A large California health insurer has caved in to political pressure about its profits, pledging to limit them to 2% of net income. The announcement of Blue Shield of California, one of the state’s largest health insurers, seems likely to spawn followers.

Included in President Obama’s nearly 200-page 2011 budget is a proposal often called “the reinsurance tax.” The proposal would eliminate the current tax deduction for excess premiums paid by insurers to offshore reinsurance affiliates. The move to eliminate this deduction is not new—it has been around for at least ten years. President Obama used the issue in his campaign, criticizing Sen. John McCain for wanting to “protect tax breaks for American corporations that hide their profits offshore.” But like any tax increase, someone has to pay it—in this case, property owners in catastrophe-prone states.

Whether buried in the cement at the old Yankee Stadium, or under a runway at O’Hare Airport in Chicago, former union boss Jimmy Hoffa is likely having a fit at …  Read →

President Barack Obama may get one of his Christmas wishes this year as the Senate took the first steps to advance its comprehensive health reform bill.

Sen. Joe Lieberman appears to be one — if not the only — Democrat-leaning legislator in the Senate (or the House, for that matter) who is seriously considering the consequences of …  Read →

President Barack Obama pulled together the Senate and the House, Republicans and Democrats and proponents and opponents in what he called “a season of change” to reform the nation’s health care system, outlining bipartisan ideas that he envisions making a difference.

Two of members of the Obama Administration would not rule out the possibility of a tax on health benefits to pay for a system-wide overhaul in TV interviews.

Secretary of Health …  Read →

Insurance companies, including auto, home, business and life insurers, contributed more than $35.7 million to members of Congress over the last two election cycles, with an emphasis on those involved …  Read →

Any serious national health care reform effort must force individuals to have coverage, industry experts said at a recent panel discussion.

Patrick R. Young

“We need an individual coverage mandate,” said …  Read →

According to a great column by Anna Wilde Mathews in the Wall Street Journal, Americans overall will fare slightly better under health care changes proposed by Sen. John McCain than …  Read →