Healthcare

How Do You Appeal A Heath Claim Denial?

August 26, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Q: What recourse does a patient have when a health insurer or managed-care provider rejects a claim? </p> <p> A: A patient's first step should be talking to the insurer. Most have a toll-free number or help line people can use to...</p>

Dawn Marie Esposito, Fairfield NJ

August 22, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<em>Editor’s note: When 15-year-old Dawn Marie Esposito of Lincoln Park, N.J., was hospitalized with a head injury after a car accident, doctors assured her parents that it wasn’t potentially fatal. But days later, she suddenly and “inexplicably” died</em><em>...</em>

Doctors say lawsuits important for patient safety?

August 18, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Doctors have been claiming for more than thirty years that lawsuits don't help keep patients safe from harm. A California law passed in 1975 <a href="http://www.justiceforpatients.org/jfp_moreinfo.html/">drastically restricted the legal rights of medical negligence victims</a>, and included a cap on pain and... </p>

Stem Cell Funds Face Roadblock

July 28, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<strong>Bill could Alter CIRM's Focus</strong><br/> <br/> With a $3 billion pot of stem cell research cash in the balance, California legislators want to shift money away from politically explosive human embryonic stem cells to emerging forms...

Sick & Fired: Is There ‘Health Discrimination’ in the Workplace?

July 19, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> <strong>Amid rising costs, sick employees may be left out in the cold. Fighting breast cancer, she lost her job and her insurance at a critical time.</strong> </p> <p> Susan Medina got through chemotherapy and surgery for breast...</p>

California Fines Two Health Plans $13 Million

July 18, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<strong>Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield also agree to restore coverage to patients whose coverage was canceled after they became ill.</strong> <p> Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield -- two of the state's biggest health plans -- agreed...</p>

Health Insurance Caps Leave Patients Stranded

July 13, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<strong>Serious Illness Quickly Exhausts Lifetime Limits of $1 Million or More</strong><br/> <br/> Mary Wusterbarth thought her toddler was struggling with an ear infection when she seemed sluggish. Instead, a virus had attacked the little...

State Needs to Enforce Its Actions Against Blue Cross

July 12, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

California health insurance regulators now say they are back in pursuit of Anthem Blue Cross as they examine 1,770 patient policies canceled by the insurer that the state says may be illegal.<br/> <br/> We think it is about time they did.<br/> ...

Stem Cell Grant Review Upsets Some Applicants

July 6, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<font>The state's stem cell institute, which so far has approved $554 million in taxpayer-funded research grants, is basing its funding decisions on recommendations from panels of scientists who sometimes make significant factual errors...</font>

Bad Medicine, Under the Guise of Helpfulness, Big Pharma is After Your Confidential Medical Records

July 2, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Let's say you were recently diagnosed with a serious medical condition -- depression, for instance. Your doctor thinks medication is the way to go, but says it may take some experimentation to find the right drug. The first try: Paxil.<br/> <br/>...

A banner year for drug money

June 25, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> The pharmaceutical industry flooded Congress with money in 2007 in a record $168 million lobbying effort, <a href="http://www.publicintegrity.org/rx/report.aspx?aid=985" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to a Center for Public Integrity...</a> </p>

Medical Care’s State of Denial

June 23, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Doctors are supposed to prescribe tests and treatments that are medically necessary for their patients. Health insurers are expected to cover that care, while keeping inappropriate expenses in check.<br/> <br/> But what happens when that...