Health insurance, class actions top state regulators' agenda. (Briefing).Health insurance and class-action lawsuits will be key issues in 2003 for state insurance regulators, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the newly elected leaders of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is an Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which seeks to organize the regulatory and supervisory efforts of the various state insurance commissioners from around the United States. . "Health insurance will be front and center this year," said Mike Pickens, the Arkansas commissioner, who was elected president of the NAIC NAIC See National Association of Investors Corporation (NAIC). at its Winter National Meeting in San Diego. Pickens said he wanted to investigate what the drivers of health-care costs are. "You've got increasing medical costs, increasing pharmaceutical costs, increased utilization--all increasing much higher than the rate of inflation. There's no relief in sight, and it's our responsibility as regulators to shine the spotlight on what the problems are and offer up some market-oriented solutions," Pickens said during a press briefing. "I would love to see universal health care as our goal, but by universal health care I mean providing everyone with an option they can live with. I don't mean single payer, one-size-fits-all." Also, the NAIC plans to focus on class-action lawsuits, such as the after-market-parts lawsuit that State Farm continues to fight in appellate court A court having jurisdiction to review decisions of a trial-level or other lower court. An unsuccessful party in a lawsuit must file an appeal with an appellate court in order to have the decision reviewed. . Pickens said he'd like to establish a special working group to look into the class-action lawsuits. "We are concerned about the usurpation Usurpation Adonijah presumptuously assumed David’s throne before Solomon’s investiture. [O.T.: I Kings 1:5–10] Anschluss Nazi takeover of Austria (1938). [Eur. Hist. of our authority," Pickens said. "One thing I'd really like to see us do is work with the state and federal judges' associations to let them know what the cost impact is for consumers and investors for some of this class-action litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. . Again, that's a situation where we can shine a spotlight. I'm not sure we can come up with solutions to all the problems, but we can tell them what the problems are." |
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