Health

Kaiser Forced to Repay Small Businesses for Overcharging

October 4, 2011 by Calitics

HMO faces scrutiny for their arithmetic

by Brian Leubitz

Kaiser is something of a mixed bag.  They get some good press for focusing on areas that help to reduce health care costs, preventative care, that sort of thing.  On the flip side, they are usually somewhere in the background on lobbying efforts, killing any attempts to make health care insurance more consumer friendly in California.

Well, today's news is more on the dark side.  It turns out that they've been overcharging small business customers and not really providing the data to back it up:

Kaiser Permanente has retroactively rolled back rate increases that went into effect for small businesses on July 1 by 1.2 percent.

The welcomed - albeit small - bit of news for thousands of  California enrollees comes after a bit of wrangling with the state regulators.

Kaiser in April had proposed a 10.7 percent rate hikes for the bulk of its small business customers. The state Department of Managed Health Care, armed with a new law that allows them to scrutinize actuarial data behind the rate filings, pushed back.

"We've been  concerned about the lack of data they provided to support their trends and we requested they reduce their rates," said department spokeswoman Lynne Randolph.

The new increase of 9.5 percent translates into a total savings of $13.5 million, Randolph said.

Supreme Court Hears Medi-Cal

October 3, 2011 by Calitics

High Court to consider massive cuts to services and reimbursement rates.

by Brian Leubitz

The United States Supreme Court opened up its 2011-2012 term, and oh yeah, they're talking California:

The Supreme Court began a new term Monday by refereeing a major healthcare dispute to decide whether cash-strapped states like California can cut their Medicaid payments to doctors and hospitals who serve low-income patients.
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Lawyers for California and the Obama administration urged the court to rule that Medicaid is a "voluntary" effort to provide medical care for the poor and that disputes over funding should be resolved by healthcare officials in Sacramento and Washington, not by federal judges in San Francisco.
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Paul Ryan's new plan to scam millions of Americans out of their health care

October 1, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

Politicus USA:

Ryan’s newest scam involves eliminating tax breaks for employees who are enrolled in their employer’s group healthcare plans, and instead give a tax credit to buy health insurance on an individual basis. According to Ryan, his plan will give consumers the needed incentive to demand more value from their healthcare. He said,

“Giving patients and consumers control over health care resources would make all Americans less dependent on big business and big government for our health security; give us more control over the care we get; and force health care providers to compete for our business.”

Rep. Gail Chasey Endorses Michelle Lujan Grisham for Congress in NM-1

September 29, 2011 by Democracy for N...

Today, Rep. Gail Chasey (D-Bernalillo 18) released a statement announcing her endorsement of Michelle Lujan Grisham for Congress in New Mexico's First District:

"As State Representative of New Mexico's 18th district since 1996, I worked alongside Michelle Lujan Grisham as she fought tirelessly to extend health care to those who needed it most. Not only was Michelle an early and vocal supporter of the repeal of the death penalty, she has inspired me and other lawmakers to improve the economic future for New Mexico. I cannot imagine a better person than Michelle Lujan Grisham to fight for us and represent New Mexico families in Congress.