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Dr Dawn Harper, spokeswoman for ColdZyme Mouth Spray, said: "More grandparents are providing regular child care for their grandchildren as both parents have work commitments.
"Many of my patients who provide such care tell me it's a job they love, but one that often leaves them feeling exhausted. Fatigue can suppress the immune system, so it's important grandparents get a good night's sleep.
"My parents tell me 'grandparenting' is their favourite hobby.
"They are lucky they are both in good health with robust immune systems, but some grandparents are missing out on such magical moments."
To help grandparents avoid falling ill, Dr Harper recommends regularly washing hands, along with surfaces and door handles, eating a well-balanced diet and making sure you have a good sleep routine.
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As managing director and head of global technology investment banking at Morgan Stanley, Michael Grimes is one of the tech industry’s most prominent bankers.
He sat down with Wall Street Journal Financial Editor Dennis Berman to discuss the dearth of tech initial public offerings and why he thinks that’s about to change.
Here are edited excerpts:
MR. BERMAN: You’re arguably the most important banker in Silicon Valley. So where are the IPOs?
MR. GRIMES: They’re coming. There have been 14 so far this year in tech, which is down from an average of 35 to 40—and probably over 40 for multiple years since 2004. I’d say next year you’re going to be back probably to triple the current volume, about 30 or 40. There’s really robust, pent-up demand right now.
MR. BERMAN: Why haven’t companies in 2016 been willing to sell their shares?
MR. GRIMES: I think there’s a lag effect. If we look back to January-February, if we look back at the prior 12-month class of tech IPOs, 80% of them were trading below issue price. There was a paucity of demand, and that kind of slows the pipeline.
Probably around the April-May time frame, that changed. And it’s taken a while to percolate through. Add in the fact that anybody who wanted to raise money privately in the 2013 to 2015 time frame could, so [many startups] have capital and some have said they can benefit by staying private.
But the market now is really healthy. Demand is probably as high as I’ve seen it. Supply will catch up.
MR. BERMAN: Is there a mismatch between what the price expectations are between the sale side and the buyers?
MR. GRIMES: There has been over the past 12 months, but the mismatch is shrinking.
MR. BERMAN: And where are they meeting? More on the buyer’s side or more on the seller’s side?
MR. GRIMES: They’re starting to meet closer on the seller’s side. It has been on the buyer’s side, for sure. But it has been moving up and it will continue to move up because of the capital being returned to investors from all the M&A activity.
MR. BERMAN: You have some pretty shocking numbers about the amount of money that’s come in, and the amount of money that needs to go out. Can you share?
MR. GRIMES: It’s as wide of a disparity as we’ve seen in 20 years. There has been $125 billion returned through tech M&A, just the cash portion, into the hands of investors last year. Another $75 billion this year so far, so $200 billion or $205 billion cumulative over that year and a half.
If you add up new issuance of all IPOs in tech and all secondary offerings, it’s about $25 billion to $26 billion. So an eight-to-one ratio, double or triple what it has been in a year in the last 15 years.
MR. BERMAN: So a big part of this whole equation is M&A. And something fascinating is happening there. Can you explain?
MR. GRIMES: It’s really that the buyers for U.S. tech assets have changed quite a bit, maybe permanently, and this is really new news.
Five to 10 years ago, the tech giants or tech midcaps won most tech assets. What has happened quietly is that they’ve gone from winning 58% to 60% to half that as three new groups of buyers have [emerged].
Private-equity firms are buying public tech companies. They are outbidding strategic buyers, and that’s new. It has upped their win rate.
Then there are foreign buyers. China has gone from $300 million to $40 billion in a $250 billion tech M&A market. That’s a pretty big portion up from a very small portion, so they’re winning, too.
And the most interesting [group is the nontech firms.] General Electric’s Jeff Immelt said at the end of 2013 that if you went to sleep an industrial company, you woke up the next morning a software, data and analytics company. So they’ve always been kind of kicking the tires on tech assets when we have them for sale, but they hadn’t been paying up. Look what has happened in the past year.
MR. BERMAN: They have no other choice, right?
MR. GRIMES: Now they have no choice. They see the imperative. So Verizon Communications wins Fleetmatics Group, and Wal-Mart wins web retailer Jet.com. And they paid up. So they’re up 250% in terms of volume.
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Global warming raises more and more concerns by the day, and the future of our climate is subjected to scientific theories and models to help us better prevent the effects of pollution and greenhouse gases on our day-to-day lives.
Temperatures increase all around the world, and in some particular regions heat is felt more than in others. The current temperatures in the Mediterranean basin are approximately 1.3 degress Celsius higher than the records suggest they were between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. During that period, the increase recorded was 0.85 degree Celsius around the globe.
The ecosystem triggers a biodiversity that's quite impressive for the scientific world, supplying various benefits to the region's inhabitants, from clean water to carbon storage, which makes this temperature increase all the more important.
Considering the effects of distinct thresholds established for the Mediterranean basin at the Paris Agreement, researchers used pollen from sediments, giving extensive details about the climate and ecosystem change in the area during the last 10,000 years. The scientists reconstructed past climates by studying pollen in different layers of mud lake. The degree of pollen gave them an understanding of the weather conditions.
Joel Guiot and Wolfgang Cramer, who applied the data models in a baseline estimate of the future climate change as we know it today, taking the agreements on global warming into consideration, came up with a series of scenarios for the climate and vegetation, given different possible temperature increases.
Two sets of simulations were carried out. The first one was "business as usual," and the second one was meant to double-check the data in the first one. Both of these suggested the goals of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, describing that the ecological change will tremendously exceed the Holocene episode.
The "business as usual" case suggested that the entire southern Spain will turn into a desert, with forests invading the mountain areas and wild vegetation replacing the better part of the transient forests in most of the Mediterranean basin.
During last year's conference, roughly 200 governments gathered in Paris with the sole purpose of coming up with a plan to limit the temperature rises to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial time. The ideal limit set on the conference was 1.5 degrees Celsius. In November, the same annual meeting will take place in Morocco in order to review the accord and its related policies.
The countries most affected by this climate change are southern Spain, Portugal, the northern side of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, as well as a number of other regions such as Sicily, the southern part of Turkey and some parts of Syria, according to the same study.
© 2016 Tech Times, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
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Georgia Tech defensive back Jalen Johnson was arrested on campus Sunday on a charge of simple battery.
The sophomore was released from the Fulton County jail later Sunday on a $5,000 bond.
"Jalen Johnson is a member of the Georgia Tech football team," the school said in a statement. "The Georgia Institute of Technology does not discuss ongoing investigations."
Johnson has played in all eight of the Yellow Jackets' games this season, mostly on special teams, and has been credited with five tackles.
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Georgia Tech’s win over Duke Saturday resists categorization. The Yellow Jackets collapsed in giving up a 28-7 halftime lead but also showed mettle in rallying for the game-winning drive and following it with their only three-and-out of the game.
Tech’s defense had moments where blitzes were impactful and the tackling was sound, but also plenty of others where the Jackets were chewed up by an offense that is among the weakest in the ACC.
Tech moved the ball as well as it ever has in coach Paul Johnson’s tenure, particularly considering the opponent’s familiarity and past success against his offense. However, two turnovers (one on special teams) and a failure to make a 4th-and-1 pushed the Jackets to the brink of what would have been a most crushing defeat.
But for one or two superior plays, Tech might have experienced defeat after taking a three-touchdown lead for the second time in the past 16 games. A year ago, the Jackets lost to North Carolina after gaining a 21-0 advantage. It set the school record for the largest lead surrendered in a defeat.
Instead, the Jackets and their faithful can celebrate one of the greatest games that a Tech quarterback has played, a truth confirmed by statistics but also by the impression made on those witnessing Justin Thomas at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Consider this jarring turn. According to ESPN’s calculations, Tech held a 97.8 percent probability of winning at halftime before surrendering the lead. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Jackets’ win probability shrank to 17 percent when Thomas was sacked for a nine-yard loss on 1st-and-10 at the Tech 14-yard line with the Jackets down 35-31. But Thomas flipped the odds with his 46-yard scramble out of the end zone on the next play, lifting the Jacket toward victory.
Johnson’s opening statement following the game summarized the day well: “I was disappointed with the way we played in the second half. I think that we found a way to make enough plays to win.”
Atlanta, Ga. — Georgia Tech senior QB Justin Thomas (5) congratulates sophomore QB TaQuon Marshall (16) after their 38-35 win over Duke Saturday, October 29, 2016. SPECIAL/Daniel Varnado
Going into preparations for its game at No. 18 North Carolina, which had the fortune of having the week off to ready itself for the Jackets, Tech can take confidence in the rising efficiency of its offense.
The Jackets averaged 9.9 yards per play against Duke, a number that even the mighty 2014 Tech offense could not achieve in a game.
Defensively, the Jackets can build on their three takeaways, a deluge after procuring only six in the first seven games. But the shortcomings on third downs continue. Duke converted eight of 13 third downs, increasing Tech’s defensive third-down conversion rate to 50.9 percent, last in FBS. The Blue Devils averaged 7.7 yards per play, their highest rate against an FBS team in the past three years.
The Tar Heels, piloted by hyper-efficient quarterback Mitch Trubisky (No. 3 in FBS in completion percentage), would appear even more capable of exploiting the Jackets defensively. North Carolina may be a tick below Duke defensively. The forecast calls for a lot of points.
Tech would be aided by the return of B-back Dedrick Mills and linebacker P.J. Davis, whom Johnson said Saturday that he expected to return from injury.
Tech may have to ratchet up its willingness to take even more risks defensively. It didn’t work, for instance, when defensive coordinator Ted Roof called for a six-man pressure on quarterback Daniel Jones and placed all 11 defenders within seven yards of the line of scrimmage on a 2nd-and-8 in the second quarter. The blitz was picked up and the problem was compounded when safety Corey Griffin went for the pass breakup and came up short. With no one to offer deep help, tight end Daniel Helm scored an uncontested 23-yard touchdown.
It did work when the Jackets also rushed six defenders at Jones in a zone blitz on 3rd-and-10 in the third quarter. It freed linebacker Brant Mitchell to put a hit on Jones and affect his pass, which defensive back Lawrence Austin made a superlative play on to catch for an interception.
It would be Tech’s biggest win of the season. But finding a way to win will be even more difficult than this past week.
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Autumn weather has finally arrived in the bay area, bringing crisp mornings and cool(ish) evenings. Temperatures should be in the 70s Monday evening when the little ghosts and goblins head out for Halloween. In keeping with the holiday spirit, here are some treats and tricks to keep in mind for well-being and safety.
Times staff writer
Pumpkin
In its purest form — no, we're not talking about that canned pumpkin pie mix — this symbol of Halloween is good for you. How good? Let registered dietitian Sharon Cox of Parkland Health & Hospital System in Dallas count the ways:
1. It's beneficial for your heart. People with high-fiber diets have lower risk of heart disease than those with low-fiber diets. One cup has 3 grams of fiber.
2. It helps you see better. A cup of pumpkin contains almost twice the recommended daily intake of vision-promoting vitamin A.
3. It boosts weight loss. The fiber helps keep you feeling full longer. That goes for the seeds, too.
4. It can help you sleep better. Pumpkin seeds are rich in tryptophan, an amino acid that may aid relaxation and sleep. Added bonus: Tryptophan may help your body make serontin, a mood-improving neurotransmitter.
5. It can help fight off certain cancers. That's because of those pumpkin seeds again — specifically the plant sterols they contain.
6. It helps promote longer life. Thank you, alpha- and beta-carotene, nutrients associated with longevity and cancer prevention.
Pumpkin is good for you, but eating 100 pumpkin pancakes is not.
Parkland registered dietitian diabetes education coordinator Katherine Nashatker offers this advice: "I would encourage pumpkin eaters to enjoy pumpkin in low-fat, low-sugar ways like roasting or steaming the vegetable, boiling and mashing it, as opposed to choosing high-calorie, high-sugar processed pumpkin products such as lattes, pies and casseroles."
Also worth noting: The pumpkin you carved with the kids is likely edible, but you're better off with a sugar pie pumpkin specifically grown for consumption.
Face paint and makeup
Whether you're trick-or-treating or attending a party, you want to look your best — without aftereffects from face paint or makeup (a rash, swollen eyelids). Consider these U.S. Food and Drug Administration safety tips:
• Follow all product directions.
• Only use products intended for skin.
• Smell the product first. If it stinks, toss it.
• Read the labels. Some face paint and makeup may not be safe for use near the eyes, despite the photo on the package.
• Don't wait until after you blanket your face with a product to learn that you're allergic to it. Apply a dab on your arm for a couple of days to check for any reaction.
• When it comes to color additives, make sure they have the FDA's okay. To determine which ones are approved for use, and on which body parts, do your homework:
Step 1: Check the list of ingredients on the label. Look for the names of the colors.
Step 2: Check the Summary of Color Additives on the FDA's website, which includes a section on cosmetics. If there's a color in your makeup that is not on the list, don't use it. And remember this: Just because it's on the list doesn't make it safe for use near the eyes. See the list at tbtim.es/colors.
• Know your glow: fluorescent and luminescent.
Fluorescent colors are sometimes called "neon" or "day-glow." There are eight fluorescent colors approved for cosmetics — D&C Orange No. 5, No. 10 and No. 11, D&C Red No. 21, No. 22, No. 27 and No. 28 and D&C Yellow No. 7.
Luminescent colors glow in the dark. Luminescent zinc sulfide, which gives off a whitish-yellowish-greenish glow, is approved by the FDA for limited cosmetic use.
Before you turn in: Remove your face paint or makeup by following the product's label to a tee.
If you've had a reaction, consider calling a doctor if warranted — or the FDA, which tracks bad reactions to face paint and novelty makeup (toll-free 1-866-337-6272).
Decorative contact lenses
If you plan to accessorize your Halloween costume with crazy eyes (zombie, werewolf, vampire, some other creature), think twice. Decorative contact lenses, sometimes called fashion or costume lenses, may be just that — decorative (they don't correct your vision) — but in the eyes of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, they are considered medical devices and, therefore, regulated by the FDA. Lenses are not one size fits all. To avoid eye injury, you will need a prescription for your lenses, according to the FDA, which notes that it is illegal to sell them over the counter without a prescription. A poor fit can cause damage ranging from corneal scratches and infection to decreased vision and, in severe cases, blindness, which is why it is imperative that you have a prescription from an eye doctor.
"The problem isn't with the decorative contacts themselves," says Bernard P. Lepri, an FDA optometrist in the agency's Contact Lens and Retinal Devices Branch. "It's the way people use them improperly — without a valid prescription, without the involvement of a qualified eye care professional or without appropriate followup care."
The FDA cautions against buying lenses from street vendors, salons or beauty supply stores, boutiques, flea markets, novelty stores, Halloween stores, record or video stores, convenience stores, beach shops or Internet sites.
Once you have your FDA-cleared or approved lenses, it's important that you follow all instructions, from how to wear them to how to clean and disinfect them. If you experience signs of a possible infection — eye pain, redness, decreased vision — see your eye doctor immediately.
Candy
According to personal finance website WalletHub, we spent $547.9 million on Halloween candy in 2015, making it the fourth biggest candy-selling holiday. That's a lot of Snickers, Skittles and Starburst Fruit Chews ... and sugar. A couple of treats won't take too big a toll, but a few handfuls from the candy bowl or your daughter's plastic pumpkin will add up quickly. The key to not succumbing to an overload of sweets is, as with many things in life, moderation. If you need a little incentive to reinforce the merits of portion control and bolster your willpower, take a look at how some Halloween favorites stack up — and, for perspective, roughly how much work and exercise it would take to offset your candy intake, courtesy of the Calorie Control Council website (caloriecontrol.org/healthy-weight-tool-kit/get-moving-calculator).
Brach's Classic Candy Corn (19 pieces): 140 calories, 0g fat, 28g sugar, 35g carbohydrates
21 minutes of gardening for a 175-pound person
Dum Dum Lollipops (3 lollipops): 60 calories, 0g fat, 11g sugar, 15g carbohydrates
15 minutes of line dancing for a 135-pound person
Starburst Original Fruit Chews (8 pieces): 160 calories, 3g fat, 22g sugar, 34g carbohydrates
15 minutes of singles tennis for a 175-pound person
Skittles Original Bite Size Candies (3 packs): 190 calories, 2g fat, 34g sugar, 42g carbohydrates
26 minutes of soccer for a 135-pound person
M&M's Brand Fun Size Milk Chocolate Candies (3 packs): 190 calories, 7g fat, 26g sugar, 29g carbohydrates
24 minutes of swimming for a 175-person person
Snickers Fun Size (2 bars): 160 calories, 8g fat, 18g sugar, 21g carbohydrates
22 minutes of jogging for a 135-pound person
Tootsie Roll Pops (1 Tootsie pop): 60 calories, 0g fat, 10g sugar, 15g carbohydrates
6 minutes of rope jumping for a 175-pound person
Tootsie Roll Midgees (6 pieces): 140 calories, 3g fat, 20g sugar, 28g carbohydrates
23 minutes of Pilates for a 135-pound person
Kit Kat Wafer Bar Snack Size (3 two-piece bars): 210 calories, 11g fat, 21g sugar, 27g carbohydrates
23 minutes of inline skating for a 175-pound person
Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar Snack Size (3 bars): 190 calories, 12g fat, 21g sugar, 22g carbohydrates
37 minutes on the elliptical for a 135-pound person
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (3 single cups): 240 calories, 14g fat, 24g sugar, 27g carbohydrates
47 minutes of kayaking for a 135-pound person
Twix Minis (3 pieces): 150 calories, 7g fat, 15g sugar, 20g carbohydrates
16 minutes of racquetball for a 175-pound person
Milky Way Minis (5 pieces): 190 calories, 7g fat, 26g sugar, 30g carbohydrates
19 minutes of kickboxing for a 135-pound person
3 Musketeers Minis (7 pieces): 180 calories, 5g fat, 27g sugar, 32g carbohydrates
17 minutes of beach volleyball for a 175-pound person
Almond Joy Snack Size (2 pieces): 160 calories, 9g fat, 16g sugar, 20g carbohydrates
22 minutes of rowing for a 135-pound person
Sources: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Times wires
Halloween health, safety tips on pumpkin, face paint and — of course — candy 10/28/16
[Last modified: Friday, October 28, 2016 10:43am]
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In an attempt to throw everything but the kitchen sink at Sydney's sharks in time for summer, one state government in Australia has gone high-tech.
New South Wales' A$16 million shark strategy to protect swimmers and surfers, announced in Oct. 2015, includes 4G listening stations, a shark-tracking mobile app and Clever Buoys.
Using sonar to detect the impressive creatures, the Clever Buoy devices' software can assess whether an object's size and swimming pattern indicates a shark's presence and then transmit that information to lifesavers or other authorities on land.
On Sunday, NSW Minister for Primary Industries Niall Blair announced the government would be launching a research project with the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) to assess the technology's efficacy.
"The information gathered from this research collaboration will help us understand this advancing technology for shark species, and how we can use it to give NSW beachgoers the best available protection," he said in a statement.
"We're trialling sonar, as well as other new technologies including smart drumlines, drones and listening stations, as we look to new and innovative ways to better protect swimmers."
To conduct the four-week trial, a buoy will be stationed offshore at Port Stephens. Underwater video cameras will record footage, which can then be compared with the shark data gathered by the Clever Buoy to confirm its accuracy.
UTS marine biologist William Gladstone, who designed the trial, told Fairfax Media the location was a known shark nursery. "It is recognised as a nursery ground for juvenile great white sharks and aerial surveys have confirmed it is a congregation site," he said.
"If it works effectively and reliably, you could deploy a number of them to cover the beach entrance with sonar beam. The message would go back to the lifeguards if a shark enters, and they would decide what to do."
The new trial follows an eight-week test at Sydney's most famous beach, Bondi, where a unit was stationed 500 metres offshore.
Developed by Shark Mitigation Systems, also known for making loudly patterned wetsuits that are intended to deter sharks from approaching divers and surfers, the Clever Buoys are able to pick up the presence of any sharks previously caught and tagged by the government.
The initiative follows a spate of shark attacks on the NSW north coast. The attacks have seen some community members pitching for an increase in traditional shark nets, while others view the nets as a serious environmental hazard, that tech like the Clever Buoy could potentially replace.
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Climate change has been recognized by the World Health Organization as the biggest health threat of the 21st century.
But what does it mean for Canada?
Canada has already seen increased wildfires resulting in smoke-related health impacts and stressful evacuations; an expansion in the spread of Lyme disease; and food security and mental health challenges related to rapid changes in the Far North, which is two to three degrees Celsius warmer than it was in the 1950s.
Climate change is no longer a suspected diagnosis. It's a health emergency that is already causing systemic damage to the health and well-being of many around the world. Consequences reach beyond borders: climate-related drought and crop failure has been implicated as an exacerbating factor in the conflict in Syria.
The Lancet, one of the world's most respected medical journals, points out that based on current emissions trajectories, temperature rises over the next 85 years may bring such consequences in terms of sea-level rise, malnutrition, conflict and other destabilizing factors as to be "incompatible with an organised global community."
A dump truck works near the Syncrude oil sands extraction facility near the city of Fort McMurray, Alta., in June 2014. (File Photo/Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)
The flip side of crisis is opportunity. In fact, the central conclusion of The Lancet's 2015 Commission on Climate Change and Health is that tackling climate change may be the biggest health opportunity of our time.
The report fused the knowledge of some of the world's most prominent economists, physicians, urban planners and other experts. Their assessment?
"The single most powerful strategic instrument to inoculate human health against the risks of climate change would be for governments to introduce strong and sustained carbon pricing."
The Lancet likened carbon pricing to methods already used successfully by public health departments across the world, such as tobacco taxation. Citing the Lancet, in 2015 the Canadian Medical Association passed a motion committing it to promote the health benefits of a strong, predictable price on carbon emissions.
The prescription of a critical treatment is a step towards better health. Given that, we applaud the federal government's recent announcement of a minimum price on carbon.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday that all provinces will have to have some sort of carbon pricing in place by 2018. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)
In British Columbia, per capita consumption of fossil fuels covered by their carbon tax decreased by 16 per cent between 2007 and 2013, and a review of studies on the tax showed an overall five to 15 per cent decrease in greenhouse gas emissions compared with what would have occurred with no tax.
Decreasing fossil fuel use decreases local air pollution, which has immediate benefits for health. The WHO attributes one in every eight deaths worldwide to air pollution. In 2008, the CMA estimated that air pollution resulted in 11,000 hospital admissions and 21,000 deaths in Canada annually, at a cost to the health system of over eight billion dollars.
As a carbon price drives society towards decreased fossil fuel use, air pollution is expected to decrease, resulting in immediate health benefits.
Air pollution-related illness in Toronto has dropped in the years following the closure of Ontario's coal plants; what if all of Canada saw illness from air pollution decreasing?
Any cost-benefit analyses of carbon pricing must include estimates of the impact of carbon pricing on rates and costs of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart disease.
Hazy skies in Toronto. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)
A formal health impact assessment at the provincial level at the time of consideration of individual policies would be helpful in order to ensure that new carbon pricing regimes are implemented in a way that does not penalize those with the least means, and which optimizes overall health.
Strategies to help with implementation include a predictable, reasonable rollout so that people can make progressively lower carbon choices, tax rebates or a tax shift. For example, the provincial government of British Columbia decreased personal and corporate income tax to compensate for their carbon pricing regime.
Other measures will be required to help us do our fair share and meet our international commitments, but a national minimum price on carbon is a significant step forward. There is much room for the provinces to each determine the best way to introduce carbon pricing and how to use the revenue generated for provincial coffers.
The world is going low-carbon. Canada has agreed to a G7 pledge to completely decarbonize by 2100 and has now ratified the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which will enter into force on Nov. 4.
If climate change is the biggest threat to human health, a robust response is our greatest opportunity to make positive change. The institution of a national carbon price is a key step in the treatment necessary to keep us — and our children — alive and thriving.
Courtney Howard is an emergency physician in Yellowknife and the climate-health lead board member for the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment..
Ryan Meili is a family physician in Saskatoon, an expert advisor with EvidenceNetwork.ca and founder of Upstream.
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Private equity firms keep
gobbling up ad tech companies.
andrechinn/Flickr
CC
The number of ad tech firms being bought by private equity
companies has been steadily rising over the past three years and
the trend shows no sign of dissipating.
Notable recent deals include
Applovin's $1.4 billion sale to Chinese private equity firm
Orient Hontai Capital in September and
Vector Capital's acquisition of Sizmek for $122 million in
August.
Results International, a UK-based mergers and acquisitions
advisor, told Business Insider the number of private equity
company buyouts of ad tech companies over the past three years
has risen from four in 2014, to six in 2015, and to nine in
the first three quarters of 2016.
If you include "mar tech" companies — many of which also supply
ad-buying and other services to advertisers (like Marketo,
which was taken private by Vista in a $1.8 billion deal in
August) — there have been 15 transactions in 2016 so
far, according to data supplied by investment bank Petsky
Prunier. In 2015, private equity firms were responsible for 20 ad
tech/mar tech transactions, according to the Petsky Prunier data.
(See the full list of 2016 transactions below.)
For many early ad tech companies, the clear exit strategy used to
be building up your business so it was attractive enough to be
bought by digital media giant like Google or Yahoo. But those
kind of deals have become far less common in recent years.
Venture capital money is still flowing into the ad tech market,
but most of the rounds aren't as big as they used to be. And
while there was a
recent ad tech IPO, that was the first since March 2015 as
fewer ad tech firms opt to go public.
John Prunier, partner at Petsky Prunier, told Business Insider:
"Confronted by scant interest from the largest and highest-paying
strategic companies — Google most visibly — and a consequent
drying up of growth capital, ad tech companies were forced to
retool their products and business models."
Now, many ad tech firms have shifted to a software as a service
(Saas) model, which means regular recurring revenues from
clients, rather than having to rely on taking a margin from
marketers' fluctuating digital ad spend.
Prunier said: "While managed services still generate a majority
of ad tech revenue, most companies in the segment offer and are
rapidly commercializing software-based solutions. This generates
lower revenue, but it is the sort of revenue private equity has a
greater confidence in and values more highly."
Ad tech firms now are seen by some private equity companies as
less of a risk as they once were. Plus, because there is a large
supply of ad tech companies in the market, many ad tech
company valuations still remain attractively modest enough
for private equity firms to begin building their own ad tech
stacks.
Julie Langley, partner at Results Capital, told Business Insider:
"Many private equity firms pursue what’s called a ‘buy and
build’ strategy. This means bolting on complementary geographies
or technologies to a business they’ve acquired with the intention
of taking it to IPO or selling it to a strategic buyer. There are
large numbers of sub-scale ad tech businesses out there that
would be good targets for this approach."
Private equity firms have been mostly leaning towards companies
with SaaS models — hence the large number of martech
acquisitions.
Langley said: "Traditional ad tech revenue models tend to be much
more transactional — and easier to turn off — so are less
predictable. Private equity much prefers enterprise software
because of its stickiness. In other words: It’s painful to rip
out and replace. A SaaS license model offers a degree of
assurance in terms of driving longer terms revenues. This means
private equity firms can feel more comfortable in putting
more debt into the business, this in turn helps to drive their
upside."
Drilling down into the financials, Prunier said private equity
firms tend to be looking to tick off this checklist
(although he stressed this is indicative only):
Private equity offers ad tech firms another liquidity option,
offering the companies the potential to grow, both
organically and alongside add-on acquisitions.
It's arguable that selling to a private equity firm isn't as sexy
as being bought by Google or taking your company to IPO. It's
probably reasonable to assume that data management platform
Krux, which sold to Salesforce for a reported $700 million
earlier this month, received a better price from selling
to a strategic investor like Salesforce than it would have done
had it gone down the private equity route. Should private equity
interest in the ad tech market be viewed as a good thing?
The fact that ad tech businesses now have the right cash flow,
profile, profitability, and business model for private equity
companies to show interest demonstrates the sector's maturity and
market acceptance, according to Joshua Wepman, a managing
director at investment bank GCA Global.
"The investment community has recognized this is an important
asset of the digital economy, so they are looking at ways to
benefit from this macro market trend towards digital," Wepman
said.
The interest from private equity firms adds to the growing number
of new entrants in the ad tech space — telecoms companies
like Verizon,
the growing raft of Chinese buyers, and cloud companies like
Salesforce and Oracle.
While some naysayers have been trying to write off the ad
tech market as dead (except for a small pocket of big
players), perhaps the uptick in private equity transactions
suggests the opposite: ad tech is still very much on stage, but
the ensemble of players has changed.
September
2016
AppLovin - Orient Hontai Capital
Group IMD - Inflexion Private Equity
August
2016
Sizmek - Vector Capital Corporation
July
2016
Revenew - Marlin Equity Partners
May
2016
TRANZACT - Clayton, Dubilier & Riicer
Marketo - Vista Equity Partners
Vertafore - Vista Equity Partners
April
2016
Cvent - Vista Equity Partners
Sitecore - EQT Holdings
March
2016
Clarus Commerce - Trivergance Acquisitions
Guestline - The Riverside Company
Mi9 Retail - Summit Partners
January
2016
Media Properties Holdings - Cannella Response
Television/ZMC/Palladium Equity Partners
Vision Media Management - CenterGate Capital
Fiverun - Vista Equity Partners
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It is often said that the internet is a kingdom for cats. But although grumpy and/or keyboard playing felines have dominated our desktops since the dawn of the dot com, in recent years, man’s best friend has battled for the throne. Puppers – often smol, so very smol puppers – are taking over the internet.
For those not in the know, a pupper is a small doggo, and a doggo is a big pupper. These two terms – if you haven’t already guessed – are internet language for “puppy” and “dog”, and have both become memes in their own right. A “smol pupper” therefore, is online speak for a “little dog”, which is excellent, brilliant, and all things wonderful, but leaves us asking: just why the heck is saying the former so, so, so much cuter than the latter?
This is Sansa. She's gotten too big for her chair. Not so smol anymore. 11/10 once a pupper, always a pupper pic.twitter.com/IpAoztle2s— WeRateDogs™ (@dog_rates) February 24, 2016
“The practice largely derives from the craziness of the English orthography system, where the same sound can often be spelled multiple ways,” explains Naomi S. Baron, a professor of linguistics at American University and author of Words Onscreen: The Fate of Reading in a Digital World.
“Think of threw, through, and true. In the US, we’re used to seeing road signs saying “No thru traffic.” Drivers get the message, presumably faster than if they had seen “No through traffic.” It’s then little surprise to see the word small – as in ‘smol pups’ – spelled with an ‘o’ rather than the prescriptive ‘a’.”
As well as getting the message across faster, the playfulness of mischievous misspellings gives us a frisson – or a little psychological kick – argues Deborah Tannen, a linguistics professor at Georgetown University and author of You Just Don’t Understand. This echoes the way that many online jokes are considered funnier when they are misspelled or lack punctuation.
Tannen also thinks the exclusionary nature of the language makes it more enjoyable, arguing: “When the spelling is nonstandard – as with smol for small – it feels like ingroup talk. We're doing things differently between us than everyone else does it out there.”
But although smol puppers are relatively new, the trend behind them isn’t. Hugh Rabagliati, a Chancellor's Fellow at the School of Philosophy, Psychology, and Language Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, compares the phenomenon to LOLCats, early 2000s memes of cats expressing misspelled sentiments as “I can has cheezburger?”.
“The misspellings and grammar reinforced the cuteness and craziness of the image, along with proving an orthographic cue to each cat’s wacky accent,” he says. “LolCats wouldn't have been very amusing if every caption had begun with a stage direction to speak in a funny voice.”
Smol puppers definitely echo LolCats, as the language alludes to the way we might imagine our adorable, bouncy little friends would speak. The Twitter account WeRateDogs™ adopts the voice of such a pupper, with broken sentences and the occasional emphatic jamming of the Caps Lock key. In fact, if you examine Google Trends for the terms “pupper” and “lolcats” you can see the former became more popular than the latter mid-2015, suggesting it filled some basic human need for internet cutes.
The phenomenon can also be compared to baby talk. “Maybe the language is similar to the language that kids themselves use, full of little grammar errors and incorrect vowels,” says Rabagliati, explaining why we might be programmed to find it cute. “But to my ear, the errors in LolCats seem most similar to those of people trying to speak English as a second language.” This, too, explains the enjoyment found in the text, as comedy foreign accents (yakshemash, Borat) have historically been considered humorous.
Smol puppers, it seems, are therefore cute for many, many reasons, but if we could only chose two, they would be these. Firstly, they are smol. And secondly, they are puppers.
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The sudden closure of ITT Technical Institute in September interrupted the lives of tens of thousands of students who were promised a path to a more secure future. Some had just started their higher education with the for-profit school and others were just a few classes away from earning a degree. All are finding themselves in the difficult position of having to start over or try to transfer credits from a school marred by allegations of fraud.
[ITT Technical Institutes shut down after 50 years in operation]
One group of 82 students who were in the nursing program at ITT Tech’s Salem, Va., campus are a prime example of the predicaments facing the 35,000 people the shutdown displaced. Though all of the colleges offering registered nursing in the region say they want to help, none will accept credits from ITT Tech’s nursing courses, leaving students with little hope of completing their degrees.
The federal government cut off student aid to ITT Tech after the school’s accreditor threatened expulsion in the face of mounting investigations, lawsuits and enforcement actions for lying about job placement rates and steering students into predatory loans.
[This really might be the end of ITT]
None of the cases centered on the quality of education at ITT Tech, but some schools are questioning the rigor of its programs. Other institutions are discovering that there is no seamless way to transfer credits from a for-profit school to a nonprofit college.
“What the Department of Education has done benefits no one,” said Steve Gunderson, president of Career Education Colleges and Universities, a for-profit trade group. “This is really a question of when the Department will stop its incredible assault on career schools — one that puts thousands of students on the streets with debt and no degree.”
Alongside the federal Education Department, state higher education councils have been organizing transfer fairs and information sessions to connect ITT Tech students to other schools. But states, including Virginia, are having trouble accessing student transcripts from the court-appointed trustee overseeing ITT Tech’s bankruptcy proceedings, creating another hurdle for transferring.
“We have never had a situation like this when a school closes,” said Sylvia Rosa-Casanova of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. “We usually have no trouble working with a school to get records. This is unusual, but there are colleges still trying to work with these students.”
Dozens of vocational schools and community colleges near ITT Tech campuses around the country are welcoming displaced students. Schools like Florida State College at Jacksonville and Harcum College in Pennsylvania are making exceptions to accept credits. Columbus State Community College in Ohio is even offering scholarships to displaced students. But many schools will only accept general-education classes because their academic standards differ.
At an open house for ITT Tech students at Virginia Western Community College, Amber Janney, 37, said she was told there was no way the school would count the core courses from ITT Tech’s nursing program, and she was encouraged to apply for the nursing program in the fall. That would mean taking a total of five years to complete her associate degree, which Janney says is not worth her time.
Janney quit her full-time job in March 2015 and sent her then-6-year old daughter to stay with her parents, as early-morning classes and far-flung clinical rotations proved too demanding on her schedule. There aren’t many colleges with registered nursing programs in Roanoke, and ITT Tech gave her a $25,000 scholarship that cut the cost of the two-year nursing degree in half.
“It’s just me and my little girl, and it’s a struggle to put food on the table. I did this for me and her, but I’ve had to sacrifice so much,” said Janney, 37, who had worked in health care for 15 years as a medical assistant and lab technician. “I went the past few summers without seeing her. My dad taught her to ride a bike and I missed it.”
With 24 weeks until graduation, Janney received an email saying ITT Tech, after 50 years in business, had discontinued operations at all campuses. All the late nights studying and time away from her daughter would be for nothing if Janney couldn’t find somewhere to finish her degree.
“Because we knew there would be so much competition between all of us nursing students — my class, the class behind us and the one behind them — we tried to get a spot somewhere,” she said. “But everywhere we turn we’re getting shot down.”
Administrators at Virginia Western say their nursing program is far more selective than ITT Tech. And while they are trying to make allowances to help all of the displaced students, the school must maintain academic integrity.
“Nursing is particularly difficult,” said Elizabeth Wilmer, vice president of academic and student affairs at Virginia Western. “The curriculum is so different between colleges and they don’t necessarily align, especially since ITT was on a quarter system and we’re on a semester system.”
Wilmer said at least 73 former ITT Tech students have contacted the school, 48 of them from the nursing program. Each case is under consideration, but Wilmer would not definitively say whether anything could be done to help the nursing students nearing completion.
“These students are coming to us in a difficult situation,” she said. “They want immediate results. Unfortunately, we aren’t able to give them immediate results. We need to evaluate each one individually, look at where they are in their program and look at how those courses align with our courses.”
Other than Virginia Western, the next best bet for the ITT Tech nursing students is East Coast Polytechnic Institute University (ECPI), a for-profit chain with a location in Roanoke. The school just started its nursing program and cannot accept transfers during its provisional period, said Barbara Larar, senior vice president at ECPI.
“There’s no getting around the board of nursing regulation,” she said. “We’re working with nursing students at our other locations, but unfortunately our situation in Roanoke is unique.”
Larar said ECPI is offering a free 10-week trial period for former ITT Tech students who pass the entrance exam. Hundreds have taken the school up on the offer, she said. But as enticing as it might be, Janney said she can’t imagine spending another two years taking classes she’s already passed.
“I don’t know if I physically have it in me to do this all over again,” Janney said. “I had 20-page care plans due each week, driving an hour back and forth for clinicals . . . the effort it took to do this program to have it just wiped clean is very disheartening.”
[Everything ITT students need to know now that the for-profit school has closed]
Janney has $21,000 in student loans from ITT, which are eligible for forgiveness under what is known as a closed-school discharge. Transferring her credits to complete the nursing degree, however, will rob her of that option. Janney can still apply to have the debt erased through the government’s borrower defense to repayment program for victims of fraud, but few people have successfully appealed their cases.
Rosa-Casanova of Virginia’s Higher Education Council said the ITT nursing students are having the most difficulty transferring. She has contacted each of the 82 students to go over their cases, advising those who had just entered the nursing program to start over. But she’s not sure how to help students like Janney who were about to graduate.
“This is a good example of a worst-case scenario,” Rosa-Casanova said. “You have students who are almost done, cannot get a placement to complete the little bit that’s left, and they have debt. What’s in place to help them? We need to think long and hard about what we can do to provide help in the future.”
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In space, nobody can hear you scream. But you can holler with delight here on Earth, especially if you were at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory last Thursday for its annual pumpkin carving contest. Although, calling it a “carving competition” seems off: It’s more like a science fair on steroids.
Hate to break it to you, but that pumpkin you carved for Halloween this year is pretty lame compared to these insanely intricate jack-o-lanterns. And you probably had all night. Participants in JPL’s contest only had an hour to build these crazy contraptions. In the time it took you to scrape out the pumpkin’s guts, this team turned their gourds into a spinning, flickering amusement park carousel.
HBD JPL! The Southern California research depot was founded on October 31, 1936. Bedecked with a cone hat and surrounded by balloon-shaped squashes, this festive birthday pumpkin takes the cake.
The JPL teams are just like you and your nerdy friends (except capable of building spacecraft): They love geeky inside jokes. This pumpkin, what we call Saw VIII: Ninja Starshade, is getting its face split by a starlight-blocking spacecraft.
How many mechanical engineers does it take to screw in a light bulb? None, they’ll create their own. Thomas Edison would be proud. Bonus points: is that a pumpkin rave in there?
Hide your kids, hide your cows. Apparently these Martians prefer abducting livestock over humans. Phew, that’s a relief.
These NASA pumpkins are clearly next level. Let them be rocket-fueled inspiration, because you still have time before Monday to carve a masterpiece. Or, maybe just settle for something like this.
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OWEGO (WBNG) --The 6th Annual Sustainable Health Expo was held at the Owego Treadway Inn Saturday.
There were more than 40 vendors, one of which gave attendees an alternative method to assess nutritional needs and to prevent aging.
Aaron Lambert, head practitioner at Whole Health Nutrition Center in Endicott, thinks Applied Kinesiology is crucial for anti-aging.
"As you age chronologically you can actually reverse the aging process inside the body so essentially as you get older you can get younger," Lambert said."With nutritional response testing or applied kinesiology were better able to address nutritional aspects that have been missed and improve their health where they have been stuck for many years."
The technique of applying pressure to organs of the body focuses to detect signs of weakness in organs, muscles, and glands through neuro-muscular connections.
"Chiropractors use kinesiology for bones and ligaments but I use applied kinesology for nutrition response testing," Lambert said.
Lambert said the method sets itself apart from traditional medical procedures.
"The difference and why a lot of clients like this is because it is simple to do and non-invasive," Lambert said. "Too many people are not eating enough of what I call nutrient dense meals so they are eating food but they are not eating a lot of food that doesn't have a lot of nutrition."
He said one secret weapon for optimal health is collagen -- to repair ligaments, tendons, and bones.There were samples of homemade collagen bars for people to give it a try.
"Too many people are settling and I want people to understand that they don't have to settle," Lambert said.
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Work-at-home jobs aren’t always what they seem
Q: The holidays are coming up, and I’m looking for some extra money. But so many of these online jobs look like scams. I’d love to do something remote, but how do I know what’s real?
A: One of the most exciting parts of living in the 21st century is how many jobs can be done on the road, or in your living room, or on your own schedule. But you’re right, many of those jobs are fake and will take advantage of you. If you find a help-wanted ad and it doesn’t name the company, skip it. Lack of a legitimate website or logo is also suspicious. Whenever you find a new company, vet it by searching for the company’s name plus “review” or “scam.” The strongest companies already have a well-known reputation, and they usually require you to appear in person: Uber, Lyft and Amazon come to mind. Whatever you do, don’t sign contracts or send personal information until you know exactly whom you’re dealing with. Speaking of the holidays, the world’s largest online retailer is hiring. Click here to learn how to work from home for Amazon.
Which AA batteries are the best?
Q: I noticed that Amazon.com is now selling batteries. How do they compare to the competition?
A: Consumer Reports recently tested 15 lithium and alkaline AA batteries from several brands. AmazonBasics Performance AA Alkaline batteries received an overall score of 71. That’s not very good when compared with the top battery on their list, Duracell Quantum AA Alkaline batteries, which received an overall score of 89. To learn more about different battery types and see how other brands scored, click here to access the list.
Silence the ads on Windows 10
Q: I finally upgraded to Windows 10 on my PC, but ads keep popping up, even though my screen is locked. Is there any way that I can ditch them?
A: First off, I’m glad you upgraded to Windows 10, if only for security reasons. The upgrade also gives you an excuse to take a hard look at your settings. Ads can be frustrating, especially when your computer is essentially off. To kill these unwanted ads, go to Settings, then to Personalization. Hit “Lock Screen” and then “Background.” Now you should see “Windows Spotlight.” Change the settings to “Picture” or “Slideshow.” That will do the trick! Click here to set more essential private settings for Windows 10.
Beware high-voltage phone chargers
Q: I recently lost my iPhone 6 charger, and my coworker has been letting me borrow hers. Then I realized that the charger’s voltage might be a lot higher. Should I be worried about that?
A: You should just replace the cable, and right away. Cheap Lightning cables can be found at almost any electronics store, and most chain pharmacies and gas stations. (Although beware of counterfeit Apple cables; the safest way to get the genuine thing is to buy directly through Apple.) More importantly, stop using the higher-voltage cable. It might work in a pinch, but over-charging is one reason lithium-ion batteries end up exploding. It’s not common, but it does happen, and using a high-voltage cord puts your battery at risk. You might also short out your phone; when this happens to a lithium battery, there aren’t as many fireworks as a full-on explosion, but you’ll still have to get the phone replaced. Click here to find out how to prevent your phone from exploding.
Tossing an old computer can attract identity thieves
Q: I was clinging to my old ThinkPad, but it finally bit the dust. I saw that Staples could scrap your laptop for you for free. Is that a good idea?
A: If your computer doesn’t have any monetary value, sure, bid it goodbye. Office supply stores often run programs that help destroy or recycle your old computer. But before you give your laptop to anyone, even a trusty Staples employee, make sure to erase the hard drive. I don’t mean just deleting files; I mean destroy every piece of data on it. Scavenging old computers is one way that hackers can steal your information, because former owners don’t realize their data is still lingering there. You need to make sure every last line of code is erased. Click here to learn about a surefire way to nuke your hard drive.
From buying advice to digital life issues, be sure to listen or download the podcasts. Click here to find your local radio station. If you are looking for topics about everything digital that you can listen to on your phone, tablet or computer, click here for my free podcasts.
Copyright 2016, WestStar Multimedia Entertainment. All rights reserved.
On the Kim Komando Show, the nation's largest weekend radio talk show, Kim takes calls and dispenses advice on today's digital lifestyle, from smartphones and tablets to online privacy and data hacks. For her daily tips, free newsletters and more, visit her website at Komando.com.
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Still, Ms. Rycroft, 59, said she had already cast her vote for Hillary Clinton. A registered Republican, she finds Mr. Trump “abhorrent,” she said. She did split her ticket and voted for Mr. McCain instead of his Democratic opponent, Representative Ann Kirkpatrick, because of his national security experience, she said.
Shortly after Ms. Rycroft learned about her rate increase, she got a reprieve in the form of a job offer. Her new job will provide insurance starting in January.
On Monday, the Obama administration confirmed what many Arizonans had already suspected, publishing premiums for policies offered under the Affordable Care Act that revealed that Arizona faces the biggest average rate increase in the country. The news was even worse in Phoenix, the nation’s sixth-largest city, where the price of a midlevel plan will increase by 145 percent on average.
Insurers rushed into the Phoenix market in the early years of the Affordable Care Act, offering some of the lowest prices in the country. But many younger, healthier people failed to enroll, and sick people flocked to the Arizona exchange, taking advantage of the law’s prohibition on denying coverage for pre-existing medical conditions. It now appears that many insurers severely underpriced their premiums, and they are now making up for that error by either jacking up rates or simply leaving the marketplace.
The fourth open enrollment for Affordable Care Act plans starts Tuesday, and in Phoenix and its suburbs, only one insurer, Health Net, a subsidiary of Centene, is offering plans for next year, compared with eight this year.
Many customers, particularly those with lower incomes, will not be affected by the price increase; the subsidies that the law provides to help pay premiums will cover most or all of it. Seventy-four percent of Arizonans with marketplace plans got subsidies this year, and the percentage is expected to grow next year.
But for those whose incomes are too high to qualify for premium subsidies — people who earn more than 400 percent of the federal poverty level, or $97,200 for a family of four — the price increases will be excruciating.
“When things flare up around Obamacare, it tends to motivate Republicans,” said Glenn Hamer, president and chief executive of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “I would say with 100 percent certainty that this is going to help Republicans. How much? Who knows?”
Most Arizonans have health insurance through their jobs. About 180,000, or less than 3 percent of the population, had insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace as of March, the most recent data the federal government has released. Others — it is unclear how many, because the state says it does not keep track — buy essentially the same plans outside HealthCare.gov, going directly to insurers. They cannot receive subsidies but will be affected by the rate increases.
Dante Fierros of Tempe, who owns a small manufacturing business, blames the health law for the rising cost of insuring his 30 employees, although the connection, if any, is unclear. Like many of the law’s opponents, he also considers it an example of government overreach. The turbulence in the Affordable Care Act marketplace here only solidified his support for Mr. Trump. “I think it will help him,” Mr. Fierros said of the rate hikes. “It’s kind of late, though.”
Hostility toward the health law is considerable here, but not overwhelming. A poll conducted this month by The Arizona Republic, the Morrison Institute for Public Policy and Cronkite News found that voters here remain divided on the Affordable Care Act, with 53 percent opposing and 40 percent supporting it. That is somewhat more negative than the national view, according to the latest Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll, which found 45 percent of Americans opposing the law and 45 percent supporting it.
Mr. McCain has made the health law’s troubles a centerpiece of his re-election campaign, attacking it for months now in ads and on the stump. It is a particularly potent issue with the Republican base, whose support he has sought to solidify after many voted for his primary opponent. He has hammered Ms. Kirkpatrick for voting for the law in 2010 and calling it her “proudest moment” in Congress, a claim she stood by in a debate on Oct. 10. Like Mrs. Clinton, Ms. Kirkpatrick — whom polls show trailing far behind Mr. McCain, a four-term incumbent and his party’s presidential nominee in 2008 — says the law needs to be fixed, not repealed.
Allen Gjersvig, who helps oversee Affordable Care Act enrollment efforts around the state, said he had been running the numbers and finding many plan holders might even spend less on premiums next year because subsidies were jumping along with rates.
“What the headline or social media or your neighbor says may not be your reality,” said Mr. Gjersvig, the director of navigator and enrollment services for the Arizona Association of Community Health Centers.
He added, however, that people in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe, would have a narrower network of hospitals to choose from next year. The same goes for Pima County, home of Tucson, where Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona is selling only “catastrophic” plans through the marketplace next year, and only to people younger than 30. For everyone else, the only insurer will be Health Net.
Kathy Hornbach, 60, a breast cancer survivor in the Tucson area, was certain the rate increases and insurer exits would not affect her, as she receives a generous subsidy and had heard Blue Cross Blue Shield, her current insurer, was staying in the marketplace in her county. Then she looked on HealthCare.gov.
“Disaster!” she wrote in an email, after learning Blue Cross would no longer cover people in her age group and her only option was a plan from Health Net. “I know nothing about this company, they know nothing about this market, I have no idea how restricted their plan is, and there is no information available for me to review.”
On a brighter note, her monthly premium, now $195 after her subsidy, will drop to $79 while her subsidy more than doubles. Ms. Hornbach, while shaken, is a self-described liberal Democrat who will still vote for Mrs. Clinton.
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