Healthcare Archives

Woman goes in for abdominal surgery and contracts a flesh eating disease, exacerbated by a negligent doctor

April 18, 2016 · Evan Thomas King

<img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2965" alt="" class="right" src="http://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/resources_alicia-cole.jpg" style="width: 190px; height: 238px; float: right;" width="400" height="500" />Alicia Cole was a successful actress in Los Angeles for decades. A Los Angeles native, she had spent many years working in the entertainment industry and 19 years as a member of the Screen Actors’ Guild. But after the discovery of uterine fibroids she worried how an invasive surgery would affect her career.

Infant suffers from whooping cough during epidemic. But after a series of hospital visits doctors refuse to run tests that would have uncovered the illness leading to her death

April 18, 2016 · Evan Thomas King

Bill Requiring Disciplined Physicians to Notify Patients Advances in Sacramento

April 12, 2016 · Mark Reback

Doctors who are on probation after being disciplined by state regulators would have to share that information with patients before providing care under a bill making its way through the state Senate. The measure, which would apply to physicians, podiatrists, acupuncturists and chiropractors, was passed by the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee this week.

Dave Regan, Key To Minimum Wage Fight, Divides Labor Family

April 10, 2016 · Mark Reback

On the day Gov. Jerry Brown gathered last week in Los Angeles with legislators and union members to sign a bill raising California’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022, Dave Regan was calculating the payoff for workers at his health care union’s office in Oakland. His organization, representing 85,000 hospital employees, spent about $1.6 million to qualify a minimum wage initiative for the fall ballot.

Once a woman is rushed to the hospital with diverticulitis, she sustains a laceration on her artery leading to her death. But her low income status ensures her family will not be compensated for the injustice.

April 8, 2016 · Evan Thomas King

A mentally disabled woman goes into a hospital for abdomen pain. But a failure to diagnose sepsis, a dangerous cocktail of drugs, and an nonexistent “Do Not Resuscitate” order leads to her death.

April 8, 2016 · Evan Thomas King

Anthem-Cigna Merger Proposal Takes A Grilling

March 30, 2016 · Mark Reback

SAN FRANCISCO — State insurance commissioner Dave Jones continued to make his skepticism clear regarding Anthem Inc.’s proposed $54.2 billion acquisition of Cigna Corp. during a hearing here on Tuesday. Company executives faced Jones and a panel of physicians and consumer advocates who questioned the benefits the companies say the acquisition will bring. The Department of Insurance hearing took a more pressing tone than a related hearing held by the Department of Managed Health Care earlier this month.

Anthem-Cigna Health Care Megamerger Under Scrutiny

March 28, 2016 · Mark Reback

Anthem Inc.’s proposed $54 billion acquisition of Cigna Corp., which would create the country’s largest health insurer, faces scrutiny Tuesday as state regulators hold a public hearing in San Francisco to address concerns about the megamerger. The hearing comes a week after state regulators approved the merger of HealthNet and Missouri’s Centene Corp. That significantly smaller, $7 billion deal went largely unopposed.

Med-Mal Bill Draws Opposition

March 24, 2016 · Mark Reback

Twenty-nine groups, including the Center for Justice & Democracy and Consumer Watchdog, have signed onto a letter that protests H.R. 4771, the HEALTH Act of 2016. The bill establishes a $250,000 cap on compensation for non-economic damages because of medical malpractice, among other measures, and the House Judiciary Committee votes on it this morning.

California Struggles With Delay In Doctor Discipline; Despite Effort At Reform, Cases Are Taking Longer To Resolve

March 11, 2016 · Mark Reback

Three years after lawmakers threatened to pull the plug on the Medical Board of California over slow enforcement of doctor discipline, the problem is worse. Formal accusations filed in the last fiscal year took an average of 532 days to complete. That's up nearly 11 percent from 2013, when the Legislature mandated reform. Settlements took an average of nearly three years, up 12 percent. Court hearings and appeals add further delay.

Disclosure

January 15, 2016 · Carmen Balber

All posts in support of Proposition 61, the November ballot measure to lower the cost of prescription drugs for everyone, are paid for by Consumer Watchdog Campaign - Yes on 61, Major Funding by Yes on Prop 61, Californians for Lower Drug Prices, With Major Funding by AIDS Healthcare Foundation and California Nurses Association PAC. FPPC ID#1387641

Advocates Urge Calif. Regulators To Scrutinize Health Plan Mergers

January 11, 2016 · Mark Reback

<div class="block__content block--article__content" id="page_0_content_0_BlockContent"> Consumer advocates are urging California regulators to closely scrutinize proposed mergers between some of the nation's largest health insurers, the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-agenda-health-mergers-20160111-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles Times</a> reports (Terhune, Los Angeles Times, 1/11).

VICTORY: Fairness for Injured Patients initiative

Lift The Cap: How Fairly Compensating Injured Patients Will Save Taxpayer Dollars

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