I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Aetna has become the second health insurance company in California since April to scrap planned rate hikes, following revelations last week that “math errors” in the company’s application exaggerated justification for the proposed rate increase.
The company had sought a 19 percent rate increase affecting 65,000 policyholders in California. But following disclosure of the errors, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced a new policy to publish all new health insurance rate filings on the state website.
The California state Legislature is also considering new laws to strengthen the state insurance department’s power to deny rate increases, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.
Aetna was the second insurer to withdraw a rate hike request in California this year. Anthem Blue Cross withdrew a much larger, 39 percent rate increase request in April that would have affected 800,000 policyholders in California, following detection by state workers of similar calculation errors.
Filings for rate increases by Blue Shield of California and Health Net Inc. are also under review by state regulators.
“I applaud California for its decision to shine more light on skyrocketing insurance rates and demand more accountability after uncovering that a second insurer used faulty math to try to justify exorbitant health insurance premium increases,” U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said last week.
Case echoes concerns over New Mexico case
An expert hired by the New Mexico Attorney General’s office similarly concluded that Blue Cross Blue Shield New Mexico had inflated its losses to justify a controversial 21.3 percent rate hike, but the AG’s office nevertheless signed off on the rate hike.
But no calculation errors have been reported in the Blue Cross Blue Shield NM case, and the company has aggressively defended its rate increase.
New Mexico acting insurance superintendent Johnny Montoya suspended approval of that increase last week, pending public hearings scheduled for August. That prompted a request by Blue Cross Blue Shield NM attorneys that the state Supreme Court block Montoya’s order.
New Mexico legislators, Attorney General Gary King and Public Regulation Commission (PRC) commissioners have all called for stronger oversight of New Mexico Insurance Division approvals of health insurance rate hikes.
