Thank You Vets!!!

Thanks to America's veterans, past and present, who have kept us safe and free.

Structured Settlements Not So Bad After All 

From the CBS Money Watch blog: "A structured settlement offers advantages that you can't get anywhere else." The income is exempt from federal and state taxes, as well as "taxes on interest, dividends, capital gains and the dreaded AMT." Also, by creating "a trust to pay for injury-related care and then funding that trust through a structured settlement," you aren't considered "to 'own' the future annuity payments and therefore you have a greater chance of maintaining your eligibility" for government means-tested programs. The structured settlement will also provide guaranteed income in the future and "keep you -- and especially anyone else -- from wasting the money funding your future." 

Panel: Electronic Medical Records Pose Safety Risks 

"Poorly designed, hard-to-use computerized health records are a threat to patient safety, and an independent agency should be set up to investigate injuries and deaths linked to health information technology," according to a report by the Institute of Medicine. The report "comes as the government is spending billions of dollars in incentive payments to encourage doctors and hospitals to adopt electronic health records."  Read more.

Report: Tort Reform Made Texas Healthcare Worse

According to the Austin American Statesman, a report, titled "A Failed Experiment," by Public Citizen "says the 2003 Texas law that limited damage awards in malpractice suits has caused health care spending to rise and has not significantly increased the number of doctors in Texas." While "Gov. Rick Perry has touted the benefits of the law," the report found "that, contrary to Perry's claims, the per capita increase in the number of doctors practicing in the state has been much slower since the state passed the so-called tort reform law than it was before the law." The report concludes "that using Texas as a model would benefit doctors and insurers - not residents."
 

The Fort Worth Star Telegram writes that the "report shows that healthcare costs and insurance premiums have continued to rise in Texas even more than the national average since the state's tort reform legislation, and that the number of uninsured Texans has continued to climb."  Still the report did find that medical malpractice insurance premiums as well as payments have decreased. 

Report: More Die from Prescription Overdoses than Cocaine, Heroin

The National Journal reported, "More Americans now die from overdosing on painkillers than from overdosing on heroin and cocaine combined," according to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden acknowledged that "deaths linked to opioid pain relievers such as OxyContin, Vicodin, and Opana have become an epidemic...adding that the rate of deaths has more than tripled in the past decade." Read more.

Today's SUVs, Pickups Safer

Today's SUVs and pickups pose far less risk to people in cars and minivans than previous generations, a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows. Until recently, SUVs and pickups were more likely than cars or minivans of the same weight to be involved in crashes that killed occupants of other cars or minivans. That's no longer the case for SUVs, and for pickups the higher risk is much less pronounced than it had been. The researchers attribute much of the change to two things: improved crash protection in the cars and minivans-thanks to side airbags and stronger structures-and newer designs of SUVs and pickups that align their front-end energy-absorbing structures with those of cars. Read more.  

Distracted Parents Teaching Kids to Drive

USA Today reported that "Despite a four-year national campaign against distracted driving, a majority of parents admit being distracted by cellphones or other electronic devices - even while teaching their children to drive."  According to a survey by State Farm, "53% of parents admitted being distracted by the devices at least once while they were teaching their teens to drive. Teens surveyed put the number higher: 61% said their parents were distracted while helping them learn to drive."  Read more.