Latest Health Insurance Headlines
All the headlines from our Health Insurance Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Health Insurers Back Universal Coverage with Individual Mandate
Nov 20 2008 // The nation’s health insurers have proposed guaranteed coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions in conjunction with an enforceable individual coverage mandate. Under the industry proposal, health plans...
Washington Not Likely to Focus Much on P/C Agents in 2009
Nov 16 2008 // Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, the 64-year-old Democrat, easily won his third term as Washington state insurance commissioner, defeating Republican John Adams, who owns a Seattle-based insurance brokerage firm 57...
Ohio Health Insurer Investigates Missing Data on Retirees
Oct 24 2008 // Eleven computer disks containing personal information on thousands of Ohio retirees are missing and are believed to be somewhere in the US Postal Service, Medical Mutual of Ohio recently announced. The disks contain member...
North Dakota’s Commissioner Adam Hamm: Consumer Protection Remains Top Priority
Oct 6 2008 // North Dakota’s Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm was appointed to fill the vacancy left by a popular Insurance Commissioner Jim Poolman, who left 17 months early to take a job in the private sector. Amid the flack...
Blues’ Study: Health Insurance Purchasing Groups Drive Up Costs
Oct 2 2008 // A new actuarial analysis finds health insurance purchasing arrangements – also called connectors, exchanges, and health insurance purchasing cooperatives – lead to higher health insurance premiums and fail to...
Ohio Receives $541,000 in Settlement from Health Insurers
Aug 18 2008 // Ohio will receive $541,000 as part of a health insurer’s $20 million settlement of allegations that it misled consumers and mishandled claims. State Department of Insurance Director Mary Jo Hudson said Friday, August...
Private Firms See Health Insurance Premiums Double Since 1996
Aug 15 2008 // Private-sector employers and their employees have seen their health insurance premium costs more than double in the last decade, according to a recent survey by a federal agency. Private-sector employers and their...
New York Same-Sex Couple Wins Fight Against Health Insurer
Jul 30 2008 // The New York Civil Liberties Union says a lesbian couple who married in Canada have won their fight against a western New York insurance company over spousal health care benefits. The NYCLU sued Blue Cross & Blue...
Mass. Insurers, Businesses Balk at Plan to Hike Health Fee
Jul 22 2008 // Massachusetts insurers and business owners have one question for Gov. Deval Patrick: Why us? Patrick is looking to tap insurers, businesses and hospitals to help close a looming $130 million budget hole in the...
2 Health Insurers to Pay $13M to California Regulators
Jul 21 2008 // Two of California’s biggest health insurers have agreed to collectively pay $13 million and reinstate more than 2,000 insurance policies to settle claims with the state that they illegally dropped policyholders from...
N.Y. Health Insurer Sued Over Coverage for Same-Sex Spouse
Jul 17 2008 // The New York Civil Liberties Union is suing a western New York health insurer accused of refusing to cover the same-sex spouse of a policy holder. A suit filed in state Supreme Court in Buffalo says Blue Cross and Blue...
Parties Clash Over Proposed Merger of Pennsylvania Health Insurers
Jul 14 2008 // State lawmakers, doctors and health care industry executives clashed last week over whether the proposed merger of Pennsylvania’s two largest health insurers will benefit or hurt consumers. They were among roughly...
U.S. Government Ignores Own Advice on ID Theft Prevention
Jul 3 2008 // When it comes to the risks of identity theft, the U.S. government isn’t taking its own advice. The nation’s Medicare agency and the Pentagon compel at least 52 million Americans to carry their Social Security...
GINA: A Solution in Search of a Problem?
Jun 2 2008 // New law prohibits insurers from genetic discrimination Congress passed — and the President signed — a bill prohibiting discrimination by health plans and employers based on an individual’s genetic makeup. The...
GINA: A Solution in Search of a Problem?
Jun 2 2008 // New law prohibits insurers from genetic discrimination Congress passed — and the President signed — a bill prohibiting discrimination by health plans and employers based on an individual’s genetic makeup. The...
FDA Unveils Plan to Track Safety of Drugs, Medical Devices Already Sold
Jun 2 2008 // U.S. health officials announced plans on May 22 for a new computer tracking system designed to help them identify dangers from prescription drugs and medical devices already on the market. The system would enable the Food...
FDA Unveils Plan to Track Safety of Drugs, Medical Devices
May 23 2008 // U.S. health officials Thursday announced plans for a new computer tracking system designed to help them identify dangers from prescription drugs and medical devices already on the market. The system would enable the Food...
Montana Auditor To Negotiate Insurance in China
May 12 2008 // Montana State Auditor John Morrison will represent U.S. insurance regulators in the U.S.-China Insurance Dialogues in Hangzhou, China, this week. The dialogues, part of trade negotiations between the two countries, are...
Okla. Lawmaker with Ties to Industry Blocks Insurance Bills
May 6 2008 // An Oklahoma lawmaker who has blocked legislation that would require health insurers to cover a variety of medical procedures and conditions has accepted thousands of dollars in donations from individuals or political...
Pennsylvania Malpractice Insurance Subsidy for Doctors Lapses
Apr 21 2008 // A five-year, $1 billion taxpayer subsidy to help Pennsylvania doctors buy medical malpractice insurance lapsed at the end of last month, forcing physicians to pay higher premiums unless Democrats and Republicans break an...
