Posts about Wellpoint

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. More »

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. More »

WellPoint Hiring Jeopardy-Champ Computer To Make Treatment Decisions For Customers
We're sure that most of you were sitting around thinking that the one thing the U.S. health insurance business needs is to be even less human than it is currently. And it looks like the folks at the health insurance behemoth WellPoint have heard those thoughts, because they have decided to "hire" Watson, the IBM supercomputer that beat two humans on Jeopardy earlier this year to help them decide on issues of treatment for policyholders. More »

AMA: Health Insurers Still Making Errors On Nearly 20% Of Claims Processed
Last June, when the American Medical Association announced its finding that nearly one out of every five health insurance claims had been processed incorrectly, it had probably hoped it was giving the insurance biz a much needed kick in the pants. But one year and another AMA report card later, that statistic remains virtually unchanged. More »

Anthem Blue Cross Holds Off On Plan To Charge $15 To Pay Bill By Credit Card
Last week, we told you how Anthem Blue Cross of California had decided it no longer wants to take credit card payments and will soon start charging $15 "convenience" fees for those still wishing to pay by plastic. But now that the California Attorney General is looking into the matter, Anthem has put that plan on hold. More »

Anthem Blue Cross To Start Charging $15/Month To Pay Bill By Credit Card
Anthem Blue Cross, along with its parent company, perennial Worst Company In America contender WellPoint, is known for many things — trying to jack up rates on policyholders by upward of 30%, practicing rescission on breast cancer patients, and leaking customers' credit card information online. Basically everything except for providing quality health insurance. You can soon add another item to Anthem's long list of qualifications when it stops allowing credit card payments, except for those willing to pay a $15 convenience fee. More »

New HHS Rule Hopes To Rein In Some Runaway Health Insurance Premiums
According to a recent study, the cost of health insurance coverage for a family of four has soared 131% since 1999. And the insurance companies continue to seek double-digit rate hikes even while profiting from peoples' reluctance to seek medical care. Thus, as part of the Affordable Care Act, the Dept. of Health & Human Services has just issued a new to help define what constitutes an unreasonable health insurance rate increase. More »

Worst Company In America Elite 8: BP Vs. WellPoint
A WCIA tournament vet faces everyone's least-favorite newcomer in today's Elite 8 bloodbath. More »

Say Hello To Your Worst Company In America Elite 8!
Two rounds of WCIA bloodshed are in the book and the beaten bodies of 24 multi-billion dollar companies are being hauled off to be burned on a pyre. But for those businesses left standing — let's call them the Elite 8 — the parade of pain marches on. More »

Worst Company In America Sweet 16: Johnson & Johnson Vs. WellPoint
In honor of April 1, we present this WCIA faceoff between a pair of fools — One that makes medicines no one can sell and the other that takes your insurance premium but offers you no insurance. More »

Meet Your Worst Company In America Sweet 16!
After eight days and 16 first round battles, the WCIA steel cage is littered with the bones of those companies not crappy enough to continue on in the tournament. But the thrill of victory is fleeting for the remaining combatants, all of whom must square off again if they hope of crowning themselves the Worst Company In America! More »

Worst Company In America Round One: UnitedHealth Vs. WellPoint
Let's hope no one gets hurt during this shootout between two health care hellions, because there's a good chance they'll deny themselves coverage. More »

Here's Your Lineup For Worst Company In America 2011!
For the sixth year in a row, we asked Consumerist readers to send us their nominations for our Worst Company In America tournament. And this year's response was the greatest by far. More »

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. More »

WellPoint/Anthem BCBS Decides Not To Be Completely Evil To California Policyholders
Nearly five months ago, Anthem Blue Cross of California and parent company WellPoint put their names in the running for Biggest Dickheads of 2010 by trying to raise rates upward of 39% for individual policyholders, a move that put the entire insurance industry under the legal and legislative microscope. In a move to seem like only a huge dickface, the insurance giant announced yesterday that it's now proposing less grandiose rate increases. More »

WellPoint Security Breach Exposes 470,000 Credit Card Numbers & Medical Records
Health insurance giant WellPoint has already annoyed its customers by trying to jack up their rates and dropping breast cancer patients' coverage after they'd been diagnosed with the disease. But now they really have some explaining to do, after a security breach exposed medical records, credit card numbers and other information of 470,000 customers. More »

POLL: Do You Have Health Insurance?
Health care reform has been one of the biggest hot-button topic for quite some time and it looks to only get hotter as both sides make their arguments on the White House's plan for national health care. Leaving the pros and cons of the plan to the side for the moment, we just want to know how our readers are fixed for health insurance. More »

1 Out Of 5 Medical Claims Processed Incorrectly, Says AMA
Maybe you're reading this on your iPhone while sitting in your doctor's waiting room. If so, look around you. Because one out of the five of you in the room will have your claim processed incorrectly by your insurance company. More »

Report: Growing Number Of Doctors Adding A La Carte Fees
Lest you think nickle-and-dime fees for services that were once free is the sole purview of the airline industry, a new report in USA Today claims that the more and more physicians in the U.S. are going the route of charging money for services they say aren't covered by health insurance. More »

Email To Wellpoint CEO Gets Account Issue Fixed
I don't know what health insurer Wellpoint's problem is but it seems, judging from the stories our readers keep sending in, that lately you have to email the CEO to get simple account problems fixed. What's going on in your call centers, Wellpoint? Maybe all the workers have rebelled and decided the best way to promote health care reform is to get all your customers to hate you. Zach was able to get his deductible rolled over, but only after he emailed the very top of the Wellpoint power pyramid, Angela Braly. Here's his story: More »

Report: WellPoint Targeted Then Dropped Breast Cancer Patients
Is it too late for WellPoint to get into the Worst Company In America competition? A new report says the insurance giant and its subsidiaries have been deliberately targeting policyholders recently diagnosed with breast cancer and going to great lengths to have their policies nullified. More »

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. More »

Anthem Blue Cross "Wasting Time" Waiting To Raise Your Rates
Last night, the selfless executives of California insurance behemoth Anthem Blue Cross (and parent company WellPoint) took time away from their usual Tuesday evenings volunteering at the soup kitchen to appear before those pesky members of the State's government who just won't stop harping about Anthem's plans to raise rates on individual policy holders as much as 39%. Anthem's answer: Let's stop all this nonsense and just raise rates already! More »

Anthem Blue Cross/WellPoint Makes Early Bid For Worst Company In America
As the United States continues to struggle to pull itself out of the current economic quagmire, it's good to know that not all American companies are behaving like times are tough. Take Anthem Blue Cross of California, who announced this week that individual policy holders will see an average premium increase of 25% with some rate hikes set to reach 39%, prompting Congress and the White House to demand an immediate explanation. More »

Tonik Insurance Sneaks 20% Premium Increase On Customer After Approval

—>Tonik is the rad, x-treme! lifestyle health insurance for young people who can't afford regular insurance—sort of the Poochie of health insurance, except it's not going to go away. Aasma wrote to us to let us know that when she signed up for it over the weekend, she got a nasty surprise after she submitted her credit card information.  More »

Worst Company In America 2008 "Sweet 16": Wal-Mart VS WellPoint
Here's your fifth "Sweet 16" match-up: #3 Wal-Mart VS #51 Wellpoint  More »

Round 42: Home Depot vs Wellpoint

This is Round 42 in our Worst Company in America contest, Home Depot vs Wellpoint!  More »

Zagat Ratings For Your Doctor?

—>Due to a fairly awesome article in Smart Money awhile back, we're now under the impression that Zagat ratings are sort of a scam to sell plaques, but we're apparently in the minority. Now WellPoint is adopting the Zagat method to rate doctors. Yes, doctors.  More »

Wellpoint Says Anesthesia Unnecessary in Colonoscopies

We're posting this not simply because it involves the wistful dream of the CEO of a major medical insurance company taking it up the can, but also for the remarkably vivid lead-in: "Mr. Insurance Company CEO ... when you get your colonoscopy, are YOU going to go without the sedative?"  More »