Health: No Higher Premiums for Those with History of Med Problems? ; Baby Products Recalled

By BET.com published on Wednesday, March 25, 2009 and is filed under Nation. You can follow responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

No Higher Premiums for Those with History of Med Problems? In a surprising but welcomed turn, the health insurance industry has taken the unprecedented step of offering similar premiums people with pre-existing medical problems as those with no reported medical history. The offer, from America’s Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, “is a potentially significant shift in the debate over reforming the nation’s health care system to rein in costs and cover an estimated 48 million uninsured people,” The Associated Press reports. The proposal was contained in a letter to key senators, according to AP, in which the insurance giants said their members would “phase out the practice of varying premiums based on health status in the individual market” if all Americans are required to get coverage. “The offer here is to transition away from risk rating, which is one of the things that makes life hell for real people,” said health economist Len Nichols of the New America Foundation public policy center. “They have never in their history offered to give up risk rating.”

Baby Products Recalled Two baby items are being recalled because they are potentially harmful to infants, MSNBC reports. Fisher-Price is recalling tens of thousands of 3-in-1 high chairs because the seat can fall backward from the frame if the release is unlatched while a child is inside, and several thousand Baby Necessities pacifiers are being pulled from shelves because they failed safety tests, MSNBC reports. The high chairs have seat backs that can detach if not snapped fully into place. In at least one instance, a detached seat back resulted in a fractured skull. The high chairs, which were manufactured in Mexico, were sold at Target stores around the country between December 2008 and March 2009. Nearly 3,000 of the pacifiers, manufactured in China and imported by OKK Trading of Los Angeles, Calif., pose a serious problem, as the nipples can separate from the base and present a choking hazard. No incidents have been reported. The pacifiers were sold at dollar and discount stores around the country between August 2007 and January 2009. For information about the high chairs, contact 800-432-5437 or http://www.service.mattel.com or http://www.cpsc.gov. Regarding the pacifiers, phone 877-655-8697 or http://www.okktrading.com or http://www.cpsc.gov.

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