Employer Health Benefits 2008 Annual Survey
Premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose to $12,680 annually for family coverage this year–with employees on average paying $3,354 out of their paychecks to cover their share of the cost–and the scope of that coverage has changed, with many more workers now enrolled in high-deductible plans, according to the 2008 Employer Health Benefits Survey released by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET). Key findings from the benchmark annual survey of small and large employers were also published as a Web Exclusive in the journal Health Affairs.
Premiums rose a modest 5 percent this year, but they have more than doubled since 1999 when total family premiums stood at $5,791 (of which workers paid $1,543). During the same nine-year period, workers’ wages increased 34 percent and general inflation rose 29 percent.
This year many workers are also facing higher deductibles in their plans, including a growing number with general plan deductibles of at least $1,000 – 18 percent of all covered workers in 2008, up from 12 percent last year. This is partly, but not entirely, driven by growth in consumer-directed plans such as those that qualify for a tax-preferred Health Savings Account.
The shift has been most dramatic for workers in small businesses with three to 199 workers, where more than one in three (35 percent) covered workers must pay at least $1,000 out of pocket before their plan generally will start to pay a share of their health-care bills – rising from 21 percent last year. For workers facing deductibles in Preferred Provider Organizations, the most common type of plan, the average deductible rose to $560 in 2008, up nearly $100 from 2007. Kaiser Family Foundation

New GAO Report
Elections: States, Territories, and the District Are Taking a Range of Important Steps to Manage Their Varied Voting System Environments
+ Related Product:
Elections: 2007 Survey of State Voting System Programs (GAO-08-1147SP, September 2008), an E-Supplement to GAO-08-874. (Internet only)
Government Accountability Office

Aaron's Book Corner in Lititz, PA, has announced that it's teaming up with the Lititz Public Library to sponsor the first "Lititz Loves Reading" week. Events from October 20 - 26 include author appearances, library fundraisers, and an all-night "Read-a-Thon."
Happenings at Aaron's include a discussion of the Lititz One Book One Community selection, The Grace That Keeps This World by Tom Bailey (Three Rivers), and an appearance by local author Jill Althouse-Wood (Summers at Blue Lake, Algonquin). The weeklong celebration culminates in a Read-a-Thon on October 25.
"Lititz Loves Reading" week is inspired by a national program, Great Expectations 2008, founded by RiverRun Bookstore in Portsmouth, NH. For the week, Aaron's customers will be able to support the mission of Lititz Public Library in two ways. First, for any customer presenting a Lititz library card while shopping at Aaron's Books, 10 percent of the purchase price will be donated to the library. Second, the library is supplying Aaron's Books with a "wish list" of most wanted books, and supporters can buy a book for the library through Aaron's Books at 25 percent below retail price.
Bookweb has the story.

Nebraska recently enacted a Safe Haven law, allowing parents to surrender infants anonymously at hospitals without legal consequence. Though Nebraska is the last state in the nation to permit such a law, it is also the first state to permit parents to abandon children up to age 19. Other states have set a much lower age limit for children to be abandoned--only babies under a year old apply.
http://media.www.thehilltoponline.com/media/storage/paper590/news/2008/09/03/NationWorld/Safe-Haven.Law.Reaches.Nebraska.Allows.Abandonment-3413006.shtml

col (kol, rhymes with doll) noun A mountain pass
From French col (neck), from Latin collum (neck). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kwel- (to revolve) that is also the source of words such as colony, cult, culture, cycle, cyclone, chakra, and collar. A.Word.A.Day

New Zealand coins On March 31st, 1989 the issue of 1 cent (2.07 grams, bronze) and 2 cent (4.14 grams, bronze) pieces ceased. http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/currency/money/0094086.html

It might cause a riot, but we could eliminate pennies in the United States—saving on weight, natural resources and money (it costs over a penny to make a penny). As an example of simplification, we could charge $4.00 rather than $3.99 for an item. A price of $4.02 would be rounded down to $4.00—price of $4.08 would be rounded up to $4.10.

Google Offers Up to $10-Million for Innovative Ideas
Google has committed $10 million to fund up to five ideas selected by their advisory board. If you could suggest a unique idea that would help as many people as possible, what would it be? Full details at the official Google blog.

Novel of the Week The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
“best-selling Cinderella tale from France” The Week October 3, 2008