Healthcare

UnitedHealthcare Sued Over HIV Mail-Order Prescription Service

June 11, 2013 · Mark Reback

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The nation's largest health insurance carrier is being sued over its handling of prescriptions for HIV/AIDS patients. Consumer Watchdog is suing UnitedHealthcare, claiming the insurance company is forcing HIV patients to abandon their pharmacies in favor of United's own mail-order prescription service. The group and local pharmacists say it's putting patients' health at risk.

HIV Patients Fight Mail-Order Drug Program

June 11, 2013 · Mark Reback

LOS ANGELES (CN) - United Healthcare Insurance subjects thousands of HIV-positive Californians to "potentially life-threatening" delays by making them get their prescription drugs through the mail, a class action claims in Federal Court. John Doe sued United Healthcare Insurance, mail order pharmacy OptumRx, Pacificare Life and Health Insurance, and UnitedHealth Group on five counts, including unfair competition, breach of faith and violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act.

Clovis Couple Seeks Repeal of Malpractice Payout Caps

June 9, 2013 · Mark Reback

A Clovis couple has joined a statewide coalition to repeal a 38-year-old California law that caps medical malpractice damages for pain and suffering. Doug and Linda Wilkinson say the law, which limits non-economic compensation to $250,000, is an injustice to families who have lost loved ones. Their daughter, Brittany Wilkinson, an advocate for the disabled, died in September 2009 at Children's Hospital Central California, allegedly after a procedure to clamp two shunts that had been placed to drain fluid buildup in her brain. She was 18.

FBI Searched Two Businesses with Ties to Calderons in April

June 7, 2013 · Mark Reback

The FBI recently has raided at least two California businesses with connections to former Assemblyman Tom Calderon and his brother, Sen. Ron Calderon, whose offices were searched by federal investigators this week. In April, federal agents executed sealed search warrants at Pacific Hospital of Long Beach and Industrial Pharmacy Management in Newport Beach seeking "evidence of criminal allegations," FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.

California Coalition Seeks to Eliminate Cap on Pain-and-Suffering Damages

June 2, 2013 · Mark Reback

A West Sacramento billboard featuring an infant who died from whooping cough marks a formal declaration of war by groups targeting elimination of a cap on pain-and-suffering damages in medical negligence suits.

Give my 6-week-old daughter’s death meaning

May 30, 2013 · Consumer Watchdog

Written by Alejandra Gonzelez-Chavez, Special to Consumer Watchdog <img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2651" alt="" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/images_38toolatebillboard.jpg" style="width: 211px; height: 103px; float: right; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px;" width="400" height="196" />My baby Mia died in a hospital at just 6 weeks of age from whooping cough in the middle of a whooping cough epidemic because doctors didn't give her a simple test.

Despite Economic Woes, 9th District A Hot Spot For Contributions

May 13, 2013 · Mark Reback

The 9th Council District, among the poorest in the city, has become a hot spot for campaign contributions, with special interests spending big in the race to replace termed-out Councilwoman Jan Perry. L.A.'s 9th City Council District is among the poorest in the city, taking in a stretch of South Los Angeles where the median household income is less than $30,000 per year.

How Much Does That Hospital Procedure Cost? Depends On Where You Go

May 10, 2013 · Mark Reback

Database: <a href="http://www.sgvtribune.com/ci_23200635" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Average charges for procedures by California hospitals</a> Data released this week by the federal government that show a wide variation of what hospitals charge Medicare for everything from pacemakers to hip replacement to obstructive pulmonary disease may bolster a discussion on fair pricing but does little to help the average consumer understand what they are paying for, health policy experts said.

Hospitals’ Medicare Billings All Over Map

May 9, 2013 · Mark Reback

In Oakland, Alameda County Medical Center charged an average of $19,855 for a patient with seizures in 2011, while Alta Bates Summit Medical Center - less than 4 miles away in the same city - billed $48,923 to treat the same condition. Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae charged $110,394 for patients with drug poisoning, while at Peninsula Medical Center in Burlingame, the average bill for those patients came to $34,759.

New Effort Would Lift Medical Malpractice Compensation Cap

May 3, 2013 · Mark Reback

<a href="http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R201305030850">Click here to listen to the audio segment of this radio broadcast</a>.

Coalition Working On Ballot Measure To Limit Prescription Drug Abuse

May 2, 2013 · Mark Reback

The coalition of consumer groups and trial lawyers is concerned that medical reform bills currently before the California Legislature will be weakened or killed.

Trifecta — Patient Safety, Pollution Prevention & Privacy

April 26, 2013 · Carmen Balber

<img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2630" alt="" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/images_enough_caoc_mbc_0762.jpg" style="width: 211px; height: 141px; float: right;" width="600" height="400" />What a week! Three big victories in California will keep us safer from dangerous doctors, toxic polluters and privacy invasions, but we only got there thanks to your support.

Fairness for Injured Patients

Medical Board of California Announces Maternal Mortality Task Force

Patient Voices