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Blue Cross will drop student plan next year
Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania will discontinue its BlueCare Student plan next year due to declining enrollment.
Approximately 600 people will be affected by the change, said Anthony Matrisciano, a Blue Cross spokesman.
The nonprofit insurance company developed new plans that offer more attractive coverage than BlueCare Student, Matrisciano said. Plan members were notified by letter sent out in the beginning of the month that BlueCare Student will be discontinued as of Jan.1.
During the transition period from Sept. 1 through Nov. 1, the insurance company will waive all underwriting and pre-existing condition requirements for BlueCare Student members.
Imus going to Fox program
Fox Business Network, which has been struggling to find viewers, has agreed to simulcast Don Imus’ radio show on weekdays from 6 to 9 a.m. It will start on Oct. 5.
RFD-TV, a Nashville-based cable and satellite network, recently stopped showing Imus after two years.
Imus will add more business reports to his mix of news, sports, commentary and comedy. FBN reporters will also contribute.
Imus’ radio show was seen on MSNBC for several years before he was fired in 2007 for offensive remarks about Rutgers women basketball players.
Bank buffer proposed
The Obama administration is proposing stronger international standards for the capital reserves banks are required to hold. The goal is to avoid a repeat of last year’s severe financial crisis.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is slated to discuss the U.S. proposals during two days of meetings in London among the Group of 20 nations that begin Friday.
Euro zone looking up
Improving consumer and business sentiment are signs of an economic rebound in the countries using the euro, European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said Thursday — though he warned any recovery was bound to be uneven.
Speaking to reporters after the bank left its benchmark rate unchanged at 1 percent, Trichet said that any rebound was “expected to be uneven” both “inside and outside the euro area.”
iPhone to communicate
AT&T says the latest iPhone models will finally get the ability to send picture and video messages to other phones on Sept. 25.
Apple’s popular phone has lacked the ability to send messages using MMS, or Multimedia Messaging Service, since the first model launched in 2007.
The original model still won’t be able to send MMS. Its users will have to keep sending pictures in e-mail.