The Rineman Files

MMOD: The end of the Dental Insurance industry?

2008-07-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

Does it end where it began? In the mouth? maybe. Let's talk tooth decay. Tooth decay is caused by the acidic excretions of a bacteria called "Streptococcus mutans". It eats sugars in your mouth and excretes acids that slowly dissolve the protective layers of tooth, ultimately causing cavities and dental disease. Yuck...but so what?

Well, a Florida Company, Oragenics (http://oragenics.com/product_replacement.php) has been working on solving that little problem for the last 20 years, and apparently has achieved success. What did they do? Well, in short they have created a new strain of the Streptococcus mutans bacteria with some interesting properties. The properties are thus:

1. It no longer excretes acids that harm your teeth.
2. instead it excretes material that kills off the original version of the bacteria.

So, by placing this new bacteria into your mouth, it will within short order kill off all the old destructive bacteria. Guess what that does? No more cavities...at all...ever. Gum disease also practically wiped out.

I would think this would mean quite a blow to most dentists, and if you never got cavities or gum disease, do you really need regular checkups? Dentistry becomes mostly elective procedures, and ortho.

Think for a moment what that would do to the Dental Insurance industry. It would certainly change the face of the industry if not wipe it out altogether.

So..is this just science fiction many years off? Well, no. In fact human trials are underway, animal trials were completed with amazing success.

Whats a person to do? Sit back and buy their stock I guess.....

MMOD: Losing your savings

2008-07-15T11:31:00.000-07:00

So, this is my kick off article for Mikes Minute of Doom. In MMOD's I'll highlight issues that can directly impact you and offer up ideas for what you need to do about them. This will be mixed in with my normal blog posts. So all you naysayers.... this Buds for you!

I first notified my friends about this issue over two months ago, so this is both a repost and a follow-up. The topic is bank failures.

Presently, there are about 8,000 banks in the US. Over the next 12 months, somewhere between 150 and 1,000 are expected to go 'insolvent', meaning bankrupt. What happens to your money if your bank goes bankrupt? Good question.

the FDIC insures money in banks in the US, but only up to a point. That point is typically $100,000. If you have money over and above this, and your bank goes bust, you just lost everything over that $100,000. Now $100,000 sounds like a lot, but it may not be, consider this...

Maybe you have multiple accounts? CD's? an IRA or 401k? These accounts have different dollar limits for FDIC protection, do you know how much you'll lose when your bank goes bust?

Also consider, are you part of a church or charitable organization or group? or do you have a small business or know a small business owner? It's very easy for these type of organizations to have more than $100,000. Guess what, the same $100,000 limit applies.

Now, the 'I told you so".. Last Friday, IndyMac bank went bust. They are the first. Guess what happened to those people with more than their FDIC limit in? They lose. Maybe even their life savings. Don;t let that happen to you or people you know.

How do you take action?

1. Make sure you know the FDIC rules. DO NOT trust what the bank tells you.
2. Split your money amongst two or more banks, keeping it within the FDIC limits.
3. Check the status of your bank on bankrate.com, you can key in your banks name and see how healthy it is or isn't. IndyMac was as 1 star of 5 and had a -7% profitability.

Finally, let's talk credit unions. Credit Unions have a very similar setup EXCEPT some are insured by a national agency (like FDIC) called the NCUA. However, some credit unions are not insured by NCUA, but are insured by state-based organizations. My advice would be to stay away from those, they pose a bigger risk than NCUA insured credit unions.

The final word... when your favorite retail store goes bust, you lose your money stored in those gift cards. Spend them NOW and don't buy them as gifts anymore. Cash is always in fashion... wise words and a birthday hint.

;)

This is Mike Rineman and I endorse this 'Mike's Minute of Doom'. Your mileage may vary.

Where it all begins...

2008-01-18T22:23:00.000-08:00

Well, after resisting the temptation for many years, I have finally given in and started my very own blog. I hope to use this forum to accomplish two things:

1. To entertain my friends.
2. To improve my writing skills and style.

So..with that said...expect the unexpected. I will be releasing my unrelenting, and often skewed, analyses on the world in general, and who knows where that may lead!