Eddie B

Santa Monica, CA – California can lead in the fight against prescription drug abuse by joining a growing consensus of public health leaders who are urging mandatory use of prescription drug monitoring programs, Consumer Watchdog said today.  

Santa Monica, CA – Anthem’s announcement of increased third quarter profits is the latest in a string of hefty health insurer profit reports that illustrate why consumers need protections against unreasonable and unjustified rate hikes, Consumer Watchdog said today. The advocacy group announced that it has endorsed legislation by Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep.

Santa Monica, CA -- Under a class action settlement announced today, Anthem Blue Cross in California will no longer make mid-year changes to individual customers’ annual deductibles, co-pays, or other out-of-pocket costs and will refund $8.3 million to consumers.  

The CEOs of Aetna and Anthem did the health insurance consolidation dance at a U.S. Senate hearing on Sept. 22. Aetna has plans to acquire Humana, and Anthem wants to buy Cigna. Both claim the mergers will improve care and cut costs for consumers. But never in the history of health insurance mergers have prices gone down for consumers when there were less health insurance companies to compete.
 

Santa Monica, CA – Gov. Jerry Brown has signed misguided legislation hiking the ballot initiative filing fee to $2,000 from $200 that will do nothing to stop frivolous initiatives but will undermine the public’s right to direct democracy, Consumer Watchdog said today.  

Santa Monica, CA – Consumer Watchdog said today it was disappointed that the California Senate passed AB 1100, by Evan Low, D-Campbell, and Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica, and decided that hiking the ballot initiative filing fee to $2,000 from $200 was more important than protecting the public’s right to direct democracy.

Santa Monica, CA – New Jersey has become the tenth state that requires physicians to check a state prescription database before prescribing the most addictive medications.

California’s prescription drug database is voluntary for prescribers.

Santa Monica, CA – Aetna is price-gouging consumers with an unjustified premium hike, its fourth in the past two years, according to regulators at California’s Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC). The average 21 percent rate hike is yet one more example of why state regulators should have the power to reject unreasonable health insurance price spikes, said Consumer Watchdog today.