Word: marketers
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...frenzied betting by financial markets against the stability of Greek government bonds is a clear indication that many investors don't believe Athens will find a way to deal with its massive debt - at least not without an equally huge European bailout. But beyond the market speculation lies a longer-term question that is tormenting the 16 euro-zone nations: Could the Greek crisis be the beginning of the end for the common currency, just eight years after its first notes and coins were issued? Might the doubts and pressures that are driving the euro's value downward lead...
...Permitting what will essentially become an existential assault on the euro by financial markets isn't something leaders are going to let happen - the political and economic consequences would simply be too grave," says a French government adviser who preferred to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the situation. "The pressure being applied by market speculation is making things harder, but far from impossible. The euro isn't going away...
Still, it's true that the Anthem Blue Cross rate hike is a perfect example of why the current individual insurance market is unsustainable. After all, the justifications the company provides for why its rates have to increase do make sense. In a bad economy, the people most likely to cancel their health insurance are healthy people; this leaves the remaining so-called risk pool less healthy, and therefore more expensive to insure. (Waxman, in a follow-up letter to WellPoint, asked the company to explain why data show that it had more individually insured customers in California...
Under the Democratic health care reform plans, the individual insurance market would be far less volatile. Insurers would be prohibited from basing rates on health status, and rate increases would be transparent and regulated through national or state-based exchanges. Plus, with an individual mandate, most healthy individuals would be compelled to maintain coverage, diffusing risk throughout a larger pool. (Watch TIME's video "Uninsured Again...
...Anthem Blue Cross story in California is far from unique. According to the Associated Press, Maine, Oregon and Kansas are among states where consumers buying individual policies on the open market may see double-digit rate increases in 2010. Sandy Praeger, the Kansas insurance commissioner and head of the managed-care committee of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, said she agrees with others that Anthem Blue Cross is probably operating within the law in proposing its California rate hikes. "I thought the explanation made perfect sense," says Praeger. "In this job climate, if people are young and healthy, they...