‘In The News’ Archives
Health Insurance Bill in CA to Set a New Benchmark
Measures AB 1453, by Assemblyman Bill Monning (D-Carmel) and SB 951, by state Senator Ed Henandez (D-West Covina) are the bills that will provide the definition for “essential health benefits” under the Affordable Care Act in California and will provide an all around transformation of the type of coverage that small businesses and residents [...]
U.S. Healthcare System Wastes $750B a Year
President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney are accusing each other of trying to slash Medicare and put seniors at risk. But the counter-intuitive finding from the report is that deep cuts are possible without rationing, and a leaner system may even produce better quality. The U.S. health-care system squanders $750 billion a year — [...]
A Top Official Looks at Health Care in California
One of the big challenges of the Health Benefit Exchange’s work is creating a marketplace that clearly and transparently explains what the costs are, what it is you’re buying and what are you going to get for that. At the epicenter of the health-care discussion in California is Diana Dooley, Gov. Brown’s Secretary for Health and Human [...]
Bowing to Investor Pressure, WellPoint CEO Quits
Wellpoint announced that Angela Braly, 51, had stepped down effective immediately. Braly had been dogged by criticism over WellPoint's slumping stock, managerial blunders and disappointing earnings. She also caught the ire of consumers and even President Obama in 2010 for trying to raise rates by up to 39% in California. The Indianapolis company [...]
CA Legislative Bill Would Lower Chemo Costs
The CA state Assembly passed AB 1000 on a 51-12 vote. The bill prohibits health plans and insurance policies from charging more for covering oral chemotherapy than for the intravenous treatment. It also has a provision to prevent insurers from hiking the costs of intravenous chemotherapy rather than reducing the cost of the pill alternative as [...]
Blue Shield Teams with two CA Healthcare Groups to Form ACO
Blue Shield of California is planning to link up with California's Dominican Hospital and Physicians Medical Group in Santa Cruz to form an accountable care organization (ACO) . It is the insurer's eighth ACO. “As a member of Dignity Health, we have a long and notable commitment to creating a more just health system," said Nan Mickiewicz, [...]
Who Is Selling the Most Indexed Annuities?
Allianz Life Insurance Company has been named as the top spot in fixed equity indexed annuity sales for the second quarter. Aviva, American Equity, Security Benefit Life, and GAFRI rounded out the top five. Some companies were a bit of a surprise in this top 10 list while others were expected and typically have the highest indexed annuity sales. [...]
Claiming Social Security: Waiting is a Better Deal for Many
Research, in recent months, shows that simply waiting for Social Security benefits can help more retirees, singles or couples, than ever before. Even moderately unhealthy seniors stand to benefit, thanks to today's low interest rates, longer life expectancies and rule changes in the program. This is not trivial, the amount of money you can gain [...]
Brown Seeks Special Session on Health Care Reform
Gov. Jerry Brown has told California lawmakers that he intends to call a special legislative session on health care reform at the end of the year. The Democratic governor told legislative leaders that many of the provisions of the new federal health care law cannot be implemented without further guidance from federal officials. His chief health [...]
Single-Payer Champions
Paul Ryan, an arch enemy of the Affordable Care Act, may push President Barack Obama‘s health care reform into the center of the 2012 political ring. Dr. Diljeet K. Singh, who is a board member of Physicians for a National Health Program claims that research shows that private insurance bureaucracy and paperwork consume 31 percent of every [...]
