insurance companies news stories on Newser

Veteran Loses Insurance Over 2-Cent Mistake

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 11:40:18 CST

Ronald Flanagan already has the donor for a potentially life-saving stem cell transplant, but he can’t have the surgery—because a $0.02 mistake left him without insurance. The Vietnam veteran’s wife, Frances, accidentally paid $328.67 instead of $328.69 when paying November’s bill online, she tells ABC Denver...

In Retreat, Obama Weighs Scaled-Back Health Options

Jane Yager — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 07:31:17 CST

President Obama, chastened by the voter revolt that cost the Democrats their 60th vote in the Senate, is ready to seriously pare down health care reform in an effort to salvage at least some of it. "I would advise that we try to move quickly to coalesce around those elements...

Gibbs on Dean: Nobody 'Rational' Would Kill the Bill

Nick McMaster — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:46:18 CST

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs fired back at Howard Dean today for encouraging progressives to kill the health care reform bill. Dean thinks the bill, without a public option, is now too compromised to deserve further support. "I would ask Dr. Dean, how better do you address those who...

AIG's Benmosche: I'm Not Quitting

Nick McMaster — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:00:13 CST

AIG CEO Robert Benmosche isn’t fed up with running a government-controlled insurance giant after all: Backing away from his threat to quit, Benmosche said today that he remains "totally committed” to the company. The CEO conceded, however, that he and the board “are indeed frustrated” with the government’s restrictions on...

Industry Report Distorts Health Reform Cost

Nick McMaster — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:50:24 CDT

A new report that says the Senate Finance Committee’s reform bill would raise private insurance premiums is riddled with troubling exceptions, writes Jonathan Cohn. The report, commissioned by America's Health Insurance Plans, estimates the costs of premiums over time if the bill is implemented, but it doesn’t take into account...

Critics Say Insurers Cutting Sick People Loose

Harry Kimball — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:45:14 CDT

Insurance companies are being hit from all sides on at least one issue—in industry jargon, it's called rescission. In the real world, it's when insurers cancel coverage because they say a customer has lied to them about a preexisting condition or some other issue. It's not clear how many...

Let's Make Health Insurance Policies Readable

Matt Cantor — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:31:04 CDT

There’s one important health care issue that’s generated little chatter: the oft-inscrutable language of insurance policies, writes Rhode Island health official John Cogan in the New York Times . Policies are penned at a grad-school level, which led his state to require, as of next year, that they be written at...

Ex-AIG Honcho Settles New SEC Case for $15M

Harry Kimball — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:14:02 CDT

The SEC today simultaneously announced a complaint against former AIG chief Hank Greenberg and the resolution of the matter—a $15 million payment to settle the suit, the New York Times reports. Greenberg and a former AIG CFO were accused of “numerous improper accounting transactions” between 2000 and 2005 that...

Wall Street Rakes in $1B in Fees on AIG Breakup

Jason Farago — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 07:18:02 CDT

The crumbling of AIG forced taxpayers to take on 80% of the company, but breaking the insurance giant up is turning out to be a bonanza for lawyers and banks. The Wall Street Journal calculates that firms will pull in $1 billion in fees from AIG and the Fed—one...