Judge Cites 10 Violations For Edison
by Jeff McDonald, The San Diego Union-Tribune
Southern California Edison on Wednesday was found to have violated rules prohibiting backchannel communications at least 10 times in its dealings with regulators over the failed San Onofre nuclear plant. Criminal investigators and others have been reviewing whether improper private communications have compromised the public proceedings of the utilities commission. Read More ›
State To Probe Peevey Party Proceeds
by Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune
The soiree honored former California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey, and funds were raised in the name of his successor, Michael Picker. The $250-a-plate event was held at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco as consumer activists protested outside. Read More ›
Bigger May Be Better For Health Insurers, But Doubts Remain For Consumers
by Reed Abelson, New York Times
Anthem, which operates for-profit Blue Cross plans in 14 states, merging with Cigna, another large for-profit carrier, along with the planned deal for Aetna to join Humana, a smaller rival known for its private Medicare plans, would create two behemoths.
Along with the already enormous UnitedHealth Group, these companies would control nearly half of the American commercial health insurance market. … “Are these companies not big enough that they needed to be bigger?” [asked one insurance broker]. “They’re all huge.” Read More ›
Judge: Cellphone Tracking Requires A Warrant
by Ross Todd, The Recorder
“Cellphone users do not expect that law enforcement will be able to track their movements 24/7 for a sixty-day period simply because the users keep their cellphones turned on,” [U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh of the Northern District of California] wrote in a 46-page order issued Wednesday night. … “This is a welcome ruling that will provide clarity for the government and important privacy protections for the public,” [Linda Lye, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU Foundation of Northern California,] said. “Going forward, we should expect the government to seek a warrant for this information.” Read More ›
Facing Regulatory Roadblocks, Uber Ramps Up Its Lobbying In California
by Chris Kirkham and Tracey Lien, Los Angeles Times
Uber now spends more on lobbyists in California than Wal-Mart, Bank of America or Wells Fargo … in the top 3% of companies and organizations. … So far in 2015, Uber has paid about $200,000 to lobbyists. That’s more than 10 times the amount spent by the limousine industry and nearly four times greater than the taxi industry’s trade group. … A PUC administrative law judge decided earlier this month that Uber should be fined $7.3 million and suspended from operating in California. Read More ›
Anthem To Buy Cigna, Creating Biggest U.S. Health Insurer
by Ankur Banerjee and Ransdell Pierson, Reuters
Anthem Inc said on Friday it would buy Cigna Corp for about $54.2 billion, creating the largest U.S. health insurer by membership and accelerating the industry’s consolidation from five national players to three. … State insurance regulators and federal antitrust authorities are expected to scrutinize how the Anthem-Cigna and Aetna-Humana deals would affect competition for Medicare and individual and commercial insurance. Within a few hours of the announcement, several U.S. lawmakers and a leading physicians group said they feared the pending acquisitions would hurt consumers … Read More ›
Citibank Must Pay $700M Over Illegal Marketing, Collection Practices
by Ashlee Kieler, Consumerist
In all, the [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau] estimates seven million consumer accounts were affected by Citibank’s deceptive marketing, billing, and administration of debt protection and credit monitoring add-on products. … In addition to consumer relief, Citibank must pay a $35 million penalty to the CFPB’s Civil Penalty Fund, as well as end its unfair billing practices and cease engaging in the deceptive marketing of add-on products. … The CFPB contends Citibank and its subsidiaries relied on illegal billing practices, ultimately affecting nearly 2.2 million customer accounts … Read More ›
Committee Seeks San Onofre Emails Again
by Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune
The chairman of the Assembly committee that oversees the California Public Utilities Commission has given the agency until the end of this month to secure and turn over certain emails and other documents from Southern California Edison. Chairman Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, is asking Commission President Michael Picker to use his authority to demand that Edison provide internal and external emails about the failed San Onofre nuclear plant north of Oceanside. … [The] plant has become a key subject in criminal investigations of the state utilities commission. Much of the scrutiny revolves around private communications between regulators and utility executives. Read More ›
UCLA Health System Data Breach Affects 4.5 Million Patients
by Chad Terhune, Los Angeles Times
This cyberattack at UCLA comes on the heels of a major breach of federal employee records and a massive hack at health insurance giant Anthem Inc. affecting 80 million Americans this year. The intrusion is raising fresh questions about the ability of hospitals, health insurers and other medical providers to safeguard the vast troves of electronic medical records and other sensitive data they are stockpiling. The revelation that UCLA hadn’t taken the basic step of encrypting this patient data drew swift criticism from security experts and patient advocates. Read More ›
Aetna’s 21% Rate Hike Amounts To ‘Price Gouging,’ California Regulator Says
by Chad Terhune, Los Angeles Times
“Aetna’s pattern of unreasonable increases equates to price gouging in today’s market,” [said Shelley Rouillard, director of the California Department of Managed Health Care.] … Overall, the managed-care agency has found six rate increases unreasonable since 2011, and four of them were from Aetna. In May, the regulator found Aetna’s 19.2% increase for small employers unreasonable. But California officials have no power to stop health insurance rate increases. Read More ›
Out-Of-Network Costs Lurk Even At In-Network Hospitals
by Chad Terhune, Los Angeles Times
A recent report by Consumers Union found that nearly 1 in 4 Californians say they were charged out-of-network rates when they thought that a provider was in-network. Most of these people — more than 6 in 10 — assume that doctors at an in-network hospital are also in-network, yet that’s often not the case. Federal law doesn’t protect patients from surprise bills. The Affordable Care Act requires insurers to cover out-of-network emergency services at in-network rates, but it doesn’t stop doctors from balance billing. … As it stands today, the healthcare system has consumers over a barrel. Read More ›
Regulator Went To Power Event In Napa
by Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune
“To my knowledge, the Western Power Trading Forum is one big opportunity to have an illegal ex parte with any commissioner that the group can convince to come and talk to them,” said former commission President Loretta Lynch, now an attorney in private practice. “In some of the most luxurious settings, groups like WPTF wine and dine commissioners while engaging in private, backroom conversations concerning issues directly in front of the PUC. … All Californians should question whether PUC proceedings are appropriately decided, and we should all ask our legislators and the governor to stop this corrupting practice.” Read More ›
Uber Should Be Suspended In California And Fined $7.3 Million, Judge Says
by Laura J. Nelson, Andrea Chang and Paresh Dave, Los Angeles Times
Uber — plagued by problems with regulators, drivers and taxi unions around the world — took a big blow in its home state Wednesday when an administrative judge recommended that the ride-sharing giant be fined $7.3 million and be suspended from operating in California. In her decision, chief administrative law judge Karen V. Clopton of the California Public Utilities Commission contended that Uber has not complied with state laws designed to ensure that drivers are doling out rides fairly to all passengers. Read More ›