http://www.proctorins.com/index.htmlInsurance News!enjeremy@proctorins.comCopyright 2008 - Proctor Insurance2008-06-13T18:01:36-07:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Tue, 13 May 2008 21:11:18 -0700jeremy@proctorins.comIndustry News2008-06-13T18:01:36-07:00http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/f5fc84dfb48b0632624974ead9c85a0e-18.html#unique-entry-id-18http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/f5fc84dfb48b0632624974ead9c85a0e-18.html#unique-entry-id-18By Stacy Forster
Friday, Jun 13 2008, 06:01 PM
Madison -- Wisconsin doctors who adopt electronic health record systems will receive bigger reimbursements through federal health care programs, under a pilot program offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Michael Leavitt, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, was in Madison Friday to announce the program, which is aimed at getting small- and medium-sized practices to adopt electronic medical records. Wisconsin was one of 12 sites chosen to be part of the pilot. Managing records electronically is believed to result in better care for patients and fewer medical errors.  ]]>jeremy@proctorins.comIndustry News2008-06-13T10:59:45-07:00http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/89127c933575271889455edaf09b15cb-17.html#unique-entry-id-17http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/89127c933575271889455edaf09b15cb-17.html#unique-entry-id-17St. Louis Business Journal - by Matt Allen

Express Scripts Inc. is buying the workers' compensation pharmacy benefit management business (PBM) of Medical Services Co. (MSC) for an undisclosed amount, the company announced Friday.
Jacksonville, Fla.-based MSC's Pharmacy Services Division serves the pharmacy benefit needs of workers' compensation organizations. Express Scripts is buying MSC's pharmacy division from Monitor Clipper Partners, a Cambridge, Mass.-based private equity investment firm that invested in MSC in March 2005.
"Express Scripts has a long history of offering PBM services to workers' compensation providers, and the addition of MSC will enhance our leadership in using proven PBM cost-management tools to drive down costs and improve health outcomes,"
George Paz, Express Scripts chairman and CEO, said in a statement.
Express Scripts and MSC also entered into a cooperative marketing agreement that ensures ongoing collaboration and communication, according to a release.
MSC, which previously consisted of a pharmacy unit and an ancillary unit, said it will now focus solely on its ancillary business and retain all employees, products and services not associated with the pharmacy division. As a specialized ancillary network, MSC represents more than 15,000 vendor partners and 19,000 products nationwide.
Express Scripts said the deal is expected to close following customary regulatory approvals, and will have no impact on earnings in 2008, but should add slightly to next year's earnings.
The move comes in the same week Express Scripts announced it is selling its infusion pharmacy business to a subsidiary of Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen Co. (NYSE, Nasdaq: WAG), the nation's largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2007 sales of $53.8 billion.
Paz said in a statement that the Express Scripts' Louisville, Ky.-based home infusion pharmacy division CuraScript Infusion Pharmacy Inc., was not a strategic fit for the company.
St. Louis-based Express Scripts Inc. (Nasdaq: ESRX) is one of the largest pharmacy benefit managers in the country providing services to more than 50 million members.

matthewallen@bizjournals.com

All contents of this site © American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved.]]>jeremy@proctorins.comIndustry News2008-06-02T17:58:22-07:00http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/d8559667e69db815a795ac1d434f62e4-16.html#unique-entry-id-16http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/d8559667e69db815a795ac1d434f62e4-16.html#unique-entry-id-16“Americans work hard to create a nest egg. They should be able to trust the people who handle their money,” said NAIC President and Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger. “We cannot allow seniors to be misled into thinking a title like ‘retirement planner’ represents special expertise when, in fact, no such expertise exists. Agents and brokers with well-earned, legitimate titles such as chartered financial consultant or certified life underwriter get shortchanged, as well.”

The model bulletin cautions insurers and producers against the improper use of senior designations, stating:

*
Producers who misrepresent their level of expertise in marketing and sales activities will be subject to penalties under state law.
*
Insurers that allow their producers to use misleading designations will also be subject to penalty under state law.

“There is no doubt that abuses exist. State officials entrusted to protect consumers must remain vigilant in their oversight,” Praeger said. “At the same time, we need to keep reminding seniors to be cautious and to evaluate all options before making important financial decisions.”

Specifically, the Consumer Alert offers the following tips:

*
Question the credentials of “experts.”
*
Beware of “free lunch” investment seminars.
*
Ask yourself: Does this product make sense for me?
*
Never make a final decision at a seminar.
*
Report scams.
*
Contact your state insurance department for more information.

“Seniors are uniquely vulnerable and deserve special protection,” Praeger said. “This is a first and critical step in protecting them from those in this industry who would exploit them.”]]>jeremy@proctorins.comIndustry News2008-06-08T21:56:00-07:00http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/f7bf7d1afa467f1c4583eb69dd2cb2b4-15.html#unique-entry-id-15http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/f7bf7d1afa467f1c4583eb69dd2cb2b4-15.html#unique-entry-id-15Provided by: HealthDay

- SUNDAY, June 8 (HealthDay News) -- A drug used to treat multiple myeloma, a cancer of the white blood cells, may also be a treatment for the chronic autoimmune disease lupus, German researchers report.

The drug, Velcade (bortezomib), which is a proteasome inhibitor, worked against the disease and prolonged survival in mice with lupus. The finding could one day offer treatment options for other antibody-associated diseases, too, the researchers said.

"Autoantibody-mediated diseases such as autoimmune hemolytic anemia, immune thrombocytopenia, myasthenia gravis and systemic lupus erythematosus are often difficult to treat," said lead researcher Dr. Reinhard Voll, of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.

A big problem is that plasma cells, which are the predominant producers of the disease-causing autoantibodies, can't be efficiently attacked with current treatments, Voll said.

Lupus is a so-called autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks healthy cells and tissues by mistake, leading to damage to joints, skin, blood vessels and organs. There are many kinds of lupus, with the most common type being systemic lupus erythematosus, which affects many parts of the body. There's no one test to diagnose lupus, and it may take months or years to make the diagnosis. There's also no cure, but medicines and lifestyle changes can help control the disease, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health

For the new study, Voll's team found that bortezomib efficiently eliminated the plasma cells in the mice, leading to a drastic decrease in autoantibodies and prolonged survival. And, the drug had no effect on other cells, he said.

"Proteasome inhibitors may be beneficial in refractory human diseases caused predominantly by autoantibodies," Voll said. "Proteasome inhibitors can selectively deplete plasma cells, which are resistant to current treatments."

Outside experts were divided on the findings, published in the June 8 online edition of Nature Medicine.

"This is a very exciting study that explores a novel mechanism for treating lupus erythematosus," said Dr. Jennifer Grossman, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"The fact that antibodies almost completely disappeared is encouraging. I look forward to hearing more about this treatment in the future," she said.

But, another expert expressed concern that the treatment could adversely affect other cells in the human body.

"I think they're onto something important, it looks as if it has a remarkable therapeutic effect," said Dr. Noel Rose, director of the Autoimmune Disease Research Center at Johns Hopkins University. "The downside is that this is a proteasome inhibitor, and there is no reason to think that it would be specific for plasma cells. It does affect other rapidly proliferating cells."

Rose noted that many drugs may appear safe during an initial trial. "I'm still really suspicious that if this is used clinically, there are going to be side effects like effects on intestinal or other rapidly dividing cells," he said. "The question is, are the side effects going to be severe enough to prevent the use of this drug?"

More information

To learn more about lupus, the U.S. National Library of Medicine.]]>jeremy@proctorins.comIndustry News2008-05-13T21:10:14-07:00http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/cabbe6544025710edf6b9cfa21526a86-14.html#unique-entry-id-14http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/cabbe6544025710edf6b9cfa21526a86-14.html#unique-entry-id-14
WASHINGTON (AP) — Call it Obamacare or call it Clintoncare. But don’t call it ‘‘socialized medicine.’’

And don’t think that the health care systems that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have promised to put into effect if they get into the White House would be anything like the universal health coverage offered in Great Britain or Canada.

Last week, Sen. John McCain, the likely Republican nominee, described his challengers’ health care plans as a ‘‘move closer to a nationalized health care system.’’ But that’s a stretch. To nationalize means to transfer ownership or control to the government. There’s still a vast distance between what the Democratic candidates have proposed and nationalized health care.

Clinton and Obama aren’t proposing government hospitals or government doctors. They want people to have health insurance, and they want people to be able to choose from a variety of policies. The menu would include private plans as well as an option similar to Medicare. Tax breaks would help lower- and middle-income people pay their monthly premiums.

Employers, except for small businesses, would also pay into the system if they don’t offer coverage to their workers. Wealthier people would pay too because their taxes would go up. Both candidates have promised to discontinue income tax cuts passed in President Bush’s first term for those households with incomes exceeding $250,000. The revenue generated would be used to help pay for more health coverage.

The biggest difference in the two candidates’ plan is who would be required to get insurance. Clinton says everyone should be. Obama says only children must have coverage.

Such a system would continue the split system that the U.S. has when it comes to health coverage. The elderly, poor, disabled and many veterans would continue to get care paid for primarily by the government. Others would get coverage from private companies, usually through their employer, or through the Medicare-like option.

‘‘Their approach is not taking any other country’s system. It’s building on what we have in the U.S,’’ said Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund, which conducts health research.

The candidates say the Medicare-like option they include in their health care plans offers additional competition that would benefit consumers. But, if that plan is subsidized so generously that private companies can’t compete, then it has the potential to be the ‘‘backdoor to single-payer,’’ said Regina E. Herzlinger, a professor at Harvard Business School.

Still, the mix of private and public coverage bears little resemblance to Canada or Great Britain, two nations that Americans might think of when it comes to universal health insurance.

Consider, for example, that in Canada, all medically necessary services are paid for by the government. Each province determines what’s medically necessary, but surgery, prenatal care and visits to a doctor’s office for an annual health exam are typical examples. Private insurance is basically limited to dental care, vision care and prescription drugs.

In several Canadian provinces, patients are prohibited from using private insurance to pay for services covered through that nation’s Medicare program. The prohibition stems from the fear that some people could use private insurance to get to the front of the line, thereby undermining access to publicly insured services.

Advisers to each candidates dismissed such restrictions.

‘‘We don’t eliminate the employer-based side of the equation. We don’t dismantle private insurance,’’ said Heather Higginbottom, policy director for the Obama campaign. ‘‘We still have competition and choice and all the things that would lead to adequate supply and good care.’’

Even for those people who select the government-managed plan, nothing will preclude them from buying additional coverage, just as older people today are free to buy insurance to fill gaps in their Medicare coverage, said Neera Tanden, the policy director for the Clinton campaign.

‘‘She wanted to build on the system we have rather than radically reshape it,’’ said Tanden.

Private insurance is also little used in Great Britain. About 11 percent of the population has it. Many use private insurance to escape waiting lists for elective services. But, the great majority of care is paid for by the government.

There are pluses and minuses to the single-payer system that those two countries have. Among the pluses, health care expenditures in Great Britain come to about $2,724 a person. Canada spends $3,359 per resident. Meanwhile, the U.S., spends about $6,401 per resident, according to worldwide figures compiled by the Organization for Economic Development.

Many doubt that the U.S. is getting good value for all that spending. It also makes it harder for U.S. companies to compete internationally.

‘‘That’s why it costs less to build a car in Canada than in the United States because you’ve got a bunch of money tied up in health insurance,’’ said Steven Lewis, a Canadian health consultant.

The high costs also translate into greater difficulty in obtaining care. About a quarter of adults in the U.S. say they did not visit a doctor when sick. About the same percentage said they skipped medical tests or treatments recommended by their doctor. By comparison, only 3 percent of people in Great Britain skipped care recommended by their doctor and only 5 percent did so in Canada, according to a survey conducted by the Commonwealth Fund last year.

But there are disadvantages to the single-payer systems as well. A different Commonwealth Fund survey showed the following percentage of patients who waited more than four weeks to see a specialist: Great Britain, 60 percent; Canada, 57 percent and the United States, 23 percent.

The same survey showed that wait times for elective, non-emergency surgery were longer in the single-payer systems: Great Britain, 41 percent; Canada, 33 percent, and the U.S., 8 percent.

Citizens of the three countries do have one thing in common: They’re not big fans of their nation’s health care systems. Eighty-two percent of adults in the U.S. believe the health care system needs either fundamental change or to be rebuilt completely, the Commonwealth Fund found. In Canada and Great Britain, 72 percent of adults felt that way.

‘‘Everywhere, everybody hates their health care system, said Michael Tanner, director of health and welfare studies at the Cato Institute.

That’s likely to be true under Obamacare, Clintoncare — and McCaincare, too.]]>jeremy@proctorins.comIndustry News2008-05-12T16:31:27-07:00http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/cfa8fbe70e5d9e2502c8d839035876cb-13.html#unique-entry-id-13http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/cfa8fbe70e5d9e2502c8d839035876cb-13.html#unique-entry-id-13GUEST COLUMNIST

Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain are gearing up for a general election battle -- barring a surprise surge by Sen. Hillary Clinton -- in which they will offer very different visions for health care reform.

Obama -- like Clinton -- sees a much larger role for government in the one-sixth of our economy represented by the health sector. Obama would mandate that all children have health insurance, would require employers to pay for insurance for their workers, would impose significant new federal regulation over health insurance and would expand government programs such as Medicaid.

McCain has a very different vision. "The key to real reform is to restore control over our health care system to the patients themselves," he said recently.

He would focus on new financing tools to help people buy health insurance that would be portable from job to job, new mechanisms for those with pre-existing conditions to get coverage, and he would emphasize prevention and better care coordination, especially for people with chronic illnesses.

Obama and McCain agree the key to health reform is getting costs under control. "The reason Americans don't have health insurance isn't because they don't want it, it's because they can't afford it," Obama says. As a result, neither candidate supports a universal mandate for health insurance.

But Obama would lock in the employment-based system with new mandates on employers.

McCain sees a world in which, "Americans (have) new choices beyond those offered in employment-based coverage." He believes that "Americans want a system built so wherever you go and wherever you work, your health plan goes with you."

McCain would boost options for individually owned health insurance by making everyone eligible for a refundable tax credit to help them buy health insurance. He would allow people to purchase health insurance across state lines and would give states new incentives and resources to make sure everyone has access to coverage. He says that bringing millions of new buyers into the health care marketplace will expand competition and force insurers and providers to offer more affordable options.

Obama believes government should require insurers to accept all applicants and would force insurers to charge basically the same premium for everyone, regardless of age, gender, occupation or pre-existing conditions. A healthy young person would pay about the same as a 62-year-old with heart disease and diabetes.

Obama wants a national "pay or play" mandate, forcing employers to cover a preset percentage of their workers' health insurance or pay a fine. Some businesses would be partially subsidized, but that would mean significant federal oversight of all employer health spending.

He would expand Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program and would create a new program modeled on Medicare. That would force private health plans to compete with a taxpayer-supported public insurance program, which has federal policing authority and the ability to impose price controls -- hardly a level playing field.

Congress will wrestle with the intricacies of reform, but in this election year, the vision is the key, and the contrast between the visions that Obama and McCain offer is stark. The bottom line question will be whether individuals or government will be in control of health care in the future.

Grace-Marie Turner is president of the Galen Institute, a nonprofit research organization focusing on free-market solutions to health reform. She is speaking Tuesday at Washington Policy Center's sixth annual health care conference at the Sea-Tac Doubletree Hotel. For more information call 206-937-9691 or visit washingtonpolicy.org.

© 1998-2008 Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]>jeremy@proctorins.comIndustry News2008-05-01T18:00:18-07:00http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/7da0aa2f9417f6de50991877d5d30a02-12.html#unique-entry-id-12http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/7da0aa2f9417f6de50991877d5d30a02-12.html#unique-entry-id-12
Schwarzenegger in the interview said that he is obligated to try to make health care available to an estimated 5.1 million uninsured state residents. He said his staff is working to resolve problems in the previous plan, but he will not break the plan apart to address only children's health or problems with Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program. Schwarzenegger said, "Now we'll try again. We will continue on, keeping the stakeholders together, fine-tuning it and seeing if we can improve on it since we have the time now, then be back again. We feel very confident."

He said that a Field Poll released this week showing that nearly three-quarters of state voters supported the basic concept of Schwarzenegger's plan will give new momentum to the proposal. "I think that will inspire everyone here that we were on the right track, that those that had doubts, that those that used the budget as an excuse for not passing it ... that we were doing the right thing and they were wrong," Schwarzenegger said in the interview (Williams, AP/San Jose Mercury News, 4/30).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2008 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.]]>jeremy@proctorins.comIndustry News2008-04-24T14:58:41-07:00http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/e939986d38a5a9faa3e57c418af22106-11.html#unique-entry-id-11http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/e939986d38a5a9faa3e57c418af22106-11.html#unique-entry-id-11
The plans say they are still waiting for word from the Department of Managed Health Care about which 26 customers have been ordered to have their health care coverage restored. Thousands of other cases will be reviewed by an arbiter, selected by the department.Representatives from various health plans said they expect the broader review of these cancellations to be challenged in court. Though none would speak for attribution, they said they are waiting to see the details of the process established by the department before commenting on any potential legal action.

The department ordered the reinstatement of 26 patients who had their health coverage cancelled by Blue Cross, Blue Shield and Kaiser. More reinstatements may be ordered as the department winds up its investigation of HealthNet and PacifiCare.

Blue Shield and Kaiser said the department made the public announcement before revealing to the plans which patients were being reinstated. It was unclear whether the plans would fight those specific reinstatements.

“We are in the process of contacting them,” said DMHC spokeswoman Lynne Randolph. She said the DMHC had contacted the health insurance plans for information on cases, and would issue the formal reinstatement orders shortly. “We should have it wrapped up by the end of the week,’” she said.

DMHC Director Cindy Ehnes said her office would review cancellations between 2004 and 2008. “Every single rescission will be reviewed by this department,” Ehnes said, adding that patients would be compensated for their costs in the event the rescission was flawed. “For the first time, we are giving people a second chance to get that health coverage,” she said.]]>jeremy@proctorins.comIndustry News2008-05-01T17:57:12-07:00http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/552afb535d835cfb374dec2c59de84d4-10.html#unique-entry-id-10http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/552afb535d835cfb374dec2c59de84d4-10.html#unique-entry-id-10
The negative effects of Australia’s government-run health system are predictable and apparent: limited distribution of technology, restrictions on the number of medical students and Medicare providers, and waiting lists. Recognizing this, the country recently reformed private health insurance – which is not mandatory – in order to attract more Australians to sign up.

Australian taxpayers finance almost 70 percent of total health care expenses, including a subsidy for private health insurance, under which almost half of the Australian population is now covered. Taxes fund a 30-percent rebate on private insurance premiums for Australians under the age of 65. Rebates go up to 40 percent for older patients.

Australia phased in a Private Health Insurance Incentives Scheme (PHIIS) to improve citizens’ access to care, which caused the number of privately insured Australians to rise from 31 to 46 percent. The plan incorporated several reforms. Most importantly, it allowed age-rating in private health insurance, which was previously forbidden.

With age-rating, insurers started charging lower premiums for younger people, attracting them to purchase policies. To manage the transition, those above 30 who signed up before a cut-off date in 2000 were also given a discounted premium. Those who did not sign up in time would pay higher premiums equal to the base discounted premium plus 2 percent for every year after age 30.]]>jeremy@proctorins.comIndustry News2008-04-19T14:18:52-07:00http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/ae2a07d675b4780c76d46418c66dcdf8-9.html#unique-entry-id-9http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/ae2a07d675b4780c76d46418c66dcdf8-9.html#unique-entry-id-9
At issue are the rules health insurance companies must abide by before they cancel a patient's health care coverage.

"In the five years that we have records, there have been about 700 rescission per year," says Hector De La Torre, D-South Gate, author of one of the bills passed out of Health Committee this week. "This bill would make it so those rescissions would have to be reviewed by a third party before they can happen."

Under current practice, health plans have the authority to unilaterally rescind a policyholder's insurance if they find there has been a "willful misrepresentation" of the patient's medical history on their initial health care application. De La Torre's bill would force health plans to seek approval from a third-party arbiter before an enrollee's health insurance policy can be revoked.

A number of high-profile cases in recent years have found that health insurance plans have improperly revoked policies from insurance holders for accidental omissions on their health insurance applications. ]]>jeremy@proctorins.comIndustry News2008-04-19T14:17:20-07:00http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/08603a99ef75007ef5dd41902436d9dc-8.html#unique-entry-id-8http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/08603a99ef75007ef5dd41902436d9dc-8.html#unique-entry-id-8
Taking care of your health during a recession poses quite a challenge. If you’re healthy, you want to stay that way, and if not, you want to make sure that your treatment is not jeopardized. So what can you trim without sacrificing quality? Consumer Reports has a wealth of information on how to get the best value when it comes to your health.

* Ask your doctor about pill splitting. It can save money because pharmacies often charge the same amount for a particular drug regardless of its dose. There’s no harm in splitting pills as long as your doctor agrees with the idea, you learn how to do it properly, you split only pills that are scored, never split extended- or continued-release tablets, and use a safe pill splitting device, available at most pharmacies for around $5.
* Look into a prescription assistance program. If you need medicines (especially for a chronic condition) and have no health insurance, limited insurance, or lack drug coverage under your current health insurance policy you may qualify for assistance.
* Consider switching to a generic prescription drug. Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs can help you find the most safe and effective drug for your condition and give you the best value for your health. Not only are generic medications proven and more affordable alternatives, but the newest brand name drugs have less of a track record for safety.
* Put your fancy gym club membership on hold. As the Consumer Reports survey on health clubs showed, you can pay up to $95 per month for name brand chains and still not get a quality experience. Try out your local Y or community center—which got higher marks in our survey than most big chains—or change some habits: take the stairs, park at a distance, walk the dog. As an inexpensive pedometer shows, those steps soon add up.
* Shop smart. Although it’s tempting to reach for inexpensive processed foods on the supermarket shelf, resist the temptation. It’s important to remember to eat healthy foods including fresh fruits and vegetables. Warehouse club supermarkets fared very well in terms of price on the 2005 Consumer Reports Grocery Store Shopper Survey of 24,000 respondents. Those that gave our readers the biggest bang for the buck (subscribers only) were Aldi, WinCo, Trader Joe’s, Market Basket, Cost­co, Shoppers Food Warehouse, Wal-Mart, and Stater Bros. (These chains are a good choice if your top concern is low prices, and service and the quality of meat, produce, and fresh-baked goods are less important.) Use the FDA’s free nutritional label training program to find information that will help you stay healthy by selecting the right foods when you shop.

—Orly Avitzur, M.D., medical adviser to Consumers Union
]]>jeremy@proctorins.comIndustry News2008-04-17T16:15:44-07:00http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/23e410d51da0d8e8442b55f001dba318-7.html#unique-entry-id-7http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/23e410d51da0d8e8442b55f001dba318-7.html#unique-entry-id-7
Dear Dateline,

In response to the April 13th edition of Dateline “Tricks of the Trade” about unsuitable “Equity Indexed Annuity” sales,InsuranceNewsNet Magazine (INN ), a leading trade publication, would like to respond to your clear lack of journalistic objectivity and integrity as a news organization.

While we agree that there are a few insurance agents practicing deceptive, unscrupulous sales practices with “Equity Indexed Annuities,” there were far too many important facts about annuities as a whole that were left unexplained to the viewers.

At the heart of the matter is your show’s completely biased, one-sided view of the facts, from two of the biggest opponents of what are now called Indexed Annuities (IAs) – never once did Chris Hansen provide an opposing viewpoint in support of IAs.

Your primary objection to IAs was surrender charges, yet you neglected to mention that IAs aren’t the only type of annuity with surrender charges. What about traditional fixed and variable annuities, some of which contain similar lengths of surrender periods? No mention of these products was included in the program. Dateline also failed to mention that there are plenty of IAs on the market today that contain surrender charges as little as one year, yet instead focused on a 16-year surrender charge product that even contained a 10% premium bonus, an important benefit to the client.

The fact is that the amount of complaints against indexed annuity agents and providers was grossly exaggerated in your program. Attorney General Lori Swanson’s comments that these unscrupulous sales are happening on a large scale is unsubstantiated. According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, whose mission is to protect the public interest, there have been only 35 complaints nationally in 2008 compared to more than 1200 complaints against the handling of other life insurance policies. IAs had very few complaints – according to the NAIC. The point is that Dateline, like other mainstream media, has blown the situation out of proportion to the detriment of your viewers.

Like any other sales field, there will be any number of salespeople pulling the wool over people’s eyes. As a leading authority on life and annuity news, INN strongly opposes fraudulent sales tactics. But by exposing these few agents, without letting the public know that indexed annuities have one of the smallest complaint ratios in the insurance industry is just plain-old, bad reporting. Even one factual tidbit would have made this Dateline episode gain credibility.

In response to AG Lori Swanson condemning the practices of agents in the video, it should be stated that Swanson is part of a state system that approves the very same product which she is condemning.

The documented truth is that for thousands of consumers, indexed annuities are a perfectly sound, secure and successful vehicle. In the end, your story could do more harm than good because many owners of indexed annuities may start to wonder about the strength of their insurance product. Meanwhile, the financial markets continue to be volatile. Stocks and mutual funds continue to suffer and yet the insurance industry is being pegged for squeezing money out of the pockets of seniors. What about the stocks and fund investment losses that seniors experience on a daily basis?

Here are some additional facts that are important for your viewers to understand:

*
In 2005, there was only one complaint for every $260,000,000 in premium, or .1% of all premium (Source: NAIC closed complaint files 2006, Advantage Compendium).
*
According to NAFA, The NAIC Suitability Model Act, which protects consumers through rigorous standards, has been enacted in states with approximately 87% of all annuity business. Carriers are heavily monitoring and reviewing indexed annuity sales as a result.
*
Isn’t the fact that Dateline colluded with the Alabama State Securities Regulators to get false licenses issued unethical? This report was not a government-sanctioned piece.

Again, INN agrees that as with all industries, fraudulent sales practices certainly occur, but in the grand scope of all annuity sales, IA complaints are among the fewest. The benefits of indexed annuities and the growth potential and security they offer policyholders were never addressed.

Dateline has revealed itself to be tabloid journalism, not balanced investigative reporting. In the future, INN , in its humble opinion, recommends that Dateline provide various viewpoints. In the end, your show did exactly what it decried in the actions of the agents. It ended up pulling the wool over its viewer’s eyes. Now who is deceptive?

Rob Billingham
Executive Editor
InsuranceNewsNet Magazine
rob@insurancenewsnet.com]]>jeremy@proctorins.comIndustry News2008-04-17T12:36:37-07:00http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/a4025f2d662d77d456b87c95d91f2c7a-6.html#unique-entry-id-6http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/a4025f2d662d77d456b87c95d91f2c7a-6.html#unique-entry-id-6
WOODLAND HILLS, Calif., April 16 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the American Hospital Association, California had the highest workplace absenteeism at 2,761,000 lost work days per year due to hypertension, which is estimated to cost employers $522 million annually. Anthem Blue Cross' (Anthem) Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides Californians with resources to help identify and resolve issues that they may face and that may impact workplace productivity.

Anthem's EAP provides confidential, professional assistance when an employee's life and work are affected by personal problems such as relationship, stress, legal or financial issues, career concerns, and anxiety or depression. According to the American Journal of Psychiatry, workplace absenteeism is twice as high for depressed workers compared with those without depressive symptoms.

Anthem's EAP provides employees with toll-free, 24/7 telephone consultations and referral services, face-to-face counseling, legal and financial consultation, child care and eldercare referrals, provider search, and an information library for employees and household members. Given the reduction of human resource staff in many organizations and the complexity of issues in the workplace, many human resource professionals are utilizing EAP on-site services. These services include supervisor/manager training, educational workshops, substance abuse policy consultation and recommendation, workplace trauma response and Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) services.

It is not easy for employees to maintain peak performance while balancing the demands of their work and personal lives. Employees and their families will have access to an expansive Web site at www.anthemEAP.com , which includes thousands of articles and various interactive tools that may be able to help with life situations. "Occasionally, situations arise such as enduring a family crisis, caring for an elderly parent or dealing with a serious family illness that can become quite overwhelming," said Leslie A. Margolin, president and general manager of Anthem Blue Cross. "Whether the issues involve substance abuse, emotional conflicts, legal and financial issues or workplace trauma, Anthem EAP work/life services can help give employees and their families the support they need."

Contact with Anthem EAP is confidential and provided at no additional cost to employees and their household members. According to the Employee Assistance Professional Association, an EAP can lead to 33 percent less use of sick leave benefits, 65 percent lower incidence of workplace accidents and 30 percent reduction in workers' compensation.

"At Anthem Blue Cross, we bring an integrated approach to EAP, providing employers and employees with access to a full spectrum of quality behavioral health care programs," said Cheryl Noncarrow, president of Anthem Behavioral Health. "Companies using our EAP put convenient resources within their employees' reach, which helps to keep both the employee and the company healthy." Anthem Blue Cross has provided EAP services since 1984 and its EAP is available to groups with 51 or more employees.

In addition to competitive Health and EAP benefits, Anthem also offers access to Dental, Vision, Life and Disability. For more information on Anthem's EAP, visit www.anthemEAP.com.

Anthem Blue Cross

Anthem Blue Cross is the trade name of Blue Cross of California. Anthem Blue Cross and Anthem Blue Cross Life and Health Insurance Company are independent licensees of the Blue Cross Association.® ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross Association.


Source: Anthem Blue Cross]]>jeremy@proctorins.comIndustry News2008-04-17T12:34:25-07:00http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/dd0bf8432e9f43c850d479ff792f9f63-5.html#unique-entry-id-5http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/dd0bf8432e9f43c850d479ff792f9f63-5.html#unique-entry-id-5
DES MOINES, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Being a retirement plan fiduciary was never easy. In light of complex new rules from the Pension Protection Act, though, it’s harder than ever.

The Principal Financial Group® is helping with an updated, easy-to-use fiduciary handbook that—in plain language—will help plan sponsors and their financial professionals feel more confident in their duties.

“The Fiduciary Handbook - A Guide to Plan Sponsor and Plan Fiduciary Responsibilities” now includes the latest changes to retirement plan rules from the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Fred Reish, a nationally known ERISA attorney, has endorsed the guide.

“Offering and managing a retirement plan does not need to involve liability or government penalties. The materials from The Principal can help fiduciaries enjoy the successes of a qualified retirement plan—and avoid the legal pitfalls,” said Reish, a partner and managing director of the law firm of Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen.

Easy-to-Use Package of Tools

The updated handbook is part of a package of tools to help plan sponsors understand and manage their fiduciary responsibilities effectively. The package also includes an annual fiduciary file folder for plan sponsors to store all important plan materials in one convenient location. It also includes sample notices, as well as steps plan sponsors can take to document their important decisions. Reish has also reviewed and endorsed these other fiduciary tool kit materials.

“These resources are part of our long-standing commitment to help plan sponsors understand their fiduciary duties. They spell out—in simple terms—the role of a fiduciary. And they walk fiduciaries through a step-by-step process for fulfilling that role,” said Dennis Long, vice president, The Principal®.

Clients of The Principal can use the materials to:

--
Better understand their fiduciary responsibilities under ERISA and the Pension Protection Act

--
Document the steps they take to satisfy their obligations, which is a critical component of their fiduciary duties

--
Find answers to challenging questions, such as:
-- Should we add an automatic enrollment feature to our plan?
-- How do the new investment safe harbor rules impact our plan?

--
Get additional help from The Principal in understanding and meeting their fiduciary duties

About the Principal Financial Group

The Principal Financial Group® (The Principal ®)1 is a leader in offering businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement and investment services, life and health insurance, and banking through its diverse family of financial services companies. A member of the Fortune 500, the Principal Financial Group has $311.1 billion in assets under management2 and serves some 18.6 million customers worldwide from offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. Principal Financial Group, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PFG. For more information, visit www.principal.com.

#3266042010

1 “The Principal Financial Group” and “The Principal” are registered service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a member of the Principal Financial Group.

2 As of December 31, 2007


Contact:

Principal Financial Group
Terri Hale, 515-283-8858
hale.terri@principal.com
or
Susan Houser, 515-248-2268
houser.susan@principal.com

Source: Principal Financial Group]]>jeremy@proctorins.comIndustry News2008-04-17T12:32:32-07:00http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/d66b0b93cc072c8c339de6701a870517-4.html#unique-entry-id-4http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/d66b0b93cc072c8c339de6701a870517-4.html#unique-entry-id-4
Rocky Delgadillo said Anthem Blue Cross, its parent company, WellPoint Inc., and another subsidiary illegally revoked the policies of as many as 6,000 members and duped all 500,000 individual policyholders into thinking their coverage would help them if they got sick.

"Countless Californians who believe they have insurance actually have policies that aren't worth the paper they're printed on," Delgadillo said.

Health insurers have come under fire for the industry practice of rescinding policies due to discrepancies in a member's application. When an insurer rescinds coverage, that member is responsible for all bills dating to the beginning of the policy.

While insurers have the right to protect themselves from applicants who lie about their health history, regulators, consumers and attorneys have accused them of doing virtually no medical underwriting - instead, waiting until after a member gets sick to review an application for small or inadvertent errors that could be used to justify dropping coverage.

Delgadillo's lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeks $2,500 per violation or $5,000 if the victim is a senior or disabled. Total fines and restitution could exceed $1 billion.

Blue Cross, which changed its name to Anthem Blue Cross, said in a statement that it disagrees with Delgadillo's claims and intends to defend itself.

This is the second time in two months that Los Angeles' city attorney has gone after a health insurer for retroactively canceling policies. On Feb. 20, Delgadillo filed a lawsuit against and opened a criminal investigation into Health Net Inc. for allegedly saving $35 million in medical expenses by illegally rescinding the policies of at least 1,600 members.

The state already has taken some action against insurers. The state Department of Managed Health Care has fined both Health Net and Blue Cross and is in the process of reviewing the practices of other major insurers, including Kaiser Permanente, Blue Shield and PacifiCare.

In a big victory for plaintiffs, an arbitration judge in February ordered Health Net to pay $9 million to Patsy Bates, a Southern California woman who was dropped by the insurer while undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer in 2004. Numerous individual and class-action lawsuits have been filed.

Jennifer Thompson, a Palm Desert (Riverside County) real estate agent who filed a lawsuit against Blue Cross on Wednesday, said she was shocked when the insurer revoked her coverage after she was diagnosed with endometrial cancer last fall. Thompson said she did not disclose she had breast cancer in 1996 because the application, which she filled out in 2007, asked for her medical history dating back just 10 years.

"The fact I am 61 years old and living in the United States without health insurance is a very scary place to be," said Thompson, who is widowed and faces $160,000 in medical bills.

Copyright: San Francisco Chronicle
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
Wordcount: 498]]>jeremy@proctorins.comIndustry News2008-04-17T12:29:19-07:00http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/39a7b59af50e4b85187627ee7a3da0a2-2.html#unique-entry-id-2http://www.proctorins.com/news_files/39a7b59af50e4b85187627ee7a3da0a2-2.html#unique-entry-id-2
NEEDHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 17, 2008--With over 20 percent of the U.S. population expected to be over the age of 65 in 2025, there is a growing need for financial products that can guarantee an income stream during retirement – a need insurance companies should be well-positioned to meet with annuity offerings. Yet new research from TowerGroup finds that in order to capture a larger slice of the retirement asset market, insurers must make strategic changes in their approach to annuities to reduce product complexity and improve both the sales process and suitability screens.

Currently, over 40 percent of U.S. variable annuity sales are generated from existing annuity assets. This statistic indicates that insurers have not yet convinced a large percentage of current or future retirees that annuities are central to a comprehensive retirement plan.

“It is imperative that insurers create an environment where customers and advisors feel secure and comfortable with annuities in order to attain real market growth,” said Rachel Alt-Simmons, a senior analyst in TowerGroup’s Insurance practice and author of the research. “Building customer understanding and trust can only be achieved by making both annuity products and business processes more transparent.”

Highlights of the research include:


TowerGroup estimates retirement assets in the US represented $18.5 trillion (USD) in 2007. A graphic detailing invested retirement assets by type from 2000 to 2007 can be downloaded at: www.towergroup.com/research/content/page.jsp?pageId=3122.
In addition to demographic shifts relative to aging, ethnographic changes are also reshaping the country. By 2020, the foreign-born population in the U.S. will reach 15 percent, the highest level in more than 100 years. TowerGroup believes that insurers must address this change by adapting their financial products to better suit diverse populations and varying cultural habits.
Regulations have not kept pace with financial innovation, leaving the door open for investors to purchase unsuitable products. This has led regulatory authorities in the U.S., United Kingdom and Japan to create rules aimed at protecting investors from unsuitable investments and unfair sales practices.
To appeal to the changing retirement market, insurers must reconfigure and enhance their annuity offerings – reducing product complexity by returning to the basics. TowerGroup recommends that insurers consider: creating a client bill of rights; changing the compensation structure around annuity products; more closely monitoring sales practices; enhancing disclosures for customers; and making it easy overall to do business in this area.

“Insurance companies must become more accountable for suitable sales and operational practices around annuities,” added Alt-Simmons. “The insurers who take on this challenge will both help consumers and drive growth by providing investments that are appropriate and effective in meeting retirement income needs.”

Two new research reports, titled “Growing the Variable Annuity Market: Global Challenges” and “Life Insurers, Act Now! Demographics Are Rocking the Boat,”are available to qualified members of the press for review. To request a copy or to arrange an interview with Alt-Simmons, please contact Rachael Adler at +1-917-595-3038 or radler@cooperkatz.com. Those interested in purchasing a copy of a TowerGroup report or subscribing to a TowerGroup research service may call +1.781.292.5200 or email service-info@towergroup.com.

Sign up for the bi-weekly newsletter, TowerGroup News, to stay informed on the latest research and events. To learn more, visit: http://ui.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1101074606706&p=oi.

About TowerGroup: TowerGroup is the leading research and advisory services firm focused exclusively on the financial services industry. A respected source for trusted information and advice, TowerGroup brings many of the world’s leading financial institutions, technology companies, and professional services firms a deeper understanding of the business and technology issues impacting their organizations. Headquartered near Boston in Needham, Massachusetts, and with offices in North America and Europe, TowerGroup serves a global client base. Visit www.towergroup.com for more information.

Copyright: Business Wire
Source: Business Wire]]>