Insurance Program

The Consumer Federation of America says yes. The nonprofit estimates Sandy will lead to 200,000 flood insurance claims, exhausting the National Flood Insurance Program. The CFA says Congress will have to swiftly authorize additional money to meet those claims. Makes you wonder if a polarized Congress will be able to pass such an authorization, or whether stalling will occur by politicians seeking to score some points.  But I digress.  Anyway, the CFA offers tips on how to get a fair claim payment on homeowner's insurance:  -     Report the claim as quickly as possible, because with insurance companies, it's first come, first served.

As someone who has made a career advocating on behalf of those that depend on Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income benefits, I was disheartened to read Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s column, "Disability insurance entitlement explodes under Obama" (March 3). The percentage increase in people on Social Security disability in recent years was expected, due to the aging Baby Boomers, half of whom are now reaching "high disability years. " Additionally, there has been an increase of women in the workforce in recent decades, women who are now eligible to draw on their own earnings record when they become disabled.

AN ESTIMATED 400,000 homeowners, sellers, buyers and mortgage refinancers around the country could be in for a financial shock at the stroke of midnight Dec. 31. That's when the national flood insurance program ends - at least temporarily - thanks to Congress' failure to reauthorize it before leaving Capitol Hill for the holidays. As of Jan. 1: New-home sales transactions in the approximately 20,000 communities that are covered by the national flood hazard law will be subject to indefinite delays or even cancellation because of the lack of insurance policies.

The Consumer Federation of America says yes. The nonprofit estimates Sandy will lead to 200,000 flood insurance claims, exhausting the National Flood Insurance Program. The CFA says Congress will have to swiftly authorize additional money to meet those claims. Makes you wonder if a polarized Congress will be able to pass such an authorization, or whether stalling will occur by politicians seeking to score some points.  But I digress.  Anyway, the CFA offers tips on how to get a fair claim payment on homeowner's insurance:  -     Report the claim as quickly as possible, because with insurance companies, it's first come, first served.

State Personnel Secretary Hilda E. Ford, who has worked for William Donald Schaefer for the past 17 years but lost his confidence over her management of the state employees' health insurance program, is retiring from government service.In a resignation letter sent to the governor earlier this month, Ms. Ford, 70, cited health and personal reasons for her decision to leave state government effective today, said a spokeswoman for the governor.She could not be reached for comment yesterday.Though she remained a member of Mr. Schaefer's Cabinet, Ms. Ford dropped out of sight after a controversy erupted in October involving the employees' insurance program.

WASHINGTON -- As flood waters recede in the Middle West, thousands of people will be turning to the Federal Flood Insurance program for the money they need to repair or rebuild their damaged homes. But in a development long predicted by its critics, the program is out of money.The homeowners will get their benefits because the program can borrow up to $1 billion from the Treasury, and that should be more than enough to pay their claims. But questions about how -- or if -- the program should repay the loans are raising questions about whether it should exist at all.Backers of the insurance program say its building code requirements have encouraged people to build their houses high enough and strong enough to withstand flood damage, thereby greatly reducing the need for federal disaster assistance.

WASHINGTON - With about 40 Maryland victims of Tropical Storm Isabel applauding and some wiping away tears, members of Congress yesterday grilled federal officials about claims of "rip-offs" and "fraud" in the government's flood insurance program. "I am sick and tired of consumers being exploited," Rep. Maxine Waters, a Democrat from California, told an insurance industry representative during a congressional hearing on flood insurance. "If Congress does not move very aggressively to better protect consumers, none of us should be sent back to Congress."

A CONTROVERSIAL life and disability insurance marketing plan by the nation's largest source of home mortgage money -- Fannie Mae -- has run into new trouble with congressional and regulatory overseers.Under development for the last year, Fannie Mae's "Mortgage Protection Plan" would provide certain first-time home borrowers with insurance coverage to pay off the loan in the event of the borrower's death, or help pay the monthly mortgage in the event of disability or extended unemployment.

Conflicts of interest and communication problems in the federal flood insurance agency have prevented Maryland victims of Tropical Storm Isabel from receiving adequate settlements for storm damage, according to a report that Baltimore County plans to release today. Relying on internal government documents, videotaped interviews with federal officials and letters from experts, the report by flood insurance activist Steve Kanstoroom paints a bleak picture of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's efforts on behalf of victims of last September's storm.

With remnants of Hurricane Ivan threatening Western and Central Maryland with heavy rain and flooding, the state's U.S. senators intensified pressure yesterday on the federal flood insurance program to settle dozens of outstanding claims from victims still struggling to recover from last year's Tropical Storm Isabel. Sens. Paul S. Sarbanes and Barbara A. Mikulski wrote the head of the National Flood Insurance Program, pressing the agency on cases in which constituents have asked for their help.

Pushing waterlogged belongings out the front door of her duplex, Suzy Cunningham trod over a buckle in the floorboards. "Our porch went all to hell," she lamented as she cleaned up last month after Tropical Storm Lee. "Their ain't a floor in Port Deposit that's even. " Nor was it the first time the waters of the Susquehanna River had rushed through this Cecil County town that locals call "Port. " Most of the houses built in the lowlands between the river and North Main Street show the scars of decades of flooding.

I was shocked on Sept. 22 to see the headline in the Baltimore Sun commentary section, "Yes, Social Secretly is a Ponzi scheme. " Nothing could be further from the truth. Obviously, the author of the article is unfamiliar with how the Social Security program operates or he is joining some of the current protagonists trying to frighten the American people into believing that the insurance system is about to collapse. I would like to cite a few facts to demonstrate that Social Security continues to be the bedrock of economic security for the aged, the disabled and the survivors of wage earners in our society.

Howard County is moving ahead with plans to convert a highly regarded health program for the uninsured into a low-cost regional insurance co-operative, despite the increasing pressure to reverse the national health care law that allows such an initiative. County officials are considering the creation of small neighborhood walk-in clinics for co-op members, staffed by a salaried doctor, a nurse, a care coordinator and a clerk. Eliminating the traditional fee-for-service system could deliver care more cheaply, advocates said.

General Dynamics Corp. and its subcontractors expect to hire as many as 110 workers in Baltimore County who will work on computer systems for a new government program that will help retirees receive health care coverage, officials said Thursday. The defense contractor said Thursday that its information technology division won an $80 million award to work on the Department of Health and Human Services' Early Retiree Reinsurance Program. The program is part of the health care reform package that was passed this year and is intended to help retirees who are not yet eligible for Medicare obtain affordable insurance.

G ov. Martin O'Malley went into this General Assembly session with a proposal to secure nearly $127 million in federal funds that would allow the state to lower the unemployment insurance taxes of Maryland's businesses. The response from the business community? Fierce opposition. Business leaders worried that delaying the increases would destabilize the unemployment insurance fund and lead to a bigger bite later, and they complained about the strings attached to the federal funds.

Health insurance is a hot topic these days. President Barack Obama has big plans to reform it, though his ideas are a bit fuzzy. Congressional negotiators are trying to craft legislation to change it. All these efforts are premised on the notion that we need more government regulation and mandates to solve our health insurance problems. But considering that health care is already highly regulated and heavily funded by the federal and state governments, we should ask if further political involvement would reduce our health care problems or add to them.

Moving to reduce the ranks of uninsured Marylanders, the Glendening administration is asking the legislature to provide state-subsidized health coverage to more than 19,000 children in working families. The proposal, backed by House Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr. and Senate leaders, seeks to build on a 2-year-old program that insures 63,000 children and pregnant women. Under the legislation considered by the Senate Finance Committee yesterday, the state would extend coverage beginning in July 2001 to thousands of families earning between $33,000 and $50,000 -- at an annual cost to the state of about $7 million.

House and Senate negotiators in Annapolis agreed yesterday to create a $21 million insurance program to help 30,000 low-income senior citizens afford the high cost of prescription drugs. Under the program, expected to receive final General Assembly approval Monday, those eligible would pay a $10 monthly premium and receive up to $1,000 a year in prescriptions. There would be a co-payment ranging from $10 to $35, depending on the drug. The program is a compromise between competing plans to help some of the 200,000 Medicare recipients in Maryland who lack prescription drug coverage.

Civilian workers who suffered devastating injuries while supporting the U.S. war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan have come home to a grinding battle for basic medical care, artificial limbs, psychological counseling and other services. The insurance companies responsible for their treatment under taxpayer-funded policies have routinely denied the most serious medical claims. Those same insurers - primarily American International Group - recorded hundreds of millions of dollars in profits on this business.

Monday was a particularly embarrassing day for President Barack Obama. His nominee for health care czar, Tom Daschle, withdrew from consideration after a tax problem, a dust-up that forced a first presidential "I messed up." Yesterday, President Obama had the chance to improve the lives of millions of low-income children in this country. He signed into law a bill that will extend health care insurance to kids whose families can't afford it. That should count as a particularly satisfying day. The State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)