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Palo Alto biotech company StemCells has approved the research use for free of its patented technology by a children's research hospital, clearing the way for greater study of conditions such as autism, brain cancer and neurological disease.
Critics of StemCells' delay, including John Simpson of the Los Angeles-based Consumer Watchdog, wondered what took so long. "There's something wrong with our patent system when significant academic research can be stalled for three years while corporate lawyers haggle about dotting I's and crossing T's, but the important thing is that an agreement has finally been reached," Simpson said. "I am delighted Dr. Phillip Schwartz and his academic colleagues can resume their important work."

John Simpson of the Los Angeles-based Consumer Watchdog, who is closely watching the case, called it "an egregious assertion of overreaching patent rights. Even if StemCells Inc. can technically assert the patent, I think it is wrongheaded for them to do it. You don't want to freeze that sort of research."

A California ballot item would legalize practices Mercury has been fined for.
    
If passed, Proposition 17 would require insurers to offer so-called "persistency" discounts to drivers who have good records and no lapse in coverage, which is a good thing for those people, naturally. But under the misleadingly titled Continuous Coverage Discount Initiative, other drivers would be punished, according to the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog. If you have a lapse of 90 days or more in coverage for any reason other than foreign military service during a five-year period, you can be hit with a hefty surcharge.

If insurers can sell beyond state lines, the concern is that consumers would be attracted to the least comprehensive policies because they'd be cheapest. For example, someone could buy a policy in a state that doesn't mandate coverage of diabetic supplies. "You get what you pay for in these policies (and) consumers won't realize it until they are sick and it's too late," said Jerry Flanagan, health care policy analyst for Consumer Watchdog, a California consumer health group.

Consumer Watchdog Sues California Department of Managed Health Care for Permitting HMOs to Deny Treatments to Autistic Children after Secret Meetings Between State Employees and HMO Execs ...

Opening the door for insurers to sell policies across state lines could allow health plans to avoid tougher requirements in places like California.

Healthcare overhaul bills working their way through Congress could jeopardize laws in California and other states that require insurers to pay for treatments such as AIDS testing, second surgical opinions and reconstructive surgery for breast cancer patients.

Several families of autistic children denied treatments by their health plans have won administrative appeals, in a sign that a recent court ruling scrutinizing regulators may be having an effect on the state's handling of the cases.

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A core feature of the health overhaul bill unveiled this week by House Republicans - and of GOP plans for years - would allow individual health insurance policies to be sold across state lines. Regulation is important, critics of the GOP proposal say. In addition to requiring coverage of certain problems and treatments, some states require insurers to sell policies to all applicants and price them uniformly within the same geographic area regardless of individuals' health status. If insurers can sell beyond state lines, the concern is that consumers would be attracted to the least comprehensive policies because they'd be cheapest. "You get what you pay for in these policies (and) consumers won't realize it until they are sick and it's too late," said Jerry Flanagan, health care policy analyst for Consumer Watchdog, a California consumer health group.

LOS ANGELES, CA -- A lawsuit claiming the California Department of Managed Care improperly allowed health insurers to decline payment for autism treatments will proceed to trial after a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge rebuked the state in a preliminary ruling. A Consumer Watchdog representative said regulators should stop denying coverage on the grounds that ABA providers are certified not by the state but by a national board. Continuing to do so would risk legal damages, the advocacy group said in a statement. "The DMHC has to change its practices going forward, and the department should immediately reverse its previous denials," Pam Pressley, litigation director for Consumer Watchdog, said in a statement. "Gov. Schwarzenegger, a long-time and vocal supporter of the Special Olympics and developmentally disabled children, should require his regulators to abide by the law."

A lawsuit alleging state regulators allow insurance companies to deny necessary but expensive treatment for autistic children in violation of state law has enough merit to proceed to trial, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge has ruled. The lawsuit, filed in July by Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog, seeks to compel the California Department of Managed Health Care to order health plans to cover applied behavioral analysis (ABA) if a member complains the treatment was denied though it is deemed medically necessary and is provided by licensed personnel or under the supervision of licensed personnel.

A lawsuit seeking health care coverage for the use of applied behavioral analysis in the treatment of autism has been cleared for trial by the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Consumer Watchdog et. al. vs. California Department of Managed Health Care et. al. involves Kaiser Permanente’s denial of coverage for a child’s ABA treatment because the provider wasn’t licensed by the state. The Oakland, Calif.-based health maintenance organization cited regulations issued by the California Department of Managed Health Care as its reason for denying coverage for ABA treatment.

Santa Monica, CA – A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge issued a ruling finding that the Schwarzenegger Administration has illegally sided with health insurance companies that deny access to care for autistic children.  A memo circulated by the Schwarzenegger Administration to health insurers was also ruled to be an illegal “underground regulation” because it violated state law requiring a public process for changing insurance regulations.

Refusing to cover a costly behavioral therapy because the care provider lacks a state license violates California law, a Los Angeles County judge finds.

Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court said the ruling was reason enough for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to order the department to stop fighting the suit and start ordering insurers to provide the treatment to their autistic members. "For an administration that is so involved with the Special Olympics to not understand the harm it's causing every day that an autistic child doesn't get the care they need, is not only legally inexcusable, but morally reprehensible," Court said.

The head of the health insurance lobby, Karen Ignani, is crying foul about being demonized by Democrats trying to complete health insurance reform.  Let's not forget what health insurers have done to demonize themselves!

The lawsuit, filed by Consumer Watchdog in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims DMHC has permitted the denial of "critically needed, medically necessary" treatments. The advocacy group alleged Department Director Cindy Ehnes illegally permitted insurers to deny coverage for Applied Behavioral Analysis, a common autism treatment, in violation of the California Mental Health Parity Act. Also, DMHC improperly withheld public documents requested by Consumer Watchdog, it claims.

A nonprofit consumer group has filed a lawsuit against state regulators alleging they allow insurance companies to deny necessary but expensive treatment for autistic children in violation of state law. Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog filed the lawsuit against the California Department of Managed Health Care Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Consumer Watchdog asks a judge to order the state Department of Managed Health Care to enforce the law and require insurers to serve autistic members. The agency says it's doing its job.

"Californians, including those stricken with autism and their parents and caregivers, expect regulators to enforce the law, not to side with insurance companies seeking to boost their profits by denying patients the care they need," said Harvey Rosenfield, founder of the nonprofit Consumer Watchdog and author of the landmark automobile insurance reform initiative Proposition 103.

Consumer Watchdog, a Santa Monica group that monitors insurance practices, has asked the court to order the Department of Managed Health Care to require insurers to provide autistic children with treatments ordered by their doctors. The group also wants the department to turn over records showing the agency's violations in this area.

LOS ANGELES, CA -- California regulators are being challenged in court for siding with insurance companies, rather than patients, over some costly autism therapies. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, consumer advocates complain that the Department of Managed Health Care broke state law by precluding expert doctors from deciding whether an insurer must provide treatments for autism.

The non-profit Consumer Watchdog and a doctor who works with autistic children are suing the California Department of Managed Health Care. Their lawsuit alleges that the agency is allowing insurance companies to refuse to pay for effective but expensive treatments for kids with autism.