay the mortgage, FHA pays the lender the remaining principal amount owed. By insuring lenders against the possibility of borrower default, FHA is intended to expand access to mortgage credit to households, such as those with smaller down payments or below-average credit histories, who might not otherwise be able to obtain a mortgage at an affordable interest rate or at all. FHA also traditionally plays a countercyclical role in the mortgage market. In other words, it generally insures more mortgages during periods when lenders and private mortgage insurers tighten their lending standards and reduce activity in response to market conditions, and it generally insures fewer mortgages at times when lenders and private mortgage insurers make mortgage credit more easily available. When an FHA-insured mortgage goes to foreclosure, the lender files a claim with FHA for the remaining amount owed on the mortgage. Claims on FHA-insured loans have traditionally been paid out of an account, known as the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund (MMI Fund), that is funded through fees paid by borrowers, rather than through appropriations. However, if FHA were ever unable to pay claims that it owed, it can draw on permanent and indefinite budget authority with the U.S. Treasury to pay those claims without additional congressional action. In recent years, increased default and foreclosure rates, as well as economic factors such as falling house prices, have contributed to an increase in expected losses on FHA-insured loans. This increase in expected losses has put pressure on the MMI Fund and reduced the amount of resources that FHA has on hand to pay for additional, unexpected future losses. This has led to concern that FHA may need to draw on its permanent and indefinite budget authority for funds from Treasury to hold in reserve to pay for these higher expected future losses, or, eventually, to pay insurance claims. An annual actuarial review of the MMI Fund released in November 2012 showed that, according to current estimates, FHA does not currently have enough funds on hand to cover all of its expected future losses on the loans that it currently insures. The results of this actuarial review heightened concerns that FHA could need funds from Treasury. However, whether FHA actually needs to draw funds from Treasury would be determined as part of the annual budget process, not by the actuarial review. FHA faces an inherent tension between protecting its financial health and fulfilling its mission of expanding access to mortgage credit. In addition, the share of mortgages insured by FHA has increased in the past several years as the availability of mortgage credit has tightened, further contributing to this tension. FHA has recently proposed or implemented a number of changes to its single-family mortgage insurance program that are intended to minimize risk to the MMI Fund while still allowing FHA to support the mortgage market and expand access to affordable mortgages. These changes have included increasing the fees that it charges to borrowers for insurance, modifying its underwriting criteria, and taking steps to increase oversight of lenders who make FHA-insured loans. While many of these changes were made administratively by FHA, some involved congressional action. Congress has also weighed additional changes to FHA's programs, and has considered additional legislation aimed at protecting the financial health of the MMI Fund. An example of such a bill is the FHA Emergency Fiscal Solvency Act of 2012 (H.R. 4264), which passed the House of Representatives during the 112th Congress. An identical bill (S. 3678) has been introduced in the Senate.

A life settlement is a transaction in which an insurance policy owner sells a life insurance policy to a third party for an amount that exceeds the policy's cash surrender value, but is less than the expected death benefit of the policy. Reports indicate that the life settlements market had experienced robust growth up until 2007 when it was estimated that $12 billion in face amount, or stated benefit, amount, of life insurance was sold in life settlement transactions. More recently, the amount sold has declined. This book outlines the Life Settlements Task Force's findings about the life settlement market and recommends that the Commission consider certain actions to improve market practices and regulatory oversight.

Retirement Preservation: a substantial amount of money is positioned in wealth-building tools that will not decrease in value if the stock market goes down and will lock in gains when the stock market goes up. Your retirement planning and wealth preservation goals are inextricably tied together. The financial strategies you have in place today impact both your present lifestyle and the one you envision for the future. Both require a comprehensive understanding of your personal goals. This platform includes strategies to develop a Tax-free retirement income and ways to assure flexibility, growth, and no principal risk. These methods can be used to build your retirement, provide for college tuition, generate additional savings and other uses. Your successful financial survival plan requires careful planning. If you don't know what you are planning for, then you might not get what you want. "Plan your work and work your plan." Easy to read, easy to implement plans that will exceed traditional methods.

FEHBP is generally available to employees, annuitants, and their dependents. Eligible individuals may elect coverage in an approved health benefits plan for either individual or family coverage. For the 2013 plan year, there are about 230 different plan choices, including all regionally available options. As a practical matter, an individual's choice of plans is often limited to 10 to 15 different plans, depending on where the individual resides. While enrollees have a range of choices, they typically decide which options best match their needs, the amount of their wages they will contribute to health insurance, and how risk-averse they are to potential out-of-pocket costs. While most federal employees or annuitants reaching age 65 are automatically entitled to Medicare Part A, Medicare-eligible employees may also voluntarily choose to enroll in Medicare Part B and Part D. For individuals covered under a FEHBP plan as an annuitant, Medicare is the primary payer and FEHBP is the secondary payer. As a secondary payer, FEHBP could cover a share of Medicare deductibles and coinsurance for any services that are covered by both plans, and FEHBP would continue to reimburse for its covered services that are not covered by Medicare. FEHBP is administered by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which is statutorily given the authority to contract with qualified carriers offering plans and to prescribe regulations necessary to carry out the statute, among other duties. Some of OPM's additional duties include coordinating the administration of FEHBP with employing offices, managing contingency reserve funds for the plans, and applying sanctions to health care providers according to the prescribed regulations.

If your goal is to pass your insurance test the first time without the hassle of big thick study books, the Health Insurance, Iowa License Exam Manual is right for you. Every effort has been made to reduce the number of pages necessary to pass the test. The fresh format has smaller bites of information. Each exam topic is followed by multiple choice questions to reinforce your learning. Designed to stand alone or be used as a supplement, this easy to read manual is complete with a table of contents, insurance text, over 250 multiple choice practice questions, study tips and test taking tips. You will learn the exam topics needed to successfully pass your insurance test: types of policies, policy provisions, clauses, riders, social insurance, field underwriting procedures, other insurance concepts, and Iowa rules and regulations.

Nonfinancial Defined Contribution (NDC) schemes are now in their teens. The new pension concept was born in the early 1990s, implemented from the mid-1990s in Italy, Latvia, Poland and Sweden, legislated most recently in Norway and Egypt and serves as inspiration for other reform countries. This innovative unfunded individual account scheme created high hopes at a time when the world seemed to have been locked into a stalemate between piecemeal reforms of ailing traditional defined benefit schemes and introducing pre-funded financial account schemes. The experiences and conceptual issues of NDC in its childhood were reviewed in a prior anthology (Holzmann and Palmer, 2006). This new anthology serves to review its adolescence and with the aim of contributing to a successful adulthood. To this end the book offers a deep and comprehensive review of the experience of countries where NDC schemes have been in place for a decade or more, takes stock of the discussions of the place of NDCs in the world of pension reform, and addresses in detail important issues related to implementation and design, such as the of the "NDC story", making transparent the legacy costs, financial accounting, balancing, creation of a reserve fund, gender, and longevity. The book also contains analyses of the pros and cons of NDC contra FDC and a typical paygo DB scheme in two Latin American countries. The key policy conclusions include: (i) NDC schemes work well (as documented by the experience of Italy, Latvia, Poland and Sweden during the crisis) but there is room to make them work even better; (ii) Go for an immediate transition to the new scheme to avoid future problems; (iii) Identify the legacy costs and their explicit financing during the transition as they will hit you otherwise soon; (iv) Adopt an explicit stabilising mechanism to guarantee solvency; (v) Establish a reserve fund to guarantee liquidity; (vi) Elaborate an explicit mechanism to share the systemic longevity risk; and, last but not least; (vii) Address the gender implications of NDC with deeper analysis and open political discourse.

It is well known that migration law often imposes restrictions which severely in uence entitlement and access to social security bene ts for migrant workers. However, in the wake of new social problems created by economic globalization, new patterns of migration, and political pressures - and in an effort to make sure that countries treat each other's subjects equally and that rights to bene ts are maintained - an increasing number of countries today have entered into bilateral and multilateral social security agreements with a basis in human rights. A network of such agreements is now starting to extend over the entire globe.

Every year wildfire destroys thousands of homes, devastates countless lives and burns millions of acres. And every year people who've lost everything say, "We didn't think it would happen to us. If only we'd been better prepared." Now homeowners have a straight-talking handbook to help them get prepared, stay alive and rebuild their lives if disaster strikes. Surviving Wildfire's compelling combination of real-life experience and in-depth research makes it an indispensable tool for anyone living with wildfire risk. CONTENTS Assessing Your Risk; Firewise Building & Remodeling; Defensible Space You Can Live With; Advance Planning (A Pound of Prevention Can Save a Ton of Trouble); Evacuation Essentials (What to Take, When to Leave, How to Escape); Insurance (How Much You Need, What It Covers, How It Works); Filing a Claim (Insider Tips & Tactics); Recovery (Picking Up Your Pieces & Starting Over); Our Story; plus an Appendix with further resources for homeowners.

Most restaurant owners and partners need to start or catch up on their retirement and to have a complete exit strategy. They need control of their money. It needs to grow, not decline. The funds need to be accessible if along the way an emergency or opportunity arises. Most of all, it should be tax-free and allow a lifetime draw.

This country assessment is part of a set of studies planned in order to provide a better understanding of how to improve the business environment in which the private sector operates in Congo and other African countries. The assessment was conducted in order to establish a baseline of information, to help with political decision-making and provide market information. The private health sector assessment in the Republic of Congo provides a diagnosis of the nature and the effectiveness of the interface between the public and private sectors, establishes a dialogue on policy with stakeholders, and makes recommendations for reform that would bolster public and private involvement. The methodology is based on a supply and demand approach to identify market, policy and institutional barriers, and options for reducing these barriers by changing policies and initiatives. The information pertaining to demand reveals how users perceive private providers and their potential. The information pertaining to supply gives a better understanding of the role that private providers play and the challenges they encounter. The institutional information shows how Congo s institutions have facilitated or hampered the private participation. The study methodology includes the following aspects: (i) presentation of the general context of the private health sector in Congo, (ii) multidimensional analysis of demand, (iii) multidimensional analysis of supply, and (iv) analysis of institutional context. Options for action presented in this report include (i) policy and governance initiatives, (ii) regulatory initiatives, (iii) incentive initiatives, and (iv) concrete measures for public-private partnerships (PPP) in the health sector."

If your goal is to pass your insurance test the first time without the hassle of big thick study books, the Life Insurance, Iowa License Exam Manual is right for you. Every effort has been made to reduce the number of pages necessary to pass the test. The fresh format has smaller bites of information. Each exam topic is followed by multiple choice questions to reinforce your learning. Designed to stand alone or be used as a supplement, this easy to read manual is complete with a table of contents, insurance text, 250 multiple choice practice questions, study tips and test taking tips. You will learn the exam topics needed to successfully pass your insurance test: types of policies, policy riders, provisions, options, exclusions, completing the application, underwriting, delivering the policy, taxes, retirement, other insurance concepts, and Iowa rules and regulations.

"Live Your Life Insurance" shows you exactly how you can take advantage of one of the most common, but misunderstood, financial tools. In it, you'll discover exactly how you can use your life insurance to benefit you while you are alive -- and help you build financial security. In addition, it will reveal ways to make the best of your policy no matter what age you are. Most people don't realize what a powerful tool they have in their life insurance policies -- this book will be your guide.