Category Archives: Government

State Farm Plans Second Rate Hike in Eight Months for Home Policies

Written On March 16, 2010 By Bob Kraft

State Farm Insurance told the state Thursday that it intends to raise its homeowners rate 4.5 percent statewide starting May 1, only eight months after the company boosted rates 8.8 percent, as reported by the Dallas Morning News. I have written many times about the ridiculous laws and regulations in Texas that have kept homeowners [...]

Posted in Government, Insurance Information

Winslow: Texas Must Stop Protecting Public Safety on the Cheap

Written On March 15, 2010 By Bob Kraft

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram published a guest column by Texas Watch Executive Director Alex Winslow discussing the Toyota safety debacle and how the comapny should have to face an impartial judge and citizen jury – not an underfunded and over-lobbied government bureaucracy.  Check it out.

Do you hear that sound? It is the ringing of alarm bells [...]

Posted in Government, Product Liability or Medical Devices, Vehicle Law or News

Obama Health Proposal Could Reduce Texas Insurance Premiums

Written On February 26, 2010 By Bob Kraft

It may come as a surprise to those not familiar with Texas politics that Texas does not review most increases in health insurance premiums. Not unless the premium increase is for more than 50% annually. Everything else is fair game. An insurance company can increase premiums 49% per year every year and that would be [...]

Posted in Government, Health Insurance, Insurance Company or Government Misconduct

Soaring Premiums Show Need for Health Care Reform

Written On February 18, 2010 By Bob Kraft

Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, has written an opinion piece in the Atlanta Journal Constitution in which she says the recent proposed rate increase by Wellpoint and Blue Cross is evidence that fast reform is needed in this country’s health care system. Here are excerpts from the article:
Earlier this month, [...]

Posted in Government, Health Insurance

Social Security Awards $20 Million in Contracts For Electronic Medical Records

Written On February 2, 2010 By Bob Kraft

This press release was issued by the Social Security Administration this week. I hope it will achieve the stated purpose of speeding up the almost unbearably long process of reaching decisions in disability claims.
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that 15 healthcare providers and networks have received $17.4 million in contract awards [...]

Posted in Government, Social Security Disability

Dallas Judges Try to Keep Jurors Off Internet

Written On January 31, 2010 By Bob Kraft

The Dallas Morning News has a good article today about judges struggling to keep jurors from doing their own Internet research during trials. Here are the opening paragraphs:

In Florida, a mistrial was declared recently after a federal judge learned eight jurors had researched the drug case on the Internet.
In England, a juror was dismissed from [...]

Posted in Government, Political and/or Judicial

Truckers Banned From Texting While Driving

Written On January 26, 2010 By Bob Kraft

According to BusinessWeek and other sources, the Department of Transportation announced today that it is prohibiting truck and bus drivers from sending text messages on hand-held devices while operating commercial vehicles. This is a long overdue rule, and there is some discussion of the federal government extending the rule to all drivers. This may be [...]

Posted in Government, Vehicle Law or News

President Signs 2010 Budget Bill – SSA Gets 10% Increase

Written On January 18, 2010 By Bob Kraft

Congress has passed an omnibus appropriations bill for fiscal year (FY) 2010, which was signed into law by President Obama. As expected, the Social Security Administration will receive a 10% increase over the FY 2009 appropriation.
This increase will allow SSA to proceed with its ODAR hiring plans: 226 new Administrative Law Judges (ALJs), 950 support [...]

Posted in Government, Social Security, Social Security Disability

Insurance “Oversight” in Texas — FAIL

Written On January 12, 2010 By Bob Kraft

Sadly, this is what passes for insurance oversight by the Texas state government: Farmers Insurance raised their homeowners coverage rates by 10% last June without permission from the state, which under our “fair and balanced” laws they are allowed to do. At the time, the State Insurance Commissioner called the rate hike “excessive and unfairly [...]

Posted in Consumer Information, Government, Insurance Company or Government Misconduct, Insurance Information

Righting Wrongful Denials of Insurance Coverage

Written On October 28, 2009 By Bob Kraft

This article from the Los Angeles Times provides a good, brief insight into what I think is one of the worst federal laws ever passed — the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, better known as ERISA.
One purpose of the healthcare reform effort in Washington is to help more Americans obtain coverage, in part by making [...]

Posted in Government, Health Insurance, Insurance Company or Government Misconduct

FDA Fails to Withdraw Unproven Drugs

Written On October 27, 2009 By Bob Kraft

Did you know that the Food and Drug Administration has never pulled a drug off the market simply because the drug doesn’t provide the benefits the manufacturer claimed it would? I have to admit I didn’t know that either, until I read an Associated Press article about an upcoming report from the Government Accountability Office. [...]

Posted in Government, Prescription Drug Claims, Product Liability or Medical Devices

Obama Proposes Extra One-Time Payment to Social Security Recipients

Written On October 15, 2009 By Bob Kraft

As a follow-up to the last post, the press is reporting today that President Obama is proposing a one-time payment of $250 to Social Security recipients and others to partially make up for the lack of a cost-of-living-adjustment in 2010. The payments would be made sometime next year, and would go to all Social Security [...]

Posted in Government, Social Security, Social Security Disability, Veterans Benefits

No Social Security COLA for 2010?

Written On October 15, 2009 By Bob Kraft

This is a press release from the Social Security Administration:
Prompt Passage of Economic Recovery Act Payment for 2010 Needed

With consumer prices down over the past year, monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for more than 57 million Americans will not automatically increase in 2010.  This will be the first year [...]

Posted in Government, Social Security, Social Security Disability

U.S. Bill Would Apply Antitrust Law to Medical Insurers

Written On September 24, 2009 By Bob Kraft

The Reuters news agency reports there is legislation introduced in the House and Senate that would at long last end the antitrust exemption for health insurance and medical malpractice insurance companies. This comes in the midst of a vigorous, to say the least, debate over health care reform and concerns about health premiums rising far [...]

Posted in Government, Health Insurance

Obama To Study Medical Malpractice Claims

Written On September 18, 2009 By Bob Kraft

This article is from the New York Times, and describes a pilot program by the White House to study medical malpractice claims. Perhaps the money would be better spent studying the causes of medical malpractice itself, and studying the profits earned by insurance carriers who charge enormous premiums for medical malpractice insurance. Here are excerpts [...]

Posted in Government, Medical Malpractice, Tort Reform

Obama Signals Openness to Tort Reform

Written On September 14, 2009 By Bob Kraft

The AP (9/14) reports, “President Barack Obama began a week that will dwell heavily on overhauling the health care system, declaring himself confident Congress will pass ‘a good health care bill’ even though some Republican opponents were trying to kill the measure for political gain.” In his Wednesday speech and again in an interview broadcast [...]

Posted in Government, Health Insurance, Medical Malpractice, Tort Reform

Obama’s Medical Malpractice Reform — The Fine Print Is Still Hazy

Written On September 11, 2009 By Bob Kraft

The Washington Post (9/11, Goldstein) reports, “When President Obama broached medical malpractice laws in his speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night, it was one of the few times that Republican lawmakers stood to applaud. But the ideas the president embraced stopped considerably short of the federal limits on awards in malpractice [...]

Posted in Government, Health Insurance, Medical Malpractice, Tort Reform

Obama Opens Door to Tort Reform in Speech

Written On September 10, 2009 By Bob Kraft

The AP (9/10) reports that in his speech before a joint session of Congress last night pushing his ideas for healthcare reform, President Obama said “that he wants to look at a ‘range of ideas’ to ‘put patient safety first and let doctors focus on practicing medicine.’ Obama says some in Congress believe medical malpractice [...]

Posted in Government, Health Insurance, Tort Reform

Obama Administration Supports Medical Error Reporting Only For Infections

Written On August 26, 2009 By Bob Kraft

Hearst Newspapers reported, “While the White House acknowledges that hospital medical errors are ‘a big and serious problem,’ a senior administration official says President Barack Obama does not favor a mandatory reporting system for all medical mistakes, just for infections.” The Administration argues for this separation because “while infections can be easily documented, not every [...]

Posted in Government, Medical Malpractice

New Texas Law Lowers Cost of Getting Hospital Records

Written On August 25, 2009 By Bob Kraft

In what should be good news for those of us who routinely request hospital records, a new Texas law goes into effect September 1, 2009. This amendment to the Health and Safety Code will limit the fee for medical reports requested and delivered in digital format to $75 plus the actual cost of delivery. [...]

Posted in Government, Practice Tips