Thursday, 10 July 2014

Insurance Company Refused to pay Operation for Baby's Brain Tumor

Savannah Snodgrass

Doctors discovered a life-threatening brain tumor in the left temporal lobe of Savannah Snodgrass when she was just 4 months old and she was immediately sent to the Texas Children's Hospital. The doctors decided to observe her since she was too fragile and just too young to undergo a brain surgery. Doctors watch if the tumor is growing. Now the doctors decided to do an emergency surgery last Tuesday July 8 but it was cancelled because Superior HealthPlan Texas HMO, denied their coverage for the operation.

Her mom Tessa Snodgrass, 38 is a retired U.S. Army major, she received the letter of denial from their HMO. She told Fox news that her baby was having seizures that started last March, and was brought to the hospital after having 15 seizures in a 24-hour period.

This is a really sad news, shame on the Superior HealthPlan for making it difficult for their members to get treated. The mother said that the company's reason for denying their claim is that the Texas Children's Hospital is an out-of-network provider and they need to transfer to a new hospital in Austin, Texas which is an hour drive. This is just ridiculous. I hope the HMO company come to their senses and make things right for this angel.

Read the whole story here on Fox News.

Wednesday, 2 July 2014

Cars that tops the JD Powers 2014 Initial Quality Study

Hyundai Accent
Highest ranked small car: Hyundai Accent

Kia Sportage
Highest ranked small SUV (tie): Kia Sportage

Nissan Juke
Nissan Juke (tie)- Highest ranked small SUV

J.D. Power and Associates conducted released their 2014 Initial Quality Study on vehicle brands and Porsche topped the list. They have also noticed the increasing number of issues in all cars overall due to new technologies.
The survey ranks brands and individual models in terms of the number of problems a vehicle incurred per 100 within the first 90 days of ownership, the fewer the better. The survey is the auto industry's number one guide for new cars quality and meet customers expectation.

Porsche which is number 1 had 74 problems per 100 vehicles within the first 90 days of ownership, followed by Jaguar in second with 87 problems. The third is Lexus with 92, and then Hyundai with 94.

You'll noticed that Hyundai has improved tremendously taking the number 4 spot, they were at 10th in 2013. Also Hyundai is considerably cheaper than the high end brands in the top 3. Hyundai’s philosophy has paid off, "Go after the big ones; make measurable improvements."

Dave Zuchowski the CEO of Hyundai Motor America said that, their stunning climb in the survey “speaks to our long-term commitment to quality.” Hyundai vehicles got 3 top awards on the JD Powers 2014 Initial Quality. Hyundai Accent got the highest ranked small car, Elantra got the highest ranked compact car, and their Genesis sedan bagged the highest ranked midsize premium car.

2014 BRAND RANKING

*Average problems per 100 vehicles of brand's whole line:
  1. Porsche 74
  2. Jaguar 87
  3. Lexus 92
  4. Hyundai 94
  5. Toyota 105
  6. Chevrolet 106
  7. Kia 106
  8. BMW 108
  9. Honda 108
  10. Lincoln 109
  11. Audi 111
  12. Chrysler 111
  13. Cadillac 115
  14. Mercedes-Benz 115
  15. Volvo 115
  16. Ford 116
  17. GMC 116
  18. Ram 116
  19. INDUSTRY AVERAGE
  20. Buick 120
  21. Nissan 120
  22. Dodge 124
  23. Land Rover 127
  24. Infiniti 128
  25. Volkswagen 128
  26. Acura 131
  27. Mini 133
  28. Subaru 138
  29. Mazda 139
  30. Scion 140
  31. Mitsubishi 145
  32. Jeep 146
  33. Fiat 206
BEST INDIVIDUAL MODELS BY TYPE

Small car: Hyundai Accent, Mazda2, Kia Rio
Compact car: Hyundai Elantra, Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic
Compact premium car: Lexus ES Acura TL, Acura ILX (tie), BMW 4 Series (tie)
Compact sporty car: Mazda MX-5 Miata, Volkswagen GTI, Scion tC
Compact premium sporty car: Porsche Boxster, Porsche Cayman, Nissan Z
Midsize car: Chevrolet Malibu, Hyundai Sonata, Toyota Camry
Midsize sporty car: Dodge Challenger, Chevrolet Camaro
Midsize premium car: Hyundai Genesis, Lincoln MKS, BMW 6 Series (tie), Lexus GS (tie), Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class (tie)
Midsize premium sporty car: Porsche 911, Jaguar F-Type
Large car: Kia Cadenza, Nissan Maxima, Toyota Avalon
Large premium car: Porsche Panamera, Lexus LS, Hyundai Equus
Small SUV: Buick Encore (tie), Kia Sportage (tie), Nissan Juke (tie)
Compact SUV: GMC Terrain, Chevrolet Equinox, Toyota FJ Cruiser
Compact premium SUV: Infiniti QX50, BMW X3, Audi Q5
Compact MPV: Mazda5, Kia Soul, Ford C-Max
Midsize SUV: Ford Edge, Hyundai Santa Fe (tie) Nissan Murano (tie)
Midsize premium SUV: Lincoln MKX, Porsche Cayenne, Infiniti QX70
Midsize pickup: Honda Ridgeline, Nissan Frontier (tie) Toyota Tacoma (tie)
Minivan: Chrysler Town & Country, Toyota Sienna, Dodge Grand Caravan
Large SUV: Chevrolet Suburban (tie) GMC Yukon (tie), Chevrolet Tahoe
Large premium SUV: Infiniti QX80, Cadillac Escalade
Large light-duty pickup: Ford F-150, Toyota Tundra, Ram 1500
Large heavy-duty pickup: Chevrolet Silverado HD, GMC Sierra HD