A lobbyist love blanket smothered the public option
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Healthcare
DC Dispatch: The Week In Review
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Outrageous insurance company practices have been in the spotlight all year (like the recent revelation that 'history of domestic violence is a pre-existing condition) but a lot more critique seemed to break through the din this week....
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New Rules Aimed At Giving HMO Members Better Access
California regulators say
they're getting close to setting rules about how long-managed care
patients have to wait to get doctor appointments. About 20 million
Californians will be affected by the new regulations.
DC Dispatch: The week in review
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I finally met <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/patients/articles/?storyId=28738">Wendell Potter</a> on Wednesday, the
whistle-blowing former communications director for health insurance giant Cigna
who quit the biz and turned reformer rather than continue working for an
industry that turns a profit by denying customers health care...
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After Much Delay, Baucus Unveils Healthcare Plan
After weeks of delay as he negotiated for Republican support, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus Wednesday unveiled a 10-year, $856 billion plan to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system. Early reaction was not great. HuffingtonPost.com headlined it “Baucus
Bill Bust” because of the lack of Republican support. Consumer Watchdog
charged it would force middle class families to pay 20 percent of their
incomes on healthcare.
Is that a smirk behind health industry complaints?
I can't believe my eyes when I see the i<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/9/15/781823/-Insurance-Industry-Says-Baucus-Bill-Goes-Too-Far">nsurance</a> and <a href="http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/08/medical-device-makers-oppose-new-fees-in-the-baucus-plan/">medical industries complaining</a> that they can't live with what
the appeasement king, Sen. Max Baucus of the Senate Finance Committee--
is proposing now for health reform. Baucus is a <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/patients/articles/?storyId=28530">chief recipient of the industry's money</a>. So pardon me if I see a
smirk behind the complaints--they're just making noise so as not to
appear too satisfied.
South Bay Residents React To Obama’s Health Care Speech
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Consumer advocates argue that the public option is an
essential component of any reform plan. Insurance companies would have
no other incentive to lower insurance premiums or to stop denying
coverage to those with preexisting conditions, according to Consumer
Watchdog, a national advocacy group. South Bay consumer advocate Jerry Flanagan said lessons can be learned from the fight to require drivers to have auto insurance. Laws didn't work as much as the government having a strong role in
regulating how much companies can charge for policies. Insurance
companies in California must ask for approval before raising rates,
which has saved drivers billions of dollars. "Obama and Congress should require states to adopt similar prior approval laws for health insurance rates," he said.
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Baucus health plan: Lowest common denominator
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A "framework plan" <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/patients/articles/?storyId=29299">released today</a> by the so-called "Group of Six"
Senators negotiating a health reform bill headed by Senator Max Baucus...</p>
Sicko Reprise, Please
Remember Michael Moore's movie, <a href="http://tinyurl.com/njeyao">Sicko</a>?
Moore and his editors decided to not use the footage they'd shot in
Norway - it can be seen on the Special Edition DVD - because the
Norwegian health care system is so pro-active and prevention oriented
that it would strain credibility for many Americans to even know about
it. I know this to be true. One of my relatives told me that Norwegian
health care includes visits to shut-ins to play cards, read out loud,
or just hang out. The government logic is that it's cheaper to keep a
person company than it is to treat stress-related illness after the
damage is done.
L.A. Negotiates Lower Drug Prices For Residents
The city of Los Angeles this week announced a major new prescription
drug bulk purchasing plan to lower costs for residents. A five-year
long effort by a number of advocacy organizations working with Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa, finally resulted in success, at a time when the
spiraling costs of prescription drugs figure prominently in the health
care reform debate.
HMO Claims-Rejection Rates Trigger State Investigation
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<strong>California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown is joining state regulators in
scrutinizing the payment practices of seven major health plans in
response to complaints from physicians and hospitals.</strong>
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Harvey Rosenfield, founder of Consumer Watchdog, a Santa Monica-based
advocacy group, criticized the department for failing to analyze the
data and make the public aware of it. "There is no more important information to the consumer than whether
they can rely on their health insurance company or HMO to give them the
treatment they need," Rosenfield said.
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Bad day for health insurers, great day for consumers!
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The health insurance industry took it on the chin today. A new study exposed their <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/healthcare/la-fi-insure-denials3-2009sep03,0,1423324.story">denials of up to 40% of doctor-requested care</a> (death panel, anyone?). And California's attorney general <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-insurers-reform3-2009sep03,0,2545747.story">may investigate two top insurers' coercion </a>of
employees to lobby members Congress against strong health reform. News like that could force Congress to step
away from toeing the industry line.<a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/healthcare/la-fi-insure-denials3-2009sep03,0,1423324.story"></a>
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