PacifiCare news from FierceHealthcare
News
California's policy-cancellation war
This year the California health insurance industry fought an entrenched battle with regulators over the right to cancel individual policies--even retroactively--whenever they saw fit. The regulators... Read more...
Health Net reinstating 926 California policyholders
California health plan Health Net has become the next insurer to offer individual policyholders new coverage--with no medical pre-screening--to 926 people whose policies it canceled retroactively... Read more...
CA residents to get renewed health coverage
About 3,400 California consumers whose individual policies were improperly revoked will soon get invitations to rejoin their health plan. The letters are being sent out as part of a batch of... Read more...
CA Blue plans will pay $13M in fines over cancellations
Two of the state of California's largest health plans have agreed to pay a combined total of $13 million in fines related to their practice of rescinding policies for members after those members... Read more...
Kaiser, Health Net agree to reinstate 1,200 beneficiaries
Two of California's largest health plans have agreed to reinstate a total of roughly 1,200 patients whose policies were rescinded after they began incurring high medical expenses. Under the terms of... Read more...
UnitedHealth suffers financial setback
After years of allegations that management engaged in financial manipulations to feather their own nest, some might see this as a bit of karma. Having already missed its first quarter financial... Read more...
DOJ OKs UnitedHealth buyout of Sierra
If it's willing to divest most of its Medicare Advantage business in the Las Vegas metro, UnitedHealth Group may proceed with its $2.6 billion buyout of Sierra Health Services, the U.S. Department of... Read more...
CA bill requires permission for cancellations
A California legislator has introduced a bill which would require health insurers to get permission before they retroactively cancel one of their beneficiaries' coverage. Under the terms of the bill,... Read more...
Blue Cross of CA halts patient info requests
Yesterday, we told you about Blue Cross of California's practice of sending letters to physicians asking them to look for--and report--medical conditions that could be used to cancel their patients'... Read more...
PacifiCare faces $1.33B fine
Man, California regulators are tough. Over the past year, I wouldn't be surprised if there had been more fines imposed by the state's Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) then by state health... Read more...
