despite the fact that aetna recently announced its second quarter profits rose 42%, and aetna also increased its full year forecast for profits as well. >>> the south bay is now host to the largest buddha in the world, and size isn't the only thing that makes it a little unique. it's also carved entirely out of jade and gemstones. the official name of the piece is the jade buddha, for universal peace. this morning's debut drew hundreds of people to a building on san jose's center road. >> this comes from canada. this is a very special one, and it's -- the value of it, more than a million dollars. >> the buddha will remain on display until october 1st. visitors can have their picture taken with it for free. it's in a warehouse on center road in san jose. can you google it for more information. >>> if you think flying is uncomfortable now? we'll show you the smaller seats on the passenger jets of the future. >>> getting a little bumpy out there as well. cold air coming on in, rain in the forecast as well. i'll have the details. we're looking live from oakland over san francisco. >>> in the str

insurance premiums are going up by an average of 19% for a million california customers of aetna, blue shield of california, health net and anthem blue cross. those four companies provide insurance for 90% of all individual policyholders in the state. >> it's absolutely ridiculous. i don't have insurance at all. i barely have a job, and barely employed. >> that's why so many people don't have health insurance right now, because they can't afford it. >> aetna responded to the rate increases saying increases are never easy. but the costs directly impacts what our members pay. people we talk to said it's hard to understand how aetna is talking about increasing costs hurting the bottom line when it just announced a 42% increase in profits to nearly $500 million for the second quarter of this year, compared to the same time last year. >> to have the big people continue to profit off the little people, that's not right at all. >> a spokesman for the state insurance commissioner said today that he does not support the increases but has no authority to block the rate hikes as long as they comp

the state insurance commissioner okayed the increase at aetna this weekend even though the insurance company is reporting soaring profits. today in the bay's diane dwyer reports. >> reporter: insurance premiums are going up by an average of 19% for a million california customers of aetna, blue shield of california, health net and anthem blue cross. those four companies provide insurance for 90% of all individual policy holders in the state. >> that's ridiculous. i don't have insurance at all. i barely have a job and barely employed. >> that's why so many don't have health insurance right now. they can't afford it. >> reporter: aetna responded saying, rate increases are never easy, but the increasing prices for hospital care, prescription drugs, doctors visits and other services, directly impacts what our members pay. people we talked to said it's hard to understand how aetna is talking about increasing costs, hurting the bottom line, when it just announced a 42% increase in profits to nearly $500 million for the second quarter of this year, compared to the same time last year. >> to

anthem blue cros and aetna say theyave decided to stop selling children-only policies rather tan comply with the law which bars them from rejecting youngster aware preexisting conditions. published reports say that could affect nearly 80,000 children in california currently without insuran. insurers disagree their actions will have a massivempact saying they sell relatively few child-only polics. but if they complied with the law, t would create huge and unexpected costs for them. support for the new law has decline across the nation. as say resul honor democratic lawmakers have largely avoided the subject in their re-election campaigns. republicans are seizing the opportunity. >> congressman j sestak voted for the wasngton healthcare takeover. >> for californiansurance companies who dece to abandon child-only policies, the consequences could be severe a bill awaiting govern schwarzenegger's significant would baruch companies who sell insurance in the lucrative individua market for fiv years. the governor reportedly has not taken a position yet. cheryl? >> all right, jenelle, thanks ver

anthem blue cross and aetna say they have decided to stop selling children-only policies rather than comply with the law which bars them from rejecting youngster aware preexisting conditions. published reports say that could affect nearly 80,000 children in california currently without insurance. insurers disagree their actions will have a massive impact saying they sell relatively few child-only policies. but if they complied with the law, it would create huge and unexpected costs for them. support for the new law has declined across the nation. as say result honor democratic lawmakers have largely avoided the subject in their re-election campaigns. republicans are seizing the opportunity. >> congressman joe sestak voted for the washington healthcare takeover. >> for california insurance companies who decide to abandon child-only policies, the consequences could be severe. a bill awaiting governor schwarzenegger's significant would bar such companies who sell insurance in the lucrative individual market for five years. the governor reportedly has not taken a position yet. cheryl? >>

already, insurers including aetna, cigna and humana say they will stop selling plans that cover onlyhildren. since they can't limit pre- existing conditions, insurers worry parents will wait until after kids are sick to buy coverage. and this is only the beginning. most of the big changes don't kick in until 2012, including new purchasing pools and the requirement for everyone to have insurance. florida insurance commissioner kevin mccarty expects lots of changes between now and then. >> some companies are going to be deciding whether to stay in the market. we obviously like to see a conservative approach to keep as many people in the marketplace as possible. >> reporter: while there is a lot of uncertainty in the implementation of the health care law, there's also uncertainty about the law itself. florida is one of 20 states suing to block the health care law, and many republican congressional candidates have pledged to repeal it if elected. stephanie dhue, "nightly business report," washington. >> susie: jeff, it looks like a quiet day here at the new york stock exchange, but a lot

but aetna, wellpoint, blue cross of california, krig ncigna, the all come out and said we don't wanto play that game if you're going to make us cover all kids. and that's a debate, and it will continue. >> belva: okay. well, at least it started. and it's here. so thank you so much, victoria. and my -- thank you all for joining us here tonight. before we close, though, we do have some other stories that made the headlines this week. governor schwarzenegger and the leaders of both parties in the assembly and the senate say they've agreed to a framework for an agreement on the state budget. >>> and the united states senate fell short of the vote needed to repeal the don't ask, don't tell policy on gays in the military. the dream act also fell short of the senate supermajority needed to avoid a filibuster. it would have given undocumented youths a path to citizenship by serving in the military or completing two years of college. >>> a federal judge in san jose has given the green light for executions to resume at san quentin beginning as early as next week. ♪ well, that's all we have tim

aetna, anthem blue cross and cigna are among the companies announcing that as early as tomorrow they'll stop selling child-only policies in many states. that's the very type of policy the serranos were hoping to buy for maria. >> i feel bad for myself but then i also think about everyone else. >> reporter: it doesn't affect anyone who now has insurance, but it does impact the families of an estimated half million children who might have wanted child-only policies. now nonprofits like this one in the serrano's home state of colorado worry they'll have to pick up the slack. >> a new stress, i guess, from the more demand out there for those that are uninsured. we could find ourselves in trouble. >> reporter: some insurers say they'd rather lose the small market of child-only policies all together than be forced to cover kids with preexisting conditions. >> they're going to have very, very high health care costs that are going to have to be borne out by everybody else who has health insurance. and that's a system that's simply not sustainable. >> reporter: we asked the insurance lobby to pr

anthem blue cross, aetna and others will halt new child only policies in california and other states.ew rules taking effect could create huge and unexpected costs. they include a ban from rejecting junksters -- youngsters with preexisting conditions. abc has more. >> six months after president obama signed landmark healthcare reform into law, americans will now begin to see the effects. starting tomorrow, young adults will be able to stay on their parents' insurance plans until they turn 26. insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to children based on preexisting conditions. insurers must provide prevented services such as mammograms and colonoscopies without copays. insurance companies can no longer drop people when they get sick. the only time to drop coverage is cases of fraud. >> consumers should be talking with their human resources department or their insurance plans to make sure that they are aware of when these changes actually occur. >> support for the overhaul is declined since march. as a result, democratic lawmakers have largely avoided the subject in their re-elec

anthem blue cross and aetna will no longer sell single insurance policies for children. that's because the new rule bans them from denying coverage for children with preexisting conditions. children will still be able to get coverage as part of a family plan. >>> 7:17. the florida governor says the state will stop enforcing a gay adoption ban immediately. an appeals court judge ruled yesterday that the coo -- key factor in approving adoption should be in the best interest of the child. and there's no rational basis for excluding the parents of gay children. >>> less crucial for cancer detection than previously thought. researchers out of norway are reporting that routine mammography reduces the death rate by no more than 10%. that's much less than earlier reports of about a 25% reduction. one researcher says mammograms are less valuable, as cancer awareness, early detection, and better treatments become more common. >>> time now, 7:18. a sonoma county pta mother is facing felony charges in connection with the theft of thousands of dollars from a fundraiser. joni palmidgi

times said big health care insurers including anthem blue cross and aetna will stop selling new child only policies starting today. the federal law could create massive costs for covering children and we will have a live report on the ins and outs of the health care changes coming up from washington, d.c. later on this morning. >> anyone who knows a baby needs to know about this story. about five million containers of similac are being recalled after a company found beatles and larva in the packages. production was stopped at the plants. beatles are not a health threat, but they could cause nausea or diarrhea. here's important information. recalled items include similac powdered formula in cans or containers. they come in various sizes. to see if you have a recalled formula, visit similac.com/recall/look up or call the hotline at 1-800-986-8850. we have the information on the bottom of our screen and at nbcbayarea.com. >>> the benefit of mammograms for women may be more modest than previously thought. a new study out of norway shows women in their 50s and 60s who got mammograms every

we have new reports that anthem blue cross and aetna may drop child only coverage. they will say if that's the way it will be, we will cut the plans completely out. what about those? >> no insurance company is dropping child only coverage. they are continuing all their coverage that is in force. they talked about not writing new business in the future, but that's an issue in which with respect to what we are talking to the industry and we are hopeful to work something out on the issue. >> they will work through it and i'm sure the fight is not over as both prommed. we appreciate your perspective. give us insight on what's changing effective today. >>> new this morning, the u.s. confirms that all nine troops killed in the helicopter crash in afghanistan are americans. the crash happened on tuesday. four of the soldiers killed were with the navy special forces. three of them were navy s.e.a.l.s. the rest were soldiers from ft. campbell, kentucky. an investigation continues. >>> police are trying to find the bandit accused of posing as a cop and stealing cash from wome

anthem blue cross, aetna and others will hold new child only policies in california and other states. company says the new rule taking effect could create huge and unexpected costs. they include a ban from rejecting youngers with preexisting conditions. >> the heads of two iowa egg farms linked to last month's salmonella outbreak are set to testify before congress this morning. members of the house energy and commerce committee want to find out more about wright county egg and hillendale farms. the salmonella outbreak resulted in the recall of a half billion eggs and sickened up to 1600 people, including dozens here in the bay area. an fda investigation found towers of manure, bug and rodent infestations at the farm. the two egg farms also had positive test results for salmonella in the two years before the outbreak. >> first lady michelle obama will spends three of her six days on the campaign trail next month in california. they'll hold a fund-raiser for nancy pelosi on october 25th. on the 26th she'll be in l.a. speaking to the women's leadership forum and democratic national commi

anthem blue cross, aetna and others will completely stop selling new child only policies in california and other states. the new rules taking effect could create huge and unexpected costs. they include a provision that prevents the companies from rejecting youngsters with preexisting conditions and a requirement that insurance cover children under the age of 19 regardless of their health history. >>> time now 6:36. a little cooldown today but i hear warm-up is just around the corner. >> let's go on that roller-coaster ride with mike. >> temperatures today cooler than average. on this hump day, oakland 5 degrees cooler, santa rosa 7, san francisco 8, san jose 9 and redwood city -- that should say concord at the bottom -- 11 and 12 degrees cooler than average. you may have noticed the breezes during the overnight. that's one of the reasons why the cool breeze behind the cold front. temperatures in the upper 40s and santa rosa, napa at 8:00. mid-50s for the rest of us. a lot of sunshine by noon but temperatures because of that breeze will be mid-60s around the bay into the south bay. mid

some of the major health insurance companies, blue cross blue shield, aetna and others are about to raise premiums on individuals citing the obama health care plan saying it's going to be more expensive and they have to raise premiums for a lot of average folks out there. have you seen these stories? >> first of all, i don't have to see the story. because i run a production company, i'm a small business person. and so i -- i've already seen my premiums be raised, the health care that i provide my employees. people's health care has already gone up. they jack it up whenever they can. these insurance companies are the epitome of evil. and we will not really correct our health care problem in this country until we make it illegal, illegal to own or run a health insurance company. because it's so paradoxical to say that it's for health when it's an insurance company whose main job is to make as much money as possible. and the best way to make as much money as possible is to deny care to as many people as possible that are part of the health insurance plan. that's how they make their bucks. th

the department of insurance approved the rate hike for aetna. average premiums will go up 19%. the mask increase -- maximum increase would be 30%. blue shield and health net were allowed to go forward with similar raises. it affects 90% of policies. >>> toyota reached a settlement with relatives of a family of people killed in an accident. three people were killed last year wherein their lexus sped out of control, launched off an embankment and burst into flames. investigators found a wrong size floor mat trapped the accelerator causing the car to speed as fast as 120 miles-per-hour. the terms of the settlement were not announced. >>> the search for a wanted sex offender in the bay area. police need your help tracking down a female bank robber. an east bay resident behind the scenes of a place that few get to see. >> leigh: i'm leigh glaser. i know it's been humid and drizzly today, we have seen a little blue sky. last weekend of summer. showers arrive tomorrow. we take a look at the forecast. >> alan: later, [ horn honks indistinct conversations ] nobody does pan pasta like yo

among the companies, blue cross, aetna, cigna and others operating in 32 states. that could affect half a million children nationwide. >>> harry reid says he will try again to end the policy on gays openly serving in the military after the election. democrats tried to bring the issue to the floor but lost a procedural vote. >>> -- the owner of the iowa egg factory the source of this summer's salmonella outbreak will apologize today when he testifies before congress. the "des moines register" quotes prepared testimony from he and his son saying, quote, while we always believed we are doing the right thing, it is now very clear that we must do more. >>> payback time for the reverend terry jones at the center of the koran-burning controversy. now the city of gainesville is sending him a bill for $200,000, the cost of security for that now canceled koran burning event. jones is calling the bill ridiculous. >>> a new report this morning on home prices in the u.s. cold well banker says the average listing price was $353,000. the most expensive city, newport beach, calif

"the los angeles times" reports that aetna was the last company to be approved with rate hikes averaging9%. the company is defending the rate hikes saying they're necessary to keep one the rising health care costs like hospital care, prescription drugs, doctor visits, etc. they said the maximum increase for some of the members will be 30%. 30%! some policy holders are rightfully concerned that they soon will not be able to afford health insurance at all. >>> meanwhile in connecticut just up the road a piece here, regulators have approved rate hikes of 20% of the state's largest health insurer, that would be anthem blue cross/blue shield. the increases will vary depending on the plan. the costs will go up due to rising medical costs and the benefits from health care reform. this includes things like covering young adults until they turn 26, and covering full costs of preventive care, like mammograms or colonosocopies. the question is this, do you think your health care costs will rise under president obama's new health care law? go to cnn..com/caffertyfile to post on my blog. >> people do

times that anthem blue cross and aetna, these are major insurers, are now saying that they will stop offering new child only policy, in several states, because they're saying that under the new mandates, they just can't afford it, they can't take all these children on because they're going to be mandated to cover them whether they've had preexisting conditions. they docket it. >> megyn, this is a great point, this is medical spin of the future because kids are preexisting conditions won't go on the policy until they're sick. that's an incredible cost. what we're going to see, this is a cheat, people won't get the services they're used to. i'm already seeing that in my office in advance. megyn: how? >> there's a patient they ordered a cat scan on last year, showed something, i want to do a followup, it's turned down. i'm mowing -- seeing more denials. this is a medicare patient i'm talking about, i'm seeing it with private insurance, with the government. the problem is greater with medicare because it's harder for me to appeal. the more appeals i have to do with the government, it's e

these are big competes like aetna, well-point, signa.of a cat and mouse game is going to be played here? >> no one knows for sure. companies actually recover the costs of being regulated in new way, in addition to medical care. i think anyone looking at this bill would say, whether you're a consumer or a health plan or a pharmaceutical company, very complicated. lots of surprises. a lot of adjustments that have to be made. and at the end of the day, the consumer isn't going to pay indirectly for a lot of that. >> and some of the biggest provisions don't kick in for another three years. 2014 is the year for that. let's put them up on the screen so people can see this. right now, children cannot been excluded for preexisting conditions. this is also the tile when the insurance exchanges kick in to allow people who don't have a health care policy or want to change can go shopping. how significant are those changes going to be? >> well, every state has to set up an exchange by 2014. and every consumer has to have at least a number of options