Tag Archives: insurance

CBNC reports: Shares of UnitedHealth Group plunged more than 18% on Thursday following a report that the Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation into the health-care giant over possible Medicare fraud. The DOJ is focusing on the company’s Medicare Advantage business practices, but the exact nature of the potential criminal allegations is unclear, the Wall Street Journal reported late …

CBS News reports: A newly proposed California ballot initiative aims to prevent health insurance companies from denying medical care to patients. Retired litigator Paul Eisner has submitted the “Luigi Mangione Access to Health Care Act” to the state Attorney General’s office. The proposed measure would make it illegal in California for anyone other than a licensed physician to deny, delay, …

CBS News reports: Nearly all of the replacement parts on the shelves inside Fred Billeh’s Discount Auto Warehouse in Chicago came from the countries facing new tariffs. He estimates his warehouse carries “millions” of parts. Billeh’s prices increased in 2019 after Mr. Trump imposed tariffs in his first term. He said the added cost gets passed “to the customers, to …

The Associated Press reports: UnitedHealth Group will promote one of its top insurance executives to replace Brian Thompson, the slain CEO of its UnitedHealthcare arm. The company said Thursday that Tim Noel will become the next UnitedHealthcare leader. Noel most recently led UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare and retirement business. He joined the company in 2007. UnitedHealthcare is the nation’s largest insurer, covering …

The New York Times reports: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau moved on Tuesday to ban medical debt from appearing on credit reports, potentially lifting the credit scores of about 15 million Americans and making it easier for them to obtain loans. The finalized new rule would effectively prohibit loan providers from using medical information while making lending decisions. It is …

The Daily Beast reports: Andrew Witty, the CEO of UnitedHealth Group, has been walking a tightrope in the weeks since his colleague, Brian Thompson, was executed on a New York City street earlier this month. On one hand, Witty’s had to fight to raise flagging morale in the company’s ranks—but on the other, he’s quietly been boasting that 2024 has …

UnitedHealth Group’s CEO writes for the New York Times: We greatly appreciate the enormous outpouring of support for Brian Thompson, who ran our health insurance business, UnitedHealthcare, as well as for our wider company, which I lead. Yet we also are struggling to make sense of this unconscionable act and the vitriol that has been directed at our colleagues who …

NBC News reports: Fresh off the one-two punch of Helene and Milton, hurricane victims in Florida — even those with insurance — face a challenging recovery. The insurance industry is categorizing the storms as two separate events, meaning anyone who did not or could not document damage from Helene could face even greater odds that their claim will be denied …

NBC News reports: While hundreds of thousands of new residents have flocked to the state on the promise of beautiful weather, no income tax and lower costs, nearly 500,000 left in 2022, according to the most recent census data. Contributing to their move was a perfect storm of soaring insurance costs, a hostile political environment, worsening traffic and extreme weather, …

Florida Politics reports: Another prominent Florida Republican is discussing his struggles dealing with surging property insurance rates in the Sunshine State. Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis detailed the issue in a piece for the Florida Daily. “For all of Florida’s many blessings, however, you don’t have to be an actuary to know that when it came to our property insurance …

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis is telling the nation that people in his state shouldn’t rely on the state-run insurer of last resort, raising new questions about Citizens Property Insurance ahead of what is expected to be a robust hurricane season. “It is not solvent and we can’t have millions of people on that because if a storm hits, …

Tampa’s NBC affiliate reports: Florida has the highest property insurance premiums in the country, but the state’s insurance commissioner says he does not support capping rate increases. Over the last couple weeks, Commissioner Michael Yaworsky talked about the cost of insurance with lawmakers in Tallahassee. On average, Floridians pay $6,000 a year for property insurance, according to the Insurance Information …

The Washington Post reports: At least five large U.S. property insurers — including Allstate, American Family, Nationwide, Erie Insurance Group and Berkshire Hathaway — have told regulators that extreme weather patterns caused by climate change have led them to stop writing coverages in some regions, exclude protections from various weather events and raise monthly premiums and deductibles. Major insurers say …

CBS News reports: AAA will not renew the auto and home insurance policies for some customers in Florida, joining a growing list of insurers dialing back their presence in the Sunshine State amid a growing risk of natural disasters. “Unfortunately, Florida’s insurance market has become challenging in recent years,” the company said in a statement emailed to CBS MoneyWatch. “Last …

The Associated Press reports: Even before Ian, Florida’s home insurance market was dealing with billions of dollars in losses from a string of natural disasters, rampant litigation and increasing fraud. The difficult environment has put many insurers out of business and caused others to raise their prices or tighten their restrictions, making it harder for Floridians to obtain insurance. The …

The Associated Press reports: Starting Saturday, private health insurers will be required to cover up to eight home COVID-19 tests per month for people on their plans. The Biden administration announced the change Monday as it looks to lower costs and make testing for the virus more convenient amid rising frustrations. Under the new policy, first detailed to the AP, …

Reuters reports: Launching one of the richest individuals on earth into orbit has proved a leap too far for insurers, who are not ready to price the risk of losing Jeff Bezos or his fellow space travelers. And while insurers are well known for offering cover for even the most outlandish of risks, at a price, potential accidents in space …

Axios reports: Some of the hospitals with the highest revenue in the country also have some of the highest prices, charging an average of 10 times more than the actual cost of the care they deliver, according to new research by Johns Hopkins University provided exclusively to Axios. Hospitals each determine their own charges, or list prices. While few patients …

Roll Call reports: The advent of self-driving cars is raising questions in the insurance sector about who should pay when the vehicles crash and how insurers will set equitable rates. When cars can operate themselves, the central question will be whether accidents are the manufacturer’s responsibility and therefore covered by product liability insurance or whether the fault would lie with …

Axios reports: Because of the pandemic, more people than ever are seeking out life insurance — just as insurers seek ways to identify people who have had COVID-19, and in some cases deny them coverage. If the coronavirus makes it harder for people to get life insurance — or to collect on existing policies — it could diminish access to …