Free Insurance Guide

03/19/12

With a growing number of baby boomers moving out of their houses and into rented apartments, FindLaw.com has compiled a list of tips for older adults re-entering the rental market.

Age discrimination is against the law, making it illegal for landlords to refuse a potential tenant based on his or her age, points out Stephanie Rabiner of FindLaw. Renegotiating a lease every year, rather than allowing it to turn into a month-by-month rental, can help save money on rent hikes.

Its the landlords responsibility to make repairs around an apartment, something that might slip the minds of older adults who are used to fixing up their homes.

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- The Supreme Court doesn’t have to strike down all of President Barack Obama’s healthcare law to leave his plan to extend healthcare coverage to millions of uninsured Americans in a state of political turmoil.

If the high court opted only to reverse the law’s unpopular individual mandate, which requires most adults to purchase health insurance, the Obama administration could look to several alternatives to ensure that enough people participate in coverage to make the law work as envisioned.

The options range from a new tax on individuals who do not acquire coverage to financial incentives that could encourage young, healthy people to sign up for insurance. Read more…

03/13/12

Many older patients who experience a short-term hospital stay become long-term users of prescription painkillers, according to a recent study.

The research, from the University of Toronto, looked at roughly 400,000 short-stay surgery patients aged 66 or older. Of those, 28,000 were prescribed a narcotic painkiller, or opioid, within one week of surgery, and 30,000 were prescribed an opioid within one year of the surgery. After one year, roughly 3,000 patients were identified as long-term opioid users, according to the research.

“Our findings suggest that the prescription of codeine after short-stay surgery may contribute to the use of other potent opioids, such as oxycodone, which have been shown to be associated with increased morbidity and mortality,” the researchers concluded.

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Health insurance premiums are expected to surpass the average household income by 2037, according to new data released this week. The report found that even if health care reform succeeds in lowering health care costs, premiums are expected to increase substantially over the next 25 years.

Health Insurance Premiums Increasing at Rapid Pace

New health insurance premiums projections were released in the latest issue of Annals of Family Medicine by Richard A. Young and Jennifer E. Devoe, medical doctors with John Peter Smith Hospital and the Department of Family Medicine.

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Homeowners insurance rates are expected to climb considerably in 2012 after years of steady increases, according to the Insurance Information Institute. The agency said that premiums of major insurance companies like Allstate and others will likely rise above the national average premium of $1,000 for the first time in history.

Homeowners Insurance Premiums to Jump 5 Percent

The Insurance Information Institute revealed that homeowners insurance premiums will experience a significant hike during 2012. The average cost homeowners will pay for their coverage this year is expected to rise to $1,004, which is a 5 percent hike from last year.

For some states, those average insurance costs could push even higher.

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