Jon Marcus — San Francisco, California
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Insurance
Insurance news, investigations, and reform — auto, home, and health insurance rates, claims denials, and industry accountability.
Murray Axelrod — Los Angeles, California
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Penny Ericson (an alias) — Los Angeles, California
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The Brown Family — Belmont, California
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Pat & Dave Parker — Orange County, California
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Pat Pawlack — North Hollwood, California
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Kathy Locke — Novato, California
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UnitedHealth to buy PacifiCare;
<h3>The $8.1 billion acquisition would give the company a commanding presence in the senior-care market.</h3><p class="source">The Orange County Register (California)</p>
<p>Consumer advocates were skeptical of such claims. FTCR urged state regulators to take a hard look at the deal, noting that patient premiums have been increasing at double-digit rates over the last several years, and less competition removes any incentives for efficiency.</p>
UnitedHealth plans to acquire PacifiCare;
<h3>$8.1 billion deal will create insurer with 26 million members</h3><p class="source">The San Francisco Chronicle</p>
<p>A consumer advocacy group disagreed with the merger. "Consumers will have fewer choices, and costs will go up," said Jerry Flanagan, health advocate for the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, based in Santa Monica.
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UnitedHealth to Buy PacifiCare in Push Into Medicare
<p class="source">The New York Times</p>
<p>Jerry Flanagan, a spokesman for the advocacy group, the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, said it would also ask regulators to limit ''big payouts'' to executives in the merger. After a six-month delay in the California approval process last year, WellPoint agreed to pay $365 million toward low-income residents' health care in an agreement to complete the merger.</p>
Blue Cross fined for $12 million in overcharges
<p class="source">Stockton Record</p>
<p>"A $150,000 fine on a company that had a $300 million profit increase is barely a slap on the wrist and won't deter Blue Cross from making the same mistake again," said Jerry Flanagan of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica. It certainly appears as if the Department of Managed Health Care is going easy on Blue Cross when they should be on the patient's side," he said.</p>
Blue Cross billing errors result in fine of $150,000;
<h3>Nearly 45,000 charged multiple times</h3><p class="source">Ventura County Star</p>
<p>The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights reported that one customer in Stockton had $1,110, five times her monthly premium, taken out of her bank account because of the error.</p>