Insurance

Calif. Blue Shield Seeks Another Round Of Rate Hikes

January 6, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <img alt="(AP/FILE)" class="attachment-single wp-post-image" height="315" src="http://cbsla.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/760500.jpg?w=420" title="Nurses And Hospital Workers In Emergency Room" width="420" /></p> <div class="wp-caption"> <p> (AP/FILE)</p> </div> <div class="reporting"> <p>  </p> </div> <p> <strong>LOS ANGELES (AP) —</strong> Blue Shield of California is seeking another round of rate hikes that would mean a cumulative increase averaging over 30 percent over a five-month span for nearly 200,000 policy holders, reports Wednesday said.</p>

Fed, Calif Officials Vow to Fight Blue Shield Hike

January 6, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> LOS ANGELES (AP) -- U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones are vowing to push back against massive health insurance rate hikes proposed by Blue Shield of California.</p> <p> <span id="articlebody">Blue Shield has implemented two rate hikes since Oct. 1 and plans another for March 1. Some policyholders would pay 59 percent more in premiums cumulatively over the three increases.</span></p>

Dave Jones Sworn In As California Insurance Commissioner

January 4, 2011  ·  Doug Heller

<p> <img class=" size-full wp-image-1910" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/images_jones_inaug.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 188px;" width="640" height="480" />After a $5 million campaign by insurance companies to defeat him, Dave Jones has been sworn in as California's fourth elected Insurance Commissioner.  I was at the inauguration in Sacramento and these are my notes...<br /> <br /> Interestingly, if not surprisingly, the insurance industry that spent all that money attacking Jones is here in full force. (Well, it's an open event...)<br /> <br />

BP Spill Claims: Secrecy Raises New Suspicion

January 4, 2011  ·  Judy Dugan

<p> <a href="http://www.oilwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Cantfeedmyfamilysign.png" rel="lightbox" title="BP Spill Claims: Secrecy Raises New Suspicion"><img alt="BP Spill Claims: Secrecy Raises New Suspicion" class="right" src="http://www.oilwatchdog.org/wp-content/themes/freshnews/thumb.php?src=wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Cantfeedmyfamilysign.png&w=300&h=214&zc=1&q=90" style="width: 300px; height: 214px; " /></a></p>

Mercury Auto Insurance Cuts Insurance Premium Hike After Challenge

December 31, 2010  ·  Mark Reback

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Former Google Lobbyist Resigns from White House

December 28, 2010  ·  Mark Reback

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Brown Plans Low-Key, Low-Budget Inaugural

December 23, 2010  ·  Mark Reback

<p> It'll be a little more upscale than the impromptu dinner at a Chinese restaurant where <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/government/jerry-brown-PEPLT007547.topic" id="PEPLT007547" style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-decoration: none; " title="Jerry Brown">Jerry Brown</a> celebrated his first swearing-in as California governor three decades ago — but maybe not by much.</p>

Is AHIP Having a Bernie Madoff Moment?

December 22, 2010  ·  Judy Dugan

<p> Massachusetts has the highest or near-highest health insurance premiums of any state in the nation and it's the only state that mandates the purchase of health insurance by every resident. Yet the health insurance industry, in hunting for ways to sell the mandate to Americans who hate the idea,  has concocted a ruse that a lot of people are actually buying.</p>

Obama Wants Health Insurers to Defend Large Hikes

December 22, 2010  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <strong>Plan would make insurers justify hikes above 10%</strong></p> <p> Health insurance companies that increase premiums by more than 10 percent would be required to justify those higher rates publicly, according to new rules proposed Tuesday by the <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/barack-obama/">Obama</a> administration.</p> <p> <span id="articlebody">Under the proposal, premium increases of more than 10 percent in 2011 for individuals and small businesses would set off a review by states or the federal government to determine whether those rates are unreasonable. </span></p>

Obama Takes Steps to Cap Health Insurance Rate Hikes

December 21, 2010  ·  Mark Reback

<p> WASHINGTON — Health insurers that are seeking a rate increase of 10 percent or more in 2011 must detail publicly why the increase is needed, under proposed rules that the Obama administration released Tuesday.</p> <div id="story_body"> <p> Under the proposal, the flagged premium increases would be subject to review by the states — or the federal government, in some cases — to determine whether they're unreasonable.</p>

Consumer Advocacy Group Urges Tougher Insurance Rate Review

December 21, 2010  ·  Mark Reback

<p> A California-based consumer advocacy group said Tuesday that federal regulations on health insurance rates should be "strengthened" to "prevent insurers from imposing unreasonable premium increases on consumers."</p>

Insurers Likely to Face New Reviews

December 21, 2010  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Rate review could get tougher for health insurers.</p> <p> Premium increases of more than 10% will be automatically reviewed by states starting in July, according to new preliminary guidelines from the Obama Administration detailed in <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703581204576033640288222736.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection">this WSJ story</a>.</p>