Insurance

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>

Oakland Tribune Editorial: If You Like Proposition 103, Then You Will Reall Like Prop. 45

September 9, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p class="editorialbodytext"><span id="iba2_siteCss"><span id="MNGiSection">Californians passed Proposition 103 in 1987, regulating auto insurance rates and saving drivers tens of billions of dollars over 25 years. California's drivers have enjoyed some of the lowest auto insurance rates in the nation because of this law.</span></span></p>

Lopsided Battle Over Proposition 45

September 8, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p><a href="http://www.kpbs.org/news/2014/sep/08/lopsided-battle-over-prop-45/">Click here to listen to the audio of this radio broadcast segment</a>.</p> <p>The fight over <a data-ajax="false" data-transition="none" href="http://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_45,_Public_Notice_Required_for_Insurance_Company_Rates_Initiative_%282014%29" rel="external">Proposition 45</a> is shaping up to be a contest between insurance companies and consumer advocates. And so far, insurance companies have the upper hand.</p>

What’s Behind Health Regulators’ Bickering Over Prop. 45?

September 8, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Tolstoy's line about all unhappy families being <a href="http://www.literature.org/authors/tolstoy-leo/anna-karenina/part-01/chapter-01.html">unhappy in their own way</a> hardly needs validation from us in the 21st century. But still it would be interesting to see what he'd make of the increasingly bitter division between two state agencies that should be working hand in hand to improve health insurance coverage for Californians: the state's individual health insurance exchange, Covered California; and the Department of Insurance.</p>

Insurers Spending $37M To Fight California Rate Regulation Initiative

September 4, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

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Insurers Using Familiar Playbook to Protect Profits in California

September 2, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>For the next two months, Californians will to be subjected to a barrage of TV, radio and online ads, which, ironically, they unknowingly will be paying for with their health insurance premiums.</p> <p>The ads are a part of a multipronged, multimillion-dollar campaign -- developed by public relations, advertising firms and political consultants for the state's biggest insurers -- to convince voters that an initiative on the Nov. 4 ballot designed to protect them against unreasonable rate increases will actually cause their premiums to go up.</p>

Mercury News Editorial: If You Liked Prop 103, Pass Prop 45

August 29, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<div style="font-size: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Californians passed Proposition 103 in 1987, regulating auto insurance rates and saving drivers tens of billions of dollars over 25 years. California's drivers have enjoyed some of the lowest auto insurance rates in the nation because of this law.</div> <div style="font-size: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </div>

States Step In to Put a Lid on Health Costs

August 28, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<div id="article_body" itemprop="articleBody"> <p>As a California state lawmaker, Dave Jones sponsored four bills that would have given insurance regulators authority to reject health-plan rate hikes, as they can in 35 other states. None became law. Now that he’s California’s state insurance commissioner, and running for a second term, Jones wants California voters to grant him that power directly.</p>

3 Ways Insurers Can Discourage Sick From Enrolling

August 27, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Insurers can no longer reject customers with expensive medical conditions thanks to the health care overhaul. But consumer advocates warn that companies are still using wiggle room to discourage the sickest — and costliest — patients from enrolling.</p> <p>Some insurers are excluding well-known cancer centers from the list of providers they cover under a plan; requiring patients to make large, initial payments for HIV medications; or delaying participation in public insurance exchanges created by the overhaul.</p>