ConsumerWatchdog.org

Consumer Watchdog fights to protect patients, to improve the quality of health care, and to create universal health care. We believe the health of patients should come before the financial wealth of HMOs, drug companies and other health care corporations. We work to build a safer health care system that covers everyone by eliminating waste, fraud and profiteering.

During the last year, Consumer Watchdog:

• Won new rules to ban health insurers' illegal cancellations of health insurance policies that left patients with hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid medical bills.
• Helped defeat federal legislation that would have expanded junk health care policies that don't protect patients when they get sick.
• Released internal insurer documents that reveal how insurers refuse to sell health insurance to cops, firefighters, expectant dads, or sufferers of asthma, acne, allergies or other common ailments.
• Convinced Governor Schwarzenegger that insurers must be required to sell policies regardless of a patient's health condition, and to ban junk health care.
• Led the fight to require health insurers to justify profits and overhead, and get approval for rate increases, as auto and home insurers must under Proposition 103.
• Challenged efforts in California and across the country that would mandate individuals to buy health insurance but not guarantee affordability.