Retirement Annuities: A False Sense of Security

March 22, 2010

A lot of people worry about outliving their money. Commercial annuities, sold by insurance companies, promise to keep paying as long as the beneficiary lives. So it’s a good idea to buy annuities with our retirement funds, right? I don’t think so – at least not for most people, and not right now. On this point (and quite a few others), I find myself disagreeing with the Obama administration. Assistant …

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Good Intentions, Unintended Consequences

February 25, 2010

When it comes to making good health care policy, good intentions are not enough. That is something President Obama and lawmakers should remember as they meet today to discuss health care reform. And, if they find that maxim slipping their minds, they need only look to New York for a reminder. In 1992 then-Gov. Mario Cuomo signed a state law regulating the health insurance industry which he predicted would be …

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When Families Insure Their Insurers

September 17, 2009

Nathan Wilkes had to fight for his son’s life. But Wilkes didn’t take a bullet or fend off an attacking animal; he started his own company. At age 4, Thomas Wilkes had already run through the lifetime limit on the insurance plan Nathan had through his Denver-area job designing and building data networks. Although the Wilkeses were insured, their insurance company was only obliged to shell out $1 million for …

Protect Us From Our Protection

June 18, 2009

Health insurance is supposed to provide you with the assurance that if you have a medical emergency, you won’t be crushed by debt as well. But what if your insurance company drops your policy just when you really need it? Jennifer Wittney Horton of Los Angeles told a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee this week that she believed she was protected. Then, when she needed costly treatment, her coverage was …

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