Keeping Politicians Honest

Consumer Watchdog fights to make your voice heard by calling out dirty politicians and attacking the influence of the special interests that keep them in power.

From Sacramento to Washington DC we follow the money trail from special interests to policymakers, and track bad public policy back from politicians to their donors.

Our ArnoldWatch blog has been reporting on Governor Schwarzenegger, and his broken promise to represent the people, not the special interests, since his inauguration. At DirtyMoneyWatch we've documented, exposed and built the movement to reform the variety of crooked campaign tricks developed by lobbyists and the politicians they wine, dine and order around. And we’ve written, campaigned for and passed strong campaign and conflict of interest reforms across California.

Join the fight to clean up the dirty money corrupting our democracy.

     

      — ANTHEM BLUE CROSS

      — WALL STREET

      — MERCURY INSURANCE

Recent Articles:

Assembly Bill Would Slash Coverage Mandates For Health Insurers

By Kenny Goldberg, KPBS 89.5 FM (SAN DIEGO, CA)
March 11, 2010

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California Group Urges National Freeze On Health Insurance Rates

By John Reichard, CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY HEALTHBEAT
March 10, 2010

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Calif. Regulators Defend Dropped Insurance Deals

By Shaya Tayefe Mohajer, ASSOCIATED PRESS
March 10, 2010

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

CONTACT: Jerry Flanagan, (310) 889-4912; or Carmen Balber, (202) 629-3043
March 10, 2010

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Recent Posts in Keeping Politicians Honest:

Insurance rate curbs continue to gain steam

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 ...

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Health insurance premium curbs are catching on

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.

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Put corporate political spending to a vote

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...

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

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.

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

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.

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