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Consumer Complaints on Private Insurance Not Unusual

August 13, 2016 By James Hendrickson Leave a Comment

July 5. 2016

Top complaints with Colorado health insurance companies include surprise out-of-network billing, out-of-date directories, and denial of claims. (Pixabay)

DENVER – Some consumers are having a rough go with insurance companies in Colorado.

After Tyler Boon’s employer switched health plans, he spent the better part of a week trying to find a new primary care physician for his family, including his pregnant wife.

Nearly every provider he called in Cigna Health Insurance’s directory listed as accepting new patients had not actually accepted a new patient in three years.

Boon says when he told Cigna about the errors, company personnel apologized, but blamed doctors for not providing updated information.

“In an industry that’s based on helping people to have the level of buck-passing and not caring that the directories were that out of date, really was shocking to me,” Boon says.

Boon adds as a financial adviser working from home, he was able to take time to find a family doctor, but he doubts others have that luxury. He also took the time to file a complaint with the Colorado Division of Insurance.

The Colorado Consumer Health Initiative is studying the data compiled by the agency to identify the biggest challenges facing residents and to pressure companies to do better.

The biggest beefs registered include surprise out-of-network billing, inadequate networks and denial of claims.

Boon’s experience is not unusual. A 2015 Consumer Reports National Research Center study found most people with private insurance have complaints but don’t know where to register them.

Boon shares another common gripe: the lack of transparent pricing.

“There’s no other industry on the planet that has that opaque of pricing,” he maintains. “In my job, I couldn’t say to somebody, ‘Invest your money with me and I’ll bill you next year, and I won’t be able to tell you how much you’re going to pay until then.’

“You couldn’t go buy a new car and have them send you a bill four months later.”

Boon has nothing but praise for the hospital workers who helped bring his new daughter into the world three weeks ago, but adds he’s still waiting to get the final bill.

Source: Public News Network, Reprinted With Permission.

Author: Eric Galatas, Public News Service – CO

Study: Black Family Wealth 228 Years Behind Whites

August 11, 2016 By Alexa Mason 2 Comments

Black Families Need 228 Years to Equal White Families' Wealth

August 11. 2016

SEATTLE — According to a new study, it will take the average African-American family 228 years to accumulate the amount of wealth the average white family has today if current policies continue. It will take the average Latino family 84 years to achieve the same.

The “Ever-Growing Gap” report by the Corporation For Economic Development and the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) looked at trends in household wealth for families from 1983 to 2013. Josh Hoxie, director of the Project on Opportunity and Taxation at IPS, said that widening racial gaps in home ownership and median incomes contribute to the overall wealth gap.

“The story we’re seeing around wealth,” Hoxie said, “is that this problem has been growing for decades and is going to continue for decades, unless we take serious action.”

In Washington state, median incomes for African-Americans are 33 percent lower than their white counterparts, according to a survey by the online research group WalletHub. The new report says the wealth gap is far worse. Median wealth for Hispanic- and African-Americans is about 90 percent lower than for whites nationwide.

Home ownership is one of the biggest ways families build wealth, Hoxie said, and minority families are far less likely to own homes as a result of years of discriminatory housing policies. He said an upside-down tax system has also contributed to the disparity, by putting money in the pockets of the disproportionate number of white homeowners.

“So, what we have is a system to incentivize wealth creation, which is a good thing,” Hoxie said. “However, the bad thing is that that system is currently benefiting people who are already wealthy, and contributing to the racial wealth divide.”

The minimum wage is another piece of the wealth puzzle according to the report. This year, Oregon lawmakers passed a minimum wage hike for the state, which separated the state into three individual pay zones. The Portland metro area saw the largest increase, to $14.75 an hour by 2022. Hoxie said a low minimum wage can hurt families who are simply trying to stay above water.

“When we don’t raise the minimum wage for a long time, it’s not just that people aren’t creating new wealth – they’re not creating a safety net to fall back on, on hard times,” he said. “They’re also going further into debt just to cover their basic expenses.”

Source: Public News Service, Republished With Permission

Author: Eric Tegethoff, Public News Service – WA

From Scanner to Scam – Being Careful with Data

August 10, 2016 By Alexa Mason 1 Comment

August 9. 2016

Many commercial copiers and scanners contain hard drives that store data.

CROMWELL, Conn. – Making a copy of your tax return could put you at risk of identity theft. Commercial copiers, scanners and printers are essentially computers. Many have hard drives and store data that can be retrieved. Identity thieves sometimes buy used commercial machines to collect that stored data.

Howard Schwartz, the executive communications director with the Connecticut Better Business Bureau advised consumers and businesses to take precautions.

“The best way to protect yourself is to be aware of the problem and to be very careful about what you scan in or copy and where.” he said. “It’s probably safest to do so at home.”

Most home scanners and printers do not have hard drives and don’t pose the same kind of risks.

But not everyone has a scanner or a home printer. Schwartz said using an office copier, going to a public library or a commercial copy center to make copies of a driver’s license, passport or tax return can put consumers at risk.

“It’s not a big deal for someone who knows what they’re doing to pull a hard drive out of a copier and get pretty much anything they want,” he added. Simply erasing your files doesn’t work.”

Some newer machines are now encrypting data or deleting it soon after printing, making identity theft less of a risk.

Companies that lease copiers and scanners return them once the lease is up, or if they buy them, they might be sold or thrown out when no longer in use. In either case, Schwartz pointed out that there are steps that can be taken to be sure important data doesn’t go with the machine.

“There are experts you can call in to ensure that that disc drive has been wiped clean,” he said. “Or you can check the company’s website and find out what has to be done.”

Consumers are advised to take similar precautions when selling or throwing away any computer equipment that contains a hard drive.

Source: Public News Service, Rebroadcast With Permission

Andrea Sears, Public News Service – CT