Campaign Desk — September 6, 2011 12:58 PM
Rate Regulation Blow-up in California
WellPoint and co. win again
The big news in health reform last week was the insurance industry’s victory in the California legislature, which scotched any possibility that the state—one of twenty-four that does not have power to reject rates regulators say are too high—would actually curb the industry’s excesses. Health reform advocates and consumer groups had hoped a rate regulation bill would give California’s insurance commissioner power to reject or modify proposed increases that his department found excessive, inadequate, or discriminatory. (The commissioner can review rates but can’t stop a carrier from charging them.) In other words, under the proposed legislation, the next time WellPoint came in with a 39 percent rate hike, the state could order the company back to its actuarial models to come up with something lower.
Drug firm payments to doctors declining
Rules in Mass. restrict speeches
Total payments to doctors for promoting pharmaceutical companies’ products to their colleagues appear to be falling in Massachusetts, suggesting that new restrictions designed to distance doctors from industry are leading some to abandon the lucrative speaking circuit.
Higher Fees Paid To US Physicians Drive Higher Spending For Physician Services Compared To Other Countries
Healthcare costs rose while insurance coverage fell, studies show
The changes have left nearly half the working-age population without enough protection from illness. Altogether, 44% of American adults were either uninsured or underinsured last year, according to the Commonwealth Fund.
By Noam N. Levey, Los Angeles Times
September 8, 2011
Reporting from Washington
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