Debbie Perlman Blog

In the first analysis of its kind, researchers find that unemployment and reduced public sector healthcare spend in the 2008-2010 global economic crisis is linked to an increase in cancer deaths. They also find universal healthcare coverage appears to protect against this effect. For countries in the Organisation for Economic Development (OECD), they estimate the crisis is linked to over 260,000 additional cancer deaths, including 160,000 in the European Union. The researchers, from institutions in the United States and the United Kingdom, discuss their analysis in a paper published in The Lancet . In their paper, they explain how the crisis that hit economies around the world in 2008-2010 was accompanied by a substantial rise in unemployment and caused many countries to cut their spending on public sector healthcare. Several studies have shown that these changes are linked to negative effects on public health - for instance, increases in suicide and cardiovascul...

Health insurance is a type of insurance coverage that covers the cost of an insured individual's medical and surgical expenses. Insurers use the term "provider" to describe a clinic, hospital, doctor, laboratory, healthcare practitioner, or pharmacy that treats an individual. The "insured" is the owner of the health insurance policy or the person with the health insurance coverage. Depending on the type of health insurance coverage, either the insured pays costs out of pocket and receives reimbursement, or the insurer makes payments directly to the provider. In countries without universal healthcare coverage, such as the United States, health insurance is commonly included in employer benefit packages. In the U.S., the number of people with insurance decreased from 44 million in 2013 to fewer than 28 million in 2016, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The researchers put this down to recent changes in legislation. A Commonwealth Fu...

A Colorado insurance agent who created more than 80 phony life insurance policies has been sentenced to probation. Michael Nebeker, 38, pleaded guilty to four felony counts, but was only sentenced to 30 days in jail, six months of probation, and 120 hours of community service. As part of the plea agreement, 72 other charges were dismissed, according to a report by The Fort Collins Coloradoan. Nebeker was indicted last year after being accused of stealing information from members of his church and using it to create dozens of phony life insurance policies in order to collect commission, according to the Coloradoan. Investigators said that of 87 life insurance policies Nebeker wrote between July 23, 2015, and September 15, 2016, 83 were phony. Sixty-nine (69) people came forward to tell authorities that they did not buy policies from Nebeker or authorize the use of their information, the Coloradoan reported. Nebeker has also been charged with a slew of similar...

The insurtech movement isn’t just infusing the insurance supply chain with new solutions – it’s also bringing more diversity into the industry, according to one expert. “We’ve seen a lot more women coming into the field than we did before, especially on the technology side,” said Becky Schroeder (pictured), senior vice president of sales and marketing at Insurance Technologies Corporation (ITC) and a speaker at the upcoming Women in Insurance Miami event. “You have a lot more women in the technology industry in general than you do in the incumbent insurance companies. That, I think, is where we’ve seen a lot of diversity happen, though there’s been a lot of women that have been growing into leadership positions within those incumbents, too.” While there continues to be challenges in the advancement of diverse leaders, women are now in a position where they can rise up and face hurdles head on, added Schroeder, in part because of the ongoing conversations happen...

Climate advocates say an overhaul of the nation’s flood insurance program being unveiled by the Trump administration will spur communities around the country to better plan for extreme weather, but could drive up costs for some homeowners. The changes being announced Monday by the Federal Emergency Management Agency represent one of the most significant reforms in the history of the National Flood Insurance Program. It will tie premiums to the actual flood risk facing individual homes nationwide starting in October 2020. The current system sets prices based largely on whether a home is inside or outside of the 100-year flood plain. “This is badly needed,” said Shana Udvardy, a climate resilience analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists. She called the shift “a huge step in the right direction, so we can let communities, particularly those communities that have been repetitively flooded, know what their actual risk is.” But the change risks increasing cost...

The Boston-based health care organization founded by giant employers Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase have announced its name — Haven — and launched a new website at havenhealthcare.com. Haven will serve 1.2 million employees and families affiliated with Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase. Over time, its founders intend to share what it learns to help others. The three companies announced plans in January 2018 to create the organization, which they say is “free from profit-making incentives and constraints.” “We want to change the way people experience health care so that it is simpler, better and lower cost,” said Haven CEO Atul Gawande. “We’ll start small, learn from the experience of patients, and continue to expand to meet their needs.” Gawande became CEO in July 2018 and assembled a leadership team, including former Comcast executive Jack Stoddard as chief operating officer, Serkan Kutan as chief technology officer, Dana Safran as he...