News tagged with 'Big Insurance'

President Obama went out on a limb when he promised people would be able to keep their current health plans, now comes the hard work of hammering out the details.

Washington wants to know why the five largest health insurance companies racked up record profits last year - $12.2 billion – up 56 percent over 2008 numbers.

The individual mandate may be subjected to a U.S. Supreme Court challenge some GOP oponents to health care reforms suggest.

Medical health insurance premiums are supposed to go primarily to pay medical claims, but a Senate Committee inquiry finds that a larger chunk, than previously suspected, of what you pay for medical insurance, returns to the insurer as profit.

Insuring millions of Americans without health care is one step closer to a reality with a committee vote Tuesday of Sen. Baucus plan. Expect to see a barrage of special interest ads opposing it.

With a Senate Finance Committee vote looming on the Sen. Bacus reform plan, the insurance industry has quit the pretense of working cooperatively, and has issues an ominous report that costs will rise for all Americans.

The parents of Nataline Sarkisyan cannot sue insurer CIGNA because under ERISA, employee-offered plans can't be challenged on the basis of decisions they make. However, following an incident where a CIGNA employee gave the finger to Mrs. Sarkisyan, the couple can sue for emotional distress.

When Wayne Volkmuth tried to sue a dental clinic for the death of his son, age 7, he found what lawyers and the injured in California understand. Pain and suffering, both physical and emotional, has been arbitrarily capped at $250,000, even before you go before a jury.

Upward of 45,000 Americans may die every year because they lack health insurance, says this latest study out of Harvard, raising the risk of dying by 40 percent and exceeding kidney disease as a leading cause of death.

Sen. Max Baucus had no Republican support for his health reform bill and the White House is lukewarm. The plan does not go far enough for some Democrats, while big insurance says it goes too far in taxing them, even though it does not contain a public option.

The public option, considered a key to health care reform, that would force insurance giants to become more competitive, appears to be in critical condition as the administration now appears to be backing insurance co-operatives as an alternative.

If booing, jeering and fear promoting ads on television are any indication, the president has a tough road ahead of him on making health care reform the test of his presidency.

Wendell Potter used to talk to reporters on behalf of Big Insurance but after almost 20 years, he knew something wasn't right. Now he's speaking about Big Insurance to Congress, reporters, and on Bill Moyers tonight, telling insider secrets and adding a diverse voice to the health care reform debate.   He gives a insurance insider preview to IB News.

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, a senior member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has called for an inquiry to examine AIG’s handling of denied and delayed insurance claims for civilian contractors injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.

AIG, the global insurance company, had to hire guards and lock its doors following death threats upon the news that top executives will receive bonuses, as part of the taxpayer bailout.