Latest news with #MikeCausey
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Associated Press
North Carolina auto insurance rates are going up 5% on average in settlement
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina automobile insurance rates are poised to increase statewide by a 5% average this fall as part of an agreement reached between state regulators and the insurance industry. The settlement announced on Monday by Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey is lower than the average 22.6% rate increase for private passenger vehicles that had been requested in February by the North Carolina Rate Bureau, which represents insurance companies. Without a settlement, the industry was headed to a scheduled Sept. 22 rate hearing in which a hearing officer would have considered the bureau's premium rate level request. That hearing is now canceled. The rate changes will take effect on new and renewed policies starting Oct. 1. 'With factors such as distracted driving, excessive speeding and increased automobile repair costs putting upward pressure on insurance rates, I am happy that we were able to hold the average increase to 5%,' Causey said in a news release. The automobile premium rates will remain among the lowest in the nation, the Republican elected commissioner said. The agreement also includes an average statewide 16.3% decrease on motorcycle liability insurance rates. The bureau's previous rate filing in 2023 ultimately resulted in a settlement that led to an overall average 4.5% increase per year for two years.
Associated Press
20-02-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
North Carolina's insurance commissioner is out of the hospital after heart surgery
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey was released from the hospital Thursday, a spokesperson said, 10 days after undergoing heart surgery that wasn't revealed publicly until well after it occurred. Department spokesperson Jason Tyson said the Republican commissioner, who won a third four-year term in November, underwent the 'elective' surgery at Duke Hospital in Durham to 'correct a congenital heart defect.' Causey 'is currently recovering and doing well,' Tyson said in a statement provided before the commissioner's release. 'He has been in regular contact with the Department of Insurance almost daily and has been briefed and directed work.' Causey, 74, told the News & Record of Greensboro in a phone interview Wednesday that only a handful of people at his department were aware of the Feb. 10 surgery. He said it wasn't disclosed beforehand because 'we didn't want to alarm anybody ahead of time unnecessarily and there was just too many important matters that needed tending to to make any mistakes.' The newspaper said Causey's surgery was revealed Tuesday at a Greensboro City Council meeting that he didn't attend. Causey, who is from the Greensboro area, had been involved in annexation and rezoning hearings about some local land. Causey said the defect was discovered in late 2023 when he received a body scan during a health screening. Further examination showed Causey had developed an aneurysm, the newspaper reported. Causey decided to delay the surgery following consultation with a surgeon. Causey ran for reelection in 2024, and continued monitoring showed the aneurysm remained stable, he said. The insurance commissioner is one of 10 statewide elected executive branch officials that compose the Council of State. Causey ran unsuccessfully for commissioner several times before his initial election in 2016.
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NC Commissioner fined UnitedHealthcare $3.4M for unfair billing practices against patients
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — UnitedHealthcare of North Carolina is facing allegations from the state that they violated regulations behind billing their patients. In an investigation that took four years to build, North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey fined the healthcare provider $3.4 million Friday claiming the company incorrectly handled balance billing. Balance billing is when health insurance providers bill a patient the difference between the amount they charge and the amount the insurance approves for the patient in their healthcare plan. In this case, Commissioner Causey said in his investigation he found multiple instances where UnitedHealthcare of NC did not follow its own procedures to negotiate with non-contracted facilities and providers for anesthesia services and emergency room services — footing members with the leftover balance. Judge temporarily blocks Musk, DOGE from accessing Treasury Department payment systems 'Patients receiving emergency room services certainly don't have the time or capacity to go through a checklist and make sure all providers attending them are in-network,' Commissioner Causey said. 'UnitedHealthcare's practices potentially put unnecessary financial burdens on many North Carolinians. I am happy to see that UnitedHealthcare has agreed to take corrective action.' Members of UnitedHealthcare of NC filed complaints to the state's insurance department, and in their investigation, the state said their review found that members were subjected to cost sharing more than applicable deductible, copayment and coinsurance liabilities. Hospitals struggling with longer wait times, surge in patients during bad flu season In addition to paying the multi-million dollar fine, Commissioner Causey said UnitedHealthcare of NC agreed to provide the Department of Insurance with a corrective action plan to confront violations found in the investigation and submit to future compliance examinations. Commissioner Causey said the $3.4 million fine will be distributed for the benefit of the public schools, as required under Article IX, Section 7 of the North Carolina Constitution. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
