Rising yields in Japan are prompting some of its biggest life insurers to boost domestic bond holdings and pare overseas debt, with foreign returns no longer stacking up as they once did. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/10/29/companies/insurers-foreign-debt-cut/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #companies #lifeinsurance #insurance #sumitomolife #daiichilife #meijiyasuda #jgb
Djoerd Hiemstra 🍉
boosted
‘Discrimination and AI in insurance: what do people find fair? Results from a survey’
By Marvin van Bekkum, Iris van Ooijen, Gabi Schaap, Maaike Harbers, Tjerk Timan, and me.
New paper out in the European Journal of Risk Regulation.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-journal-of-risk-regulation
‘Discrimination and AI in insurance: what do people find fair? Results from a survey’
By Marvin van Bekkum, Iris van Ooijen, Gabi Schaap, Maaike Harbers, Tjerk Timan, and me.
New paper out in the European Journal of Risk Regulation.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-journal-of-risk-regulation
Alex Akselrod
boosted
Update: the insurance person figured out that it was the family deductible that was still $1,000 which is why insurance didn’t take more off.
But she was lovely and found me a way to get a co-pay card for Paxlovid through the manufacturer - I used it and it made the medication FREE. From $1,000 to $0.
Link for anyone else in my predicament (you gotta have private insurance to be eligible): https://www.paxlovid.com/enroll-in-co-pay-program
#COVID #US #USPol #healthcare #insurance #medicine
Alex Akselrod
boosted
In a twist of irony - I apparently picked up #COVID on the day of my #US naturalization ceremony.
Went to the doctor today where I got tested and diagnosed - all good. Insurance covered it, I paid $40 co-pay.
They prescribed Paxlovid. Great, definitely want to take it.
Went to the pharmacy, they tell me the 5 days of it will cost $1,777. I nervously laugh, telling them they need to make sure to run it through insurance.
They take my insurance, and say “that’s strange, it’s still really expensive”. New total: $1,000.
They try to add a discount code, but it cancels out the insurance, so the total is $1,500.
I ask if there are generics - nope, not available. I double-check my plan details: I’m $100 away from my deductible and the plan covers basically all prescribed medications. Pharmacy is in-network, supposedly.
Anyway, now I’m home and trying to call my insurance and wondering how in the world people are being made to choose between higher risk of hospitalization and paying $1-1.7k for five days of medication with a private insurance plan.
At least I got to pick up more KN-95 masks to wear while I’m contagious….
In a twist of irony - I apparently picked up #COVID on the day of my #US naturalization ceremony.
Went to the doctor today where I got tested and diagnosed - all good. Insurance covered it, I paid $40 co-pay.
They prescribed Paxlovid. Great, definitely want to take it.
Went to the pharmacy, they tell me the 5 days of it will cost $1,777. I nervously laugh, telling them they need to make sure to run it through insurance.
They take my insurance, and say “that’s strange, it’s still really expensive”. New total: $1,000.
They try to add a discount code, but it cancels out the insurance, so the total is $1,500.
I ask if there are generics - nope, not available. I double-check my plan details: I’m $100 away from my deductible and the plan covers basically all prescribed medications. Pharmacy is in-network, supposedly.
Anyway, now I’m home and trying to call my insurance and wondering how in the world people are being made to choose between higher risk of hospitalization and paying $1-1.7k for five days of medication with a private insurance plan.
At least I got to pick up more KN-95 masks to wear while I’m contagious….
Update: the insurance person figured out that it was the family deductible that was still $1,000 which is why insurance didn’t take more off.
But she was lovely and found me a way to get a co-pay card for Paxlovid through the manufacturer - I used it and it made the medication FREE. From $1,000 to $0.
Link for anyone else in my predicament (you gotta have private insurance to be eligible): https://www.paxlovid.com/enroll-in-co-pay-program
#COVID #US #USPol #healthcare #insurance #medicine
In a twist of irony - I apparently picked up #COVID on the day of my #US naturalization ceremony.
Went to the doctor today where I got tested and diagnosed - all good. Insurance covered it, I paid $40 co-pay.
They prescribed Paxlovid. Great, definitely want to take it.
Went to the pharmacy, they tell me the 5 days of it will cost $1,777. I nervously laugh, telling them they need to make sure to run it through insurance.
They take my insurance, and say “that’s strange, it’s still really expensive”. New total: $1,000.
They try to add a discount code, but it cancels out the insurance, so the total is $1,500.
I ask if there are generics - nope, not available. I double-check my plan details: I’m $100 away from my deductible and the plan covers basically all prescribed medications. Pharmacy is in-network, supposedly.
Anyway, now I’m home and trying to call my insurance and wondering how in the world people are being made to choose between higher risk of hospitalization and paying $1-1.7k for five days of medication with a private insurance plan.
At least I got to pick up more KN-95 masks to wear while I’m contagious….
LA Times: California insurers set to charge homeowners for L.A. County fire costs
ProPublica
boosted
This Little-Known Appeal Could Force Your Insurer to Pay for Lifesaving Care. Here’s How to File It.
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When a health insurer refuses to pay for your treatment, you may have the right to have the denial reviewed — and potentially overturned — by an independent provider. Here are six steps experts suggest to help you through the external appeal process.
https://www.propublica.org/article/health-insurance-denial-external-review?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
ghouls for commensality 🧿
boosted
"When a health insurance company refuses to pay for treatment, most people begrudgingly accept the decision.
Few patients appeal; some don’t trust the insurer to reverse its own decision.
But a little-known process that requires insurers and plans to seek an independent opinion outside their walls can force insurers to pay for what can be lifesaving treatment."
https://www.propublica.org/article/health-insurance-denial-external-review
"When a health insurance company refuses to pay for treatment, most people begrudgingly accept the decision.
Few patients appeal; some don’t trust the insurer to reverse its own decision.
But a little-known process that requires insurers and plans to seek an independent opinion outside their walls can force insurers to pay for what can be lifesaving treatment."
https://www.propublica.org/article/health-insurance-denial-external-review
This Little-Known Appeal Could Force Your Insurer to Pay for Lifesaving Care. Here’s How to File It.
---
When a health insurer refuses to pay for your treatment, you may have the right to have the denial reviewed — and potentially overturned — by an independent provider. Here are six steps experts suggest to help you through the external appeal process.
https://www.propublica.org/article/health-insurance-denial-external-review?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
Sumitomo Life Insurance is taking an unusual step to avoid writing down losses on its debt assets, promising to never sell them while they are in the red. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/10/03/sumitomo-life-jgb-losses/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #insurance #lifeinsurance #sumitomolifeinsurance #bonds #jgb
ProPublica
boosted
A Florida Home Insurer Was Allowed to Bypass the Courts During Claim Disputes. It Won More Than 90% of the Time.
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State legislators and executives at Citizens Property Insurance touted mandatory arbitration as advantageous for both consumers and insurers. In practice, homeowners were left with few avenues for recourse when their claims were denied.
https://www.propublica.org/article/citizens-property-insurance-florida-arbitration-cases?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
A Florida Home Insurer Was Allowed to Bypass the Courts During Claim Disputes. It Won More Than 90% of the Time.
---
State legislators and executives at Citizens Property Insurance touted mandatory arbitration as advantageous for both consumers and insurers. In practice, homeowners were left with few avenues for recourse when their claims were denied.
https://www.propublica.org/article/citizens-property-insurance-florida-arbitration-cases?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
“Just Let Me Die”: After Insurance Repeatedly Denied a Couple’s Claims, One Psychiatrist Was Their Last Hope
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After a North Carolina man attempted suicide twice, his wife tried to get him help at an inpatient clinic. But their insurance provider refused to cover the treatment, deeming it “not medically necessary.”
https://www.propublica.org/article/mental-health-suicide-highmark-bcbs-insurance-denials?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
Alex Akselrod
boosted
And bosses now demanding that their employees pay up to $8,000/yr or more for these costs.
Single payer now!
https://www.ft.com/content/9af0c46d-4665-49ae-b153-15ce7d65ca55
And bosses now demanding that their employees pay up to $8,000/yr or more for these costs.
Single payer now!
https://www.ft.com/content/9af0c46d-4665-49ae-b153-15ce7d65ca55
The president, who has framed mental health as a national crisis, paused rules to hold insurers accountable for unlawfully denying coverage. And Congress cut funding to the agency that enforces insurers’ equal treatment of mental and physical health.