Navigation Links
Consumer Watchdog Praises CA HMO Regulator's Promise to Reinstate Health Coverage for Wrongfully Cancelled Patients; Cautions That All Health Costs During Gap Must be Covered
Date:4/17/2008

SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Consumer Watchdog today praised a California state regulator's efforts to begin reinstating the insurance coverage of patients left uninsured, uninsurable and often hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical debt when their health insurance policies were illegally cancelled after they got sick. The nonprofit consumer group also cautioned that reinstatements must be complete and retroactive, with no gap in coverage from when the policy was issued to the time it was restored.

On Monday, Consumer Watchdog petitioned the state Department of Managed Health Care to announce within 10 days its plans regarding reinstatement of thousands of patients affected by the illegal practice.

"This a landmark step on the road to justice for the thousands of innocent patients whose health insurance was retroactively cancelled. Today's announcement applies to only 26 people, but the same law used here will provide reinstatement for thousands more. We look forward to working with the Department," said Jerry Flanagan, Health Care Policy Director for Consumer Watchdog. "However, we caution that reinstatement must be retroactive to the time of the policy cancellation, and health insurers must be liable for all health expenses from the date of issuing the contract through the date of reinstatement. We also very concerned about the state's plan to subject the remaining thousands of cases to unnecessary and lengthy 'third-party reviews' before restoring their coverage."

A recent survey of Blue Cross of California by the Department of Managed Health Care found that in 90 out of 90 retroactive policy cancellations -- known as "rescissions" -- that it examined, Blue Cross failed to show that a patient "willfully misrepresented" a known health condition when applying for coverage. Such "willful misrepresentation" is the only legal grounds for rescission.

In a number of cases made public, policies
'/>"/>

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog
Copyright©2008 PR Newswire.
All rights reserved

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2

Related medicine news :

1. Consumers Offer to Pay More to Satisfy Health Demands
2. CIGNA Group Insurance Shows Consumers Theres More to Life Through a New Consumer Education Toolkit
3. Draxis Health selected by Johnson and Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. for major contract manufacturing relationship
4. Naked Juice Brings Consumers Happiness by the Billions With First 100% Juice Smoothie Containing Probiotics
5. Consumer Reports Analysis: Drugs for Nerve Pain, Fibromyalgia Effective, But Not Always Best
6. Hospitals Agree to Pay Fees in Exchange for More Income, but Consumers in the Dark About What Theyll be Charged Under Nunez Plan
7. PA Agriculture Department Warns Consumers of Tainted Raw Milk Sold by Perry County Dairy
8. Injuries, Deaths Tied to Consumer Drugs Rise Sharply
9. Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Introduces New Health Plan Comparison Tool for Consumers
10. Highmark Blue Shield Introduces New Health Plan Comparison Tool for Consumers
11. PA Department of Public Welfare Begins Outreach to Medical Assistance Consumers Following Burglary at State Office Building
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:6/19/2013)... Philadelphia, Pa. (June 19, 2013) The results of ... issue of Neurosurgery , official journal of the ... is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins , ... One study indicates that continuous "machine learning" using artificial ... survival in patients with advanced brain cancers. Another study ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... study reveals significant disparities between minority and white ... treatment programs. Moreover, these disparities vary widely from ... that for most states there,s something amiss," says ... biostatistics. "There are strong racial and ethnic disparities ... abuse treatment programs successfully, and those disparities are ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... Casual, no-strings sexual encounters are increasingly common ... likely than others to "hook up"? A new ... for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, published online by ... there are certain factors and behaviors associated with ... , "Given the potential for negative emotional and ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... (PRWEB) June 19, 2013 Effective Environmental Services ... of new websites. These online links are devoted to a ... Tank cleaner, Organic Odor Control Mold Magician and others. , ... fish and animals in the water as well as living ... sludge buildup that can accumulate at the bottom of a ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... 2013 North Carolina-based life sciences ... to advance development of its technologies. , Entegrion’s ... the advanced development of our product candidates Entegrion’s ... Company’s management structure and engaged industry leaders as ... that Michael Galiger will serve as Vice President ...
Breaking Medicine News(10 mins):Health News:Neurosurgery publishes findings of 3 important studies in June issue 2Health News:Neurosurgery publishes findings of 3 important studies in June issue 3Health News:States vary widely on success rates for minorities in drug treatment programs 2Health News:States vary widely on success rates for minorities in drug treatment programs 3Health News:Why are some college students more likely to 'hook up'? 2Health News:Effective Environmental Services Launch New Websites to Serve Customers 2Health News:Entegrion Announces Organizational Changes to Support Advanced Product Development 2Health News:Entegrion Announces Organizational Changes to Support Advanced Product Development 3
... American Journal of Transplantation reveals that cigarette smoke ... would have been prevented by certain drug treatments. Led ... Health Science Center, researchers used mouse transplant models to investigate ... and its mechanism of action. Seven to eight mice ...
... has shown that removing polyps by colonoscopy not only prevents ... disease. Patients in the study were evaluated for up to ... results to date. The collaborative study, led by researchers at ... 23, 2012 issue of The New England Journal of ...
... WEDNESDAY, Feb. 22 (HealthDay News) --,Toddlers are more likely to ... quickly and overreact to their children,s behavior, according to a ... behavior of adopted children aged 9 months, 18 months and ... 10 states. Researchers also analyzed genetic data from the children ...
... found that insulin production may persist for decades after the ... appears to be preserved in some patients years after apparent ... March issue of Diabetes Care . ... in patients with advanced type 1 diabetes. However, data ...
... HealthDay Reporter , TUESDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- ... sensitivity, but a new analysis suggests that many people who ... Health experts have claimed that this special diet can ... a substance found in wheat, barley, rye and possibly oats. ...
... HealthDay Reporter , TUESDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay ... patients with blocked leg arteries, a new European study ... disease, often suffer from intermittent claudication, which is pain ... legs. Animal experiments had suggested that aspirin might block ...
Cached Medicine News:Health News:Colonoscopy prevents deaths from colon cancer 2Health News:Toddlers With Angry Parents May Have More Temper Tantrums 2Health News:Study finds some insulin production in long-term Type 1 diabetes 2Health News:Is Avoiding Gluten in Foods Always Necessary? 2Health News:Is Avoiding Gluten in Foods Always Necessary? 3Health News:Aspirin as Good as Plavix for Poor Leg Circulation: Study 2
(Date:6/19/2013)... Calif. , June 19, 2013  Omnicell, ... provider of medication and supply management solutions and ... it was named the number one overall pharmacy ... & Infrastructure Report. KLAS, a leading independent healthcare ... automation equipment vendors in its annual rankings. Omnicell ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... Pharma IQ is pleased to announce ... of the results from an industry survey conducted earlier this ... that CROs would be an area of active investment in ... 6 or more clinical trials in the BRIC region. The ... USA Summit explores the latest trends, challenges ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... 19, 2013  It may seem like an odd pairing: ... cancer. But these were two of the most talked about ... Annual Meeting & Expo that just convened in ... focus by some of the top internal medicine experts in ... new research that can not only save lives, but help ...
Breaking Medicine Technology:Omnicell Named Top Vendor in 2013 KLAS Pharmacy Automation Equipment Rankings 2Omnicell Named Top Vendor in 2013 KLAS Pharmacy Automation Equipment Rankings 3Omnicell Named Top Vendor in 2013 KLAS Pharmacy Automation Equipment Rankings 4Pharma IQ Presents the Latest Trends in Clinical Trial Supply 2"Miracle" Breast Cancer Drug and "Youth Hormone" Pill Steal Show at Prestigious Endocrine Society Conference 2"Miracle" Breast Cancer Drug and "Youth Hormone" Pill Steal Show at Prestigious Endocrine Society Conference 3"Miracle" Breast Cancer Drug and "Youth Hormone" Pill Steal Show at Prestigious Endocrine Society Conference 4
... ,Automation continues to gain importance in modern ... consolidation, rising demands from clinicians for rapid ... licensed medical technologists. Ultimately, the laboratories that ... to meet these modern demands. , ,Within ...
... Content Editor Medcompare.com ,According to a November, 2005 ... HIV/AIDS) and the World Health Organization, the number of people ... million people in 2005, with over 3 million deaths caused ... Disease Control shows that over one million people in the ...
Cached Medicine Technology:Optimizing Quality Control Data Management 2Optimizing Quality Control Data Management 3Optimizing Quality Control Data Management 4Optimizing Quality Control Data Management 5Rapid HIV Testing Increases Possibility of Treatment 2Rapid HIV Testing Increases Possibility of Treatment 3
... national reference laboratory and a worldwide leader ... offers an extensive test menu of highly ... and anatomic pathology. Owned by the University ... than half of the nation's university teaching ...
... a national reference laboratory and a worldwide ... ARUP offers an extensive test menu of ... clinical and anatomic pathology. Owned by the ... more than half of the nation's university ...
... national reference laboratory and a worldwide leader ... offers an extensive test menu of highly ... and anatomic pathology. Owned by the University ... than half of the nation's university teaching ...
... ARUP Laboratories is a national reference laboratory ... research and development. ARUP offers an extensive ... medical tests in clinical and anatomic pathology. ... Laboratories' clients include more than half of ...
Medicine Products: