Consumer Watchdog Updates

Assembly Bill Would Slash Coverage Mandates For Health Insurers

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:44:23 PST

Modesto Assemblyman Tom Berryhill (R) has introduced a bill that would allow insurers to drop some four-dozen coverage mandates. These include overnight hospital stays for new mothers. Jerry Flanagan is with the non-profit Consumer Watchdog. "If you take those laws away, insurance companies can still charge as much as they want, but provide far less health care," Flanagan argues. "That's really good for the insurance company, because they can keep more of our money for themselves; it's the last thing you want to do for patients."

Insurers Test Health Plans That Stress Patient Choices

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:16:00 PST

Workers at a Portland, Ore., steel mill soon will be able to pick a new type of insurance that offers free care for some illnesses, such as diabetes or depression, but requires hefty extra fees for treatments deemed overused, including knee replacements, hysterectomies and heart bypass surgery. The policies are among the first to apply financial incentives on both sides of one important factor driving up the nation's health care tab: The underuse of proven treatments and overuse of certain surgeries and diagnostic tests that may be less valuable. But efforts to charge workers more for some treatments put employers in the position of "playing doctor" and are well into a "danger zone of... limiting access to medical care," says Jerry Flanagan of the Santa Monica, Calif.-based advocacy group Consumer Watchdog.

Insurance rate curbs continue to gain steam

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:59:00 PST

The latest round of exhorbitant rate increases nationally has helped more and more people recognize what Consumer Watchdog has been arguing for the last year: Congress cannot require all Americans to purchase insurance from the for-profit insurance industry without real oversight of what they charge ...

FTC reportedly seeking sworn statements in Google-AdMob deal

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:12:00 PST

Antitrust regulators are reported by Bloomberg news service to be seeking sworn statements from Google's competitors and advertisers as they continue to investigate the the Internet giant's proposed $750 million deal to buy AdMob.

Health insurance premium curbs are catching on

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:00:00 PST

Consumer Watchdog's calls for tough and open health insurance rate regulation are being echoed and amplified. The latest instance is in Connecticut, the home state of insurance companies, where Attorney General Earl Blumenthal recently proposed major reforms that would require the state to review and reject, modify or allow a rate change before it goes into effect. No more shrugging and letting it happen without a public review.

California Group Urges National Freeze On Health Insurance Rates

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:03:00 PST

President Obama should include a provision freezing health insurance rates in the package of revisions Democrats are drafting for the Senate-passed health care overhaul bill (HR 3590), a California-based consumer group said Wednesday. Other provisions that the Consumer Watchdog group wants to see included are a requirement that state regulators approve rate increases before they go into effect, and that federal grants be made available to states for developing these "prior approval" regulations. "Given the audacity of health insurance rate increases last year and this year, and with the economy in deep recession, only federal legislation can curb the spiral of unaffordability," said Carmen Balber, the Washington director for the group.

Put corporate political spending to a vote

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:34:51 PST

When the US Supreme Court decided to allow corporations to spend money directly on campaign advertising, they opened the floodgates to excessive spending by companies to change the outcome of elections. The long-term solution is a...

Oil Co's Look At Refinery Cuts

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:02:00 PST

The response to slumping gasoline use would likely mean higher prices for drivers. Judy Dugan, research director for the Santa Monica-based advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, said that "closing or selling refineries to others who would limit production would be a serious case of corporate irresponsibility."

Oil Companies Look At Permanent Refinery Cutbacks

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:53:00 PST

The response to slumping gasoline use would likely mean higher prices for drivers. Consumer advocates want regulators to examine the firms' plans.

Consumer advocates want regulators to probe refinery closures or consolidations that slash supply. Judy Dugan, research director for the Santa Monica-based advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, said that "closing or selling refineries to others who would limit production would be a serious case of corporate irresponsibility."

Calif. Regulators Defend Dropped Insurance Deals

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:19:00 PST

LOS ANGELES, CA (AP) ― State insurance regulators on Wednesday defended their actions against health insurers after a report showed few consumers who complained that their coverage was canceled after they took ill actually benefited from state-negotiated settlements. The settlements may not have appealed to many consumers because they were "very stilted towards insurance companies," said Jerry Flanagan, a health advocate for Consumer Watchdog. Consumers weren't allowed to hire lawyers for arbitration, and had to prove all their past medical bills were "medically necessary, which is a hard legal standard to meet" without a lawyer's help. Additionally, the coverage that was offered through arbitration was usually a policy with a lower benefit than the wrongfully rescinded policy, said Flanagan.

Profiting From Collusion: Why Californians Can't Afford Health Insurance

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:33:00 PST

California's Consumer Watchdog group is suing Anthem Blue Cross after they raised health care insurance premiums 39 percent, but the company isn't budging. Meanwhile Goldman Sachs recommended buying health insurance company stock because competition is decreasing and prices are going up. The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College estimates that "the typical married couple at age 65 should expect to spend" a whopping $197,000 on uninsured medical expenses. Obama urges action on a watered-down health care bill, but the Republicans and conservative Democrats just say no and collect money from the private health care lobby. Will we continue to tolerate skyrocketing health care costs?

Insurance Regulation Expert Calls For Freeze Of Health Rates Until 'Prior Approval' Regulation Is Adopted

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:13:54 PST

Washington, DC -- Harvey Rosenfield, author of California’s landmark insurance regulation Proposition 103—recognized as the most successful insurance regulation in the country—was joined today by people struggling to pay for health insurance in calling on President Obama and Congress to impose a national freeze on health insurance rates as part of the final round of votes on reform. Consumers must have a breather from yearly premium hikes like the 39% increase planned by Anthem Blue Cross, said Consumer Watchdog, which Rosenfield founded.

Australian news video calls Google "a company on steroids"

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:53:00 PST

A video produced by Hungry Beast, a weekly news show on Australian television puts Internet giant ...

Slide show features companies Google calls competition

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:56:00 PST

I recently delved into Google's 10-K filing covering 2009 with the Securities and Exchange...

Google Identifies Competitors

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:42:56 PST

Google sees an Internet far more crowded with competitors than just a year ago. At least, that's what the company is telling government regulators. Critics of Google's dominance in search — Americans use Google for about two thirds of U.S. searches, and the company has more than 70 percent of U.S. search advertising revenue, and about 90 percent in Europe — say the expanded list of competitors is an attempt by Google to paper over its dominance. "I think they are feeling the heat from several serious antitrust investigations, and that's reflected in the language they are using in the 10-K," said John Simpson, of Consumer Watchdog. He argued in a recent blog post that Google's statements that it has many competitors actually proves that "the opposite is actually true" and that "the real risk to Google's business is not from competition," but that regulators in the U.S. and Europe "will act in the interest of consumers and force the Internet giant to engage" in competition.

Sarah Palin wasn't the only Alaskan border-hopping for health care

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:31:00 PST

Sarah Palin, the Cruella DeVille of anti-government-health care, caught everyone's attention with the story of her family hopping the border from Skagway, Alaska, into the Yukon Territory for Canadian government health care when Palin was a child. Canadian newspapers noted cattily that Palin previously described going to Juneau, Alaska, for the same treatment for her brother's burned foot. Whatever. I wanted to know whether other Alaskans went to Canada for medical care--and still do.

The no. 1 cure for Anthem Blue Cross greed: Here's the plan, from the expert

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:32:00 PST

Harvey Rosenfield, the founder of Consumer Watchdog and the author of California's landmark insurance regulation, is the original expert on making insurance companies friendlier to consumers. So when he outlines a plan to make health insurance more affordable--and combat price spikes like the recent 39% annual increase by Anthem Blue Cross--he's got 20 years in the trenches making insurance companies toe the line, to back him up.

Auto Insurer Revs Measure's Motor

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:33:00 PST

Opponents, including Doug Heller, who works with Proposition 103 author Harvey Rosenfield at Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog, said the real aim of Mercury is to lift the ban on surcharges for drivers who need to reinstate coverage after letting their auto insurance policies lapse. “This would allow Mercury to jack up prices for customers they don’t really want,” said Heller, spokesman for Campaign for Consumer Rights, the main opposition group to Proposition 17.

Revisions to Health Care Reform Must Include Rate Freeze, Rate Regulation and States' Rights Provisions, Says Consumer Watchdog

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:23:26 PST

Insurers Would Get Tens of Millions of New Customers Under Reform, and Owe Americans a Break from Audacious Rate Spikes By Anthem Blue Cross and Others

Washington, DC -- Consumer Watchdog called on President Obama to impose a national freeze on health insurance rates before health reform takes effect to protect consumers from premium hikes like the 39% increase recently announced by Anthem Blue Cross in California. The rate freeze is one of five tools Consumer Watchdog urged the president to include as part of his proposed fixes to the Senate health care bill.

Lawsuits Over California Ballot Question to Be Heard Together

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:03:00 PST

A judge will hear testimony on three related cases surrounding ballot language for Proposition 17, which backers say will allow discounts for more drivers and opponents claim will create back-door rate increases. The latest is Attorney General Jerry Brown's attempt to change the official title and summary to say the measure "will allow insurance companies to increase cost of insurance to drivers who do not have a history of continuous insurance coverage," according to the lawsuit. Due to what Brown's office argued is its error, the language submitted by the attorney general to the California Secretary of State reads, "may allow insurance companies to increase cost of insurance to drivers who do not qualify for discount."

Anthem's Rate Hikes To Add To Burdens Of Jobless

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 14:28:00 PST

There have been demands for explanations from state and federal lawmakers as well as the White House. Documents of financial records have been subpoenaed. Last week, Consumer Watchdog filed a lawsuit in Ventura County Superior Court alleging the insurer doesn’t offer adequate alternatives when it closes a policy.

Run From Guys With Clipboards

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:24:26 PST

Interesting that it took a New York newspaper to tell Californians that a couple of giant Texas oil refining companies are bankrolling a ballot initiative to kill the state's popular climate change/green energy law. The whole saga is much like Oklahoma oilman T. Boone Pickens' failed effort in 2008 to make California taxpayers subsidize his natural gas business. Except that Pickens was honest about paying for his own ballot initiative.

Front page as advertising, shame on LA Times for selling its masthead

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:16:00 PST

I have heard of full page advertising, but until I got my Los Angeles Times from the driveway this morning I never heard of Front Page As Advertising.

Thanks Blue Cross, you gave the public its reason to reform

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:50:00 PST

The President called for an up or down vote on health care reform, but I can say from my own experience this week working with Blue Cross patients, who are part of Consumer Watchdog’s lawsuit against he company, that the public has already cast its vote.

Candidates Find Incumbent Advantage Extends To Web

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:53:00 PST

Thirteen years in the House and a stint as majority leader have furnished Rep.Roy Blunt, R-Mo., with useful GOP and K Street support for his Senate bid. But Blunt's long resume also means a boost from another source: Google. Google's overwhelming dominance of the search market has brought its power to determine marketplace outcomes under new scrutiny this year. Tech company Foundem and other so-called "search neutrality" advocates allege that the search engine is gaining an unfair advantage by favoring its own products in searches. The advocacy group Consumer Watchdog wrote the Justice Department last week urging it to investigate the issue, while the European Commission is already checking out complaints from Foundem and others.