Insurance Rates – Allstate Using Driving Records to Set Homeowners’ Rates in Oklahoma
March 6, 2012
The Northbrook-based company confirmed that it has begun considering the driving records and auto-claims history of people who apply for a new homeowner’s product in Oklahoma called House & Home.
House & Home, introduced in the Sooner State last October, effectively could make homeowners pay more of the cost of their roof repairs. Allstate said last week it plans to roll out the new product to additional states through 2014. Speaking to investors last week, Allstate Chief Executive Tom Wilson said House & Home could help the company reach its target of a 13 percent return on equity by 2014. Allstate’s ROE was 4 percent at year end.
An Allstate spokesman confirmed Tuesday that House & Home marks the first time that the company has used a potential policyholder’s driving records and auto-claims history when giving quotes on home coverage.
via Allstate using driving records to set homeowners’ rates in Oklahoma – chicagotribune.com.
Insurance – U.S. Ranks Last Among High-Income Nations on Preventable Deaths
December 9, 2011
There is something disconcerting about the finding that the United States is last amongst comparable Nations when it comes to preventable deaths. That is, all other wealthy Nations do better than us when it comes to providing proper healthcare and treatment to those whose death could be potentially prevented by timely and effective treatment. This should be of concern!
sThe United States placed last among 16 high-income, industrialized nations when it comes to deaths that could potentially have been prevented by timely access to effective health care, according to a Commonwealth Fund–supported study that appeared online in the journal Health Policy this week and will be available in print on October 25th as part of the November issue. According to the study, other nations lowered their preventable death rates an average of 31 percent between 1997–98 and 2006–07, while the U.S. rate declined by only 20 percent, from 120 to 96 per 100,000. At the end of the decade, the preventable mortality rate in the U.S. was almost twice that in France, which had the lowest rate—55 per 100,000.
Preventable Death In “Variations in Amenable Mortality—Trends in 16 High Income Nations,” Ellen Nolte of RAND Europe and Martin McKee of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine analyzed deaths that occurred before age 75 from causes like treatable cancer, diabetes, childhood infections/respiratory diseases, and complications from surgeries. They found that an average 41 percent drop in death rates from ischemic heart disease was the primary driver of declining preventable deaths, and they estimate that if the U.S. could improve its preventable death rate to match that of the three best-performing countries—France, Australia, and Italy—84,000 fewer people would have died each year by the end of the period studied.
via Healthcare-NOW! – U.S. Ranks Last Among High-Income Nations on Preventable Deaths.
Insurance – Healthcare – New Study Shows Health Insurance Premium Spikes in Every State
December 6, 2011
Premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance have risen faster than incomes in every state in the nation, according to a report released Thursday.
The analysis of federal data by the Commonwealth Fund, an independent research organization, shed new light on the state-by-state picture while essentially confirming a national trend, highlighted in other recent surveys of employer-sponsored insurance, of greater premiums for skimpier benefits.
The District of Columbia had the highest annual total premiums, including both the employer’s and the worker’s share. In 2010, they averaged $5,644 for a single policy and $15,206 for a family version — a rise of 51 percent and 41 percent, respectively, since 2003.
But the costs were significant even in states with some of the lowest average rates, such as Alabama, where a single policy averaged $4,571 in total premiums and a family version reached $12,409. Maryland and Virginia were roughly in the middle of the pack.
“Although employees typically don’t see the total cost of their insurance, the sharp increase, in effect, means lower wages and salaries as employers make the trade-off between increasing wages and offering insurance,” said Cathy Schoen, a co-author of the study.
via New study shows health insurance premium spikes in every state – The Washington Post.
Time To End Anti-Trust Exemption For the Insurance Industry
December 14, 2009
Sen. Leahy on Taking Away Insurance Cos. Anti-trust Exemption; Wants Public Option
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPnMaO6-ny4]
No one knows why the Insurance Industry has an exemption from the rules of Capitalism to allow the forces of the market to set the price. It is time that Insurance Industry’s exemption from the anti-trust laws.
Texas Tort Reform Not All That is Cracked Up To Be…
December 9, 2009
We see results like this all the time, yet the mythical Tort Reform as the answer to all ills continues to be proffered to the public by all those who are either miss-informed or are only looking out for the profit and interests of Insurance Industry. I particularly like the Texas results since the idea that all is well in Texas has been publicized–the problem with the publicity given to Texas and its supposed success resulting from the passage of Tort Reform is that it has resulted in less lawsuits–The US Chamber of Commerce seem to be only concerned with that fact–however, the US Chamber of Commerce does not seem to be concerned with the consumers who have been injured not being able to get compensation from the insurance company for their injuries… That concern has been passed along to us the tax payer because if a person who has been handicapped as a result of medical malpractice is not able to work and to support himself, ultimately, it is the tax payer who will be left holding the bag–and that seems to be the MO of the Right Wing and Conservative Movement.
Tort reform not shown to reduce patient premiums or defensive medicine
The health care debate drones on in the Senate. The first words out of the mouth of many conservative legislators against the proposed health legislation are “Tort Reform.” Medical Malpractice Liability Reform has been a poster child for opponents to overall reform.
The theory:
The theory is that if medical malpractice premiums decline for doctors and other providers, those savings will be passed on to patients. It hopes that limitations on liability and reductions in malpractice premiums will translate to physicians dropping the practice of defensive medicine.The facts:
In fact, more than half of the states have already implemented “tort reform” on the state level. If the Conservative theory holds water, examination of expenditures data should show a positive result.
Texas, in particular, has been cited as a state which has seen drops in malpractice premiums and new doctors moving into the region as “tort reform” has taken hold after implementation in 2006.Documented results on health expenditures paid run several years in arrears, but according to analysts at the Department of Health and Human Services, it would be expected they run parallel to more readily available Medicare usage statistics. Seven of the top twenty most costly metropolitan areas to get health care are in Texas.
Nineteen most expensive Medicare areas have tort reform:
The nineteen most expensive Medicare service areas are Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama. In each state, medical malpractice liability reform has passed the state legislature and been signed into law.Premium variances:
To be fair, there are wide variances in premiums charged by malpractice insurance companies for similar policies in the same medical specialty across the country. These can be as high as 400-500 percent. Certainly, this functions as disincentive for physicians to provide certain services in high premium states. Causation of the variations has more to do with a lack of competition in certain jurisdictions than by specific awards made.Physicans afraid of litigation
Doctors, in particular, are terrified of being sued. Although higher than average malpractice premiums contribute to this fear, the premiums and awards combined contribute to less than 2 percent of overall medical expense. Malpractice premium relief alone does not seem deter the practice of costly defensive medicine.
