For Many, Health Care Relief Begins Today
Today is the six-month anniversary of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. What does this mean? “Starting now,” says the New York Times, “insurance companies will no longer be permitted to exclude children because of pre-existing health conditions, which the White House said could enable 72,000 uninsured to gain coverage. Insurers also will be prohibited from imposing lifetime limits on benefits.”
The new law also keeps insurers from dropping expensive customers after discovering technical mistakes on their applications. It requires companies to offer coverage to children under 26 on their parents’ plan, along with offering a number of procedures without co-payments and the option to keep a doctor when joining a new plan.
GOP ‘Pledge to America’ to call for U.S. spending freeze
House Republicans are set to unveil their “Pledge to America” today. The plan “proposes reining in the size of the federal government and deficit,” according to the Washington Post,”charting a conservative agenda that illustrates how they would govern if voters give them a congressional majority in pivotal midterm elections.” It’ll serve as a guidebook for all Republican candidates in the upcoming elections.
The pledge is a 21-page document, drafted by Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California. It mirrors the “Contract with America,” which the the GOP used to win back the House majority in 1994. The highlight of the plan calls for a reduction in spending to fiscal 2008 levels, except in military spending. Democrats have dismissed the “Pledge to America” as a re-packing of Bush-era ideas.
Zuckerberg overtakes Jobs and Murdoch on Forbes rich list
After pledging to donate $100 million to Newark public schools yesterday, things just keep getting better for Mark Zuckerberg. In its new rankings, Forbes lists the Facebook CEO as the 35th richest person in the U.S, ahead of both Steve Jobs and Rupert Murdoch. One of only eight people under 40 to make the list, the 26-year-old Zuckerberg is valued at $6.9 billion.
Bill Gates tops the list once again with his Microsoft shares giving him a value of $54 billion. Warren Buffet comes in second, trailing Gates by a measly $9 billion. Tech companies dominate the list with 13 of the top 50. The entry value needed for a spot in the 400 rose to a solid $1 billion this year.
Bentley recalls cars over fear pedestrians could be impaled by its Flying-B hood ornament
Yes, you read that right. Return your Bentley now. The ultra-luxury car company is recalling hundreds of vehicles over fears that its hood ornament, a winged “B,” could possibly impale pedestrians. “The winged B is meant to retract if there is a collision,” according to MSNCS, “but the U.K.-based Bentley Motors said it had discovered the mechanism needed to be better protected against rust and corrosion.”
The recall will affect 620 cars in the U.S. and Canada and 1,436 worldwide. It concerns any Azure, Arnage, or Brooklands models sold between October 2006 and 2009. Do not fret, Bentley lovers. You will be able to keep your flying “B” on the hood. Instead, a new retraction system will be installed in each recalled vehicle to prevent any problems.