Hot on HuffPost:

See More Stories

insurancecompanies

Published: 01/6/10

Will New Health Insurance Rules Give Consumers the Clout They Need?

By  Jill Lawrence - Politics Daily
Will New Health Insurance Rules Give Consumers the Clout They Need?

My fantasy of health reform is that it will put private insurance companies on the side of policyholders instead of shareholders, but this is clearly the pipe dream of a onetime public-option fanatic. Second best, in the real world, would be enough regulation to make medical care as important to companies as their bottom lines. There are many, many new insurance regulations in the House and Senate health bills, all designed to rein in private companies and expand consumer rights. As I slogged through them, I imagined an army of six-inch Lilliputians tying down the giant Gulliver with pieces ...

 39 
Published: 12/8/09

Health Insurance: All for One and None for All?

By  Bonnie Goldstein - Politics Daily
Health Insurance: All for One and None for All?

In Mike Kinsley's classic New Yorker essay on longevity, "Mine is Longer Than Yours" the writer notes that today, anywhere between 60 and 90 years is a normal life span. Though I currently have a life expectancy of 84 years and my husband 80.8, those figures are averages. For every one of my age cohort who dies before their 80s, another lives beyond them. My husband and I are at the very beginning of our lifespan countdown, but realistically, we should each expect to have a little over two decades left in our own lives. With luck and a great deal of medical maintenance, they will be rich and ...

Published: 09/14/09

Gaming the System -- How Insurance Companies Cover Their Bets

By  Bonnie Goldstein - Politics Daily
Gaming the System -- How Insurance Companies Cover Their Bets

Health insurers are running a great big complicated business in which the well-being of their customers is only incidentally at issue. Just for starters, insurance policies are unreadable. Designed by actuaries and written by lawyers, the documentation explaining how 85% of Americans are supposedly "indemnified" for medical expenses is neither comprehensible nor particularly legible.Perhaps insurance companies' healthy customers are untroubled by the low transparency score of their policies because they rarely submit claims. Maybe the many insured persons who do need medical attention ...

Published: 08/17/09

Kenneth Bacon's Life and Death Struggle: A Lesson in Health Care Bureaucracy

By  Bob Franken - Politics Daily
Kenneth Bacon's Life and Death Struggle: A Lesson in Health Care Bureaucracy

With Obama administration trial-ballooners declaring that the president might be willing to drop the public option from health care reform, an opinion piece that appeared less than a month ago should be required reading. It was written by Kenneth Bacon. ...

 23 
Published: 08/3/09

Insurance Companies, Spotlighted by Health Care Debate, Have Competitive Edge

By  Bonnie Goldstein - Politics Daily
Insurance Companies, Spotlighted by Health Care Debate, Have Competitive Edge

Democrats focused on passing comprehensive health care reform are singling out the insurance industry as the bad guys. President Obama wants a bill with a government plan to help cover the 47 million Americans who are currently uninsured. ...

Published: 07/23/09

Obama, Democrats Shift Health Debate to Target Insurance Companies

By  Jill Lawrence - Politics Daily
Obama, Democrats Shift Health Debate to Target Insurance Companies

In a new turn, Democrats are using public mistrust of insurance companies as a tool in the health reform battle. The tactical shift is clear in their rhetorical shift. We're suddenly hearing about health insurance reform instead of health care reform. And who doesn't have a frozen spot in their heart for insurance companies? Who wouldn't like to see them forced to change? President Obama made the switch Wednesday night at his press conference and sustained it Thursday at a town hall meeting near Cleveland. In addition to changes in energy and education, he said, "We are pursuing health ...

 137 
Published: 07/23/09

Is Obama's Health Care Deadline Arbitrary?

By  Bob Franken - Politics Daily
Is Obama's Health Care Deadline Arbitrary?

Time for a reality check. If there is to be a comprehensive health care deal, it won't happen until the absolute last second -- probably after the clock has run out.The president's deadline for action in the waning days before Washington goes dark in August is a contrivance, although we do have to give him credit for keeping a straight face while making that demand. ...

 30 
Published: 06/22/09

Insurance Companies Profiting at the Expense of Their Customers

By  Ria Misra - Politics Daily
Insurance Companies Profiting at the Expense of Their Customers

With the ranks of the uninsured expected to swell to well over 50 million within the next 10 years, and many Americans afraid of losing not only jobs but the health benefits that come with them, the clock is ticking on health care reform. But what if, though not covered by an employer or the government, you applied for and were approved for a private plan? And, what if, unlike the millions of under-insured whose plans cover only a fraction of their costs, you were able to buy a decent plan so that, in the event of a major illness, you would be covered. Then, assuming you're able to keep up ...

 34 

Follow Politics Daily

  • Comics
robert-and-donna-trussell
CHAOS THEORY
Featuring political comics by Robert and Donna TrussellMore>>
  • Woman UP Video
politics daily videos
Weekly Videos
Woman Up, Politics Daily's Online Sunday ShowMore»
politics daily videos
TV Appearances
Showcasing appearances by Politics Daily staff and contributors.More>>