http://www.barbaragallios.com Attorney at Law Tue, 07 Oct 2008 03:15:29 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Presidential candidate John McCain wants to tax your health insurance premiums as paid by your employer.  Aside from the downside to employees' already eroded paychecks, this provides a disincentive for employers to provide health insurance benefits.   The end goal?  One NYTimes commentator says the goal is to take health insurance ... http://www.barbaragallios.com/blog/health-insurance-is-taxing-enough-taxing-premiums-is-unconscionable/ http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-aigqa18-2008sep18,0,2386734.story http://www.barbaragallios.com/news/_-la-times-aig-where-does-it-stand-and-how-am-i-affected/ The California Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB: an independent entity that develops the statistics used in rate making) recommends a 16% increase in workers’ compensation insurance  premiums for January 2009. [https://wcirbonline.org/wcirb/wcirb_wire/2008/2008_07.html]  After several years of significant decreases due to workers’ compensation reforms, premiums are on the rise again.  What ... http://www.barbaragallios.com/blog/workers%e2%80%99-compensation-insurance-premiums-to-increase-in-2009-procedures-for-influencing-andor-challenging-your-workers%e2%80%99-compensation-premium/ New York Times US Health Benefits Inspire Rush to Marry, or Divorce By KEVIN SACK Published: August 13, 2008 With health insurance out of reach for many, obtaining coverage is factoring into the decision for more couples.  FInd the full story at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/13/us/13marriage.html?ex=1376366400&en=536088d42d1c0193&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink http://www.barbaragallios.com/news/health-insurance-inspire-rush-to-marry-or-divorce/ You’ve filed a claim with your insurer.  They have opened a file and filled it with information regarding your claim, including things like an investigation report.  The insurer’s decision to pay or not pay your claim is based on what’s in that file.  Can you as the insured policyholder see ... http://www.barbaragallios.com/blog/hey-thats-my-file-obtaining-access-to-your-claim-file/ Two of California’s largest health plans will pay a combined $13 million in fines to resolve investigations by state insurance regulators. Under the agreement, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield will also reinstate coverage for more than 2,000 policyholders whose coverage was wrongly rescinded during the past four years. Neither ... http://www.barbaragallios.com/news/california-fines-two-health-plans-13-million-for-canceling-policies/ July 22 - Amerigroup Corp., a manager of health plans for the government, paid $225 million in settlement of a lawsuit with the US and Illinois alleging Amerigroup intentionally kept pregnant women and others with costly medical conditions off its rolls.  Read full story at Bloomberg - http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aTTIDiFByh2I http://www.barbaragallios.com/news/health-plan-manager-pays-for-discriminating-against-pregnant-women/ Challenging Denial Letters Denial letters, whether from an insurer or health plan, are often viewed by policyholders as the end of the discussion.  After all, the insurer knows best what is and isn’t covered by the policy, right?  Not so!  Some of the reasons given in an initial denial of coverage ... http://www.barbaragallios.com/blog/denial-letters-are-not-the-last-word/ For Small Businesses in Construction:  Does the Defective Workmanship Exclusion in Your GLC Policy Defeat your Claim for Coverage?  Maybe Not. Why are insurance policies so long and wordy? It would be nice if insurance policies were written in clear concise easy to understand language.  Unfortunately policies are often lengthy and ... http://www.barbaragallios.com/blog/the-twists-and-turns-of-insurance-coverage-general-principles-of-understanding-your-insurance-policy-as-demonstrated-in-a-coverage-dispute-over-a-remodeling-project/ Cost of Insurance Far Outpaces Income April 29, 2008 - Princeton, N.J. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Study released during "Cover the Uninsured Week" shows cost of covering families takes bigger piece of household budget. Americans who get health insurance for their families through their jobs have seen their premiums increase 10 times faster ... http://www.barbaragallios.com/news/cost-of-insurance-far-outpaces-income/