Many people watching the debate about the repeal of the Affordable Care Act have shrugged off many of the concerns — higher costs for people with pre-existing conditions, loss of essential health benefits — because they get their insurance through an employer-sponsored group health plan. However, a provision in the Republican repeal legislation could allow could result in changes to out-of-pocket costs for Americans in these plans. [More]
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House To Vote On Obamacare Repeal That Could Leave Americans With Pre-Existing Conditions Without Coverage
By 5.3.17
UPDATE: Both the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal are now reporting that the House is indeed planning to vote on the repeal measure Thursday. [More]
American Airlines Workers Targeted In $16.7M Hearing Aid Scheme
By 4.21.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Thousands of American Airlines employees unknowingly became the targets of a multi-million dollar insurance fraud scheme carried out by a father-son duo who claimed to provide the airline workers with free hearing aids for simply taking a test. [More]
Federal, State Agencies Accuse Ocwen Of Mortgage Errors, Illegal Foreclosures
By 4.20.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
We may be years removed from the robo-signing, foreclosure free-for-all that ensued following the collapse of the housing market, but mortgage servicers continue to screw things up. Today, federal and state regulators sued one of the nation’s largest home loan companies, alleging widespread errors that caused borrowers to lose money, and in some cases their homes. [More]
EpiPen Maker Mylan Accused Of Raising Price To Pay “Kickbacks” To Pharmacy Benefit Managers
By 4.4.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
The EpiPen emergency allergy treatment was pushed into the spotlight last year over concerns about its skyrocketing price and the lack of any real competition for a product that had been around for decades. A new federal lawsuit alleges that Mylan — the company that acquired EpiPen ten years ago — raised its prices in order to provide bigger kickbacks to the companies that help determine which drugs your insurer will and won’t cover. [More]
AIG Now Sells Cybersecurity Insurance That Covers Online Bullying, Extortion
By 4.3.17
Most big companies have some sort of insurance to cover their butts in a world where data breaches are an everyday occurrence, but now AIG is joining the ranks of insurers offering (wealthy) consumers coverage as a buffer against the threat of the internet. [More]
Jury Awards Burglary Victim $1.3M After Insurance Company Rejects $134K Water Damage Claim
By 4.3.17
It’s upsetting enough to have strangers break into your house and steal a bunch of your stuff, but one California homeowner also had to deal with more than a hundred thousand dollars’ worth of water damage caused when burglars filled up the bathtub and left the tap on. But when his insurance company wouldn’t fork over the cash to cover the damages, he took his claim to court. [More]
CBO: Revised Obamacare Replacement Would Cost More, Still Leave 52 Million Without Insurance By 2026
By 3.23.17
When the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office first looked at the GOP legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, it predicted that changes would cut more than $300 billion from the federal deficit over the next decade, but at the cost of 52 million Americans going without health care coverage. Republicans have continued to tinker with the bill and even canceled today’s scheduled vote in order to keep tweaking, but the latest numbers from CBO say that the revised legislation could result in fewer savings for the Treasury and no real change to the number of uninsured. [More]
Lloyd’s Of London Now Offers Insurance To Amazon Sellers Worried About Being Banned
By 3.23.17
Third-party sellers on Amazon often complain that the rules governing suspensions, bans, and reinstatement are vague, and that they feel at risk for losing their livelihoods at any time. Now one of the biggest names in insurance is underwriting plans that will pay out if a seller loses access to Amazon. [More]
Watch Out For These 3 Upselling Tactics When Renting A Car
By 3.13.17
When you’re traveling and can’t rely on public transportation, renting a car is a convenient option. However, it can also come with a higher-than-advertised price tag when you add in the fees and optional services you might not actually need. [More]
People In Southern States More Likely To Be Saddled With Medical Debt
By 3.2.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
While expensive medical emergencies can hit anyone, anywhere in the U.S., a new report finds that one region of the country has a higher level of medical debt than the rest of the states. [More]
Hospital Tells Family To Not Worry About $31,000 Medical Bill; Sends Bill Anyway
By 2.7.17
With so many people being slammed with surprise medical bills following a medical emergency, it must be nice when your hospital and insurance company both tell you that your huge bill will be taken care of. Then all that goodwill goes out the window when you still end up with thousands of dollars in medical expenses. [More]
Hospitals To Congress: Keep Obamacare Or Restore Billions In Payments To Cover Uninsured
By 2.6.17
When a patient shows up to the emergency room needing immediate life-saving surgery, they are going to receive treatment whether they have insurance or not. With both Congress and the White House pushing for repeal of the Affordable Care Act, hospital administrators are telling lawmakers they will need to restore billions of dollars a year in federal funding to hospitals to cover the costs of treating uninsured and low-income patients. [More]
Target Refusing To Pay For Damage After Its Two-Ton Red Ball Rolls Into Driver’s Car
By 2.3.17
It’s not often that a shopping center turns into something out of an Indiana Jones movie, but that’s the first thing we thought of when we heard that a two-ton cement ball had been knocked loose from its berth in front of a Target store in New Jersey and rolled into traffic. And now, Target doesn’t want to pay for the damage it caused. [More]
Aetna And Humana May Appeal Ruling Blocking Their Merger
By 1.24.17
This week, a federal judge blocked the proposed $37 billion merger of health insurance giants Aetna and Humana, ruling that the two companies would significantly reduce competition in the health care market if they teamed up. Now what are the two companies going to do? They might appeal the ruling. Or not. [More]
Trump Executive Order Directs Federal Agencies To Scale Back Obamacare; Could Remove Individual Mandate
By 1.21.17 — Updated: 2.24.17
One of President Trump’s first acts in the Oval Office on Friday was to sign an executive order directing federal agencies to scale back on enforcing and implementing the Affordable Care Act wherever they can, while the new administration and Congress work on dismantling the 2010 law. [More]
3 Benefits Your Employer-Sponsored Health Care Could Lose After Obamacare Repeal
By 1.19.17
With the House and Senate moving forward with their plan to disassemble the Affordable Care Act through a budget resolution, much of the focus has been on the millions of people who would be affected by losing insurance that they purchase directly through an exchange. However, the ACA also has a number of aspects that benefit Americans who receive insurance through their employer, some of which could be at risk if the law is repealed. [More]
Report: Affordable Care Act Repeal Could Increase Rates, Leave 18 Million Without Coverage After First Year
By 1.17.17
Last week, both the House and Senate took the first steps toward dismantling the Affordable Care Act. This morning, a review by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office concluded that one approach to repealing this law would result in millions of additional uninsured Americans and higher rates for those with insurance. [More]
