California regulators to audit health insurers

Health insurance is expensive...a report recently released reporting on the 3 major insurance carriers in the state of Washington recently reported a cash surplus of $2.2 Billion (with a B) for the year 2006...any guess on what the cash reserves for the State of California might be with even a much larger pool? BD

SAN FRANCISCO/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California's insurance commissioner said on Tuesday he would audit the state's leading health insurers as regulators pursue more than $1 billion in penalties related to alleged claims violations at UnitedHealth Group Inc's PacifiCare unit.Poizner declined to name the companies that would be audited.
"I have decided today to launch audits of all the eight major health insurance companies here in California in 2008. We will be closely examining the practices of all the health insurance companies in California," Steve Poizner, the state's insurance commissioner, said at a press conference in San Francisco.

California regulators to audit health insurers | U.S. | Reuters

"California's two regulatory agencies have taken the important step of banding together to tell United/PacifiCare 'enough is enough,"' said Dr. Richard Frankenstein, M.D., president of the California Medical Association, which last year asked regulators to investigate the company.

"For-profit health plans have made billions of dollars in California by putting profits ahead of patients. Just because United said they're sorry and will pay fines, it doesn't mean patients are protected and won't continue to suffer."