Fighting Corporateering
Jones/Feuer Effort Defeated; Schwarzenegger/Leno Bill Clears Legislature
Allowing Insurers to Charge "Unreasonable" and "Unjustified" Premiums
Santa Monica, CA – Sacramento lawmakers, buffeted by hundreds of
thousands of dollars in insurance company contributions, defeated a
strong insurance rate reform bill supported by consumer and labor
organization (AB 2578- Jones/Feuer) late Tuesday night. Democratic
opponents of the Jones/Feuer legislation supported an alternative bill,
proposed by Governor Schwarzenegger and carried by Senator Mark Leno (SB
1163), that allows insurers to charge excessive health insurance
premiums under a new, industry-preferred standard that merely requires
rates to be "actuarially sound."
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Santa Monica, CA -- Some of the top Democratic recipients of health
insurance cash teamed up with Republicans in the California state senate
late Monday to block health insurance premium legislation authored by
state Assembly Members Dave Jones and Mike Feuer. Overall health insurers have given $800,218 in campaign contributions to
California senators since 2007, in addition to gifts and donations made
at their behest to nonprofit groups according to an analysis by
Consumer Watchdog.
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Insurance Commissioners and Obama Administration Must Resist More
Weakening of Curbs on Industry Overhead and Profit, Says Consumer
Watchdog
Seattle, WA --The nation’s state insurance commissioners are making
far-reaching decisions in Seattle this week on whether health insurance
companies will spend more on health care, less on their own overhead and
investor profit. The decisions will affect whether insurance companies
continue with double-digit premium increases and declines in the amount
of actual health care they provide, or seek a more efficient business
model that is as fair to consumers as it is to Wall Street, said
Consumer Watchdog.
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As
part of ObamaCare, the federal government will impose strict new
spending rules on health insurers. How it does so could have a sweeping
impact on the industry and patient care. "We believe that insurance companies will get enough goodies out of
the new "medical loss ratio" (MLR) law that they will not have to do business any differently,"
said Consumer Watchdog's Judy Dugan. "If a nursing line is something where a
nurse can advise a patient on treatment, sure, that may be a medical
expense. But if it is just to determine if a patient needs to see a
doctor, that's just cost containment."
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The
nonprofit group Consumer Watchdog is seeking to determine the extent of
the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration's use of Google Earth in
its investigations, spokesman John M. Simpson said last week. Federal
contracting records reviewed by Consumer Watchdog show that the FBI has
spent more than $600,000 on Google Earth since 2007. The Drug
Enforcement Administration, meanwhile, has spent more than $67,000. Simpson
has called on Congress to investigate how U.S. law enforcement and
intelligence communities are using Google technologies. The group says
it has concerns that data could be used for racial profiling.
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Insurers and employers say a generous waiver
process is needed to avoid a sudden jump in premiums. But patient
advocates, such as California-based Consumer Watchdog, warn against
being too lenient. All sides are pressing their cases with the
Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS), which is writing the rules on the waiver process but has not
specified what they will say or when they'll be in place. It's not clear
yet whether waivers could continue after 2014. HHS said details on the
process are under development, and declined to elaborate.
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Washington, DC – Consumer Watchdog called on the Obama Administration to
adopt new regulations requiring broad financial disclosures by health
insurance companies to help insulate Americans from double-digit rate
increases. Insurers should provide details of shadowy
multibillion-dollar transfers to out-of-state affiliates and parent
companies when they are required to justify “unreasonable” rate
increases under the health reform law, said the group.
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Consumer advocates urged
the Obama administration Thursday to investigate what they called an
effort by large for-profit insurance companies to slash spending on
medical care even as they raise premiums. In a letter to Health and
Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Consumer Watchdog and the
Center for Media and Democracy said that insurers reported less medical
spending in recent months ahead of new federal rules that will require
the companies to do just the opposite starting next year.
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The nation's largest satellite TV service is getting some static.
Consumers have now logged more than 40,000 complaints against DIRECTV on
the Better Business Bureau's website. DIRECTV offers promotions like five months free or $29.99 a month. But
some customers complain they're then surprised when charged extra fees
for leasing equipment, special features and programming
packages. Todd Foreman of the group Consumer Watchdog says to get out of DIRECTV's
standard two year contract is expensive saying, "DIRECTV is charging up
to $480 dollars for a cancellation fee."
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WASHINGTON, DC -- As Americans struggle with double-digit hikes in their
health insurance bills, millions are coming up against a hard reality:
The state regulators who are supposed to protect them can often do
little to control what insurers are charging. Consumer advocates and
administration officials are trying to spark new
state efforts because the new healthcare law gives the federal
government only limited power to regulate premiums, traditionally a
state responsibility. The Obama administration plans to announce a
series of $1-million grants next week to help states increase their
oversight.
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Recent Articles:
Health Insurers Kill Real Rate Regulation Legislation; Insurer-Friendly Politicians Line Up Behind Proposal That Will Drive Up Rates in California
CONTACT: Doug Heller, 310-392-0522 x309; or Jamie Court, 310-392-0522 x327
September 1, 2010
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$800,000 In Campaign Cash From Health Insurers Stops Premium Regulation In Sacramento
CONTACT: Jamie Court, (310) 874-9989; or Carmen Balber, (310) 403-0284
August 31, 2010
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Seattle Showdown: How Much Say Will Health Insurance Industry Have Over New Health Reform Law?
CONTACT: Judy Dugan, 213-280-0175, cell, or judy@consumerwatchdog.org
August 16, 2010
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ObamaCare's Loss Ratio Rules Are Out Of Balance, Critics Say
By David Hogberg, INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
August 16, 2010
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Smile! Aerial Images Being Used to Enforce Laws
By Frank Eltman, ASSOCIATED PRESS
August 14, 2010
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