A Los Angeles restaurant has come under fire after a prominent podcaster took issue with an unfamiliar surcharge on his guest check: an extra 4% fee automatically added to the bill to help fund the workers’ health insurance.
While Alimento, the restaurant in the Silver Lake neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, was singled out for the move, eateries across the US are increasingly upcharging diners beyond the stated food prices on menus. One in six restaurants said they are adding fees or surcharges to checks to combat higher costs, according to an August survey from the National Restaurant Association.
Alimento’s…
health life insurance
What is an Irrevocable Trust?
A trust is an estate planning tool that allows a person to control their assets during their lifetime and make provisions for incapacity and death. Many trusts are revocable, however, irrevocable trusts can be an incredibly useful way to plan for your future.
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One thing you should know about irrevocable trusts is that, unlike revocable or living trusts, irrevocable trusts cannot be changed or amended. They are set in stone.
A…
Biden to crack down on ‘junk’ health insurance
President Joe Biden is also slated to give a speech Friday touting his health care agenda, during which a White House official said he plans to “announce major actions to lower health care costs and crack down on junk fees.”
The White House declined to comment, and the Democrats with knowledge of the matter cautioned that the timing of the rollout could still change.
But the White House’s budget office signed off on the proposed rule last week, according to a regulatory review notice posted to its website, a signal that the regulations had cleared the final internal hurdles. The…
Japan aims to fix medical fee errors linked to My Number by August
The health ministry said Thursday that it would take measures to resolve the issue of My Number card holders being overcharged for medical expenses by August.
System errors over the use of My Number cards as health insurance certificates have caused many patients to have to pay the full amount of medical costs out of their own pocket instead of the regular amount — basically set at 30% for those between ages 6 and 70 .
The ministry presented its plan to resolve the issue at the first meeting of a new task force that day.
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New Reporting on Insurance Claim Denials Highlights ‘Scam’ of For-Profit Healthcare
A pair of new stories examining the increasingly common but shadowy US insurance industry practice of refusing to pay for certain treatments drew outrage Wednesday from patient advocates and Medicare for All proponents, who said the reporting further revealed the harms of for-profit healthcare.
The investigative outlet ProPublicafocused its attention on the “galling” secrecy around insurance companies’ claim denials, which frequently leave patients with massive medical bills and little clarity as to why their claims were rejected.
“How often insurance companies say no is a closely held secret,” ProPublica‘s Robin Fields reported. “There’s nowhere that a consumer or an employer…
Base Salary Increases, Social and Health Insurance Caps to Rise
While changes to the base salary (not to be confused with the minimum wage) generally only impact government workers, there are some changes to social and health insurance payments that foreign firms should be aware of.
What’s changed?
On November 11, 2022, the National Assembly approved a resolution to increase the base salary from July 1, 2023. This would see the base salary of government employees increase from VND 1,490,000 (US$63.25) to VND 1,800,000 (US$76.41) per month. This salary represents a 20.8 percent increase over the current base salary.
This was codified in Decree No. 24/2023/ND-CP dated May 14, 2023.…
The Dangers of the EHR
Electronic Health Records can be an incredibly helpful tool. However, they are not without fault. A recent warning highlights that electronic health records (EHRs) are a top target of cybercriminals. They can also lead to inappropriate billing if they are not set up correctly.
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The Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3) issued a warning to healthcare entities regarding EHR vulnerabilities and protections.
Protected health information (PHI) continues to hold its value…
Friday Health Plans of Nevada taken over by state regulators
A district court judge has ordered that a health insurance company that covers 2,805 Nevadans be placed in receivership under the control of the state Division of Insurance.
Day-to-day operations of Friday Health Plans will now be handled by the Division of Insurance. The insurer’s policies are still in effect and the court order, which was issued June 12, prohibits providers from denying health services.
The Division of Insurance first requested receivership for Friday Health Plans on June 1 after it received “inconsistent financial filings” from the company.
Friday Health Plans supported the move for regulators to take over its…