Healthcare

Cigna Agrees To Change HIV Mail-Order Med Rule

October 9, 2015 · Mark Reback

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.

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

October 8, 2015 · Mark Reback

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. The California Department of Managed Health Care said it extracted several key concessions from Blue Shield in an agreement unveiled Thursday. Ending a high-stakes and lengthy battle, the company agreed to permanently relinquish its longtime state tax exemption.

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

September 30, 2015 · Mark Reback

<img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2898" alt="" class="right" src="https://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.

CA Medical Board: Patient or Physician Protection?

August 11, 2015 · Carmen Balber

<img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2865" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/images_pills.jpg" style="width: 136px; height: 111px; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 7px; float: right;" width="136" height="111" />A Sonora family doctor arrested in July for overprescribing controlled substances is now accused of <a href="http://www.uniondemocrat.com/News/Local-News/New-details-emerge-in-Sostock-case">working “so high on narcotics” that she would nod off during appointments and pass out in the office</a>, according to the Union Democrat.

An Issue Potent Enough To Divide Brown and Nader: The Malpractice Damage Cap

August 7, 2015 · Mark Reback

Ralph Nader goes way back with Gov. Jerry Brown. Their relationship dates to the 1970s, when both men were eagerly shaking things up from their respective perches on the progressive left. Between them, they've run for president eight times. In 1992, Brown said he'd appoint Nader to his Cabinet if elected to the White House. But when I spoke with Nader this week, the man who wrote the playbook for consumer advocacy was mad as hell at his former comrade.

Consumer Groups Urge the FTC to Block a Teva Takeover of Mylan

July 14, 2015 · Mark Reback

Bill Aims To Reduce Prescription Drug Overdose Deaths

June 23, 2015 · Mark Reback

<div class="story_body"> Prescription drug overdoses are the <a data-ajax="false" data-transition="none" href="http://www.californiahealthline.org/articles/2015/6/18/overdoses-are-leading-cause-of--injuryrelated-deaths-in-calif" rel="external">leading cause</a> of accidental death in California. A bill in the state legislature, <a data-ajax="false" data-transition="none" href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/15-16/bill/sen/sb_0451-0500/sb_482_cfa_20150424_143645_sen_comm.html" rel="external">SB 482</a> (Lara), aims to reduce the problem.

Hospital Bill Is High Enough To Raise Anyone’s Blood Pressure

June 5, 2015 · Mark Reback

A single dose of the anti-anxiety drug lorazepam — the generic version of Ativan — will run you about 14 cents at Safeway or Target. At Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, the same pill goes for nearly $2,000. At least that's the impression Laurie Leigh came away with after being so overcome with grief when her 90-year-old father died at the hospital that she fainted at his bedside. She subsequently received a pill to soothe her nerves.

State Senate OKs Bill To Curb ‘Doctor Shopping’

May 28, 2015 · Mark Reback

<div class="entrytext"> Voters soundly rejected <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_46,_Medical_Malpractice_Lawsuits_Cap_and_Drug_Testing_of_Doctors_%282014%29">Proposition 46</a> – which would’ve raised California’s 40-year-old cap on certain medical malpractice damage awards – in November, but a lesser-known part of that measure moved forward Thursday in the Legislature.

LA Times Editorial: CURES Bill Could Make A Dent In California Prescription Drug Abuse

May 8, 2015 · Mark Reback

When California lawmakers created the CURES database to fight prescription drug abuse, they left out an important piece. Although pharmacists were required to list in the database any customers who received potentially dangerous and addictive drugs, doctors weren't required to check those records before prescribing more pills. State Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) has a bill that would finally require doctors to do what they should have been doing all along. His colleagues should pass it.

Contra Costa Times Editorial: Time To End “Doctor Shopping” For Addictive Drugs

May 5, 2015 · Mark Reback

It's time for California doctors to get on board with the statewide effort to curb prescription drug abuse. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called the problem an epidemic. Per-capita use of highly addictive prescription opiates in the United States increased five-fold from 1997 to 2007. Medicare-covered opiate prescriptions increased 24 percent from 2007 to 2010.

Prescription Drug Monitoring Helps Doctors and Chronic Pain Patients

April 29, 2015 · Consumer Watchdog

<img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2865" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/images_pills.jpg" style="width: 136px; height: 111px; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 7px; float: right;" width="136" height="111" />Doctors are more confident in prescribing pain medication after reviewing a patient’s medical history. We’ve received a few messages from patients worried that a proposal to have doctors check a patient’s medical history before prescribing powerful pain medications could prevent or delay them from getting their medicine. In fact, all the evidence shows the opposite.

Fairness for Injured Patients

Medical Board of California Announces Maternal Mortality Task Force

Patient Voices