Recently, Humana Military Healthcare Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Humana Inc. (HUM), announced the availability of an additional benefit for the beneficiaries of the TRICARE program (a medical program under the Department of Defense) in the South Region.  Humana Military Healthcare Services offers health insurance coverage under the TRICARE program to the dependents of active duty military personnel and retired military personnel coupled with their dependents. Humana Military has been a contractor of the Department of Defense for the administration of the TRICARE program since Jul 1, 1996.  The new benefit provides the families of soldiers enrolled in the TRICARE program access to a Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Management Program. They will be able to call a dedicated registered nurse and receive education and coaching on how to deal with this lung disease which blocks airflow thereby resulting in breathing difficulties.  Humana started ...

Today the Census Bureau released its report on incomes, poverty and health insurance coverage for 2008. Most of it was (not surprisingly) bad news. Here are some of the highlights (lowlights?): The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that real median household income in the United States fell 3.6 percent between 2007 and 2008, from $52,163 to $50,303. The nation’s official poverty rate in 2008 was 13.2 percent, up from 12.5 percent in 2007. There were 39.8 million people in poverty in 2008, up from 37.3 million in 2007. The number of people without health insurance coverage rose from 45.7 million in 2007 to 46.3 million in 2008, In 2008, the earnings of women who worked full time, year-round was 77 percent of that for corresponding men, not statistically different from the 2007 ratio. The ...

One of the traits that people prize most in dogs is loyalty. However, the question then becomes loyalty to whom or what? In the case of the "Blue Dog Caucus," the group of Congressional Democrats that has emerged as the major player in health care reform, it appears that its loyalty is first and foremost to its big campaign contributors -- the health insurance firms and the drug companies. The general claim that they make is that they are worried about the fiscal consequences of health care reform, but when it comes to specifics, they are most opposed to the very elements of the reform package that are most likely to be successful in driving down the overall cost. It is easy to figure out why the GOP is united in opposition to the primary plans being debated in Congress. (Some members of the GOP have proposed ...

U.S. stocks declined for the third consecutive day after Standard & Poor's cut its credit ratings and outlooks for 22 banks and bellwether FedEx Corp's weak profit forecast reignited worries of a prolonged recession.  Nevertheless, consumer and technology stocks helped Nasdaq end the day higher with a 0.7% gain.

Pre-market futures suggest a flat opening as traders look for concrete signs of an economic recovery, amid fears of increased government interventions and a crushed economic rebound.

Commodities and financial shares led the decliners yesterday, but healthcare stocks rose after Democratic leaders began working on a healthcare overhaul that would make it mandatory for all Americans to have health insurance coverage.  Shares traded in a narrow range, swinging between gains and losses.  Among S&P industry groups, financials led the declining issues with a 2.2% fall.  Oil and basic materials both recorded a 1.6% fall.  Stocks of consumer services companies

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Highlights include Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Abbott Laboratories, Inc. (ABT), Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMLN), Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY), Merck & Co. (MRK), GlaxoSmithKline, plc (GSK) and Sanofi-Aventis SA (SNY).We are only just a few days into first quarter earnings, and already a not-so-encouraging trend is emerging as it relates to diabetes drugs and testing products. Diabetes products are experiencing a negative impact from the broad, weak economy as diabetics are looking to save money in how they treat their disease. These include testing less often and using less doses of medication. As a result, wholesalers are looking to carry lean inventory on these products.Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reported earnings on Tuesday, and although we had expected some weakness in diabetes product sales, we were surprised to see U.S. diabetes sales down 11%. This is significantly weaker ...