Insurance Companies

Don’t Let Insurance Companies Fleece Homeowners

March 4, 2025 Kelsey Condon, Counter Punch. Strategize! Disaster Recovery, Extreme weather, Housing, Insurance Companies

As climate-fueled disasters escalate, insurers are getting richer while leaving Americans in the lurch. Citing climate-related losses, many insurance companies are exorbitantly inflating rates, refusing to renew policies, and delaying, denying, or underpaying claims. The latest of many examples is Los Angeles, where wildfires devoured over 40,000 acres and left thousands unhoused and unemployed. Many families were dropped by their insurers or struggled to find affordable options before the fires. Some turned to the state’s coverage plan, which costs more and covers less.

Los Angeles Fires Ravage Communities, Expose Systemic Issues

January 14, 2025 Natalia Marques, People's Dispatch. Educate! California, Capitalism, climate crisis, Insurance Companies, Prisoner rights, Wildfires

Several wildfires continue to burn in Eaton, Palisades, and other parts of the greater Los Angeles area, incurring a death toll of at least 24 people. Thus far the total area burned has reached nearly 40,000 acres, larger than each of the city limits of San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Boston and Miami. Over 150,000 people have been forced to flee from their homes, and the Eaton and Palisades fires alone have destroyed over 12,000 structures. As of the time of writing, the Palisades fire is only 14% contained and the Eaton fire is 33% contained. Wildfires are highly unusual in Southern California during this time of year.

No One Knows How Often Health Insurers Say No To Patients

July 4, 2023 Robin Fields, ProPublica. Educate! Denials, Health Care, Insurance Companies, Transparency

It’s one of the most crucial questions people have when deciding which health plan to choose: If my doctor orders a test or treatment, will my insurer refuse to pay for it? After all, an insurance company that routinely rejects recommended care could damage both your health and your finances. The question becomes ever more pressing as many working Americans see their premiums rise as their benefits shrink. Yet, how often insurance companies say no is a closely held secret. There’s nowhere that a consumer or an employer can go to look up all insurers’ denial rates — let alone whether a particular company is likely to decline to pay for procedures or drugs that its plans appear to cover.

Care Denied: The Dirty Secret Behind Medicare Advantage

June 28, 2023 Matthew Cunningham-Cook, The Lever. Educate! Health Care, Insurance Companies, Medicare Advantage, Medicare forAll

Jenn Coffey was so tired of having her care denied by her Medicare Advantage insurer that she signed a do-not-resuscitate order. “There was no more hope,” she said. “There was nothing left for me to hope for.” Coffey, a former EMT from Manchester, New Hampshire, went on Medicare, the government health insurance program for seniors and others with disabilities, after a breast cancer diagnosis left her unable to work. Like an increasing number of Medicare beneficiaries, she ended up on a for-profit Medicare Advantage plan; a marketer directed her to an option administered by UnitedHealth Group, a $450 billion insurer.