Eliminating Obstacles to the Care Women Need
by Tina Tchen, Director of the Office of Public Liaison | Posted April 26, 2010
The old rules governing our health insurance market hurt families across the country, and women in particular suffered in a system that allowed discrimination and failed to provide affordable coverage options for all Americans. Consider Jody Miller’s experience…
Health Insurance Giant Aetna to Force 650,000 Clients to Drop Their Coverage
Health insurance giant Aetna is planning to force up to 650,000 clients to drop their coverage next year as it seeks to raise additional revenue to meet profit expectations.
In a third-quarter earnings conference call in late October, officials at Aetna announced that in an effort to improve on a less-than-anticipated profit margin in 2009, they would be raising prices on their consumers in 2010. The insurance giant predicted that the company would subsequently lose between 300,000 and 350,000 members next year from its national account as well as another 300,000 from smaller group accounts.
See the full article at Huffington Post.
New Health Insurance Industry Report Shows Mergers Leading to Skyrocketing Premiums
Sen. Schumer and Health Care for America Now Warn of Private Insurers’ Monopolies; Former US Antitrust Official Calls for Investigation
REPORT:
- Full National Report: Premiums Soaring in Consolidated Health Insurance Market:Lack of Competition Hurts Rural States, Small Businesses (PDF Updated July 15, 2009)
- State Reports
LETTER TO DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE:
Washington, DC – Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) joined Health Care for America Now (HCAN) – the nation’s largest health care campaign – in releasing a new report today that shows extreme health insurance industry consolidation has resulted in a market failure where a small number of large companies use their concentrated power to control premium levels, benefit packages, and provider payments in the markets they dominate. As a result, health insurance premiums have skyrocketed, going up more than 87% – on average – over the past six years. Read the rest of this entry »
Government-Run Health Care Better Than Health Insurance!
The VA “outpaces other systems in delivering patient care,” consistently delivering higher quality health care more efficiently. A recent study by the RAND corporation found that “VA patients were more likely to receive recommended care” and “received consistently better care across the board, including screening, diagnosis, treatment and follow up”
Source: http://thinkprogress.org/2009/08/17/obama-vfw-health-care/
State Consumer Protections in the Individual Health Insurance Market
Key Findings
In the vast majority of states, insurance companies are permitted to reject individuals for coverage based on their health status, occupation, or even their recreational activities.
- Only five states prohibit all insurance companies from cherry-picking the healthiest consumers and excluding everyone else.
If an insurance company does accept an individual’s application for coverage, few states significantly limit how much an insurer can increase an individual’s premiums based on what the insurer deems to be health risks (which can include anything from cold sores to hobbies to below average height).
- In 35 states and the District of Columbia, there are no limits on how much insurers can vary premiums based on health status. An additional six states have limits that still allow dramatic variations in premiums. Read the rest of this entry »
Uninsured Children Have Less Access to Health Care and More Likely to Die
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center analyzed data from more than 23 million children’s hospitalizations in 37 states from 1988 to 2005. Compared with insured children, uninsured children faced a 60 percent increased risk of dying, the researchers found.
The authors estimated that at least 1,000 hospitalized children died each year simply because they lacked insurance, accounting for 16,787 of some 38,649 children’s deaths nationwide during the period analyzed.
See the full NYT article online.
Americans’ Satisfaction With Insurance Coverage
We love our health insurance…until we need to use it! ~ldw
But just how satisfied are Americans with their coverage, really?
A new data note by the Kaiser Family Foundation’s public opinion researchers digs deeper into that question. It explores who is more or less likely to say that they are satisfied with their plan, examines how people’s opinions of their plan vary with health status and what people’s health care experiences and concerns can tell us about their health coverage. Read the rest of this entry »
Insurers Fined for Canceling Health Insurance of Sick Patients
Health Insurance Companies Under Fire for Canceling Policies of Patients With High Medical Bills; Fortis/Assurant Health to Pay $10 Million Penalty; Healthcare Industry Today Offers Complete Coverage
WASHINGTON, September 18 – /EIN Presswire/ The South Carolina Supreme Court has ordered insurance company Fortis, now known as Assurant Health, to pay $10 million for wrongly revoking the insurance policy of a 17-year-old college student after he tested positive for HIV. The court called the 2002 decision by the insurance company “reprehensible”.
Lawsuits continue to be instituted against insurance companies who have canceled policies. Rather than fight fraud, rescission has devolved into a backdoor route for insurance companies to stop paying the medical bills of people in their time of greatest need.
