Six United States insurance companies intentioned in ‘cleaning’ investigate

Six of the great health insurance companies in the U.S. have be given letters from U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., looking for factors about their ways toward small businesses.

Louisville-based Humana Inc. is between six health insurers that have received letters. The other insurers that received letters were Aetna Inc., UnitedHealth Group Inc., WellPoint Inc., Medica and Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Waxman is investigating an industry practice called “purging,” in which insurers drop coverage for sick individuals when they become too expensive to insure.

“We are now looking into the practice of health insurance companies terminating the coverage of small businesses when their employees become ill and their health insurance claims increase,” Waxman said in a statement released by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which is chaired by Waxman.

“We need to better understand how widespread this harmful and destructive practice has become and how it is impacting small businesses and their employees across the country."

Waxman suggested in the statement that health insurers will terminate coverage to small businesses by canceling their policies or raising premiums until they are unaffordable.

Officials with Humana could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Associated Press reported Monday that in response to the letters, America's Health Insurance Plans, a trade group that represents the companies, said Waxman's investigation was designed to smear private insurers and bolster support for a public insurance option.

The committee is asking for information and documents for small-group policies, consist of their renewal rates, factors applied to determine premium rates and the maximum premium rate boosts.

Source:http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/2009/08/31/daily19.html

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