Big insurers ditch Obamacare exchanges

When Americans start shopping on the state-based exchanges next month, a couple of big insurers will likely be MIA.

Several of the larger players, including Aetna, UnitedHealthcare and Cigna, are treading cautiously into Obamacare, waiting to see how the start of the massive health care reform pans out in 2014.

Among the concerns is the fear that unhealthy Americans who previously could not obtain coverage will flood the exchanges and run up large health care bills.

"There are a lot of unknowns of who will actually enroll and what their needs will be," said Christine Monahan, a former senior health policy analyst with Georgetown's Center on Health Insurance Reforms. "A lot of major, for-profit [insurers] have less tolerance for losses and risk."

Aetna has actually pulled out of at least five exchanges after submitting proposals in 14 states. Its policies will not be found on the exchanges in Maryland, New York, Georgia, Ohio or its home state of Connecticut. The insurer recently bought Coventry Health Plans, which had also filed to be on several state exchanges, so Aetna is now reviewing both companies' remaining fillings. Read more >>

Study: New Yorkers Enjoy Less Freedom Than Residents In Any Other State In U.S.

New York may be first in taxes, but a survey has ranked it dead last in one important characteristic: freedom. That’s the verdict from one conservative think tank, CBS 2’s Lou Young reported.

Young visited the Byram River on Friday. It is one of the many borders that separate New York and Connecticut. A new study says the New York side of that river is part of the least free place in America; seriously.

“I think it depends on what criteria you’re using, you know? You talking about taxes? You talking about civil rights?” Ridgefield, Conn., resident Jane Davila said.

The study in question is talking mostly about taxes and business regulation. The libertarian think tank at George Mason University in Virginia says New York is dead last in freedom. Most people seem to think that’s a stretch, but many said they see the point. Read more >>

Sales skyrocket for bulletproof backpacks and kids’ body armor

Demand for a Utah company’s bulletproof backpacks and even child-sized body armor has skyrocketed in the aftermath of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn.

Amendment II has been in business for a couple of years now, selling its brand of lightweight armor called “Ryno-Hide” to police agencies and the military. They began putting sheets of the armor in children’s backpacks a year ago.

“The concept came up as things happened at schools,” Rich Brand, Amendment II’s Chief Operating Officer, told FOX 13 on Tuesday. “Children need protection as well.”

Brand said initially, they would only sell a handful of the backpacks and child-sized body armor at gun shows. The backpacks retail from $150-300. After the Newtown shooting that killed 20 children, the demand for the product skyrocketed. There has been so much demand, the company said, it has overloaded their website.

“Our armor was being bought to protect people, the ‘preppers,’ is the term,” Brand said of those who would typically buy it for personal use. “At this point, it’s transcended to everyone. Anyone who’s sending out a child into the world, seeing what can happen now, they want to protect their children.” Read more >>

Jobless claims increased to 382,000

The job market is cooling as a global slowdown and looming U.S. tax policy changes keep businesses hesitant about hiring. Persistent unemployment, a “grave concern” according to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, is a focus for policy makers today as they meet to consider whether new steps are needed to boost the world’s biggest economy.

“The labor market continues to be disappointing,” said Guy Berger, a U.S. economist at RBS Securities Inc. in Stamford, Connecticut, who projected claims would rise to 380,000. “We’d like to see the hiring side pick up. Companies are very cautious given all the uncertainty.” Read more >>

Connecticut Suicides At 20-Year High Fueled By Economic Downturn

Suicides reached a 20-year high in the state last year, fueled by a jump in deaths among men ages 40 to 59 — and experts suggest it might have something to do with the economic downturn. Of Connecticut's 288 suicides among men last year, 139 — nearly half — were those from 40 to 59, according to state statistics. There were a total of 371 suicides in 2011, including 83 women.

There is some evidence to suggest increased suicide is associated with the economic downturn, according to Gerard Sanacora, professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine. But, he said, it's difficult to say with certainty the cause of the increase in suicide among middle-aged Connecticut men, particularly based on one year of data. "I think it's fair to say it may be related," he said.

Sanacora said that a Swedish study, to be published later this year, found a direct correlation between the amount of time a man remains unemployed and the risk of suicide. If depression leads to increased drug and alcohol abuse, the suicide rate can increase even more, Sanacora added. "It's complicated ..." he said.

The most recent state suicide numbers bear out a relatively recent trend experts have found, according to James Siemianowski, a spokesman for the state Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services. Although he could not comment directly on the suicide statistics released by the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Siemianowski did say experts have been seeing an uptick in suicide among middle-aged men and women for a mix of reasons, including unemployment, failing health and poor relations with family. Read more >>

More Than 200,000 Long-Term Jobless Lose Unemployment Checks

More than 200,000 long-term jobless Americans will lose their unemployment checks this week, when eight states roll off the federal extended benefits program. Nearly half of them live in California, and the rest reside in Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, Colorado, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Texas.

 The federal extended benefits program has provided the jobless with up to 20 weeks of unemployment checks after they've run through their state and their federal emergency benefits, which together last up to 79 weeks.

But the extended benefits program is expiring throughout the country as the economy improves. To be eligible for these benefits, a state must show that its unemployment rate is at least 10% higher than it was in at least one of the past three years. More...