Doug Heller

At the beginning of this year the advocates, organizers and lawyers at Consumer Watchdog promised to take on insurance and healthcare companies, fight for online privacy and build a community of activists who could spread the word about our work for consumer protection and social change.

Here’s a quick look at some of Consumer Watchdog’s 2011 successes by the numbers:

It was a shocking figure. Some Blue Shield policyholders were going to pay rate increases of 86%. Consumer Watchdog, together with nurses and patients, showed up at Blue Shield's headquarters in San Francisco to protest the greed that could lead to such an attempted rip-off.

If you use the internet, you’re being tracked by the big players of the web like Google. In our quest to shine a light on this constant digital invasion of our lives, Consumer Watchdog decided to turn the tables on Google earlier this year by tracking them... old-fashioned style: with mimes!

Does your bank charge you extra on your monthly car or mortgage loan payments for insurance that the bank bought? Do you even know if it’s happening?

Most people insure their homes and cars, but banks sometimes buy an additional policy without asking the owner, adding the costs to the monthly car or home loan payment.

It is a masterful spin by the self-described not-for-profit Blue Shield of California to announce that it is returning all but two percent of its profits to its customers, as though this were some act of humble generosity.  It’s a little like a supermarket announcing that from now on it’s going to give

Santa Monica, CA –  Consumer Watchdog is sponsoring television ads in the San Gabriel Valley district of California State Senator Ed Hernandez to expose the fact that Hernandez, the Chair of the Senate Health Committee, has earned more than $350,000 in rental income for the state’s largest health plan, Kaiser.