Blue Cross Blue Shield

Insurers Laying the Groundwork to Remove Consumer Protections if Mandate in Obamacare Is Tossed

Wendell Potter | Posted 05.21.2012

Read More: Supreme Court, Blue Cross-Blue Shield, Congress, Obamacare, Ahip, Mitt Romney, Health Care Reform, Individual Mandate, Health Care, Barack Obama, Politics News

The worst-case scenario for insurers is if the high court strikes down the provision of the law requiring us to buy coverage (the so-called individual mandate), but allows the law's important consumer protections to go forward.

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Health Insurer CEOs' Big Paychecks Are Latest Target of Outraged Shareholders

Wendell Potter | Posted 04.23.2012

Read More: Senator Evan Bayh, Ahip, Health Care Reform, Juan Figueroa, Cigna, Health Care, Susan Bayh, Citigroup, Wellpoint, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Citigroup Shareholders Meeting, Business News

During all of my years of helping plan Cigna shareholder meetings, we had an unblemished string of non-events. Relatively few of the big-profit insurers have had to cope with contentious shareholder meetings. Those days are over.

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Final Wave Of Blue Cross Workers Heading To Ren Cen

AP | Posted 01.17.2012

Read More: Renaissance Center, Blue Cross, Blue Cross Ren Cen, Bcbs Michigan, Blue Cross Downtown Detroit, Blue Cross Detroit, Bcbs, Blue Cross Workers, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Detroit News

DETROIT -- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is moving another 125 workers into the nonprofit health insurer's new offices in the Renaissance Center ...

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Recycling a Front Group to Cheat Us Out of Benefits

Wendell Potter | Posted 01.10.2012

Read More: Ogilvy, John McCain, Obamacare, Nfib, Nancy Pelosi, Ahip, Health Care Reform, Affordable Care Act, Chamber of Commerce, Health Care, Ted Kennedy, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Politics News

The insurance industry last month brought the Health Benefits Coalition out of storage. It is now the Essential Health Benefits Coalition, and its goal is to allow insurers and employers to continue selling policies that are swelling the ranks of the underinsured.

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They Say Cut Back, We Say Fight Back

Pearl Korn | Posted 01.02.2012

Read More: Supreme Court, Super Pac, Dnc, Karl Rove, Dscc, Fair Elections Now Act, Congress, First Amendment, Social Security, President Obama, We Are the 99 Percent, WellCare Health Plans Inc., Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Zuccotti Park, Health Insurance, Citizens United, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Senate, Super Committee, Wall Street, Nancy Pelosi, Dccc, Occupy Wall Street, Affordable Care Act, Max Baucus, Gop, Medicaid, Medicare, Constitution, American Crossroads, Tea Party, Politics News

It will take a whole different crop of leaders and real public servants, who can work unencumbered by special interest influence, to truly cure what ails our nation.

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Insurers Plotting How to Circumvent Reform So They Can Continue Selling Junk Health Insurance

Wendell Potter | Posted 12.24.2011

Read More: Unitedhealth, Obamacare, Health Care Reform, Anthem Blue Cross, Cigna, Aetna, Humana, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Politics News

If the White House caves in to insurance industry demands, millions of low-wage earners will be forced to buy junk coverage on January 1, 2014. If you don't want to be forced to buy junk, send the White House a message. Now.

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'It's Tough Enough To Have The Uncertainty of life and death'

AP | MARCUS WOHLSEN | Posted 12.11.2011

Read More: Avastin Blue Cross Blue Shield, Avastin Breast Cancer, Breast Cancer Drug, Avastin Blue Cross, Breast Cancer, Breast-Cancer-California, Avastin Blue Shield, Avastin, Blue Shield Breast Cancer, Breast Cancer Medication, Blue Shield Cancer, Blue Shield Breast Cancer Drug, Blue Cross Blue Shield, San Francisco News

Marcus Wohlsen, Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — For the past 2½ years, Terry Kalley's wife has battled breast cancer with Avastin, the wo...

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Volunteer Doctors Can't Keep Up With Health Care Demands of Uninsured and Underinsured

Wendell Potter | Posted 10.29.2011

Read More: Uninsured, Underinsured, Remote Area Medical, Chicago, Health Care Reform, Oklahoma, Health Care, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Politics News

The health care reform law will go a long way toward solving the access problem in this country. When fully implemented, the number of uninsured Americans will drop by an estimated 30 million. But more than 20 million others will still be uninsured.

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Insurers' Bait and Switch

Wendell Potter | Posted 08.30.2011

Read More: California, Unitedhealth, Ahip, Health Care Reform, Anthem Blue Cross, Cigna, Hmos, Kaiser Permanente, Health Care, Blue Cross Blue Shield, John Garamendi, Wellpoint, Business News

The health insurance industry's long-term strategy is to move all Americans into high-deductible plans, and they're well on their way to achieving that goal. Once there, you can bet the rates will be hiked up.

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Nonprofit Insurers: Reaping Profits at the Expense of the Consumer

Wendell Potter | Posted 08.27.2011

Read More: Health Care Reform, Consumers Union, Blue Shield, Kaiser Permanente, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Business News

Nowhere are health insurers working harder to thwart reforms that could save consumers billions of dollars than in California, where a proposed bill that give state regulators the authority to reject rate increases that were excessive or discriminatory.

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Blue Shield's PR Coup

Wendell Potter | Posted 08.09.2011

Read More: Health Care Reform, Ceo-Bruce-Bodaken, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue-Shield-of-California-Ceo, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Business News

As the head of communications for two of the country's largest health insurers for almost 20 years, I recognize an orchestrated spin campaign when I see one. And boy oh boy did I see an award-winning one this week in San Francisco.

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Health Insurers Have Had Their Chance

Wendell Potter | Posted 07.31.2011

Read More: Peter Shumlin, Small Business, Obamacare, Health Insurers, Health Care Reform, Vermont, Affordable Care Act, Cigna, Single Payer, Michigan, Pricewaterhousecoopers, Kaiser Family Foundation, Barack Obama, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Business News

Private insurers have had their chance to control costs and expand access and have failed miserably. It is time, more and more people believe, to replace them with a single payer: the government.

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Insurers to Obama: Transparency Is Essential -- For Everybody But Us

Wendell Potter | Posted 07.23.2011

Read More: Uninsured, Obamacare, Kathleen Sebelius, Tennessee, Ahip, Health Care Reform, Karen Ignagni, Health Care, Medical-Loss Ratio, Mlr, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Politics News

The reaction of health insurers to the Obama administration's requirement that they start justifying rate increases of 10 percent or more was quick and predictable: "Not fair!"

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Insurers' Cynical Calculations on the Cost of Doing Business

Wendell Potter | Posted 05.31.2011

Read More: State-Insurance-Regulators, Health Net, Unitedhealth, Anthem Blue Cross, National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Cigna, Health Insurance, Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Business News

The next time you hear a politician say that reducing regulations and allowing the sale of health insurance across state lines would go a long way toward controlling health care costs, think of the real, much higher cost of such a solution.

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NC Consumer Advocates Seeing Red Over Bait and Switch by One of the Blues

Wendell Potter | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, Nfib, Health Care Reform, National-Federation-of-Independent-Businesses, Chamber of Commerce, Health Care, Insurance Exchanges, North Carolina, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Politics News

Health insurers are demonstrating once again -- this time in state capitals -- that they cannot be trusted to do the right thing for consumers when health care reform is up for debate.

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Blue Shield Rate Hikes To Proceed Despite Protests From Regulators

AP | MARCUS WOHLSEN | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Blue Shield Hikes, Anthem Blue Shield Rate Hikes, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Blue Shield Rate Hikes, Los Angeles News

SAN FRANCISCO — Blue Shield of California said Friday it was planning to go forward with scheduled health insurance rate increases for individua...

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How Much is Too Much?

DeAnn Friedholm | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Health Care Reform, Hhs, Consumers, Health Insurance, Health Care, Consumer Reports, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Politics News

How can some nonprofit health insurers justify hiking premiums year after year when they are sitting on a mountain of surplus funds?

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WellPoint/Anthem Shareholders Revolt!

Rob Stone M.D. | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Shareholders, Shareholder Rights, Anthem Blue Cross, Angela Braly, Wellpoint Health Insurance, Wellpoint Rate Hike, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Wellpoint, Business News

The health insurance industry adds huge administrative costs to our system, not to mention the profits they siphon off. WellPoint is a parasitic middleman that adds no value and increases the cost of health care.

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Blue Cross Blue Shield Denies Newborn Health Insurance Over 'Pre-Existing Condition'

Fort Worth Star-Telegram | JAN JARVIS | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Preexisting Condition, Newborns, Newborn, Children's Health Insurance, Health Insurance Denies Coverage, Blue Cross Blue Shield Texas, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, Newborn Denied Coverage, Pre-Existing Condition, Health Insurance, Health Care, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Newborn Preexisting Condition, Politics News

At birth, Houston Tracy let out a single loud cry before his father cut the cord and handed him to a nurse. ... "How can he have a pre-existing...

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Consumer Watchdog Sues Anthem Blue Cross Over Policy Changes

AP | SHAYA TAYEFE MOHAJER | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Anthem Rate Hike, Anthem-Blue-Cross-Rate-Hike, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Wellpoint, Los Angeles News

LOS ANGELES — A consumer watchdog group filed a lawsuit Monday against California's largest for-profit health insurer on behalf of policyholders...

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Jerry Brown Subpoenas Documents From Health Insurers

AP | ROBIN HINDERY | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Attorney General Jerry Brown, Jerry Brown Subpoenas, Jerry Brown, Insurance Rate Hikes, Health Insurance Industry, Anthem Blue Cross, Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, Health Insurance, Wellpoint, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Los Angeles News

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Attorney General Jerry Brown subpoenaed financial records from the state's seven largest health insurance compan...

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Heckuva Jump, Bluie!

Jonathan Richards | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Anthem Blue Cross, Health Insurance, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Politics News

Even in an Olympic year, there is such a thing as conspicuous overreaching. Anthem Blue Cross sails past the tolerance zone. ...

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Blue Shield Cares -- About What?

Wendy Block | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: President, Cobra, Health Care Reform, Congress, Number of Uninsured, Universal Health Care, Health Insurance, Single Payer, Huffington Post, Pre-Existing-Condition, Customer Service, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Politics News

"Doesn't it suck that even when you have health insurance, you can't afford to see the doctors you really trust?" --Favrile, Sherman Oaks CA hairdress...

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Congress, Don't Tax Our Health Insurance Plans

James P. Hoffa | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Taxes, U.S. Senate, Workers, Inflation, Nancy Pelosi, Max Baucus, Working Families, U.S. House of Representatives, Teamsters, Health Care, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Politics News

87 percent of employers surveyed said they will cut benefits if reform increases their costs, and 86 percent said they would pass the additional costs on to workers. That isn't cost control.

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Federal Employee Forced To Pay For Abortion To End Life-Threatening Pregnancy

Washington Post | Joe Davidson | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Health Care Bill, Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, Center for Reproductive Rights, Office of Personnel Management, Stupak Amendment, Anencephaly, Government Employees Health Association, D.J. Feldman Abortion, Federal Employee Abortion, D.J. Feldman, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Health Care Bill Abortion, Politics News

D.J. Feldman was 11 weeks pregnant last year when she learned that her child had anencephaly, a fetal defect that left the baby with almost no brain. ...

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