Insurance

Coalition Opposes Health Insurance Rate Regulation Initiative

March 12, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> An impressive array of trade groups representing business owners, doctors, hospitals, health plans and health insurers launched a campaign Monday to oppose a health insurance rate regulation initiative proposed for the November ballot.</p> <p> Major funding for the effort comes from the four largest health insurers in the state: <strong>Anthem Blue Cross</strong>, <strong>Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc.</strong>, <strong>Health Net Inc.</strong> and <strong>Blue Shield of California</strong>, according to a news release from the group.</p>

Three Medical Malpractice Insurers Roll Back Rates

March 8, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Three top medical malpractice insurers in California have rolled back their rates, saving doctors, dentists and other providers nearly $19 million a year in premiums, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced Thursday.<br /> <br /> Last year, Jones required the top six medical malpractice insurance companies in California to submit rate filings to the department to justify their current rates. Jones called for rate reductions by three companies following a review of the filings. The other three are still under review.<br /> <br /> The reductions include:<br /> <br />

Virginia Donohue & Mark Klaiman, small business owners – Pet Camp

March 2, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> My husband Mark and I had always wanted to be able to bring our dogs to work, and be in business for ourselves. We realized that goal in 1997, after saving hard from our day jobs. Our dog and cat “pet camps” have given us fulfilling and happy work. Dogs having an outdoor play party are the definition of joy.</p> <p> Dealing with small business health insurance, however, is the exact opposite experience.</p>

Op-Ed: Time For Health Insurance Companies To Justify High Rates

March 2, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> If my family's small local business was a health insurance company, we could double prices during a deep recession while amassing a fortune in invested savings. Woohoo!</p> <p> <span id="iba2_siteCss">As the customer base fell, we'd just jack up prices again. It's a laughably impossible model for almost any business. But not for Blue Cross, Blue Shield and their ilk. They don't have to care that the rising cost of health insurance premiums can tip a family from solvency into ruin.</span></p>

Michelle Derviss – Novato, CA

March 1, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <img class=" size-full wp-image-2383" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/images_michellederviss.jpeg" style="width: 160px; height: 275px;" width="288" height="480" />As a landscape and garden designer, I’m self-employed in a job that is tremendously satisfying. I get to oversee everything from the first sketch to the last wall curve, paving stone and climate-perfect shrub. But as with most small businesses in California, the sick economy of the last 5 years has affected my company, Derviss Design.</p>

Janet Hildreth, small business owner – Tree Lovers Flooring

March 1, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> We’ve always offered health insurance in our small business, Tree Lovers Flooring, to provide for our employees as we would for ourselves. It was the right thing to do. But it’s getting almost impossible to keep doing. The total cost this year, even after changing to a plan with higher copays, is about $51,000 for 12 of us. A few families are included, but mostly it’s for individuals in their 30s or early 40s.</p>

GeoVera Insurance Settles with State

March 1, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> The California Department of Insurance has settled a noncompliance action against GeoVera Insurance Co. following an investigation that started after some customers complained about steep increases in their earthquake insurance premiums.<br /> <br /> Although the investigation found the premium increases were "justified and legitimate, we also uncovered other underwriting practices that we thought were illegal," says Bryant Henley, assistance chief counsel for the department.<br /> <br />

Maine Supreme Court Upholds Anthem Rate Decrease

February 29, 2012  ·  Carmen Balber

<p>

Insurance for a Cancer Survivor — The disease hasn’t recurred in 20 years, but coverage is still pricey.

February 27, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <strong>HEALTH 411</strong></p>

Health Plan Hikes Reveal Bad Blood

February 27, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> A loud hissing contest on California's left political flank began weeks before the state's largest health insurance companies announced the other day they plan to raise average rates by 8 percent to 14 percent for thousands of consumers with individual policies — well over twice the 3.6 percent increase in their annual costs.</p>

Proposed Ballot Measure Seeks Tougher Health Insurance Rate Regulation

February 27, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> In more than 30 states, government insurance departments have the authority to reject what they determine to be excessive rate hikes for health insurance. But not in California. Earlier this month, consumer advocates launched a drive to put an initiative on the November ballot to let voters decide if California’s Insurance Commissioner should have this power.</p>

Consumer Advocates, Unions Back Health Care Ballot Measures

February 26, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Consumer advocates and labor unions are looking to tap into Californians' anxiety over health care costs with ballot measures targeting insurance companies and hospitals.</p>