health insurers news stories on Newser

129M Americans Have Pre-Existing Conditions

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 07:55:50 CST

As the House prepares to consider a repeal of health care reform, the Obama administration has released a startling statistic: Up to 129 million non-elderly Americans have pre-existing health conditions. That means anywhere from one-fifth to one-half of people under age 65 in the US are at risk of being...

Life Insurers Mine Web to Profile Customers

Nick McMaster — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:38:54 CST

Life insurers have traditionally relied on medical tests to get an estimate of a candidate's longevity—screening for things like drug use or high cholesterol. But they're experimenting with a much cheaper, and clandestine, method: gathering up the vast amount of information about people from the web via social networks,...

Obama to Insurers: Don't You Dare Jack Premiums

Kevin Spak — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 08:50:16 CDT

With parts of the health care reform law about to go into effect, President Obama has called executives from 13 leading insurers to Washington for a stern lecture about rate gouging. Obama is afraid the insurers will use the law as an excuse to jack up premiums. “Our message to...

US Health Care System Is 'Unique in Its Cruelty'

John Johnson — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:35:23 CDT

The recent allegations that insurance giant Assurant Health beefed up profits by weeding out policy holders with HIV is a prime example of why we need comprehensive reform of health care coverage, writes Paul Krugman. Assurant is not the only insurer doing this, and for a simple reason: "It pays....

Insurance Firm Aimed to Ditch All HIV Clients

Rob Quinn — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 06:00:00 CDT

Insurance giant Fortis used every underhanded method it could to purge HIV-positive clients from its books, according to newly released records. Documents reveal that the company—now known as Assurant—used an algorithm to target every policyholder diagnosed with HIV for a fraud investigation and canceled their policies on the...

Obama to Insurers: No More Outrageous Rate Hikes

Jane Yager — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 07:56:45 CST

The health bill President Obama is to unveil today will empower the federal government to cap insurers’ rate increases—a bid to prevent hefty rate hikes like the 39% Anthem Blue Cross premium hike in California that recently sparked outrage. The president’s bill would create a new board of industry...

White House Lashes Insurers Jacking Up Prices

Harry Kimball — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 09:32:01 CST

The White House has begun to call out health insurance companies attempting to drastically raise premiums for Americans who buy policies individually. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will hold a press conference today on the premium hikes, including the 39% increase in California she lambasted last week. A new report also...

Senate Deal Includes 'Triggered' Public Option

Rob Quinn — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 06:02:26 CST

The Senate compromise on health care reform means the public option is dormant but not dead, according to an aide party to negotiations. The tentative deal reached last night will give insurance companies the option of creating nonprofit insurance plans to be offered on exchanges, but a federal public option...

Lobbyists Deal Death Blows to Health Care Cost Cuts

Caroline Miller — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 06:50:11 CDT

Who's winning the health care battle? Lobbyists, says the New York Times , who've succeeded in blocking virtually every avenue for cutting health care costs that has been put on the table. They've killed proposals that would pinch doctors, hospitals, insurers and employees who are the beneficiaries of so-called Cadillac health...