Healthcare

East Bay Family’s Tragedy Sparks Clash of Special-Interest Titans

September 29, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p class="loose"><span class="verdana">What started as a Danville couple's crusade for justice for their dead children has become a war between some of California's most powerful special interests and the year's costliest ballot measure battle.</span></p> <p class="loose"><br /> <span class="verdana"><span class="hit">Proposition</span> <span class="hit">46</span> would raise the state's 39-year-old cap on medical malpractice damage awards, require doctors to take random drug tests and mandate use of a database designed to reduce prescription drug abuse. </span></p>

Attorneys and Doctors Square Off Over Prop. 46

September 29, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Two powerful professional groups — doctors and lawyers — are squaring off and spending more than $65 million on Proposition 46, one of six statewide measures on the Nov. 4 ballot.</p> <p>Even the measure’s official title — “Drug and Alcohol Testing of Doctors. Medical Negligence Lawsuits. Initiative Statute” — is controversial, with critics asserting that Attorney General Kamala Harris, who assigns names to ballot measures, intentionally downplayed the initiative’s main goal.</p>

Cigna, Blue Shield of Calif. Sued for ‘Bait and Switch’ Scheme

September 26, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>The pushback against <a href="http://www.fiercehealthpayer.com/tags/narrow-networks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">narrow networks</a> that's sweeping the nation continues in the form of legal action as a consumer group filed lawsuits against Cigna and Blue Shield of California on Thursday.</p>

Why I Support Prop 45: I’m Paying Double, and Can’t See My Doctors

September 25, 2014  ·  rob

<p align="center" style="margin-bottom: 10px; font-size: 14px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1.5em; word-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong style="font-size: 16px;"><em style="font-size: 16px;">"Not one doctor that I have recently spoken with even knows what an EPO Health Plan is."</em></strong></span></span></span></p>

Consumer Group Sues 2 More Calif. Plans Over Narrow Networks

September 25, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Insurers <a href="http://capsules.kaiserhealthnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Davidson-Class-Action-Complaint-9-24-14.pdf">Cigna</a> and <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/blue_shield_class_complaint-130344.pdf">Blue Shield of California</a> misled consumers about the size of their networks of doctors and hospitals, leaving enrollees frustrated and owing large bills, according to two lawsuits filed this week in Los Angeles.</p>

‘Bait & Switch’ Suit Alleges Health Insurers Mislead Consumers

September 25, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p><strong>SANTA MONICA (CBSLA.com)</strong> — Two of America’s biggest health insurance companies allegedly misrepresented their physician and hospital networks in order to boost sales during the Affordable Care Act’s “open enrollment period”, a consumer advocacy group said Thursday.</p>

No on Proposition 46 Campaign Tries to Start a Hacker Panic

September 25, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Even by the political world's low standards of truthiness, a new commercial being aired by the No on Proposition 46 campaign is jaw-droppingly deceptive.</p>

Blue Shield, Cigna Accused Of ACA Plan ‘Bait And Switch’

September 24, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Blue Shield of California and Cigna Health and Life Insurance Co. policyholders filed putative class actions in California state court on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, alleging the companies engaged in "bait and switch" schemes by misrepresenting doctor availability in their Affordable Care Act plans.</p>

Prop 46 Calls for Physician Drug Testing, $1.1 Million Lawsuit Cap

September 20, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://abc7.com/video/embed/?pid=315940" width="476"></iframe></p>

New Study Shows That The Savings From ‘Tort Reform’ Are Mythical

September 20, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Tort reform," which is usually billed as the answer to "frivolous malpractice lawsuits," has been a central plank in the Republican program for healthcare reform for decades. </p> <p>The notion has lived on despite copious evidence that that the so-called defensive medicine practiced by doctors merely to stave off lawsuits accounts for, at best, 2% to 3% of U.S. healthcare costs. As for "frivolous lawsuits," they're a problem that exists mostly in the minds of conservatives and the medical establishment.</p>

Patient Safety, Malpractice Costs At Issue In Proposition 46

September 18, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<div class="page" style="display: block;"> <p>A years-long battle between doctors and trial lawyers is coming down to Proposition 46 on the November ballot, leaving voters to sift through a mass of conflicting claims in an effort to pick the winner in what will be the most expensive race of the fall.</p>

Prop. 46 Campaign Blasts Opponents For Payment To Official’s Committee

September 15, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Supporters of a Nov. 4 ballot initiative to increase medical malpractice awards blasted a Los Angeles County supervisor Monday for scheduling a board vote to oppose the measure after a group he founded accepted a $75,000 donation from opponents.</p>