New Legislation Would Pad Health Insurance Coffers While Screwing Over Consumers
As part of the Affordable Care Act, health insurers must spend at least 80% of the money they earn from premiums on actually providing health care, with the remaining cash used to cover all administrative, advertising and payroll costs. Those insurers with plans that don't follow this ratio are soon supposed to start giving the extra money back in refunds and discounts. But new legislation introduced in the Senate this week could jeopardize this, while giving insurance companies even more money to stick in their dog pillows.
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Would You Pay $20 At An Electronics Store For A Fitness Progam Offered By An Insurance Company?
Riddle me this: Where can you buy into an online fitness program run by an insurance company? Why, at an electronics store, of course, and more specifically, Best Buy stores in certain Chicago locations.
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Good Luck Trying To Find Out How Much A Medical Procedure Will Cost
A new report from the folks at the Government Accountability Office has confirmed what anyone who has ever tried to get a clear estimate on what a medical procedure already knows: There's a good chance you can't.
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(Manhattan District Attorney's Office)
Feds Seize Deadly And Illegal Pest Poison Called "The Cat Be Unemployed"
The amusing name belied the deadly and illegal contents. "The Cat Be Unemployed" read the package, featuring a yellow background with a bright-eyed cartoon feline and thick black Chinese characters underneath. Within, was rat poison, and the chemical brodifacoum at 61 times its legal limit. It doesn't kill just rodents.
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Health Insurers Still Asking For Higher Rates Even As People Put Off Going To Doctor
Between 2008 and 2010, the number of insured employees with annual deductibles of at least $2,000 doubled, now representing about 10% of all covered workers. As a result, it looks like more people are postponing or not seeking medical care. But that hasn't stopped the health insurance companies from continuing to ask for rate hikes.
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Things Your Health Insurer Isn't Telling You
Health insurance is often complicated, with a seemingly endless variety of plans to choose from, all with their own particular loopholes and problems. Over at SmartMoney.com, they have put together a round-up of things your insurance company may not be telling you.
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Health Insurance Companies Really Hate Your Sick Children
The health insurance industry is generally known for its efficiency, generosity and — of course — for its customer-first attitude. That's why it comes as such a shock that several of the more beloved insurance institutions like Wellpoint, Aetna, Cigna and United Healthcare have decided to stop selling you insurance policies for your sick children.
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Save Money On Dental Care: Go To Mexico
It costs a lot of money to go to the dentist. And with many Americans lacking dental coverage, getting your teeth taken care of is often cost-prohibitive. But a handful of entrepreneurial dentists in Mexico have stepped up to the plate, offering discount dentistry to a growing U.S. customer base.
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Aetna Will Never Forget You - Or Your Old Policy Number
D. has a warning for people who are attending college after a stint in the grown-up workforce. She tells Consumerist that if you had health insurance through Aetna at your job, and your university provides student insurance through Aetna, this change will confuse Aetna's system so thoroughly that everything you do will be billed to your old account number, forever and ever.
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California AG Investigating 7 Insurance Companies For Illegal Rate Hikes
The showdown over skyrocketing insurance rates in California got even nastier yesterday. The state's Attorney General's office announced that it has subpoenaed financial documents and launched an investigation into allegations of illegal premium hikes and wrongfully denied claims by seven separate health insurance providers.
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Two-Thirds Of Insurers Share Faulty Database That Lets Them Overcharge Patients
—>Earlier this week, a Congressional investigation revealed that several insurance companies rely on a database from Ingenix that deliberately underestimates the cost of medical services, reports the Associated Press. The result is that "American consumers have paid billions of dollars for health care services that their insurance companies should have paid." More »
Reach Aetna's Executive Resolution Team
—>Having problems with an Aetna Health insurance claim? After you've exhausted all other options, call the Executive Resolutions Team. 800-872-3862 x15075 will get you team member Tara Sinclair. (Thanks, Matt!) More »
Aetna Underpaid Students, Settles For $5 Million
—>If you're a student and think Aetna underpaid the reimbursement for your out-of-network care, you may have some money coming to you. The insurer has settled for $5 million plus interest and penalties. More »
Aetna Fires You From Your Job Without Your Company's Permission
—>Richard O'Connor, the Vice President of Marketing for Aetna, might want to rethink how his department handles its customer retention program in this economy, particularly when it comes to telling people that they're still valued even though they've been let go. Chris received just such a letter today, and now the VP of his company's HR department is trying to figure out why Aetna fired Chris. More »
Aetna: Instead Of Approving That $113,000 Life-Saving Brain Operation, We're Going To Cancel Your Coverage. Sorry!
—>Meet 19-year-old Caitlin Jackson. Caitlin was recently diagnosed with Chiari Malformation, a potentially fatal brain disorder that interferes with motor control and memory. Immediate brain surgery is Caitlin's only treatment option, but her insurance company, Aetna, took its sweet time approving her operation, and then reversed itself claiming her benefits had expired. More »
Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna: Sorry, Your Pregnancy Is A Pre-Existing Condition
—>Katlyn is having trouble getting health insurance because she just graduated from college and is 15 weeks pregnant. She's found herself in an expensive situation. More »
Blogobitchin!
• Aetna doesn't feel like paying for this baby's Tay Sachs treatment.
[Dear Aetna] More »
Interviewing The Victims Of Identity Theft
The Dayton Daily News has a good article up interviewing the victims of identity theft and describing how their lives have changed because of it. Although we're all concerned by the murky underworld of Eastern European hackers that prey upon badly secured financial records, the article is a good reminder that most identity theft actually originates with people close to you: friends, relatives and (natch) employees of the very institutions you trust to keep your financial details safe.
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Aetna Loses Laptop With 38,000 User's Personal Info
month not to leave our laptops in the car. Also, we have to sign the "Code of Conduct" every year, part of which says 'I promise not to leave my company laptop in the car.' "
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