2008 CBO Report Favorably Scored The Medicare Buy-In
Washington, D.C. -- A briefly considered “Medicare buy-in” proposal for 55- to 64-year-olds was apparently killed in the Senate this week by…
Dec 17, 2009Consumer Watchdog
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Articles by Consumer Watchdog
Healthcare
Legislators Blast Interstate Health Care Proposal
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A provision in both House and Senate healthcare legislation that would allow insurers to sell healthcare interstate is coming…
Dec 17, 2009Key House Members Warn Leaders: Don’t Let Health Reform Gut Stronger State Laws
Washington D.C. -- Key members of the U.S. House of Representatives have sent a warning to Senate and House leaders that the…
Dec 17, 2009
Insurance
Senate Plan Is Called Too Empowering To Health Insurers
The Senate health-care bill could enable insurers to avoid some of the strongest consumer protections and benefit requirements adopted by state governments,…
Dec 17, 2009Mercury Insurance Submits Initiative Signatures To Trick Voters Into Paying Higher Auto Insurance Premiums
Campaign for Consumer Rights Warns Soldiers, Seniors and other Californians Would Be Penalized For Having a Lapse in Insurance Coverage, Even If…
Dec 16, 2009
Privacy
Call to change filibuster math grows
A colleague just received a mass email action from California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton reiterating my call days ago on the…
Dec 16, 2009
Insurance
Failure of Drug Importation Amendment in U.S. Senate is Latest Show of Industry’s Controlling Hand in Health Reform Debate, According to Consumer Watchdog
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The failure of the U.S. Senate to allow importation of prescription drugs to cut costs, much less the more…
Dec 16, 2009The “Big 3” Fixes For the Weakened Senate Health Reform Bill To Block Full Insurance Co. Take-Over of Health System
Consumer Watchdog Calls For Preserving State Authority, Ban on Annual Benefit Limits, & Effective Rate Regulation WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Consumer Watchdog…
Dec 15, 2009
Energy
Shocked to find gambling going on in here?
Imagine the surprise of the nation's biggest banking executives when the President revealed that their lobbyists in Washington (the ones the commercial…
Dec 15, 2009
Energy
Bust the filibuster, not health reform
If the White House really wants historic health care reform and climate change legislation, there is one good alternative left. Change the…
Dec 15, 2009
Privacy
Congressmembers who opposed reform rake in banks’ dough
Consumers won a big victory over the banks and Wall Street last week when the House passed financial reform legislation, but it…
Dec 15, 2009
Insurance
Joe Lieberman and the corporate capture of health reform
When Sen. Joe Lieberman said last week that he might favor a health reform bill that traded away a "public option" for…
Dec 14, 2009
Privacy
S.F. Officials Earn More Than State Counterparts
Not everyone, however, agrees with the raise - or the logic behind it. "At a time when California is in a severe…
Dec 14, 2009
Privacy
Stem Cell Official’s Pay Tripled
The state's stem cell institute this week tripled the salary of one of its vice chairmen, former state Democratic Party chief Art…
Dec 13, 2009
Energy
CHP Withholds Costs Of Protecting Schwarzenegger
"The governor is interested in saving taxpayer dollars any way he can, which is why he has always paid for his own…
Dec 12, 2009
Healthcare
WellPoint Thrives As Public Plan Takes A Dive
As the health-care reform debate boiled over this week, so did WellPoint's stock price. Shares of the Indianapolis-based health insurance giant surged…
Dec 11, 2009
Privacy
Health insurers use Facebook to bribe online “lobbyists”
The health insurance industry is using Facebook for the equivalent of buying votes for cash at the polling booth. Business Insider tells…
Dec 11, 2009Financial Reform Approved Today By U.S. House Contains More Good Than Bad For Consumers, But More Work Needed, Says Consumer Watchdog
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Consumer Watchdog applauded approval by the U.S. House of Representatives of its financial regulatory overhaul bill, H.R. 4173, including…
Dec 11, 2009