How to reply in difficult situations
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Thursday, September 1, 2011
Medishield beyond age 85
Medishield insurance (provided by CPF) stops at age 85. The annual premium payable at age 85 is $1,123. I believe that this is subsidised by the younger members and the true cost should be higher.
So far, the Ministry of Health is unwilling to extend Medishield beyond age 85. If it is extended, the premium is likely to be $1,500 to $2,000 a year for the next 10 years. This is likely to be beyond the budget of the elderly people. When the premium is so high, those who are healthier are likely to stop the insurance. Only those who are in poorer health will continue. The cost could increase more sharply, due to the small pool.
What can the elderly consumers do? Beyond age 85, most people have so much health problem that it may be impossible to fix them. I know of many elderly people who prefer not to go to hospital, and to let their medical conditions be untreated. They know that their time will be up soon - it is called ageing, and that there is very little that can be done by medical science.
If they want to be treated, they can still reduce their cost by going to subsidised wards, and pay from their Medisave account, or from their children's accounts. They can also try to minimise the cost by staying for short periods and only when necessary.
Tan Kin Lian
So far, the Ministry of Health is unwilling to extend Medishield beyond age 85. If it is extended, the premium is likely to be $1,500 to $2,000 a year for the next 10 years. This is likely to be beyond the budget of the elderly people. When the premium is so high, those who are healthier are likely to stop the insurance. Only those who are in poorer health will continue. The cost could increase more sharply, due to the small pool.
What can the elderly consumers do? Beyond age 85, most people have so much health problem that it may be impossible to fix them. I know of many elderly people who prefer not to go to hospital, and to let their medical conditions be untreated. They know that their time will be up soon - it is called ageing, and that there is very little that can be done by medical science.
If they want to be treated, they can still reduce their cost by going to subsidised wards, and pay from their Medisave account, or from their children's accounts. They can also try to minimise the cost by staying for short periods and only when necessary.
Tan Kin Lian
Should Medical Marijuana be Legal in America? ? Health & Fitness
This question is whether medical cannabis, also known as medical marijuana and its constituent cannabinoids such as THC be used as a physician-recommended form of medicine or herbal therapy.
Some interesting background for this question involves the knowledge that cannabis has a long history of medicinal use, going back at least as far as 2,737 B.C. Medical marijuana?s historical use is a factor which should not be disregarded.
Most governments around the world, including the federal government here in America, are against investigating medical marijuana even though its beneficial effects have been well documented.
Despite a relative lack of clinical research, some of marijuana?s known benefits are * It eases nausea and vomiting, two well-known side effects that cancer patients typically suffer during chemotherapy. * Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and patients suffering from AIDS often have suppressed appetites. Medical marijuana stimulates the appetite, which can be extremely important for these patients. * It?s a proven therapy for treating glaucoma because it lowers the intraocular eye pressure. * It has also been shown to be effective during the treatment of certain gastrointestinal illnesses.
In most nations, recreational use of cannabis is illegal. However, some countries have decriminalized medical marijuana, so people there who use marijuana therapeutically under the guidance of a physician don?t need to be concerned about legal prosecution.
When it comes to its use as medical marijuana a number of countries have chosen to legalize it. Those countries include Canada, Austria, Germany, Spain, Israel, Italy, Finland and Portugal.
In the United States however it is still considered an illegal substance and possession and use of it deemed to be a federal offense, even as a medicinal treatment.
Four Reasons it Might be Appropriate to Legalize Medical Marijuana
1. As a naturally occurring herb marijuana has been used as a herbal medicine for thousands of years. It is ironic that in today?s world when people are so focused on all things natural and organic something naturally occurring like marijuana should be considered less safe for users than synthetic drugs with known side-effects, some of which can be extremely alarming, especially if taken over time.
2. According to several studies featured in the IOM report, marijuana has strong potential for providing therapeutic effects. These studies report that medical marijuana is an analgesic which can help alleviate pain. THC, one of the components of marijuana, has itself been seen to relieve chronic pain suffered by cancer patients.
3. Many researchers are convinced that people suffering from certain diseases such as multiple sclerosis can benefit from medical marijuana treatments.
4. One of the major components of marijuana is Cannobidiol which has proven to have antipsychotic, anti-cancer and antioxidant properties.
Despite the foregoing, it?s important to realize that only a few clinical studies have investigated the medical efficacy of marijuana, primarily due to lack of funding and strict regulations. Most pharmaceutical companies are reluctant to invest in studying the therapeutic benefits of marijuana.
What is known and cannot be denied is that there is clear evidence that cannabis and its components are effective in the treatment of various health issues.
More research is needed so people can benefit from medical marijuana without worrying about criminal prosecution.
If you have a debilitating medical condition and are considering medicinal marijuana, check out the state?s premier AZ Medical Marijuana Certification Center. Call TODAY toll free at (855) AZ-IDCARD for info on an AZ Medical Marijuana Card.
Source: http://health.blogmeout.net/2011/08/should-medical-marijuana-be-legal-in-america/
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New breast cancer gene may help predict risk: study (Reuters)
(Reuters) ? Screening for mutations in a gene known as CHEK2 may help determine a woman's odds of breast cancer if the disease runs in her family, according to a Polish study.
Researchers led by Cezary Cybulski of the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin estimated that a woman who carries a CHEK2 mutation would have a 34 percent risk of developing breast cancer if her mother or sister had the disease.
U.S. experts, however, cautioned that Polish women might be different than those in the United States and said that the test isn't quite ready for widespread use yet.
Women with a family history of breast or ovarian cancer are already encouraged to get screened for mutations in the BRCA 1 and 2 genes that warn of a heightened tumor risk.
"CHEK2 mutation screening detects a clinically meaningful risk of breast cancer and should be considered in all women with a family history of breast cancer," Cybulski wrote in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
The Polish researchers tested the genes of nearly 7,500 women with breast cancer who didn't have BRCA 1 mutations and found that 3 percent had a certain type of mutation in the CHEK2 gene. But fewer than one percent without breast cancer harbored such mutations.
Although CHEK2 has been tied to cancer before, it wasn't clear what role cancer in the family played. When the team asked the women whether they had any affected relatives, those whose mother or sister had had breast cancer were at the highest risk.
They estimated that a woman with a CHEK2 mutation has a risk of 20 percent. If she also has a mother or sister with breast cancer, her risk jumps to 34 percent, and to 44 percent if a second-degree relative is also ill.
U.S. experts said the tests were a good first step but said it was still too early to tell women to go out and get screened for the CHEK2 gene.
"This does represent an important breakthrough," said Diana Petitti, of the Arizona State University in Phoenix.
"But this is a field where replication is crucial."
Others said that the most important thing for women with a family history of breast cancer was to talk with their doctor, or a genetic counselor, to find out what options they have, noting that widespread use of the test might not be cost-effective. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/r57Y51
(Reporting by Frederik Joelving at Reuters Health; editing by Elaine Lies)
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110830/hl_nm/us_cancer
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Low default risk in ETF
Dear Mr. Tan
I am a retiree. I intend to buy STI ETFs with my savings instead of buying annuities.I would also like your advice on what happens if we put our life savings into ETFs and the company behind it goes bust. Are there any other ETFs worth considering now?
REPLY
The ETF is a trust fund invested in the top 30 companies in the SGX. The fund manager is DBS or State Street. If they go bust, another fund manager will take over to manage the underlying assets (shares of SGX). The risk is very small and it is safer than investing in any single share.
I am a retiree. I intend to buy STI ETFs with my savings instead of buying annuities.I would also like your advice on what happens if we put our life savings into ETFs and the company behind it goes bust. Are there any other ETFs worth considering now?
REPLY
The ETF is a trust fund invested in the top 30 companies in the SGX. The fund manager is DBS or State Street. If they go bust, another fund manager will take over to manage the underlying assets (shares of SGX). The risk is very small and it is safer than investing in any single share.
A person's perspective of minimum wage
I asked my blog reader, Hang Lian, about how the minimum wage impacts business and people in New Zealand. Here is his reply.
Hi Mr. Tan,
I did not look into the minimum wage in details. What I know is it's $13 an hour (about $500 a week on 40 hrs). The exchange rates between Spore and NZ is about 1:1.
In Spore, for those very low income earners who earn less than $1000 a month and in some cases, working more than 10 hours a day, I can't see how this group of people make ends meet. I suspect their quality of live would be greatly compromised.
Hi Mr. Tan,
I did not look into the minimum wage in details. What I know is it's $13 an hour (about $500 a week on 40 hrs). The exchange rates between Spore and NZ is about 1:1.
As far as I can see, although minimum wages have been applied, the cost of living is not as high as one would expect. Many employers here are SMEs, so I also don't see how a minimum wage could add a lot of burden to businesses, let alone the MNCs.
I think the most important advantage I see is that as long as a person is willing to work, even if he earns the minimum wage, he will be able to live a reasonably comfortable live (without the need to spend too much time working as well). I lived alone for a while when I first came here, and I can say that the minimum wage is quite sufficient to support a person's basic expenses of accommodation, food, transport, etc (in some cases even 2 people).
In Spore, for those very low income earners who earn less than $1000 a month and in some cases, working more than 10 hours a day, I can't see how this group of people make ends meet. I suspect their quality of live would be greatly compromised.
There are some employers who try to work around the minimum wage policies by paying less, which is against the law.
Of cos a lot of things are also a result of a combination of various other factors, like the general environment, working culture, lifestyle, taxes, labour laws, etc.
Hope that helps.
Hang LianJoint Child Custody Forms
Amplify’d from onlinedivorceforms.net
For many parents hiring a child custody lawyer is prohibitively expensive and they try to run the case on their own which will involve the filing of their own child custody forms in the Family law court office in their state.
If you are filing the joint child custody forms then you should know that you can get them for free and without paying any cost. Child custody forms and all other relevant forms for sole custody, joint custody, physical custody, legal custody and so forth are freely available for download from the Courts website in each state.(Check out child support enforcement and online divorce forms too)
See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a1caj3
Bad Credit Unsecured Loans | YodZiaN.CoM - Finance and Loan ...
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If your credit history is considered poor and you wish to apply for a loan, there are some lenders who will work with you to secure an unsecured loan. However, with an unsecured bad credit loan, the amount you borrow will be low, and the lender will first have to see just how bad your credit is before making a decision on an exact amount.
There are a couple of reasons why it is a good idea to apply for an unsecured loan if your credit is poor. The first is that you can apply for the loan that you need. Second, by making payments on time, your credit score will go up. When your credit score goes up, you become less of a credit risk. In order to apply for a bad credit unsecured loan, you must be 18 years old, be in a job for at least three months and have a good repayment record on your credit ratings for at least six months. The interest rate would depend on how much you borrow and the period you plan to pay it back over.
Bad credit unsecured loans are good for a couple of reasons. First, you have the opportunity to apply for the loan you need. Secondly, by making regular payments on your loan, you begin to repair your credit score proving to any future financial lenders that you are not posing a risk to them. In order to apply for a bad credit unsecured loan, you might be 18 years old, be in a job for at least three months and have a good repayment record on your credit rating for at least six months. The interest rate would depend on how much you borrow and the period you plan to pay it back over.
Unsecured Loans provides detailed information on Unsecured Loans, Unsecured Personal Loans, Bad Credit Unsecured Loans, Bad Credit Unsecured Personal Loans and more. Unsecured Loans is affiliated with UK Unsecured Personal Loans.
Written By : Jimmy Sturo
Source: http://www.yodzian.com/html/content/bad-credit-unsecured-loans-20451/
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Financial Planning Talk by Sam Goh
Here is a new financial planning talk organised by FISCA. The speaker is Sam Goh, who has experience in delivering this talk to several government agencies. Do attend his talk and widen your knowledge. Details can be found here.
Danger for the property market
The property market has gone up too high, due to low interest rate. When interest rate increases in the future after quantitative easing is over, it will cause a drop in the property market. The impact is more severe in a place like Singapore, where property are financed on short term interest rate. When interest rate rises, the impact will be severe.
Let me quote a simple example. Suppose the buyer pays for a property on a 20 year loan at an interest rate of 2% per annum. With a monthly repayment of $5,000, the borrower can afford a property worth $981,000. When interest rate increases to 4%, which is a more realistic interest rate (given that inflation is now 2% to 3%), the monthly repayment will increase by 17%. Some borrowers cannot meet the higher payment, so they have to sell the property. The next buyer can afford to buy the property at 17% lower. So, the property market will drop by 17% due to the increase in interest rate.
What can you do now - to prevent this financial disaster? You should have a 20% buffer. If you can afford a monthly payment of $5,000, buy a property that requires payment of only $4,000. The additional $1,000 is to meet higher repayment in the future.
You may not be able to get the property if you pay 20% less. In that case, it is better to wait for the property market to correct. Meanwhile, you can rent a property. Even if the rental is high, you are paying for it one year at a time. You can wait for two or three years, to see the correction in the market. It will come!
Tan Kin Lian
Let me quote a simple example. Suppose the buyer pays for a property on a 20 year loan at an interest rate of 2% per annum. With a monthly repayment of $5,000, the borrower can afford a property worth $981,000. When interest rate increases to 4%, which is a more realistic interest rate (given that inflation is now 2% to 3%), the monthly repayment will increase by 17%. Some borrowers cannot meet the higher payment, so they have to sell the property. The next buyer can afford to buy the property at 17% lower. So, the property market will drop by 17% due to the increase in interest rate.
What can you do now - to prevent this financial disaster? You should have a 20% buffer. If you can afford a monthly payment of $5,000, buy a property that requires payment of only $4,000. The additional $1,000 is to meet higher repayment in the future.
You may not be able to get the property if you pay 20% less. In that case, it is better to wait for the property market to correct. Meanwhile, you can rent a property. Even if the rental is high, you are paying for it one year at a time. You can wait for two or three years, to see the correction in the market. It will come!
Tan Kin Lian
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