Three weeks after Governor Deval Patrick warned that his administration might turn down health insurance premium increases it deemed excessive for individuals and small businesses, insurers have asked the state to approve rate hikes of 8 to 32 percent for April 1. Patrick last month said the state Division of Insurance would review rate increases exceeding 4.8 percent as part of a broader effort to rein in health care expenses. If the insurers’ latest round of increases is rejected, it would mark the first time Massachusetts has capped health insurance rates. Insurers say such a move would cause confusion in the marketplace, as they already have negotiated contracts with many individuals and small businesses at the new rates. Capping the rates would also result in immediate financial losses, insurers assert, forcing them to cut payments to health providers and threatening the viability of weaker hospitals. Executives from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the state’s largest health insurer, have asked state officials to delay their decision on rates. And the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, a trade group representing 11 other insurers in the state, has asked for time to let insurers propose cost-savings alternatives of […]
If the sign says ‘Catholic,’ then, by golly, it had better be by-the-book Catholic. That’s what U.S. bishops and agency heads are saying as they make moves across the country to ensure the Church’s directives, particularly on marriage and sexuality are followed to the letter by everyone who flies the brand flag. Today’s news is that Catholic Charities in the five-county Archdiocese of Washington D.C. will no longer offer health insurance to spouses of new employees (current employees on the plan retain the benefit). It’s timed to the legalization of same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia, which takes effect this week, and the announcement that neighboring Maryland recognize gay marriages performed out of state. Catholic Charities, which gets 22 million from the District, has already spun off foster care services rather than confront rules that allow gay foster parents. According to The Washington Post’s William Wan, the agency’s president, Edward J. Orzechowski said these moves allow the agency to … continue providing services, comply with the city’s new requirements and remain faithful to the church’s teaching. When Germany’s Joseph Ratzinger became the new Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, he named Archbishop […]
Twenty minutes to ten in the evening in Studio No. 6 in the Media Production City in 6 October governorate on the outskirts of Cairo. The heavily bearded, turbaned preacher Mohamed Hussein Yaqoub reviews final instructions about the positions of the cameras with the director before he goes on air on the religious satellite channel Al-Nas. At 10pm, images of a turbulent, dark blue sea and a tear-stained face appear on the screen against the background of a religious song, heralding the beginning of the popular ‘Fadfada’ show. Ensconced in his tiny mud-brick grocery shop in the small village of Al-Qarnashawi in Beheira 200km from Cairo 22- year-old and lightly bearded Ahmed Mustafa is glued to the screen of his TV set, tuned to his favourite religious show. The camera pans and settles on Yaqoub’s face. ‘How is the state of your relationship with God today?’ asks the lay preacher after a long introduction replete with prayers. The topic of the show is death, to the delight of Mustafa. ‘I used to lead a life of sin, watching obscene movies and committing immoral acts,’ he says. ‘Watching religious channels, and especially this series about death, has changed my […]
Rome, Italy (CNN) — A Nigerian man who sang in a Vatican choir arranged gay liaisons for an Italian government official who served in the unpaid role of papal usher, according to transcripts of wiretaps collected by Italian authorities. The wiretaps were gathered as part of an investigation into how public-works contracts were awarded. The purported conversations were between Angelo Balducci, who oversaw the Italian government’s awarding of construction contracts — including work on the airport at Perugia — and Thomas Chinedu Ehiem, a 39-year-old Nigerian singer. They were recorded between April 14, 2008, and January 20, 2010. In addition to working for the government, Balducci served as a ‘gentleman of his holiness,’ also known as a papal usher or ‘Vatican gentleman.’ The main responsibility of the ceremonial position is to welcome heads of state to the Vatican and escort them to see the Pope. Balducci is one of three public officials who, along with a businessman, have been jailed on charges related to corruption in the public works department. The public officials are alleged to have awarded contracts to businessmen who offered them favors, money, sex, and/or house remodeling in exchange. The suspects, who deny […]
If you’re trying to buy happiness, you’d be better off putting your money toward a tropical island get-away than a new computer, a new study suggests. The results show that people’s satisfaction with their life-experience purchases - anything from seeing a movie to going on a vacation - tends to start out high and go up over time. On the other hand, although they might be initially happy with that shiny new iPhone or the latest in fashion, their satisfaction with these items wanes with time. The findings, based on eight separate studies, agree with previous research showing that experience-related buys lead to more happiness for the consumer. But the current work provides some insight into why. Among the reasons: * People are more likely to mull over their material purchases than they are experiential ones, second-guessing themselves about whether they really made the best choice. * We tend to think of experiences more on their own terms, rather than in comparison with other things. * It’s easier for us to decide on an experiential purchase than a material one. […]
Schwartzreport Podcast
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
