Healthcare

Drug Liability Law’s Day in Court

September 15, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> <strong>Consumers' ability to collect damages from drug makers over serious side effects is at stake in an upcoming ruling.</strong> Consumer advocates say this tilt would be unfair, because consumers should have a remedy against a drug company that sold them a defective drug or didn't fully disclose its side effects. "This is as sweeping a legal decision as the Supreme Court has ever made for prescription drug users," says Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, a consumer rights organization based in Santa Monica. "This preemption is exactly what the drug companies have sought for the last 20 years from Congress." </p>

State, Insurers, Doctors in Battle Over Balance Billing

September 12, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Jerry Flanagan of the Consumer Watchdog group in Santa Monica feels sympathy for doctors who can't break what he called the stranglehold of insurance. But he also blames the medical association for holding up years of efforts to end balance billing. "As sympathetic as we are for the physician, we think there is no excuse for billing the patient because of disputes between the doctor and the insurance company," he said. Referring to strategies that would solve the problem, he said: "That's what we've been waiting five years for." </p>

Cancer? Ask Plenty of Questions

September 7, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

My sister had the advantage of a hell-raising brother who's accustomed to rattling cages and demanding answers. And I was lucky enough to know a doctor who gave me entree. But Jamie Court of Consumer Watchdog advises all patients to ask tough questions of their doctors. "If the best treatment isn't in the HMO network," he said, "the patient may never hear about it. Even if it's the most likely way to save their life."

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  ·  Carmen Balber

<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>