NO CHANGE: Big Insurance

18 September 

Aetna granted 19% increase

Aetna gets OK to hike rates on individual health policies in California
The increase will average 19% and will take effect Oct. 1 along with double-digit hikes by Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California and Health Net that also had been reviewed by the Department of Insurance.

United Health is promoted by AARP and owned in a major part by Big PhRMA Novartis.

California regulators seek up to $10 billion in fines from PacifiCare

The health insurer violated state law nearly 1 million times from 2006 to 2008 after it was bought by UnitedHealth Group, the Department of Insurance says.

by Duke Helfand

California regulators are seeking fines of up to $10 billion from health insurer PacifiCare over allegations that it repeatedly mismanaged medical claims, lost thousands of patient documents, failed to pay doctors what they were owed and ignored calls to fix the problems.

In court filings and other documents, the California Department of Insurance says PacifiCare violated state law nearly 1 million times from 2006 to 2008 after it was purchased by UnitedHealth Group Inc., the nation's largest health insurance company by revenue.

Regulators say the companies broke promises to maintain smooth operations for 130,000 of PacifiCare's customers, resulting in what insurance regulators nationwide believe is the largest fine ever sought against a U.S. health insurer.