Insurance

Op-Ed: Prop. 45 Will Make Health Insurance Affordable

October 27, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>As a registered nurse, I’ve watched health insurance premiums jump while benefits and doctor networks shrink. I’ve watched patients pay thousands out of pocket before insurance pays for anything.</p> <p>We all have to buy health insurance under federal law. But there is no guarantee that it will be affordable. Proposition 45 provides that guarantee. It gives California the same power 35 other states already have to reject excessive rates.</p>

EDITORIAL: Yes on Prop 45

October 25, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<div id="content-only-wrapper-block"> <p><strong>Proposition 45</strong></p> <p>Watch much TV? Even if you only watch a little, you can't have escaped the torrent of Proposition 45 campaign ads washing across the airways, vying for consumer votes on health care insurance.</p> <p>You'll recognize the names of those companies fighting Prop. 45 with tens of millions of dollars -- Kaiser Permanente, WellPoint, Blue Cross/Blue Shield -- the list goes on. The proponents, with far fewer dollars, include Consumer Watchdog and a number of labor groups.</p>

Op-Ed: YES on 45: Stop Health Insurance Company Rip-Offs

October 24, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<div class="entry-content"> <p>Students with parents who have health insurance can now stay on their plans until they are 26, thanks to the Affordable Care Act. But when young people strike out on their own as app developers, artists, therapists, graphic designers or any other kind of entrepreneur looking to buy their own insurance, they will discover California is still the Wild West.</p>

Yes On Proposition 45 Going To The Airwaves

October 24, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>With just over a week until election day, backers of Proposition 45, the health insurance rate regulation initiative, are finally putting ads on television.</p> <p>Though their opponents have used a $55-million campaign war chest to flood the airwaves, Consumer Watchdog, the Santa Monica activist group that put the measure on the ballot, only has $1 million to spend on limited TV and radio spots.</p>

Spending On 2 Health Initiatives Tops $100 Million

October 24, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p><span class="dateline">SACRAMENTO, Calif.</span> — Two health care-related initiatives on the November ballot have generated more than $100 million in spending, with insurers and doctors leading the fight to defeat both, according to campaign finance reports filed late Thursday.</p> <p>Opponents of Proposition 45, led by Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc., Wellpoint Inc. and Blue Shield of California, reported spending $42 million, with the campaign carrying $25 million in debt. The Yes on 45 campaign, led by attorneys, reported raising $1.6 million.</p>

Ballot Watch: Prop. 45 Would Give Commissioner Power To Change Health Rates

October 24, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<div id="content-body-713359-3361986"> <p>Proposition 45, which would give rate-regulation authority over health insurance to the state’s elected insurance commissioner, would mostly affect roughly 6 million Californians who buy their own insurance or get it through their employment with a small business (50 or fewer employees).</p>

Jones Calls Anthem Rate Hike for Small Business Plans ‘Excessive’

October 23, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

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Protesters Dump Manure on Blue Shield’s Doorstep

October 23, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<script height="364px" width="550px" src="http://player.ooyala.com/iframe.js#ec=Q1OG9hcToop6VfUgU4wm_yH2lAn4K2yE&pbid=7f13b2020e924f7bb1bc00c770ee5d24"></script> <p>SAN DIEGO – A giant stink bomb was dropped outside the San Diego offices of Blue Shield Thursday by supporters of Proposition 45, a ballot measure that would require health insurance companies to disclose rate changes publically.</p>

EDITORIAL: Nov. 4 General Election Ballot Recommendations

October 23, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<div id="content-only-wrapper-block"> <p><b>California Statewide Ballot Measures</b></p> <p><b>Proposition 45—Healthcare Insurance. Rate changes, initiative statute. </b></p> <p>This initiative requires the State Insurance Commissioner to approve rates and policy changes set by health insurance providers before they can be passed on to consumers.</p> <p>It will exempt large employers, but applies to the insurance provided to all other persons or groups.</p>

Prop. 45 Gives State Power To Veto Health Insurance Rate Increases

October 23, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://abc7news.com/video/embed/?pid=363729" width="476"></iframe></p>

Amid Ballot Fight, State Insurance Commissioner Rips Anthem Rate Hike

October 22, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>In the final days of a battle over Proposition 45, California's insurance commissioner criticized Anthem Blue Cross for an "excessive" rate hike affecting 120,000 people with small-business health coverage.</p> <p>Dave Jones, the state's elected insurance commissioner, said Anthem had failed to justify its 10% average rate increase and used an "unwarranted accounting maneuver" to mask its high profits.</p> <p>But Jones has no power to stop Anthem's increase, a fact he's been campaigning hard to change with Proposition 45.</p>

On Eve Of Election, Insurance Commissioner Blasts Anthem Blue Cross Over Some Of Its Rates

October 22, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>With Election Day less than two weeks away, Insurance Commissioner <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/search/results?q=Dave%20Jones">Dave Jones</a> blasted <a class="ct saveLink" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/company/us/ca/thousand_oaks/anthem_blue_cross/3352047">Anthem Blue Cross</a> for what he deemed an "unreasonable" rate increase for a small sub-set of its business.</p>