Insurance

Judge Grants Farmers Customer the Right to Challenge Class Action Settlement

February 5, 2011  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> <img class=" size-full wp-image-1969" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/farmerslogo_0.gif" style="width: 225px; height: 121px;" width="600" height="323" />Over the objections of the insurance companies and attorneys for the plaintiffs, Superior Court Judge William F. Highberger granted a Farmers customer’s request to intervene in <i>Fogel v. Farmers Group, Inc.</i> and postponed the preliminary class action settlement approval hearing until March 2, 2011.</p> <p> Consumer Watchdog's lawyers, who represent a former Farmers policyholder, argued that the terms of the settlement are unfair to customers.</p>

Insurance Commissioner Can’t Stop Premium Increases

February 2, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <a href="http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_News_Local_D_insurance03.2388b1b.html">Click here to listen to the podcast of this story</a>.</p> <p> Clamor over an insurance company's decision to increase premiums by as much as 59 percent could lead California lawmakers to consider pre-approving such increases.</p>

Court Rules That Consumers Can Sue Manufacturers Over Misleading Claims

January 28, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <b>The decision resolves a battle between consumers and business over the scope of Proposition 64, a 2004 measure intended to reduce 'shakedown' suits.</b><br /> <br /> Consumers who buy a product as a result of misleading advertising can sue the manufacturer even if the product was not defective, the California Supreme Court decided in a 5-2 ruling Thursday.<br /> <br /> Advocates of limiting lawsuits lambasted the ruling and warned that it might lead to clogging of the courts at a time when court funding is being cut.<br /> <br />

3 Health Insurers Agree to California Commissioner’s Request to Delay Rate Hikes

January 28, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Hundreds of thousands of Californians won at least a temporary reprieve from escalating health premiums Thursday when three of the state's largest insurers agreed to delay rate hikes.<br /> <br /> But the company that launched the latest round of headlines about escalating rates, Blue Shield, stood by its decision to go forward with a March 1 increase that will raise rates on nearly 200,000 individual policyholders, some by as much as 59 percent.<br /> <br />

3 Insurers Agree To Delay Calif Rate Increases

January 28, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> SACRAMENTO Calif. -- Customers of three California health insurers will get some breathing room after the companies agreed Thursday to delay rate increases for 60 days, isolating Blue Shield of California as the lone holdout.<br /> <br /> Anthem Blue Cross, Aetna and PacifiCare agreed to the delay to give the state Department of Insurance time to examine their recent rate filings, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said.<br /> <br />

Blue Shield Is Now Black Sheep Among Insurers In Not Delaying Rate Increases

January 28, 2011  ·  Jamie Court

<p> California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones may have just assured Blue Shield its place as the worst health insurance company in America. He's gotten every other health insurance company in California to <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/2011/01/27/3359061/3-insurers-to-delay-rate-hikes.html">hold off on rate increases</a>.</p>

How To Weaken Health Reform: Regulators Have Little Power Over Health Insurance Rate Increases

January 26, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <b>The healthcare law lets the Department of Health and Human Services set standards as to what constitutes an 'unreasonable' increase. But it doesn't give regulators any new powers to reject a proposed increase before it's implemented.</b></p>

The Circuit: Consumer Watchdog Asks for Google Probe

January 25, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Consumer Watchdog sent a report to Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, asking for a probe into the relationship between the Obama administration and Google. According to a release from Consumer Watchdog, the report details "how Google has inappropriately, benefited from its close ties to the Obama Administration, including how NASA’s Moffett Airfield, near Google’s world headquarters, has been turned into a taxpayer-subsidized private airport for Google executives used for corporate junkets."</p>

Messaging won’t halt health insurance rate hikes

January 21, 2011  ·  Carmen Balber

<p> The new Republican House majority plowed forward with its anti-health care agenda in DC this week. However, the campaign invective calling for the "repeal" of the job-killing health care bill has officially morphed into “replace” talking points - an explicit acknowledgement that the consumer protections and insurance market reforms in the health reform law are too popular for all but the most reactionary to openly oppose.</p>

The Public Eye: New Rules Protect Against Health Policy Revocations

January 21, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<div class="lingo_region entry-content" id="articlebody"> <p> Health insurers, long under fire by consumer protection groups for the practice known as rescission, now have the onus of proving fraud before canceling the coverage of subscribers who run up big medical bills.</p> <p> The consumer protection, made possible by Assembly Bill 2470, went into effect this year to conform with the federal health care law, which as of last fall outlawed rescissions based on innocent or minor consumer mistakes.</p>

A Health Pan to Save You Money?

January 20, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> If you don't know about high-deductible insurance plans, you will soon. These controversial plans are increasingly offered by employers. Also known as consumer-directed health plans, they offer clear cost-saving benefits, such as lower premiums and the opportunity to manage increasing health care costs.</p> <p> But if you get seriously sick, you'll be socked with high deductibles.</p> <p> Understandably, the plans get mixed reviews.</p> <p> <strong>Deductibles as High as $1,000</strong></p>

Watchdog Group Asks for Top Blue Shield Salaries

January 20, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p class="storyIntro"> Pressure is building on Blue Shield to justify huge rate increases for health insurance; some of them were up to 59 percent.</p> <p> Though most of us have group insurance, that 59 percent rate hike will still affect an estimated 200,000 policy holders.</p> <p> The group Consumer Watchdog called on Blue Shield to release the salaries of its top executives.</p> <p> It also asked for more data to justify what went into the rate hike decision.</p> <p> The group says the company has a cash surplus of nearly $3 billion.</p>