Healthcare

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"> <p style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">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"><em>Los Angeles Times</em></a> reports (Terhune, <em>Los Angeles Times</em>, 1/11).</p>

Justice Lost A Great Friend When Kathy Olsen Passed Away

December 22, 2015  ·  Jamie Court

<p><br /> It’s with tremendous sadness that I need to share with you that Consumer Watchdog board member and our great friend Kathy Olsen passed away this weekend.  Kathy was one of the most generous and kind people I ever knew. She gave so much of herself and of her family to fight for greater safety for all patients and greater accountability for the medical insurance complex.</p>

Experts Call for Mandatory Use of State Prescription Drug Database

November 19, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p><b>Health experts say system available in California could curb overdose deaths</b></p> <p class="paragraph" data-pnum="1">Public health experts say California and other states should require doctors to check a prescription drug database before giving new patients a prescription for opioids and other controlled substances.</p> <p class="paragraph" data-pnum="2">The new call to action to reduce prescription drug overdose deaths was issued this week by a nationwide panel of experts, led by researchers at the prestigious Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.</p>

Marin’s Uninsured Population Shrinking Thanks To Obamacare

November 15, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Nov. 15--Marin health officials say the number of uninsured residents in the county is dwindling as the Affordable Care Act's third open-enrollment season begins this month.</p> <p>But consumer advocates say medical insurance customers face an uphill battle when trying to figure out which plan is the best buy for them. They say insurance costs, especially in Northern California, are increasing while the network of doctors offered in plans is narrowing.</p>

Tour Urges Health Care; Officials Say Residents Need To Get Coverage

November 4, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Health insurance consumers worry about skinny networks of doctors, money they may need to pull out of their pockets, and rising tax penalties faced by the uninsured.<br /> Covered California Executive Director Peter V. Lee said they should focus more on a patient from the Pomona area. He underwent emergency heart surgery and then obtained coverage through the 2-year-old Covered California marketplace created to cover the previously uninsured.<br />

California Fines Top Health Insurers For Overstating Obamacare Networks

November 3, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p>California regulators fined two insurance giants for overstating their Obamacare doctor networks and said the companies will pay millions of dollars in refunds to patients who paid too much for care.</p> <p>The state’s Department of Managed Health Care levied fines of $350,000 against Blue Shield of California and $250,000 for Anthem Blue Cross.</p>

Anthem Blue Cross To Repay $8.3 Million To California Customers

October 27, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Anthem Blue Cross agreed to end midyear policy changes that raise costs for consumers and to reimburse nearly $8.3 million to about 50,000 customers in California as part of a settlement of a class-action lawsuit announced Tuesday.</p> <p>The settlement resolves two lawsuits filed by policyholders in Los Angeles County Superior Court in 2011 alleging that the state's largest for-profit health insurer increased annual deductibles and other yearly out-of-pocket costs on individual policies in the middle of the year.</p>

California Doctors’ Lobby Group Pushes Agenda With Swagger

October 12, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p>As large clocks around the office counted down to Election Day last year, leading physicians ditched their business meeting and marched downstairs to stuff envelopes with campaign pamphlets in a makeshift war room at the California Medical Association’s Sacramento headquarters.</p>

Cigna Drops Mail-Order Requirement For HIV Drugs In Settlement

October 9, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p><span id="articleText"><span class="focusParagraph"><span class="articleLocatio</span>n">Health insurer Cigna Corp on Friday agreed to drop its requirement that patients with HIV/AIDS get some of their medications exclusively through its mail-order pharmacy, settling a consumer lawsuit.</span></span></span></p>

Cigna Agrees To Change HIV Mail-Order Med Rule

October 9, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p>People living with HIV/AIDS and insured through Cigna, one of the nation’s largest health insurers, will no longer be required to buy their antiretroviral medications by mail order under a <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/cigna_settlement_final.pdf" target="_blank" title="" rel="noopener">legal settlement</a> reached in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale and announced Friday.</p>

Blue Shield’s Deal With Regulators On $1.2-Billion Acquisition Draws Fire

October 8, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Beleaguered insurer Blue Shield of California won state approval for its $1.2-billion acquisition of a Medicaid health plan, but the nonprofit company’s deal with regulators drew heavy criticism.</p> <p>The California Department of Managed Health Care said it extracted several key concessions from Blue Shield in an agreement unveiled Thursday.</p> <p>Ending a high-stakes and lengthy battle, the company agreed to permanently relinquish its longtime state tax exemption.</p>

Failure To Run Simple Tests By Doctors Contributes to Death Of Woman

September 30, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2898" alt="" class="right" src="http://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/images_anhgoodson_0.png" style="width: 311px; height: 276px; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 7px; float: right;" width="396" height="352" />Due to a health care change by her employer, Anh Kim Goodson was forced into the Kaiser Permanente system on 12-1-11 and continued for 2-1/2 years until she was eligible for Medicare at age 65 at which time she switched to a non-Kaiser Medicare doctor.</p>