News in brief - Feb. 7, 2011

California insurers agree to hold off on rate hikes

Aetna, UnitedHealth Group and Anthem Blue Cross of California have agreed to put off pending rate increases in California for at least two months as the state's new insurance commissioner reviews their filings.

The insurance department announced Jan. 27 that the companies agreed to the delay, as requested by Commissioner Dave Jones. He does not have authority to accept or deny the rate increases. However, he can review them to make sure they comply with medical spending minimums. Blue Shield declined to delay its pending rate increase, but it said it would hire an independent actuary to review its most recent filing.

The state's Office of Administrative Law approved an emergency regulation Jan. 25 making the state's minimum medical-loss ratio 80%, in line with the new minimum specified under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. That means 80% of premium dollars must be spent on health care. Jones, a Democrat, wanted to ensure that the rules stayed in place in California even if Republicans in Congress repealed the federal rule.

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HIMSS forms Latino health IT initiative

The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society announced it has established a Latino initiative to focus on the needs of the growing Hispanic market.

The initiative will work to identify health information technology solutions to improve the access and quality of care for Latinos. The group also will address ways to reduce the cost of care for this population.

The initiative will be led by a work group, open to all members, that will meet by teleconference once a month. Luis Belen, president and CEO of VWCGlobal and founder, president and CEO of Medic Success, and Danny Vargas, president of VARCom Solutions, will serve as co-chairs.

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Union membership dips for health care workers

After several years of growth, the number of people working in health care who belong to a union declined in 2010, according to data released Jan. 21 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

About 957,000 health care practitioners and technicians, a category that includes physicians and nurses, were members of a union in 2010. This number was at its highest for the past decade in 2009, at 962,000 members. The proportion of this occupational category with union membership dropped from 13.6% in 2009 to 13.3% in 2010.

These numbers also went down for health care support occupations, a category that includes medical assistants and nursing aides. About 317,000 -- 10% of people in these types of jobs -- were members of unions in 2009. This was also a peak for the past decade and went down to 268,000 -- 8.4% -- in 2010.

Union membership in the health care setting generally went up during the past decade, but declined in the work force as a whole. The BLS' union members summary is available online (www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.nr0.htm).

This content was published online only.

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