Insurance

Yet again, health insurers seeking ways to defy health care law

August 12, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Consumer Watchdog and the Center for Media and Democracy have sent a <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/sebeliusletterCWDCMD081110.pdf">letter</a> to Secretary Kathleen Sebelius calling on her and the administration to investigate the recent dramatic decreases in medical loss ratios by major health care insurers in anticipation of health care reform implementation.

Showdown on health care reform rules?

August 12, 2010  ·  Judy Dugan

<p> It's going to be consumer advocates vs. a large scrum of health insurance company lobbyist in Seattle for the next several days at the summer meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. In advance of that, we've...</p>

Insurers Reign Over Rates — Only 19 States Have ‘Prior’ Approval Over Medical Premiums

August 12, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

WASHINGTON, DC -- As Americans struggle with double-digit hikes in their health insurance bills, millions are coming up against a hard reality: The state regulators who are supposed to protect them can often do little to control what insurers are charging. Consumer advocates and administration officials are trying to spark new state efforts because the new healthcare law gives the federal government only limited power to regulate premiums, traditionally a state responsibility. The Obama administration plans to announce a series of $1-million grants next week to help states increase their oversight.

Consumer Watchdog Vs. Insurers on Health Care Reform Implementation Regulations

August 11, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Consumer Watchdog has fought to defend central consumer protections in the health care law against efforts by lobbyists for the health insurance industry to undermine rules and create loopholes in regulations.  State insurance regulators at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and federal regulators at the Department of Health and Human Services began writing implementing regulations in summer of 2010.</p>

Insurance CEO pay: So that’s where the premium increase went

August 11, 2010  ·  Judy Dugan

<p> There are days when the idea of private health insurance companies running health reform are more ludicrous than others. Today, we find that health insurance CEOs are raking in ever-higher compensation--up to $110 million a year for one retiring CEO. This is obviously where a lot of our ever-rising premium dollars are going. </p>

Santa Monica Consumer Group Alleges Google-Verizon Internet Plan Could Hinder Universal Internet Access

August 11, 2010  ·  John M. Simpson

A Santa Monica-based consumer watchdog group this week decried a proposal by Google and Verizon Communications that it says would put an end to net neutrality and create a system of pay-to-play haves and have-nots when it comes to internet access.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_neutrality_in_the_United_States" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a>

California Should Regulate Health Care Premiums

August 11, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Within a few years, 6 million uninsured California residents will finally get medical coverage as part of the newly passed federal health care reforms. But what will they pay? And who will regulate premiums as insurers angle for customers? Right now, Sacramento has little control over health care rates, largely because industry lobbyists have killed efforts to change a rules-free marketplace. According to the organization Consumer Watchdog, health insurance interests have given $800,218 over the last three years to members of the state Senate, where showdown votes on insurance controls are due this month.

State Makes It Tougher For Health Insurers To Cancel Policies

August 9, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> California's new rules let applicants say they're not sure or they can't remember the answer to a health history question. Federal health reform allows insurers to cancel a policy only if there was intent to deceive. Jamie Court directs the nonprofit group <a href="../../../">Consumer Watchdog</a>. "Having the double whammy of both the new federal rules and the state insurance commissioner's regulations, makes it very clear to insurance companies what they can and cannot do," said Court. </p>

Illinois Insurance Regulators Want More Oversight

August 7, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Illinois regulators will ask lawmakers for the authority to approve or deny health insurance rate increases, saying residents need protection from skyrocketing costs that aren't justified. The state's effort to push for more aggressive oversight is "a huge step forward," in protecting an estimated 3 million residents covered by state-regulated policies, said Carmen Balber, director of Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that monitors how states regulate insurance rates. "We're talking about a product that in just a few years every American will have to have," Balber said. "With skyrocketing costs and mandatory coverage, regulators have to act to protect consumers from what would an unaffordable requirement."

States Implement Reforms of Healthcare as Lawsuits Proceed

August 6, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> The California-based nonprofit Consumer Watchdog made that point in a letter sent Tuesday to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius urging her to reject Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R) application for a rate review grant. The letter criticizes the governor’s application because California would use the money to hire actuaries to review rate filings without giving them the authority to reject rate requests. “I think the intent of the grants was specifically to enhance states’ ability to thoroughly evaluate and, where it can, to approve or disapprove rates,” said Carmen Balber, the group’s Washington director. </p> <p>   </p>

Top 10 Reasons You Can’t Trust Mercury Insurance

August 4, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

For years, Mercury Insurance illegally overcharged hundreds of thousands of California drivers hundreds of dollars per year, until they were forced to stop in the wake of a Court of Appeal decision in 2005.

The Next Health Reform Debate: What’s an ‘Unreasonable’ Insurance Premium Hike?

August 3, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Carmen Balber, director of the Washington office for Consumer Watchdog, an insurance industry critic that has been keeping close tabs on the law's implementation, said that increased public scrutiny has served to pull back some insurance companies. But, she said, that isn't enough. "There's only so much that shaming the industry will do," she said. What really needs to happen, she said, is for state regulators to get the resources and political power to investigate and crack down on unjustified rate hikes. "That's why the state grant program is so important," she said. </p>