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Mainstream
Media Finally Catches on to Disability Fraud: 60 Minutes Reports on
"Disability USA" - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
At long last, mainstream media is giving play to widespread disability
fraud running rampant in the US. Steve Kroft on 60 Minutes reports on
the alarming state of the federal disability program, which has exploded in
size in the last six years and could become the first federal benefits program
to run out of money. The video is about 14 minutes long. Kroft interviews
senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. Kroft also attempts to interview a couple of
law firms that make the most off of putting people on disability for a fee. One
firm has a perfect track record, where every disability case was approved. Coburn
selected cases at random and found 25% of the cases were fraudulent and another
20% were "highly questionable". The "system is being gamed
pretty big right now", said Coburn. "You need look no further than
disability lawyers trolling for new clients." The 60 Minute report names
the firms, and they are under investigation. None of them would talk to 60
Minutes, citing legal advice.
Health
insurance shoppers suffer sticker shock - (www.sfgate.com)
Shelly Ross of San Francisco was
looking forward to the opening of the new health insurance marketplaces under
the Affordable Care Act because she was hoping to get a better deal. But
now that she's seen her options, Ross is disappointed. Turns out she earns
slightly too much money to qualify for federal financial aid to help her buy
coverage in the state's exchange, called Covered California. And because
policies have to be upgraded to comply with the new law, her rates are going up
nearly 10 percent. "Every plan is going to cost more than what I pay
now. And what I pay now is ridiculous," said Ross, 47, who owns a
cat-sitting business called Tales of the Kitty and pays more than $400 a month
for her insurance. "It's a great thing for some people, but it's certainly
not helping me." Ross is among the millions of Americans who buy
coverage on their own, but must find new coverage because the health law has
rendered their current policies outdated. But Ross, like many others, is not
finding the plans sold through the Affordable Care Act to be
particularly affordable.
JPMorgan’s
Dimon Posts First Loss on $7.2 Billion Legal Cost - (www.bloomberg.com) JPMorgan Chase & Co. reported
its first loss under Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon after
taking a $7.2 billion charge to cover the cost of mounting litigation and
regulatory probes. The third-quarter loss was $380 million, or 17 cents a
share, compared with a profit of $5.71 billion, or $1.40, a year earlier, the
New York-based company said today in a statement. The last time the bank failed
to report a profit was the second quarter of 2004, when William Harrison was
CEO. “Over the last few weeks the environment has become highly charged and
very volatile,” Chief Financial Officer Marianne Lake said
on a conference call. “Things have been very fluid and the situation escalated
to the point where we are facing very large premiums and penalties, the level
of which have gone far beyond what we reasonably expected.”
Massachusetts
Weighs Puerto Rico Debt Impact on Mutual Funds - (www.bloomberg.com) Massachusetts’ chief securities regulator will
open an inquiry into the impact of Puerto Rican debt on the state’s mutual fund
investors. The investigation is meant to determine the extent of investors’
risk tied to the island’s weakening municipal debt obligations, Massachusetts
Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin said today in a statement. “Puerto
Rico is currently on the verge of insolvency and many of its
obligations are at or near junk rating,” according to the statement. “The risks
associated with its municipal debt obligation are disproportionally high.” Interest
on debt issued by Puerto Rican governments is typically tax-free across the
U.S., and yields on some issues topped 10 percent in recent weeks amid doubt
about whether investors will be repaid. The bonds’ high yields and tax-exempt
status make them popular with retail investors, according to the statement.
Law
of Career Security: France's Minister of Digital Economy Orders Telecom
Companies "to be Virtuous and Patriotic" and to Use Alcatel-Lucent to
Prevent Layoffs - (Mish at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
In France, companies need approval from the unions and the government to
fire workers. The government gets to decide if you make too much money to lay
anyone off. Moreover, the government can decide you make too much money, even
if you have a loss. Then there's the newly passed "Law of Career Security"
to consider. Yes, that's the precise title. It took me a bit to piece this
story together because translations from French are particularly difficult.
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