NATIONAL NEWS ZONE......

Proponents of health reform say they want a government-run health insurer to give people more choice in how they are insured. Industry opponents say there is plenty of choice in the existing market, which includes hundreds of insurance companies across the United States.


While it’s true that many markets are flush with choice, people living in some states have few options for insurance — with almost all consumers ending up in the same plan, according to an article in BestWeek U.S./Canada. An early 2009 report from the Government Accountability Office that ranked the market share of insurers in each state pointed out that 17 states had a single insurer that served at least half of the market.

Also, in BestWeek Europe, Belgian insurer Fortis has reported a group net profit after minority interests of 886 million euros (780.6 million pounds) for the first half of 2009, showing a marked recovery from the same period of 2008, when it made a profit of just 25 million euros. This was driven by a number of events related to the closing of the transactions with BNP Paribas, the Belgian State and Fortis Bank, as well as a net-of-tax charge of 301 million euros related to the legal dispute with Fortis Capital Co. Ltd., the company said.

The death of Sen. Edward Kennedy, beyond its tragic weight for his friends, constituents and public admirers, further highlights a basic math problem that his Democratic colleagues in the Senate have been facing, according to an article in BestWeek U.S./Canada. It takes one vote away from Democrats, dropping the number they can muster to 59 — not a filibuster-proof majority. But the truth is, they never experienced filibuster freedom.

BestWeek is published by A.M. Best Co. for insurance professionals. To subscribe, visit www.ambest.com/sales/BestWeek, or e-mail your request to customer_service@ambest.com.