California Consumer Group Sues Anthem Blue Cross For Changing Policies And Then Raising Rates

Consumer Watchdog and other plaintiffs are suing Anthem Blue Cross, the California insurer that recently told policyholders it would hike premiums by 39 percent, the Los Angeles Times reports…

Trial For Lawsuit Against Anthem Blue Cross Begins In California

The trial begins on a lawsuit targeting Anthem Blue Cross today in California. The insurer “refused to pay for” customer Ephram Nehme “to get a liver transplant in Indiana because the company wanted to save money, a lawyer for the patient told jurors Monday,” the Los Angeles Times reports…

KHN Column – Malpractice Reform: A Test Case For Bipartisanship At The Health Summit

In his latest Kaiser Health News column, done in collaboration with The New Republic, Jonathan Cohn writes: “Ever since President Barack Obama announced he’d be having a bipartisan meeting to talk about health care reform, Republicans have been denouncing it as a charade. He’s not really interested in their ideas, they say. And he doesn’t really want their support…

Today’s Opinions And Editorials: A Litigation Explosion, Anthem Blue Cross And Starting Fresh

Start Fresh With What People Agree Upon Des Moines Register What would a fresh start look like? It would begin with a new bill. Amending the 2,000 pages in either the Senate or House bill would prove to be impossible. They were born of an unseemly process and based on a premise already rejected by the American people…

California Physicians Help Win Court Ruling On Rescissions Against Blue Cross Of California

A state appeals court sided with the California Medical Association (CMA) and the Los Angeles Medical Association (LACMA) in a decision today clearing the way for a lawsuit against Blue Cross of California for illegally cancelling health care coverage for patients after they got gravely sick. The ruling, posted at http://www.courtinfo.ca…

Massachusetts Lawsuit On Part-Timers And Health Care, Utahns Satisfied With Insurance

News outlets report on a health care lawsuit in Massachusetts, a tobacco tax in Colorado and health plan ratings in Utah. The

Is An Individual Mandate Constitutional? Legal Scholars Are Divided

Some legal scholars are questioning the constitutionality of a proposed mandate that would require most Americans to carry health insurance or pay a tax penalty, The Washington Times reports. This would be the first time that Congress has “required citizens to purchase any good or service.

Patients Sue Insurers For Denying Transplants

The Los Angeles Times has a two-part series on patients who have sued their insurers for denying potentially life-saving transplants. “Surrounded by supporters, Hilda Sarkisyan marched into Cigna Corp.’s Philadelphia headquarters on a chilly fall day, 10 months after the company refused to pay for a liver transplant for her daughter,”