Lack of Health Insurance Can Be Fatal for Ill in Virginia, Group Says Bizworld
Each week, more than 10 Virginians between the ages of 25 and 64 die because they don’t have health insurance, according to a report released Wednesday by Families USA, a health care consumer advocacy group.
Studies have found that people without health insurance are more likely to be diagnosed in the later stages of diseases such as cancer, when their chances of survival are significantly decreased. They’re also less likely to get prevent ive care and more likely to for go treatment altogether because of cost.
Families USA estimated that between 2000 and 2006, more than 3,200 working-age Virginians died because of a lack of health insurance. In 2006, the group said about 15 percent of the state’s residents between the ages of 25 and 64 were uninsured – or about 640,650 people.
– Nancy Young
Hampton Roads
dollar tree ceo receives raise
The board of directors of Dollar Tree Inc. has approved compensation for its top executives in 2008, including a $100,000 raise for Bob Sasser, its chief executive.
At its meeting last week, the board’s compensation committee boosted Sasser’s base salary to $850,000 and approved a potential bonus of $850,000 for the 2008 fiscal year, which began Feb. 3. Sasser also received a $1 million bonus for 2007. The base salary for Gary Philbin, chief operations officer, rose from $460,000 to $500,000, plus a potential bonus of $250,000 this year. For 2007, Philbin received a bonus payment of $305,945.
Board Chairman Macon F. Brock Jr., the company’s former CEO, received a bonus payment of $270,840 for 2007. Potential bonuses for 2008 depend on the company achieving its earnings-per-share goal and executives meeting personal performance goals, a federal regulatory filing said.
– Carolyn Shapiro
Kroger to close two local stores
The Kroger Co. plans to close two of its nine Hampton Roads supermarkets on May 17. The stores on Lynnhaven Parkway in Virginia Beach and Warwick Boulevard in Newport News are slated to shut down because of poor sales, said Carl York, a spokesman for Kroger’s mid- Atlantic division.
The closures leave Kroger with seven stores in the region: one in Norfolk, one in Portsmouth, four in Virginia Beach and one in Yorktown.
– Carolyn Shapiro
nation
delta pilots say no to arbitration
ATLANTA | Delta Air Lines Inc.’s pilots union rejected Wednesday the idea of submitting to arbitration with its counterpart at Northwest Airlines Corp. to break their impasse over integrating seniority lists as part of a possible combination of the carriers.
“In short, there will be no binding arbitration,” Lee Moak, head of Delta’s pilots union, said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
Pilot union leaders at Northwest had suggested in a memo to rank- and-file Northwest pilots on Tuesday that arbitration may be a way to break the deadlock.
Also Wednesday, American Airlines and Northwest raised international fuel surcharges by $20 round trip, while Delta boosted domestic fares by $10.
Compensation less for Bank CEO
CHARLOTTE, N.C. | Bank of America Corp.’s Ken Lewis received compensation valued at more than $20.4 million in 2007, about 10.7 percent less than a year earlier, as mortgage-related losses eroded profits at the nation’s second-largest bank.
no phone deals for apartments
WASHINGTON | Regulators on Wednesday unanimously approved a rule banning exclusive telephone service agreements in apartment buildings, giving tenants their pick of providers.
The five-member Federal Communications Commission said in a release that exclusive contracts between carriers and apartment- building owners “hurt consumers and harm competition, with little evidence of countervailing benefits.” It noted that the deals have also blocked residents from getting bundled voice, video and high- speed Internet service packages.
The agency’s order applies to both existing and future contracts in apartment buildings and other multiple-tenant properties.
earnings
Nike profit rises by 30 percent
PORTLAND, Ore. | Athletic shoe and apparel giant Nike Inc. says strong sales overseas and beneficial currency exchanges pushed its third-quarter profit up more than 30 percent. Net income grew to nearly $464 million, or 92 cents per share, up from roughly $351 million, or 68 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue grew 16 percent to $4.5 billion, up from $3.9 billion. The results exceeded Wall Street’s projections.
General Mills’ profits surge
MINNEAPOLIS | General Mills Inc. said Wednesday its profit climbed 61 percent in the third quarter amid a big rise in sales. The earnings for the maker of cereals, soups and yogurt were above Wall Street expectations. General Mills earned $430.1 million, or $1.23 per share, up from $267.5 million, or 74 cents per share, a year ago.
Sales grew to $3.41 billion from $3.05 billion.
– From staff and wire reports
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