California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has been in office for a full year now and he has taken the occasion of this anniversary to reflect on the accomplishments he has been a part of from 2011. In a statement released by the state’s Department of Insurance, the Commissioner notes that his time in office has been filled with confrontation with the insurance industry. Indeed, many of the actions coming from the Commissioner have been met with opposition from insurers, especially the bid to give state regulators more authority over the…
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Consumer group in California petitions lawmakers to grant more control to state insurance regulators
California consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog has submitted a new proposal to the state attorney general’s office regarding health insurance. Last year, the organization was a driving force behind new auto insurance regulations that pout caps on premiums. Now, the group is backing legislation that would require the state’s health insurers to wait for approval from regulators before collecting premiums from higher rates. Consumer Watchdog is awaiting the approval from the state’s attorney general before it begins to collect the 505,000 signatures needed to bring the issue before the state…
Read MoreCalifornia legislators debate on new health care plan that could expand insurance coverage
California lawmakers are considering a new health insurance system that will help people obtain coverage they could not afford otherwise. Called the Basic Health Program, the initiative is designed with lower-income households in mind. The program is meant to serve a stepping stone between Medicaid and private insurance plans by offering alternatives to expensive coverage plans offered by most insurance companies. Legislators are currently examining the benefits such a program would have for state residents and how those benefits would affect the state’s insurance industry. Many families in California cannot…
Read MoreConsumer Watchdog wants ballot measure seeking public option, 20 percent rate rollback, and strict management
Consumer Watchdog, a top consumer rights group from California, is working to divert the attention of the 2012 election away from the Obama administration’s health care overhaul in favor of a state ballot measure that seeks a public option, stricter premium oversight, and a rollback of 20 percent for insurance rates. The initiative by this Santa Monica-based group is aimed at the ballot in California in November 2012. Consumer Watchdog is the same group that brought about the landmark ballot measure in 1988, Proposition 103, which set cost and regulatory…
Read MoreCalifornia legislators toil over bill that could give insurance regulators increased authority
California lawmakers have been embroiled in a legislative battle over the authority of the state’s insurance regulators. Earlier this year, legislation was introduced that would expand the power of regulators and give them full authority to deny or approve insurance rate increases from the state’s insurance companies. Under the law, regulators would be able to deem rate increases unjustified and excessive with minimal information to back up their determination. This legislation has attracted its fair share of opponents, but the bill’s supporters say that the state must be able to…
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