Insurance

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>

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>

Ruling Has Some Mulling the Necessity of Mandating Insurance

December 15, 2010  ·  Mark Reback

<p> WASHINGTON -- Though they have battled for more than a year, President Obama and the health insurance industry agree that the requirement for most Americans to obtain insurance, struck down by a federal judge, is absolutely essential to the success of the new health care law.<br /> <br /> Without it, they say, the whole package collapses, dashing hopes for universal coverage and cost control. Ripping the mandate from the law would have ''devastating consequences,'' the White House said Tuesday.<br /> <br />

The Sticks and Carrots of Health Care Reform

December 15, 2010  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <a href="http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/12/15/pm-the-sticks-and-carrots-of-health-care-reform/#">Click here to listen</a> to the audio of this radio broadcast segment.<br /> <br /> Marketplace's Gregory Warner looks into what will motivate people to buy health insurance.<br /> <br />

White House And Progressives Should Be Cheering Virginia Ruling Striking Down Mandatory Health Insurance

December 13, 2010  ·  Jamie Court

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What BP’s Secrecy on Payout Deals Sacrifices

December 8, 2010  ·  Judy Dugan

<p> We've reported about what's wrong in the<a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/blog/feinberg-cant-do-public-job-take-secret-pay"> secrecy around BP's payments </a>to Kenneth Feinberg and his law firm, which is doling out compensation for BP's devastating oil spill in the Gulf.</p> <p> Monday, though, the <a href="http://centerjd.org/">Center for Justice and Democracy</a> got deep into the guts of the matter.</p>

Termination Letters Emphasize Medicare Horror Stories

December 7, 2010  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Edgar Allen Poe and Mary Shelley are great sources of gothic fiction, but recent CMS termination and suspension letters sent to Medicare Advantage and Part D plans gives these masters of horror a run for their money.</p>

BP’s Cost Chiselers Back in Action

December 7, 2010  ·  Judy Dugan

<p> Late last week, as the presidential oil spill commission’s co-chair and staff <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20101202-712365.html">blamed BP’s cost-cutting</a> and “failure of management” for the devastating spill in the Gulf of Mexico, BP managers claimed that the government estimate of the amount of the spill by should be cut 20% to 50%, which would save the company billions in fines.</p>

Will Online Privacy Look Different Tomorrow?

November 30, 2010  ·  Jamie Court

<p> <a href="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/images_donottrack.jpg"><img class="right size-full wp-image-1873" height="225" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/images_donottrack.jpg" width="300" /></a>It's likely that the first shot of a new online privacy revolution will be fired tomorrow at the National Press Club in Washington D.C.</p>

Can We Reverse the Corporate Takeover of Politics?

November 30, 2010  ·  Judy Dugan

<p> <img class="right size-full wp-image-1870" height="221" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/images_flag.png" width="300" />The biggest political scandal of 2010 is an issue that nearly all Americans agree on, yet there's hardly a peep from the electorate. In large part that's because elected officials, particularly in Congress, want to keep it as far in the shadows as possible. Yet it's such a simple thing: Should the insurance industry, oil companies, the financial industry, other corporations and unions have to disclose the hundreds of millions of dollars they are spending to elect politicians who will do their bidding, and defeat those who resist ? 

Oregon: We’ll Do Our Own Health Reform and Dump the Mandate

November 29, 2010  ·  Judy Dugan

<p> Oregon has examined the federal health reform, raised an eyebrow and said "We're going to do better, and do it without forcing people to buy private insurance." Of all the states, it may be in the best position to lead the way. Sen. Ron Wyden, who is <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/01/wyden-pushing-for-oregon-_n_701785.html">pushing the White House </a>to let Oregon head in a different direction, says the loathed "individual mandate" will be the first thing in the trash bin.</p>

With a Review Pending, the State’s Stem Cell Agency Looks for New Leadership, New Therapies and More Money

November 28, 2010  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Lured by visions of nearly magical medical solutions for everything from cancer to Alzheimer's, California voters six years ago approved a plan to borrow billions of dollars to pay scientists to look into human embryonic stem cell research.<br /> <br />