Benefit

Premiums for comprehensive health insurance are 47% higher than other policies without all of those benefits, a new industry study shows, but those higher rates also yield lower deductibles. The report issued Tuesday by eHealth Inc., the company behind online shopping website eHealthInsurance. adds to a steady drumbeat of predictions about "rate shock" when the federal healthcare law kicks in next year. Even some supporters of the Affordable Care Act have expressed concern that the federal requirement for richer benefits and new consumer protections will drive up premiums substantially.

The U.S. government is paying billions to war veterans and their families, including monthly payments to the children of Civil War veterans. More than $40 billion annually is being paid out to soldiers and survivors of the Civil War, the Spanish-American War in 1898, both World Wars, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the Iraq war and the war in Afghanistan, according to an analysis by the Associated Press. Two children of Civil War veterans -- one in Tennessee and the other in North Carolina -- are each receiving $876 a year.

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Wendy Greuel is pushing to reopen talks with the city's employee unions over a recent decision to reduce public employee pension benefits, sparking alarm from some at City Hall. Looking to differentiate herself from City Councilman Eric Garcetti on labor issues, the city controller has asserted for months that Los Angeles leaders failed to properly negotiate with its unions before hiking the retirement age and rolling back pension benefits for newly hired civilian city workers.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. - Until tax season comes around, Mary Ritchie and Kathy Bush can act like any legally married couple raising two boys. In midwinter, that means watching lots of basketball. "We go to every game and every practice," Bush said. But when they file their tax return with the federal government, they are no longer married. The return is supposed to be "true, correct and complete" by law, but they cannot check "married, filing jointly. " The loss of this routine tax break costs them as much as $6,000 a year.

Americans are getting married at ever-older ages, and a new report says this trend may be partly responsible for the shrinking of the middle class. On average, brides are 26.5 years old and grooms are 28.7 when they head to the alter, according to the authors of the report, “Knot Yet,” which was released Friday by the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia and collaborators. Those ages represent historic highs. For college-educated men and women, delaying marriage has paid off - literally.

If it is done right, the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) may well promise uninsured Americans a lot more than cheap, reliable medical care. It can also open the door to the democratic empowerment of millions of poor people, who are often alienated from much of the nation's civic life, by strengthening the organizations that give them a voice. This year more than 30 million uninsured Americans are to begin signing up for Obamacare, but the vast majority of those eligible for either the expanded Medicaid program, or for subsidized private health insurance through state health exchanges, have no idea how to enroll.

USC's quarterback competition could take a slight turn in the next week because of a knee injury suffered by Max Wittek. Wittek did not practice Tuesday because, he said, of a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee. Wittek was injured Saturday during a drill before the Trojans' scrimmage at the Coliseum. On Tuesday, he wore a brace on his right leg and said he might sit out Thursday and Saturday before the Trojans break for a week. "If there's ever a time for this to happen, I guess it would be right now," said Wittek, who is competing against fellow third-year sophomore Cody Kessler and freshman Max Browne.

A powerful Los Angeles County labor group that fought efforts to roll back pension costs at City Hall took a huge step Tuesday toward endorsing City Controller Wendy Greuel in the race for mayor, recommending her over opponent Eric Garcetti. Greuel won the support of the political committee that guides the 600,000-member Los Angeles County Federation of Labor after suggesting the city's handling of retirement benefits resembled the leadership of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican reviled by organized labor, according to audio obtained by The Times.

Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith rocked out, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner got the word out and a constellation of celebrities took their wallets out -- to the tune of $830,000 -- at a charity event and mini-concert organized by John Varvatos and funding a program helping child victims of sexual assault. That brings the total raised by the annual event over the last decade to $3.53 million, with funds going to the Stuart House , a program created by the Rape Treatment Center at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center to serve the special needs of sexually abused children.  While the silent auction and a spirited live auction helped the event easily outstrip last year's $700,000 fundraiser , honorary co-chairs Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck underscored the benefit's other goal of shining a light on the topic of childhood sexual abuse -- and programs that deal with it. "When I first visited Stuart House eight or nine years ago, I was so impressed with how safe it felt," Garner told the crowd.  In his comments, Affleck explained that he got involved because his wife had hosted an earlier incarnation of the event.