Center for American Progress Action

PRESS CALL: New Report on Insurance Industry Claim Denials
Press Release

PRESS CALL: New Report on Insurance Industry Claim Denials

WASHINGTON, DC— With insurance companies’ practice of denying claims for questionable reasons receiving greater scrutiny recently, the Center for American Progress Action Fund will hold a conference call at 10:30am EDT on Friday, October 23rd with author and investigative journalist Scot Paltrow and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro to release a new report that sheds light on this often-inscrutable issue, and discuss the implications for the overall effort to reform our broken health care system.

WHO: Author Scot Paltrow, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT),

WHAT: Press Call on Insurance Industry Claim Denials

WHEN: 10:30am EDT on Friday, October 23, 2009

CALL-IN: (877) 210 – 8943

ID: 37903542

Read the full report

The report finds that:

• The rate at which insurance companies deny claims is critical for consumers to know when shopping for insurance—but today insurance companies are keeping those rates secret.

• Claims denial rates have been released in only one state—California—and the data shows dramatic variations in denial rates among companies, which one expert says should raise an alarm for regulators.

• When it comes to claim denials, insurers may be putting profits ahead of patients’ best interests. Most major insurance companies have reassigned their medical directors—the doctors who approve or deny claims for medical reasons—to report to their business managers, whose main responsibility is to boost profits.

Congresswoman DeLauro has been a leading advocate for increasing transparency within the insurance industry as part of the overall reform effort.

Read the full report

To attend the call, please RSVP to Adam Jentleson at [email protected]

###