Bud, ganja, grass, herb, Mary Jane, weed…the ever-controversial marijuana has many nicknames, and just as people can’t decide what to call it, the United States can’t make up its mind on the drug’s legality, uses and whether or not insurance companies should cover it. It is a slippery slope, with many pros and cons on both sides of the argument, but just where are people coming from? Medical marijuana is legal in many other countries around the world, so why not here in the United States? Will we ever reach a point where not only is cannabis legal for medicinal purposes, but it is covered under a health insurance plan like other drugs of its ilk?

Medical Marijuana Facts and Figures

Medical marijuana, henceforth to be referred to simply as “cannabis” to save my poor fingers the typing exertion, has a different story if you are comparing state versus federal level here in the United States. At the federal level, cannabis is illegal, period due to falling under the Controlled Substances Act. As far as cannabis as a medical treatment goes, states have the right to choose whether the drug is or isn’t legal. Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington all have approved and regulate cannabis for medicinal use. One thing that it is important to be clear on: medical use does not mean that the drug is approved for a prescription as medicine.

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Health care providers have to have seen this coming. It’s not like we woke up one morning and saw “Hey, the country’s in a recession.” The economic downturn was gradual and glaringly obvious, and people and organizations everywhere did their best to make preparations. However, many states throughout the United States are preparing to make drastic and unprecedented cuts in health care funds, and this couldn’t be coming at a worse time for consumers. The unemployment rate in December was 7.2%, which was up from November’s 6.8%. There doesn’t seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel any time soon (you can’t help but feel bad for the complete mess that Barack Obama is inheriting) and it is important to know how these health care cuts might affect you and your family.

Health Services for Poor First to Go

Obama has been promising since the inception of his campaign that he wanted to extend health care coverage to include more affordable and widely available health insurance to those in lower income brackets. Now, before he has even been sworn in as the next President of the United States, states are already tossing programs like these out the window. Many states have been gung-ho in the fight to expand their coverage for the working poor, but with the state of the economy the way it is, these once hopeful programs are getting the boot. And the working poor are now becoming more steadily just the “poor,” as jobs continued to get slashed across industries.

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Insurance carriers are always having to shell out the money-that’s just a part of what they do. When people need to draw on their insurance plans to cover things that happen, insurance companies open their pockets to make it happen. 2008 broke into the top numbers in terms of expenses for insurance companies. Hitting the #3 slot happened due to multiple catastrophes around the world in this past year, causing millions to turn to their insurance companies in the wake of a disaster.

Cyclones, Earthquakes and Hurricanes: Oh, My!

If you watch the news, you know that this hasn’t been an easy year for people around the world. There was the devastating earthquake in China, and the horrendous cyclone in Myanmar, and the list goes on. In fact, if you look up “2008 natural disasters” and visit a few different web pages, you might be surprised at how many events human beings endured around the world this past year. Flooding, tropical storms, landslides, typhoons and in so many different countries. All of these events contributed to making 2008 the 3rd most expensive year for insurers. When people lose everything, it’s insurance companies who take the hit.

Catastrophes and Insurance by the Numbers

Although there were less loss-producing events around the world this past year (dropping 210 from 2007), insured losses in 2008 were 50% higher than the previous year, coming in at $45 billion, as overall losses stood at $200 billion, when they had only been $85 billion in 2007. This past year, over 220,000 people were killed as the result of a natural disaster.

In looking at these horrible events individually, it was the United States who got hit the hardest in terms of losses. Hurricane Ike blasted through the nation like the nasty storm that it was, leaving insurers to clean up the mess to the tune of $15 billion. Following a close second was the terrible Hurricane Gustav, who caused overall losses of $10 billion and and insured loss of $5 billion.

Can This Insurance Trend Be Reversed?

This is a hard question to ponder, because when you’re dealing with things like natural disaster, the solution is quite complex. Such increases in the number of natural disasters and occurrences is caused by changes in our climate like global warming, rising sea levels and higher temperatures everywhere. This may not be able to be reversed, but we can certainly do things to slow it down or even stop it completely. This would require radical changes around the world, and we’re obviously looking at greater issues here than just insurance costs. Human life and quality of it is much more valuable, and we don’t want to lose either.

In the meantime, look over all of your insurance needs. Having health insurance is the first place to start. If you are looking for more information about how to protect your family, take a look online to help some answers to any questions you might have. If you are renting a home, get renters insurance for all your property within. If you own your home, home insurance is a wonderful investment for your future. Life insurance and everything in between may seem like a waste of money as you sign those checks each month, but in the event of an emergency, you will be so happy you spent your money wisely.

photo credit: eschipul

Last year was quite the roller coaster of a year. Even if your personal life was a bit of a snooze-fest, there was enough happening with the rest of the world to keep things interesting. We elected a new President, the country’s finances came crashing down around us, the auto companies took a swim and the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series. Jaw-dropping things weren’t just occurring in the stock and housing markets-they were happening in medicine and health as well. From ravings about running to BDNF, read on to find out what healthy happenings occurred in this past year.

A Healthy Thyroid Equals a Happy Human

If your thyroid is out of whack, it can throw the rest of your body into a tailspin as well. You may only associate thyroid problems with people who are obese, but people at a healthy weight can have their thyroid act up as well. Some thyroid problems can be treated with medicine, but if you are experiencing thyroid issues stemming from lifestyle stimuli (i.e. pollution, what you are eating, emotional stress…) then you may have some work ahead of you.

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If you’re anything like me, and many other HBO-loving Americans, you have seen a few episodes of “The Sopranos.” Ok, if you’re anything like me you’ve sat down and watched marathons of the show on DVD for weeks at a time, but that’s besides the point. There are a few of the mobster’s mothers who have to be cared for in assisted living and nursing home, and they are not shy about mentioning how much that type of care is costing them to pay for. Even if you’ve never seen a minute of this show and don’t have anyone in your life who needs long term care, it can’t be hard to imagine that it costs an arm and a leg.

Factor in the cost of the room combined with availability of medical services and round-the-clock attention and you can understand why a year’s worth of care in a private room back in 2007 cost $74,806. If you are looking into long term care insurance to help cover these astronomical costs for a member of your family, there are a lot of things to know and consider.

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Even though he hasn’t taken up residence in the White House just yet, we have a new President. Barack Obama will be sworn in come January 2009, and in his suitcase of changes he wants to see made in this country is a revamping of the health insurance system.

Some of you may have voted for Obama based on what he is promising to do for health care, and other of you may have been McCain supporters, or simply do not know what Obama stands for in the realm of health care. No matter where you stand or what you know, the following account will serve to educate you on what Obama aims to do with healthcare and insurance here in the United States, and how it may effect you and your life.

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