Insurance Space

The White House is continuing its pushback against health insurance rate hikes, asking insurers to put their rate increase requests online, as well as the actuarial data that supports the rate hikes.

“The current situation is simply unsustainable,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said today after meeting at the White House with the CEOs of five major insurance companies and leaders from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

Sebelius said she was prompted to call for the meeting “in part by rate increases announced around country and the input that I’ve had from people across America who are really frightened that they’re being priced out of the market, don’t know what’s coming next, want some information on what’s happening.”

Regulators and industry officials trying to revive the New York Insurance Exchange may seek a lower federal corporate tax to enhance its appeal, Insurance Superintendent James J. Wrynn said Thursday.

Speaking at a membership meeting of the Assn. of Insurance & Reinsurance Run-Off Cos. in Manhattan, Mr. Wrynn said he does not want the proposed exchange to be tax-driven.

“I want it to provide a real benefit to the industry from a business point of view,” Mr. Wrynn said. “With that said, (competitive tax treatment) is something we’re definitely exploring.”

After a two-day lapse, the U.S. Senate has renewed the nation’s flood-insurance program for another 30 days.
The action Tuesday night came after a lone Republican senator ended a protest that had blocked a $10 billion stopgap spending bill that includes the insurance extension and other measures.

The National Flood Insurance Program had expired Sunday night after Congress failed to pass a temporary extension, and that action raised uncertainty locally and elsewhere among people who need the insurance coverage to buy new homes.

The scope of a congressional investigation into health insurance rate hikes in California expanded Tuesday as lawmakers summoned the chief executives of four of the nation’s largest for-profit health insurers to testify about medical claims denied for individuals with pre-existing conditions.

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce and its investigations subcommittee are targeting the practices of WellPoint Inc., UnitedHealth Group, Humana Inc. and Aetna.

The companies provide insurance to a large share of the estimated 17 million Americans who buy individual insurance policies because they do not have health coverage through jobs.