Insurance

Health Insurers Spending Millions To Beat Pro-Consumer Ballot Measures

October 1, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>The latest campaign spending figures on California's two big healthcare ballot initiatives are just in, courtesy of the watchdog group MapLight, and they're mind-boggling.</p> <p>If you're curious about one significant driver of healthcare costs, here it is: Health insurance companies have so far contributed more than $88 million to defeat two plainly pro-consumer measures.</p>

Prop 45 Health Insurance Reform Debate Heats Up

October 1, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://abc7.com/video/embed/?pid=333051" width="476"></iframe></p> <p>Judy Graff Fisher and Diana Guth are small business owners who say their health insurance rates have gotten out of hand.</p> <p>"It has been a struggle. Every single year I dread the open enrollment... because every single year there's a raise," Guth said.</p> <p>Fisher said her health insurance cost $406 a month in January.</p>

Battle Over Proposition 45 A Blast From The Past

September 25, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p class="bodytext">A quarter-century ago, a then-obscure consumer group in Santa Monica led a revolt at the ballot box that changed the world of insurance in California forever.</p>

Insurance Companies Accused Of Bait And Switch

September 25, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Sept. 25--WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. -- After claiming he paid way more for insurance that delivered way less and waited on hold for hours to complain, Kevin McCarthy said he needed a way to get Blue Shield of California's attention.</p> <p>So he sued them.</p> <p>The Westlake Village resident and his wife, Jane, are among the lead plaintiffs in one of two lawsuits against insurance companies announced Thursday by the Consumer Watchdog organization.</p>

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>