While many provisions of the Affordable Care Act have been submerged in controversy, one provision, in particular, has garnered the ire of the insurance industry. The new federal law requires all health insurers to spend at least 80% of the money the collect from premiums on improving medical care for patients. If insurers cannot meet the standard, they are required to return the money to policyholders. This single provision has major financial implications on the nation’s insurers, both big and small. Insurers have been petitioning state lawmakers to obtain a…
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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 MoreHealth insurers eye climate change as a major concern for the future
Climate change is often a controversial issue, especially when the federal government is concerned. The insurance industry, however, is beginning to take the matter more seriously, as a new report shows that purely environmental factors may be causing the high costs seen in the health care system. The report comes from the Natural Resources Defense Council, an international environmental advocacy group based in New York. The report suggests that natural disasters that have struck the U.S. in the past decade may be having a significant impact on the health of…
Read MoreD.C. court upholds the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act
If there was ever any doubt that the Affordable Care Act would make it to the Supreme Court, a new ruling from a federal appeals court in the District of Columbia may have made it a sure thing. A panel of judges from the Court of Appeals in D.C. has ruled that the Affordable Care Act, particularly the provision for mandatory health insurance, is constitutional. The ruling conflicts with that coming from other appeals courts throughout the country that have deemed the law unconstitutional. To date, 26 states have filed…
Read MoreOccupy Wall Street protestors target Blue Cross Blue Shield
As snow falls in New York City, the protestors of the Occupy Wall Street movement have set their sights on the health insurance industry. Last week, hundreds of protestors marched to the Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield offices, which are located close to Zuccotti Park, where the Occupy Wall Street movement has taken root. The march culminated at the St. Vincent’s Hospital in Greenwich Village, which had closed in April of this year due to crippling debt. Protestors are demanding the reopening of the hospital, which had accrued more than…
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