Keeping Politicians Honest
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."
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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.
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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usually a policy with a lower benefit than the wrongfully rescinded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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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."
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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.
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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.
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The Senate might break its impasse on financial overhaul if it moves forward with a proposal that would put a consumer financial protection watchdog inside the Federal Reserve. "It's time for Senator Dodd to stop negotiating with Senators who have
dug into battle trenches with the big banks in their attempt to block
any meaningful consumer protections, and move a bill that will give the
rest of the Senate a chance to vote for Main Street and support real
reform," said Carmen Balber, Washington director for Consumer Watchdog,
an advocacy group.
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Recent Articles:
Assembly Bill Would Slash Coverage Mandates For Health Insurers
By Kenny Goldberg, KPBS 89.5 FM (SAN DIEGO, CA)
March 11, 2010
Read More »
California Group Urges National Freeze On Health Insurance Rates
By John Reichard, CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY HEALTHBEAT
March 10, 2010
Read More »
Calif. Regulators Defend Dropped Insurance Deals
By Shaya Tayefe Mohajer, ASSOCIATED PRESS
March 10, 2010
Read More »
Profiting From Collusion: Why Californians Can't Afford Health Insurance
By Don Monkerud, COUNTERPUNCH.ORG
March 10, 2010
Read More »
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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