State Roundup: Maine, Minn. GOP Want Insurance Changes
July 23, 2011 by Timothy Wilkes · Leave a Comment
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
Maine Gov. Touts Market-Based Health Care Solutions For Rural America
Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) told an enthusiastic crowd at the Heritage Foundation on Monday that his Republican administration thinks “taking off the shackles” from insurers is the way to keep healthcare costs low for rural residents. LePage is among the state leaders who have vowed to repeal Democrats’ healthcare reform law and replace it with market-based solutions, such as allowing people to buy cheap insurance that’s not as comprehensive as called for in the law.
Insurers ready for commercial space race
July 23, 2011 by Timothy Wilkes · Leave a Comment
After 135 missions, the NASA space shuttle programme has come to the end of its life, but commercial firms are already champing at the bit to enter the space race.
Underwriters at Lloyd’s are also looking at providing such firms with the unusual insurance they will need for appropriate coverage in space.
In the interim astronauts will travel to the International Space Station (ISS) via Russian Soyuz spacecraft, but NASA has awarded contracts to firms such as Space X and Orbital Sciences with a view to delivering first cargo and then people to the ISS.
Simon Clapham, space underwriter at Liberty Syndicates, has said that the increasing presence of commercial firms in space will eventually mean more business for insurers.
Earlier this month Aon Risk Solutions announced the Hong Kong opening of its space insurance practice, International Space Brokers (ISB).
State Roundup: Ore. Cuts Insurer’s Rate Increase
July 22, 2011 by Timothy Wilkes · Leave a Comment
News outlets report on a variety of state health issues.
Oregon Insurance Division OKs 12.8 Percent Health Insurance Rate Increase, Rejects 22 Percent
The Oregon Insurance Division will allow the state’s largest health insurer to raise rates on individual premiums an average 12.8 percent, far lower than the 22.1 percent the company had requested. The division announced its decision Tuesday after a public hearing in June on the request by Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, the first such hearing in more than two decades. The reduced rate increase will affect about 59,000 residents who buy from Regence individually or for their families rather than through employers (Graves, 7/20).
LV= scoops contact centre award
July 22, 2011 by Timothy Wilkes · Leave a Comment
LV= has won the “UK Customer Experience” award in the Professional Planning Forum’s new large contact centre category.
The Forum promotes best practice and professionalism in contact centre planning and the mutual insurer’s centres in Bournemouth, Croydon and Bristol were judged against five performance areas: customer strategy, business results, staff engagement, originality and innovation, and corporate social responsibility.
Other shortlisted firms include Nationwide, EDF Energy, Philips and The Listening Company.
LV=’s sales and customer service director, Peter Sinden, comments: “The teams work extremely hard to ensure that we offer a first class service to all our customers and I am delighted that their efforts have been acknowledged by the industry with this award.”
Exchanges: HHS Official Offers Insights On State Deadline, Insurer Roles
July 20, 2011 by Timothy Wilkes · Leave a Comment
During a news briefing in Washington, D.C., Steve Larsen, deputy administrator and director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight at the CMS, discussed certain issues related to the establishment of state health exchanges.
Exchange Deadline May Be A Soft One
The Obama administration official overseeing the establishment of state health insurance exchanges left open the possibility Thursday that no states will establish such marketplaces by the 2014 statutory deadline. Steve Larsen, deputy administrator and director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight at the CMS, described at a news briefing in Washington the various activities that some states have undertaken to establish their own exchanges — a central component of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Ho