Insurance

Cigna, Blue Shield Sued for Misrepresenting Coverage

September 25, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://abc7.com/video/embed/?pid=324844" width="476"></iframe></p> <p>A Santa Monica-based advocacy organization filed two separate class-action lawsuits against Blue Shield and Cigna, claiming the health insurance companies misrepresented their coverage in order to make a larger profit.</p>

Lawsuits Allege Insurance Companies Misrepresented Coverage

September 25, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<script type="text/javascript" charset="UTF-8" src="http://www.nbclosangeles.com/portableplayer/?cmsID=277163251&videoID=_ij9DH2oG7E5&origin=nbclosangeles.com&sec=investigations&subsec=&width=600&height=360"></script> <p class="paragraph" data-pnum="1">As Sheila Davidson recovers from surgical complications, she said it's her Cigna healthcare policy that's making her sick.</p> <p class="paragraph" data-pnum="2">"It's a nightmare," Davidson said. "I fought this hard to get my health back. I'm not letting it go yet."</p>

Viewpoints: Prop. 45 Will Be Good For California Consumers

September 24, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>We all must buy <a class="lingo_link" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/health+insurance/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal;">health insurance,</a> but California is one of the few states that does not guarantee that it be affordable.

Poll: Obamacare Support Sliding, Jerry Brown, Water-Bond Up Big

September 23, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>The Affordable Care Act continues to divide Californians, who remain skeptical four years after its passage despite the state’s relatively smooth launch in which more than 1.2 million people enrolled in <a class="lingo_link" href="http://topics.sacbee.com/health+insurance+coverage/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal;">health insurance coverage.</a></p>

ANTHEM BLUE: Sued Over Alleged Failure to Send Insurance Card

September 22, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Cristin Severance, writing for ABC10News, reports that a woman called Team 10 after fighting for months to get repaid thousands of dollars by her insurance company.</p>

Op-Ed: Prop. 45: Regulate Health Insurance Premiums

September 20, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Is health insurance in California affordable? Not if you buy your own health insurance and don’t get a federal subsidy.</p> <p>Health insurance premiums in California have risen five times faster than the rate of inflation over the last decade. Recently, $250 million in proposed rate increases for individuals and small businesses were deemed unreasonable by regulators, but under state and federal law they had no power to stop them. In an August Field Poll, voters expressed support for the Affordable Care Act but dismay at the escalating premiums.</p>

Ad Watch: Ad Targeting Rate Regulation Measure Overreaches

September 18, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Opponents of a Nov. 4 ballot initiative that would allow the state’s elected insurance commissioner to regulate health insurance rates have launched their first TV ad, claiming that the proposal would disrupt the health exchange and give too much power to a single politician.</p> <p>Following is text of the ad and analysis by Christopher Cadelago of The Bee Capitol Bureau.</p> <p><span class="ng_leadin"><strong>Text:</strong></span> Dr. Marshall Morgan, past president of the Los Angeles County Medical Association:</p>

Reality Check: New Anti-Prop. 45 Ad Is Partially Misleading

September 14, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p class="bodytext"><span id="mn_Global"><span id="MNGiSection">Proposition 45 would give California's elected insurance commissioner the authority to reject excessive health insurance rate hikes, a power the commissioner already wields for auto and homeowners insurance rates.</span></span></p> <p><span id="mn_Global"><span id="MNGiSection">The campaign against it -- for which the insurance industry has so far put up $37.3 million -- is now airing a 60-second radio ad narrated by a nurse named Candy Campbell.</span></span></p>

Watchdog Attacks CA Radio Ads

September 13, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<div class="copy-paste-block"> <div class="post" id="post-214678"> <div class="entry"> <p>Public interest organization Consumer Watchdog would like appropriate officials in California to demand disclosure of the financial sources for issue ads, and is also asking radio stations to reject the ads.</p> <p>CW said, ”The largest health insurance companies in California have contributed $37 million to defeat Proposition 45, but are hiding from voters in deceptive new campaign advertising that violates disclosure laws and should be pulled from the radio.”</p>

Six Californias Measure May Fall Short Of Ballot

September 11, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<div id="text-pages"> <div class="page" style="display: block;"> <p>A revolutionary initiative to split California into six separate states was balanced on a knife's edge Thursday, still well short of the verified signatures it needs to have even a chance of making the 2016 ballot.</p>

Kaiser Spends $20 Million Opposing State Ballot Measures, Is Top Campaign Donor in California

September 10, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Oakland-based Kaiser is spending big in an effort to defeat two state ballot measures this campaign season. Though the November election is still two months away, the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan has already spent a whopping $20 million, according to a<a href="http://www.fppc.ca.gov/top10nov2014/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> report from the California Fair Political Practices Commission</a> (FPPC).

Californians Want It. Insurers Don’t. So Why Are Top Officials Fighting Over Prop. 45?

September 10, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>"It's going to end up hurting Californians," <a href="http://cal-span.org/cgi-bin/archive.php?player=silverlight&owner=HBEX&date=2014-08-21" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a lawyer warned</a> last month, during a Covered California board meeting.</p> <p>"It will damage health care reform, perhaps permanently, perhaps fatally, in California and I think perhaps nationally."</p> <p>Was Kennedy talking about the Halbig lawsuit, which threatens the legality of Obamacare's insurance exchange subsidies?</p>