Union Members Rally To Protect Health Insurance Oct 18, 2009
In 2006, San Diegans voted to implement a process called managed competition ... Lani Lutar of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association said since voters passed the managed competition measure, the unions have been coming up with one excuse after another to delay its implementation. (TheSanDiegoChannel.com, CA)
State insurance chief heads to Northeastern Sep 10, 2009
Before the introduction of so-called managed competition, rates were largely set by the state and there was little variation in prices between companies ... Managed competition has been great for the consumers of Masachusetts, and that will go forward. (Boston Globe)
Conservatives hit the wrong health care reform target Sep 1, 2009
Allowing patients to choose between competing private plans and requiring them to pay more if they select an expensive plan, a system known as managed competition, is a more promising path for reform ... Yet, even under managed competition, the government exerts a strong influence over spending and coverage policies by setting the minimum benefit package. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Opinion)
Car insurance rates fall 8%, state says Jul 3, 2009
The state allowed insurance companies to start setting their own rates on April 1, 2008, under what officials called a managed competition plan ... Cummings said she is skeptical of the findings, because the Division of Insurance has a history of issuing skewed data to support the managed competition plan it created. (Boston Globe)
New Mass. consumer affairs chief plans to use her bully pulpit May 31, 2009
I think the program of managed competition [in auto insurance] that we have adopted here in Massachusetts is a great benefit to consumers. We've seen a reduction in auto rates. (Boston Globe)
Progressive Settles Over Wrong Mass. Rate Quotes May 27, 2009
The Progressive Casualty Insurance Co. began selling policies in Massachusetts on May 1, 2008, as part of Gov. Deval Patrick's new managed competition auto insurance system. Attorney General Martha Coakley says Progressive sometimes quoted prices for yearlong policies when asked for the prices of six-month policies, which usually are more expensive. (ABC News -- Wire)
State Capitol Briefs, Monday, May 18 May 20, 2009
In a statement, Commissioner of Insurance Nonnie Burnes hailed Allstate's return as proof that managed competition is working. The Division of Insurance has strong consumer protections in place as part of the transition to managed competition, and will now review Allstate s filing to make sure it meets those protections, as well the statutes, rules and regulations that apply," she said in a statement. "The Patrick Administration implemented managed competition in April 2008, and this is the 11th... (Arlington Advocate, MA)
State Capitol Briefs, April 9 Apr 13, 2009
Massachusetts is just over a year into the Patrick administration s implementation of managed competition in the auto insurance industry, a departure from a system in which the state sets premium rates. The advent of the system has lured companies like Geico and Occidental to the Massachusetts market, which Burnes has hailed as proof that competition works. (Belmont Citizen Herald, MA)
A year after revamp, auto insurance rates in flux Apr 8, 2009
"Companies have responded positively to managed competition by competing for customers with lower rates for good drivers, discounts, and other benefits," said insurance commissioner Nonnie S. Burnes ... Because the managed competition system went into effect April 1, 2008, many companies are adjusting their rates this month. (Boston Globe)
Tisei: Auto Insurance Reform shows success Apr 4, 2009
This week marks the first anniversary of the introduction of managed competition to the Massachusetts auto insurance industry ... Prior to managed competition, the number of companies writing private passenger auto insurance policies in Massachusetts had plummeted from 54 in 1990 to barely one-third that number ... Price differences and product innovations were both in short supply in Massachusetts prior to the switch to managed competition. (Stoneham Sun, MA)
State Capitol Briefs, Wednesday, April 1 Apr 3, 2009
A Senate-passed version of the appeals board legislation includes an amendment intended for force Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes to intervene and address issues facing residents who are getting non-renewal notices from insurers and agents who are losing customers under the new managed competition system. Members said the House version of transportation reform legislation will become available to members Friday, with amendments due Monday afternoon. (Belmont Citizen Herald, MA)
Extension of auto deadline sought Mar 25, 2009
Senator Jack Hart said yesterday that he believes insurers, during the transition from regulated rates to managed competition, are "cherry-picking" policyholders and leaving by the wayside many urban drivers, including minorities and low-income drivers ... The amendment would extend the April 1 renewal date, which marks the one-year anniversary of the managed competition system ... Before the administration agreed to press for managed competition, skeptics said the system would benefit suburban... (Boston Globe)
Geico wants to sell in Mass. Mar 21, 2009
"It is further evidence that managed competition is bringing more choice in cost, coverage, and companies to Massachusetts consumers," Burnes said in a statement ... Still, Peter Robertson, legal counsel to the Property Casualty Insurers Association, said managed competition is benefiting Massachusetts drivers ... There have been some glitches during the implementation of managed competition. (Boston Globe)
Mass. to keep car insurance appeal board Mar 19, 2009
Legislators had threatened action after Burnes decided to eliminate the board under the state's "managed competition" auto insurance system, which took effect last year ... Under managed competition, auto insurers set their own rates and can choose whether to introduce new products. (Boston Globe)
Mass. AG backs auto insurance appeals board Mar 13, 2009
Last year, a "managed competition" auto insurance system replaced a longstanding arrangement in which the state oversaw insurance rates and the types of policies offered ... Last year, early in the transition to managed competition, Burnes and Coakley battled over maintaining consumer protection and oversight of insurance company policies. (Boston Globe)
Insurance agents: New rules will cost jobs Mar 12, 2009
The agents, who for years have specialized in providing auto insurance policies to high-risk and inner-city drivers, said Burnes's "managed competition" means low-income and immigrant communities will be left without access to insurance agents who are equipped to handle their business. "We took all comers who walked through our doors," said Marie-Armel Theodat of Theodat Insurance Agency in Boston. (Boston Globe)
Advice & dissent Mar 7, 2009
The division maintains that under the state's new "managed competition" system, customers who feel mistreated by their insurer can move to a new company. We argued that an impartial referee is still needed. (Boston Globe)
Mass. to add rules on driver surcharges Mar 6, 2009
Burnes said the state's move to "managed competition," in which insurers have greater flexibility to design products and set rates, makes the board unnecessary ... "The rules we develop around at-fault accident designations will reflect our commitment to consumers just as the transition to managed competition has since day one.". (Boston Globe)
Drivers vs. insurers Mar 3, 2009
The state Division of Insurance is eliminating its Board of Appeal as part of the agency's wider effort to bring "managed competition" to the auto insurance field ... Managed competition is less than a year old, and it remains unclear if the new system will create consistently lower and fairer rates. (Boston Globe)
Op-ed: Let's look at automobile insurance Feb 8, 2009
A front page Boston Globe article of February 1 of this year reports a typical example: managed competition allows a discount if your children have good academic records. Rates are permitted to be lower if you own your home. (Arlington Advocate, MA)
