A state Senate committee will hold a hearing at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in Olympia on a couple of our key legislative requests.
The first -- and the less controversial -- is that we retain the authority to review health insurance rate hikes in the individual market (e.g. insurance you buy yourself, instead of get through an employer.) If this bill doesn't pass, our authority do review those rates on behalf of consumers will end at the end of the year -- and the feds will do it instead. This is Senate Bill 5398.
The more controversial bill -- at least among insurers -- is our proposal to make public all the information that health insurers send us when filing for a rate increase. As things stand now, much of that information is secret. Hundreds of consumers have told us that they feel they have a right to see it. And we agree.
We're arguing that consumers should have the right to see what they're paying for, and exactly what's driving the large premium hikes in recent years. Everyone's data would be released, making it a level playing field for all the companies. (The bill is SB 5120.)
We don't have to look far to see how this process would work, because Oregon is already doing it. What's more, that state's largest health insurer said it supports a transparent filing process.
Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler testified about the transparency proposal last week in front of a House committee. Here's an excerpt:
Seattle Times weighs in on health insurer surpluses
Speaking of our legislation involving large surpluses held by nonprofit health insurers, the Seattle Times just posted an editorial on the topic.
It recounts testimony at Thursday's hearing in a state House of Representatives committee:
It recounts testimony at Thursday's hearing in a state House of Representatives committee:
The companies testified against any penalty for piling up surplus, raising the specter of earthquakes, epidemics and President Obama's health-care reform. The first two might bite into their holdings, and the third, they said, surely would. They said they need every cent they have.
"How much is enough?" asked Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim.
Their answer was a thing with no defined form — something about consumers needing "strong, muscular companies." Van De Wege asked his question again, and again received vapor.
Kreidler re: health insurer surpluses: "How much is enough?"
On Wednesday and Thursday, Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler testified in front of Senate and House committees about his proposal to limit further contributions to non-profit health insurers' already-large surpluses.
Here's an excerpt from the Senate hearing:
Here's an excerpt from the Senate hearing:
Non-profit health insurer surpluses: Hearings scheduled for Weds and Thurs
We want to:
- Limit the rate increases of nonprofit health insurers once they build up a large cash surplus.
- Make health insurer rate filings public, like Oregon does. Much of the data is now considered a trade secret, meaning we can't release it.
- Renew our authority -- now set to expire at the end of this year -- to review individual health insurance rates.
The second hearing -- which includes all three bills mentioned above -- is at 10 a.m. on Thursday in Hearing Room B of the John L. O'Brien Building, which is also on the capitol campus in Olympia.
Job opening: .NET application developer
We have a project job opening for a .NET application developer at our Tumwater office. The application period closes at 5 p.m. on Thursday.
This position will serve as a senior software developer for the agency, responsible for:
The position, which is funded by a federal grant related to health care reform, is expected to last until Oct. 15, 2011.
For more, please see the full job listing.
This position will serve as a senior software developer for the agency, responsible for:
...analyzing system and business requirements, completing assigned coding and development assignments in accordance with defined project timelines and quality expectations, preparing user screen mockup and prototypes, preparing "developer" test cases and performing system testing and data verification. This position will perform this work using .NET programming skills including C#, ASP.NET, ADO.NET, MS SQL stored procedures and triggers.
The position, which is funded by a federal grant related to health care reform, is expected to last until Oct. 15, 2011.
For more, please see the full job listing.
Washington state fines six Chubb subsidiaries $534,000 for violations
Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has ordered six subsidiaries of Chubb & Son to pay a $534,000 fine for repeatedly violating state insurance laws.
Federal Insurance Co, Pacific Indemnity Co, Great Northern Insurance Co, Executive Risk Indemnity, Inc.; Vigilant Insurance Company and Northwestern Pacific Indemnity Co. agreed to pay the fine. An additional $534,000 fine was suspended, as long as the companies follow an agreed-to compliance plan that, among other conditions, requires semi-annual self-audits.
In November, Kreidler called for a $534,000 fine and a nine-month suspension of the six companies’ insurance certificates, which would have barred them from writing new coverage during that time period. Under the consent order, there will be no suspension as long as the companies commit no further violations for three years.
“The companies have assured me that compliance is a top priority,” said Kreidler, “and I’m hopeful that this approach will resolve these ongoing problems.”
A key issue was the companies’ repeated failure to properly document the reasons for charging higher or lower rates on certain policies. Exams and audits dating back to 1998 found the same problems cropping up repeatedly. Since 2000, Washington state insurance officials have repeatedly fined Chubb and Chubb subsidiaries, and urged them to fix the problems.
Nonetheless, repeated examinations and a series of company self-audits ordered by Kreidler since 2007 found hundreds of violations of state law, including numerous recent ones. In some cases, more than half the sample files checked had violations.
Fines imposed by the state insurance commissioner’s office do not go to the agency. The money is deposited in the state’s general fund to pay for other state services.
(And here's the link to search disciplinary orders by Washington state's insurance department.)
Federal Insurance Co, Pacific Indemnity Co, Great Northern Insurance Co, Executive Risk Indemnity, Inc.; Vigilant Insurance Company and Northwestern Pacific Indemnity Co. agreed to pay the fine. An additional $534,000 fine was suspended, as long as the companies follow an agreed-to compliance plan that, among other conditions, requires semi-annual self-audits.
In November, Kreidler called for a $534,000 fine and a nine-month suspension of the six companies’ insurance certificates, which would have barred them from writing new coverage during that time period. Under the consent order, there will be no suspension as long as the companies commit no further violations for three years.
“The companies have assured me that compliance is a top priority,” said Kreidler, “and I’m hopeful that this approach will resolve these ongoing problems.”
A key issue was the companies’ repeated failure to properly document the reasons for charging higher or lower rates on certain policies. Exams and audits dating back to 1998 found the same problems cropping up repeatedly. Since 2000, Washington state insurance officials have repeatedly fined Chubb and Chubb subsidiaries, and urged them to fix the problems.
Nonetheless, repeated examinations and a series of company self-audits ordered by Kreidler since 2007 found hundreds of violations of state law, including numerous recent ones. In some cases, more than half the sample files checked had violations.
Fines imposed by the state insurance commissioner’s office do not go to the agency. The money is deposited in the state’s general fund to pay for other state services.
(And here's the link to search disciplinary orders by Washington state's insurance department.)
Kreidler responds to health reform repeal efforts
On the eve of the first vote to repeal health reform, Commissioner Kreidler joined Gov. Chris Gregoire in a letter to the Washington delegation, touting the progress made to date and their willingness to enhance the Affordable Care Act where it falls short. They called out several new consumer protections already benefiting our family, friends and neighbors:
In a news release issued by the Washington Public Interest Rearch Group yesterday, Kreidler said, “Putting politics aside, our current health insurance system is unsustainable. Washington families and businesses are hurting. They contact my office every day, calling for help, because they can’t find insurance or afford the coverage they have. The new reforms just starting to take effect will help, but we need the full reforms coming in 2014. Any effort to repeal health reform now is short-sighted and will only harm consumers.”
Both Kreidler and Gregoire admit in their letter to the delegation that the Affordable Care Act may not be perfect, but they make the argument that repealing it - and all of the work that has been done to date to implement the reforms - would be a giant step backwards for our state and nation.
- Children with significant health care needs cannot be turned away by insurance plans.
- Young adults can stay on their parents' health plan until age 26.
- No more cost sharing for preventive service, including cancer screenings and immunizations.
- People with pre-existing conditions who've been uninsured for at least six months can get health insurance through the new federally-funded Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan.
- Small businesses that offer their employees health insurance can qualify for tax credits.
In a news release issued by the Washington Public Interest Rearch Group yesterday, Kreidler said, “Putting politics aside, our current health insurance system is unsustainable. Washington families and businesses are hurting. They contact my office every day, calling for help, because they can’t find insurance or afford the coverage they have. The new reforms just starting to take effect will help, but we need the full reforms coming in 2014. Any effort to repeal health reform now is short-sighted and will only harm consumers.”
Both Kreidler and Gregoire admit in their letter to the delegation that the Affordable Care Act may not be perfect, but they make the argument that repealing it - and all of the work that has been done to date to implement the reforms - would be a giant step backwards for our state and nation.
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