health insurers

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Who's to Blame for High Health Care Costs? 2 Takes

Journalist points to overpaid doctors, doctor to the 'waste' of private insurance

(Newser) - One of the most talked-about policies in the national conversation around insurance is Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield's decision in Connecticut, New York, and Missouri to deny claims for anesthesia for surgeries that went longer than a set time limit. It was greeted with huge uproar before the insurer...

Book That May Have Inspired Shooter Climbs Bestseller List

Jay Feinman's Delay, Deny, Defend examines how health insurers deny claims, boost profits

(Newser) - A book with the title Delay, Deny, Defend, words similar to those found on shell casings at the scene where UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed, is now climbing Amazon's bestseller list. Rutgers Law School professor emeritus Jay Feinman's 2010 book Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don'...

After Killing of CEO, Other Insurers Take Precautions

Manhunt continues, and experts doubt it was a professional hit man

(Newser) - As the manhunt for a gunman who fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Wednesday in Manhattan stretches into a third day, other health insurers are taking their own precautions. The AP reports that Medica, a health care firm also based in Minnesota, like UnitedHealthcare, is shuttering its half-dozen locations...

Major Insurer Nixes Anesthesia Cap After Backlash

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield had placed time limit on anesthesia coverage during surgery

(Newser) - A major health insurer has nixed a planned policy shift regarding a cap it placed on anesthesia coverage after intense public backlash against the plan. NPR reports on the 180 by Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, which had initially announced it would no longer pay for coverage for anesthesia use...

Hidden Fee Means Doctors Must Pay to Get Paid
Doctors Must Pay for
Privilege of Getting Paid
longform
Aug 19, 2023 5:00 PM CDT

Doctors Must Pay for Privilege of Getting Paid

ProPublica takes a look at the costly fee imposed by insurers and payment processors

(Newser) - For those who complain that doctors have a knack for coming up with inventive fees, ProPublica has a shoe-on-the-other-foot narrative that illustrates the shady nature of the healthcare billing industry. It seems that most doctors have to pay a fee for the privilege of getting paid. These days, when insurers...

15K Health Site Users' Data Didn't Reach Insurers

Plus: Thousands hit with wrong enrollments, denials

(Newser) - The White House is releasing new data on the effectiveness of HealthCare.gov, and many of the figures aren't pretty. The Washington Post reports that the registrations of nearly 15,000 people who signed up for plans failed to arrive in insurers' inboxes, at least at first. Things have...

Many Still Can't Enroll on Health Site: Insurers

Insurers still in dark about some who've enrolled

(Newser) - Many of HealthCare.gov's well chronicled problems have reportedly been fixed , but that doesn't mean it's ready for prime time, insurers say. The site's ability to send consumer data to insurance companies remains flawed, and "until the enrollment process is working from end to end,...

White House to Help Health Insurers Bypass Website

Jay Carney: It's about the ends, not the means

(Newser) - Agreeing to another ObamaCare concession, the White House said today it is helping insurers to bypass HealthCare.gov and directly enroll customers who qualify for tax credits, the Wall Street Journal reports. "It's the end here that matters, not necessarily the means," said White House spokesman Jay...

Health Insurers Not Thrilled With Obama's Quick Fix

And some states are refusing to implement it

(Newser) - Following a meeting on President Obama's health plan fix yesterday, insurers said they'd work to maintain health exchanges and avoid cancellations—but they were frustrated. Though the president of the industry trade organization cited a "very productive" meeting, plenty of execs were annoyed that Obama hadn't...

HealthCare.gov Probably Won't Be Ready by Deadline

Insurers seek direct way to sign up customers

(Newser) - The Obama administration has pledged to get HealthCare.gov running smoothly by Nov. 30, but an insider tells the Washington Post that's looking like a pipe dream. For one thing, it can only deal with half the traffic it's supposed to handle—it runs into problems when 20,...

Romney White House Gives Health Insurers Fits

Industry could fave upheaval if he repeals ObamaCare

(Newser) - CEOs of big health insurance companies are surely salivating for a Mitt Romney presidency, right? Not necessarily, the AP reports. Though the insurance industry is no big fan of certain parts of ObamaCare, it has invested tens of millions preparing for it—and it stands to make scads of dollars...

Health Insurance Ads Go Cuddly

Firms shift marketing toward individual consumers

(Newser) - Health insurers are targeting a new audience: you. If the health care law's individual mandate remains intact, the companies could be looking at 120 million new potential customers by 2020, an analyst tells the New York Times . Regardless of the Supreme Court decision on the law, insurers believe the...

Top Insurer: Law or Not, We'll Keep ObamaCare

UnitedHealthcare to maintain preventive services, other Obama rules

(Newser) - Elements of President Obama's health care law will survive regardless of the Supreme Court's decision. The nation's biggest health insurer, UnitedHealthcare—which covers some 9 million people—plans to maintain several sections of the law's "Patient's Bill of Rights": It will continue to offer...

129M Americans Have Pre-Existing Conditions

Republican aide calls new report nothing but 'PR'

(Newser) - As the House prepares to consider a repeal of health care reform, the Obama administration has released a startling statistic: Up to 129 million non-elderly Americans have pre-existing health conditions. That means anywhere from one-fifth to one-half of people under age 65 in the US are at risk of being...

Life Insurers Mine Web to Profile Customers

Buying data Is cheaper than blood tests

(Newser) - Life insurers have traditionally relied on medical tests to get an estimate of a candidate's longevity—screening for things like drug use or high cholesterol. But they're experimenting with a much cheaper, and clandestine, method: gathering up the vast amount of information about people from the web via social networks,...

Obama to Insurers: Don't You Dare Jack Premiums

Parts of health care reform kick in

(Newser) - With parts of the health care reform law about to go into effect, President Obama has called executives from 13 leading insurers to Washington for a stern lecture about rate gouging. Obama is afraid the insurers will use the law as an excuse to jack up premiums. “Our message...

US Health Care System Is 'Unique in Its Cruelty'
US Health Care System Is 'Unique in Its Cruelty'
Paul Krugman
Mar 19, 2010 8:35 AM CDT

US Health Care System Is 'Unique in Its Cruelty'

Blow this chance, and the status quo will be in place for years

(Newser) - The recent allegations that insurance giant Assurant Health beefed up profits by weeding out policy holders with HIV is a prime example of why we need comprehensive reform of health care coverage, writes Paul Krugman. Assurant is not the only insurer doing this, and for a simple reason: "It...

Insurance Firm Aimed to Ditch All HIV Clients

Judge slams Fortis' 'reprehensible' conduct

(Newser) - Insurance giant Fortis used every underhanded method it could to purge HIV-positive clients from its books, according to newly released records. Documents reveal that the company—now known as Assurant—used an algorithm to target every policyholder diagnosed with HIV for a fraud investigation and canceled their policies on the...

Obama to Insurers: No More Outrageous Rate Hikes
 Obama to 
 Insurers: 
 No More 
 Outrageous 
 Rate Hikes 
bill caps premium bumps
Feb 22, 2010 7:56 AM CST

Obama to Insurers: No More Outrageous Rate Hikes

President wants to stop repeat of Anthem 39% rate increase

(Newser) - The health bill President Obama is to unveil today will empower the federal government to cap insurers’ rate increases—a bid to prevent hefty rate hikes like the 39% Anthem Blue Cross premium hike in California that recently sparked outrage. The president’s bill would create a new board of...

White House Lashes Insurers Jacking Up Prices
 White House Lashes 
 Insurers Jacking Up Prices 
HEALTH CARE REFORM?
Feb 18, 2010 9:32 AM CST

White House Lashes Insurers Jacking Up Prices

Steep premium increases target individuals who buy policies

(Newser) - The White House has begun to call out health insurance companies attempting to drastically raise premiums for Americans who buy policies individually. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will hold a press conference today on the premium hikes, including the 39% increase in California she lambasted last week. A new report also...

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