Healthcare

Consumer Watchdog Files Suit Over Anthem’s Rx Program

January 16, 2013  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p>Consumer Watchdog has filed a<a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/anthem_complaint.final_.1.11.13.pdf"> class-action lawsuit</a> against Anthem Blue Cross, alleging that the insurer's mail-order pharmacy program discriminates against individuals with HIV/AIDS, KQED's "<a href="http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2013/01/15/advocacy-group-says-anthem-blue-cross-pharmacy-program-is-discriminatory/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=advocacy-group-says-anthem-blue-cross-pharmacy-program-is-discriminatory">State of Health</a>" reports.<br />

Advocacy Group Says Anthem Blue Cross Pharmacy Program is Discriminatory

January 15, 2013  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p>The advocacy group Consumer Watchdog has filed a statewide <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/anthem_complaint.final_.1.11.13.pdf">class action lawsuit</a> against Anthem Blue Cross saying the health insurer is discriminating against HIV/AIDS patients.<br /> <br />

Suit Claims Blue Cross Discriminates In HIV Cases

January 15, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Blue Cross of California is being sued over a new program that bars AIDS patients from using local pharmacies to get their medications.<br /> <br /> The group Consumer Watchdog sued the insurer last week in San Diego on behalf of a patient, claiming the program discriminates against those with HIV.<br /> <br /> The program, which takes effect in March, requires patients using certain drugs to buy them from a mail order pharmacy chosen by Blue Cross. HIV patients are among those affected.<br /> <br />

Advocacy Group Says Anthem Blue Cross Pharmacy Program is Discriminatory

January 15, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>The advocacy group Consumer Watchdog has filed a statewide <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/anthem_complaint.final_.1.11.13.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">class action lawsuit</a> against Anthem Blue Cross saying the health insurer is discriminating against HIV/AIDS patients.</p>

Anthem Blue Cross Sued Over New HIV/AIDS Drug Policy

January 15, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p><a href="http://www.kpbs.org/news/2013/jan/15/anthem-blue-cross-sued-over-new-hivaids-drug-polic/">Click here to listen to the broadcast of this radio news segment</a>.</p> <p>Anthem Blue Cross's new policy requiring HIV/AIDS patients to get their drugs by mail order has prompted a lawsuit charging the move is discriminatory.</p> <p>Jon Jones, which is not his real name, has a PPO plan with Anthem Blue Cross.</p>

HIV Patient Says Anthem Mail-Order Drug Plan Discriminatory

January 14, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>An HIV-positive man Friday hit California health insurer Anthem Blue Cross with a proposed consumer class action alleging the company’s plan to force patients with certain chronic diseases to obtain medications through a mail-order pharmacy is a discriminatory move that will drive up costs and threaten lives.<br /> <br />

San Diego Lawsuit Says Blue Cross Illegally Targeting HIV/AIDS Patients

January 14, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>A class-action lawsuit filed in San Diego Superior Court alleges Blue Cross of California is illegally targeting HIV/AIDS patients and other seriously ill consumers with a new program that bars them from using local pharmacies to get their medications.</p> <p>Under the new program, HIV/AIDS patients' insurance policies will no longer cover medications at local pharmacies, according to the suit filed Friday by Consumer Watchdog, a nonpartisan consumer advocacy organization with offices in Washington, D.C., and Santa Monica.</p>

Anthem Sued Over A Drug Rule

January 12, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p><strong>BUSINESS BRIEFINGS - HEALTHCARE:</strong></p> <p>An HIV patient in San Diego sued Anthem Blue Cross in state court, accusing California's largest for-profit insurer of violating the law by requiring certain policyholders to buy specialty drugs from a mail-order pharmacy.</p> <p>The plaintiff, who withheld his name because of his medical condition, filed suit in San Diego County Superior Court. At issue is Anthem's requirement, effective March 1, that certain patients with HIV, cancer and other serious illnesses buy specialty drugs from a mail-order pharmacy.</p>

Anthem’s Mail-Order Policy May Have Crossed A Legal Line

January 10, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p><b>The health insurer's requirement that some customers get their prescription drugs from a single mail-order pharmacy has caught the eye of the California attorney general's office.</b></p> <p>Anthem Blue Cross may be breaking California law by requiring some policyholders to buy their prescription drugs from a single mail-order pharmacy, according to the state attorney general's office.</p>

Anthem Blue Cross Tells Patients Needing ‘Specialty Drugs’ To Use the Mail

December 13, 2012  ·  John M. Simpson

<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2548" alt="" src="http://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/images_doublecross-thumb_1_0.gif" style="width: 120px; height: 90px; float: right;" width="120" height="90" />In its quest for more profits, <a href="http://www.anthem.com/health-insurance/home/overview">Anthem Blue Cross</a> has begun telling patients who have very serious diseases and need so-called "specialty drugs" that they cannot use their local pharmacy where many have long term relationships, but must instead order their life-saving medications from a mail-order pharmacy.<br /> <br />

Op-Ed: Watchdog Group Fighting For Consumers

August 24, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p class="permalinkable" id="h422931-p1">Two decades ago, when my now 21-year-old son had a terrifying medical mishap that has left him blind and disabled for life, I sought out a consumer group that was advocating for patients. And since discovering Consumer Watchdog, over the last 20 years, we have exposed medical negligence, fought for better patient safety laws, won landmark protections for patients against their health insurers and been a countervailing power to the medical insurance establishment. I also joined Consumer Watchdog’s board of directors.</p>

The Preventable Loss Of Our Son Adam

August 20, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<h2> Adam Glover - Los Gatos, CA</h2> <p> </p> <h2> <img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2478" alt="" class="right" src="http://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/images_adamglover.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 239px; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 7px; float: right;" width="640" height="612" /></h2> <p>Our son Adam was 12 in 2008 when he went on a glorious camping and hiking trip in Yosemite with his Dad. The pair of them hiked, climbed and biked together. But seven days into the vacation, Adam died, the victim of preventable errors and inattention after an emergency appendectomy at a Modesto hospital.</p>