HAMILTON, Bermuda--(Business Wire)--
Max Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MXGL; BSX: MXGL BH) announced today that W.
Marston (Marty) Becker, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Peter Minton,
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and Angelo Guagliano,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Max Bermuda Ltd., will participate in
Keefe, Bruyette & Woods 2009 Insurance Conference being held at the Waldorf
Astoria Hotel, 301 Park Avenue (between 49th and 50th Streets), New York City.
Max Capital`s presentation is on September 10, 2009 at 9.30 am to 10:10 am
Eastern Time. The presentation is being webcast and can be accessed through the
company`s website: www.maxcapgroup.com.
Operating from offices in Bermuda, Ireland, the USA and at Lloyd's, Max Capital
Group Ltd. is a global enterprise dedicated to providing diversified specialty
insurance and reinsurance products to corporations, public entities, property
and casualty insurers, and life and health insurers.
This release includes statements about future economic performance, finances,
expectations, plans and prospects of Max Capital Group Ltd. that constitute
forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking
statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those suggested by such statements. For
further information regarding cautionary statements and factors affecting future
results, please refer to the Company`s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K,
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed subsequent to the Annual Report and other
documents filed by the Company with the SEC. The Company undertakes no
obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statement whether as
a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
Source : http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS131767+02-Sep-2009+BW20090902
Four experts in Birmingham’s health care community said Wednesday President Barack Obama should amend his health care reform efforts by focusing more on cutting costs through tort reform, education and technology.
During the Birmingham Business Journal’s breakfast panel discussion titled “Obama Health Care Plan: How will it impact Alabama,” the panelists said Alabama’s obesity epidemic and overutilization of health care services are driving up the costs of medical insurance.
Educating the state’s population and providing incentives to promote healthier lifestyles would cut costs and that would eventually translate to lower health care premiums, they said at the forum held at Samford University’s Brock Recital Hall.
University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System CEO Will Ferniany said dollars spent on education do more to cut costs than money spent on health care delivery and health care reform is critical to the nation’s economic health as it competes in a global economy. Ferniany said U.S. firms are at a disadvantage because of skyrocketing health care costs.
“Health care is an important part of our economy,” Ferniany said.
BlueCross BlueShield of Alabama Chief Operating Officer Terry Kellogg said a state’s education level directly correlates to the health of its population. Alabama lags behind most of the country in both categories.
Kellogg favors incentives for people who engage in healthy behaviors. He said some large companies will see some premium savings for their employees’ participation in healthy living programs, although those savings won’t trickle down to smaller firms.
Lenora Pate, Sirote & Permutt’s health care practice group chair, doubts Obama’s plan for a public insurance option will come to fruition. She said reform likely will come through simple and incremental measures, not the sweeping overhaul Obama started the year with.
Two elements being debated are the creation of state health pools or allowing insurance companies to offer plans across state lines. BlueCross’ Kellogg didn’t see those options driving down prices.
Dr. Judith Favor said tort reform is needed to cut health care costs. She said 40 percent of health care costs are associated with defensive medicine and malpractice insurance. Curtailing frivolous lawsuits and capping malpractice monetary awards would help physicians drive costs by eliminating many unnecessary or redundant procedures.
“It’s amazing (tort reform) has not been at the forefront of the debate,” Favor said.
Source : http://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stories/2009/08/31/daily21.html
Here comes Labor Day and with it, the return of Congress. It has the White House looking to shake up its strategy in order to get the president's health care plan enacted before year's end.
"The president is considering all of his options on how to advance the debate and get reform passed," said a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In recent weeks, the White House was taken aback by the ferocity of opposition to its health care plan as expressed to members of Congress of both parties during their town meetings last month with constituents.
To the extent there were any dog days of August, the dog turned out to be a pit bull.
And yesterday's CBS News poll provided the White House with stark new evidence that despite it's best efforts, 60 percent of those surveyed say President Obama has failed to clearly explain his plans for health care reform. Asked if they understand his ideas, 67 percent said "no, they're confusing." (Read more from the poll here)
But it's not for lack of trying. Our CBS News tally shows that Mr. Obama has given 27 speeches specifically on his health care objectives. Add in other remarks, events and statements in which he mentioned health care and the number soars to 119.
Mr. Obama is said by aides to be considering a big speech as early as next week to lay it on the line to Congress with more specificity about what he wants in a health care bill.
But an examination of his most recent speech on health care on August 20th, shows that he's been very specific about the provisions he wants in a health care bill.
Health Care Exchange: "We're going to have a marketplace where people can select the options that work best for them, the insurance plan that works best for them."
Government-run Health Insurance Option: "if we have a public option in there, that can help keep insurers honest; it can provide a benchmark for what an affordable basic plan should look like."
Pre-Existing Condition: "...insurance companies can't prevent you from getting health insurance because of a preexisting condition."
No Caps on Benefits: "There shouldn't be lifetime caps or yearly caps where you bump up against it and suddenly you've got huge out-of-pocket costs that drive you into bankruptcy."
No Loss of Coverage: "You should be able to keep your health insurance if you get sick or you lose your job or you change jobs."
Medicare: "We are going to make Medicare more efficient, guaranteeing today's seniors better benefits than they have right now."
Medicare Rx Coverage: "We're going to make sure that that doughnut hole in the middle of their prescription drug plan, that that doughnut hole is closed..."
Mr. Obama has been specific, though he left it to Congress to draft the legislative language implementing his objectives, and that's proved to be his problem.
And based on growing public opposition to his plan, the problem he's up against is more ideology than specificity.
Source : http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/09/02/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5282050.shtml
