Healthcare

DC Dispatch: Olsens take on medical errors and health care reform

October 27, 2009  ·  Carmen Balber

<p> My blackberry picture is a little too blurry to do them justice, but this is Scott, Steve and Kathy Olsen at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol building last week (you can see the Supreme Court building in the background) to urge members of Congress to keep limits on patients’ legal rights out of the health care bill...</p>

Patient Sues Anthem Blue Cross Over Liver Transplant

October 7, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> <strong>Fearing for his life, Ephram Nehme paid for his own surgery in Indiana, where wait times for organ transplants are far shorter than in California. Anthem says it did nothing wrong.</strong></p>

CW to Congress: Don’t sacrifice malpractice victims to health reform politics

October 1, 2009  ·  Carmen Balber

Consumer Watchdog joined six other national consumer and patient safety groups to pubish an open letter ad to Congress today opposing any effort to sacrifice innocent Americans injured by cost-cutting hospitals and negligent doctors in the quest for health care reform...

A lobbyist love blanket smothered the public option

September 30, 2009  ·  Judy Dugan

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DC Dispatch: The Week In Review

September 25, 2009  ·  Carmen Balber

<p> 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.... </p>

New Rules Aimed At Giving HMO Members Better Access

September 22, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

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

September 18, 2009  ·  Carmen Balber

<p class="MsoNormal"> 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... </p>

After Much Delay, Baucus Unveils Healthcare Plan

September 16, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

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?

September 15, 2009  ·  Judy Dugan

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

September 10, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> 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. </p>

Baucus health plan: Lowest common denominator

September 8, 2009  ·  Jerry Flanagan

<p> 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

September 5, 2009  ·  Ellen Snortland

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.