"Confidential" Complaint Law Doesn’t Seem to Have Caught On

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Missouri has a new law allowing people to file complaints with the state against insurance companies while keeping their identities, and details of their allegations, confidential. The stated purpose was to protect individual privacy interests – and thus stimulate more complaints. At the same time, of course, the law protects the companies from potential bad publicity. One month into the new scheme, the Associated Press reports, the number of complaints filed is actually down from a year ago. (10/10/05)