California Investigating 7 Health Insurers for Denying Claims, Hiking Rates
California has launched an investigation into possible illegal premium increases and denial of claims by the state’s seven largest health insurance companies.
Yesterday, state Attorney General Jerry Brown issued subpoenas for detailed financial records and other information records to Aetna Health, Anthem Blue Cross, CIGNA, Health Net, Blue Shield of California, Kaiser Permanente and PacifiCare.
Earlier this month Anthem Blue Cross announced it was raising premiums in California by as much as 39 percent for its 800,000 customers, despite a $4.7 billion 2009 profit by its parent firm WellPoint. The insurer is now facing a congressional hearing and Obama administration scrutiny over its rate hikes.
In September, California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) released a report that which states that since 2002 the state’s largest health insurers rejected more than one in five medical claims. Data from the last half of 2009 shows the rejection rate has jumped to more than one in four (26 percent), with PacificCare leading the way, rejecting 41.7 percent of claims, according to the CNA/NNOC report.
Las Vegas Nurses Join National Nurses Movement
Registered nurses at MountainView Hospital in Las Vegas voted yesterday to affiliate with the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC).
The 500 nurses are the first RNs to unionize with the growing national nurses movement—National Nurses United (NNU)—following its formation last month with the joining together of CNA/NNOC, the United American Nurses (UAN) and the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA).
Alta Meyer, an intensive care RN at MountainView, says the election is
a victory for patients, patient safety and for us, the nurses. We have our voice at last.
Delegates to New RN Super Union Set for Convention
A new National Nurses United union is holding its founding convention Dec. 7-8 in Phoenix. The new union is a joint effort by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC), the United American Nurses (UAN) and the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA).
The 150,000 RN super union was proposed earlier this year by the trio of nurses’ unions. The 23,000-member MNA approved the creation of the NNU in October. The 86,000-strong CNA/NNOC voted to join the super union in September.
Says UAN Secretary-Treasurer Jean Ross, RN:
It is long overdue for all staff nurses to join together nationally to tackle health care reform that works for everyone, safe nurse staffing levels and giving every unorganized nurse in this country who wants a union the chance to join one. None of these goals will be met without the cooperative work of staff nurses, and we can’t wait to get to work building on the good work UAN nurses have begun over the past decade.
California Nurses, Catholic Healthcare West Set Benchmark for Containing Pandemics
A new agreement between the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) and Catholic Healthcare West sets a national benchmark for containing the spread of pandemics such as H1N1 (swine flu) and protecting patients and workers. Says CNA/NNOC Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro:
With this historic agreement, we are charting a new course for limiting the spread of not only swine flu but all other dangerous pandemics that are yet to come, We are pleased that Catholic Healthcare West is joining with us to set the highest possible hospital safeguards for patients and nurses and creating an innovative model that every hospital in America should follow.
The agreement creates a new system-wide emergency task force, comprised of CNA/NNOC RNs and hospital representatives following the declaration of pandemic emergencies.
Labor Across Prime Time TV
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Prime time last night was well worth watching. The NewsHour on PBS profiled AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, and MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann hosted California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro.
NewsHour showcased Trumka’s start as a coal miner in Pennsylvania and his graduation from Villanova Law School, his rise to president of the Mine Workers and his key role in the tough battle against Pittston Coal Co. The segment included clips from those early days, through to his emotional acceptance speech at our convention in September, when he was elected AFL-CIO president.
As NewsHour pointed out, Trumka made his name “as a bulldog against corporate overreach” while he was AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer.
Nurses Will Strike for Flu Safety
Some 16,000 registered nurses, members of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC), are concerned that hospitals across California and Nevada aren’t doing enough to prepare for H1N1 flu, including adopting new safety standards put forth by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) and guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
They’re demanding proper equipment and procedures to treat patients with H1N1 symptoms and make sure that nurses and other patients don’t get sick. It’s a potential crisis that must be addressed now, so that vital health care facilities and staff aren’t strained.
The nurses, who work at three hospital chains, plan an Oct. 30 strike to protest the insufficient measures taken to prevent the spread of H1N1 flu among patients and health care workers.
Massachusetts Nurses Say ‘Yes’ to RN Super Union
Delegates to the Massachusetts Nurses Association’s (MNA‘s) annual convention yesterday voted overwhelmingly to become part of the largest registered nurses union in U.S. history—National Nurses United (NNU).
The new NNU unifies the 23,000-member MNA with the 86,000-strong California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC), which voted to join the super union in September. The 45,000-member United American Nurses (UAN) will hold a vote on whether to join later this month.
Cal Nurses Say It with Flowers: Pass the Employee Free Choice Act
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With a nod to 1960′s “flower power,” some 1,200 members of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) called on Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) last week to co-sponsor and support the Employee Free Choice Act.
The nurses marched to Feinstein’s San Francisco home and each left a rose with personalized note attached describing their experiences and struggles trying to win a union at their workplaces. Many related stories of intimidation and harassment by management in their efforts to win recognition for their union—and the toll that such union-busting can take on patient care. Says CNA/NNOC Co-President Deborah Burger:
In the past, Sen. Feinstein has said she supported the bill, but appears to be wavering. 1,200 RNs made this house call to let her know that employers are trying to silence us when we advocate in facilities, and that patients end up paying the price for this union-busting. Employers are breaking the law in their harassment of nurses, and we deserve a free choice and a fair chance to speak up for ourselves.
Studies have shown that unionized nurses save lives, reduce turnover, and increase caregiver morale in facilities. That would be good for any hospital—and every patient.
This week, at the AFL-CIO Convention in Pittsburgh, both President Obama and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis spoke out in strong support of the Employee Free Choice Act.
Insurance Companies Run Death Panels When They Deny Coverage
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Health care reform protestors, extremist radio and television talkers and some mainstream Republicans trying to kill President Obama’s health care reform initiative have frequently, but falsely, claimed the health plan would create government “death panels” to decide who gets treatment and who dies.
(Click here to find out the truth behind other big lies about health care reform.)
What these defenders of the private health insurance industry don’t say is that those panels already exist. But they are not operated by the government—they are run by the private health insurance industry itself.
UAW Fighting to Keep California Assembly Plant Open, and More Bargaining News
The UAW, along with community members and lawmakers are fighting to keep open the NUMMI assembly plant in California—and more updates here from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,100 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
WORK STOPPAGES AND JOB ACTIONS
UAW, GM/Toyota: In California, members of the UAW, along with lawmakers and the community, rallied to keep open the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. vehicle assembly plant. NUMMI, which employs some 4,700 people, is a 25-year-old joint venture between General Motors and Toyota. GM announced in June that it would withdraw from the partnership.
