Live Insurance News

Medical groups team with Covered California to promote health insurance

December 5, 2014December 4, 2014 Nordstrom

Medical groups to work with state’s insurance exchange to promote coverage among consumers Medical groups are joining forces to promote health insurance coverage in California. The California Medical Association, along with various physician, hospital, and pharmaceutical groups, has partnered with Covered California, the state’s insurance exchange. Together, the groups will be encouraging consumers to enroll in the exchange and receive the insurance coverage that they need. The exchange’s open enrollment period began last month and will run through February 2015. Covered California aims to enroll 500,000 people during current enrollment…

Health insurance rates could spike in small states

November 13, 2014November 12, 2014 Nordstrom

Baby boomers relying more heavily on medical care could lead to a surge in spending Baby boomers are entering their “golden years” and this may have a significant impact on health insurance premiums for everyone else. An estimated 76 million people from the baby boomers generation are expected to create a surge in spending on prescription medications, health care, and hospice car. This may become a major financial issue for insurance companies, with insurers like UnitedHealth and WellPoint seeing few other options than raising rates. For some states, premiums may…

Health insurance regulators in California not awarded more power

November 10, 2014November 8, 2014 S.Vagus

California Proposition 45 has been defeated by voters amidst strong opposition to the measure Voters in California have decided to deny the passage of Proposition 45, which would have provided the state’s Insurance Commissioner, Dave Jones, and the state’s Department of Insurance, with the power to review health insurance rate increases. Under current law, state regulators cannot reject rate increases coming from insurers before these increases have been implemented. Commissioner Jones has been advocating for more regulatory power for some time, claiming that tougher regulations would be a benefit to…

Lyft’s auto insurance policy falls under more scrutiny

November 7, 2014November 6, 2014 S.Vagus

Fatal accident puts more focus on ride share insurance coverage A fatal car accident in California may put ride share company Lyft’s auto insurance to the test. The company has been under heavy scrutiny recently regarding its insurance coverage. Some lawmakers have questioned whether Lyft’s coverage was adequate enough to cover accidents and any damage that would be caused by such events. Some had introduced new legislation that would hold ride share companies to higher insurance standards, and these companies had been heavily resistant to such legislative efforts in the…

California health insurance exchange sparks controversy

October 16, 2014October 13, 2014 S.Vagus

Covered California awards $184 million in contracts to organizations associated with executive director California’s health insurance exchange, called Covered California, has sparked some controversy this week. According to records obtained by the Associated Press through the state’s Public Records Act, some $184 million in no-bid contracts have been awarded to numerous organizations throughout the state. This is controversial because these contracts were awarded without the competitive bidding and oversight process that is common in the state government. Some of the deals awarded have sent millions of dollars to organizations that…