Healthcare

Governor outlines medical plans;

July 25, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Schwarzenegger at summit puts focus on technology; Angelides dismisses meeting as a tardy campaign ploy</h3><p class="source">Contra Costa Times (California)</p> <p>Jerry Flanagan of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights said the governor ignored the "900-pound gorilla in the room" because he has received $775,200 from insurance companies and HMOs and $1.08 million from drug companies since 2003.</p>

Time is money… for doctors & patients;

July 25, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>More often, canceling an appointment at the last minute or failing to show up will cost you</h3><p class="source">Delaware News Journal</p> <p>Fines on top of rising health insurance costs are unfair, said Jerry Flanagan, health care policy director at the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. "Patients often have to miss doctor appointments for things that aren't their fault," he said, "like the baby sitter not showing up, the car breaking down or the boss saying you've gotta come in early."</p>

Stem Cell Battle Gestates Outside the Beltway

July 24, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The New Standard</p> <p>FTCR's John Simpson said that while patents are a routine part of the commercialization of treatments, WARF's control was "too far upstream" in the research process. The scope of WARF's patent rights, he said, means that researchers may have to obtain costly licenses at the most-basic stages in the development of potential cures. FTCR also speculates that under WARF's patent controls, even non-profit researchers would need WARF's approval to develop stem-cell-based cures, and that WARF would also control scientists' ability to exchange cell lines among themselves to advance research.</p>

Healthcare in Need of Major Surgery

July 16, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The Los Angeles Times</p> <p>Jamie Court of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, which has campaigned for healthcare reforms that always get derailed, says it's largely because of the great lobbying power of a filthy rich healthcare industry that likes things as they are. "It just shows how crazy the patchwork maze of programs is," said Court. "These are people who worked their whole lives, and she's not entitled to healthcare. She's got to get divorced to get it."</p>

Loyal to royalties;

July 13, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Don't weaken rules on stem cell licensing</h3><p class="source">Sacramento Bee</p> <p>CIRM needs to stay true to the promise of Proposition 71, which voters approved by a wide margin. The text of the law is very clear on what the public should expect. Funding, the law said, would go to scientific and medical research "that will significantly reduce state health care costs in the future" and provide "an opportunity for the state to benefit from royalties, patents and licensing fees that result from the research."</p>

You Can Lower Your Doctor Bill — Just Ask

July 6, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">BackStage Magazine</p> <p>According to the California Patient's Guide of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a California-based nonprofit education and advocacy group, "Everything is negotiable -- with the HMO, the HMO doctor, the HMO hospital.... You're paying the bills, not only as a consumer, but also as a taxpayer who helps fund the medical system."</p>

PBS’ NOW Show on Junk Health Care

July 2, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Watch the PBS' NOW Show on Junk Health Care, "Payment Due," Featuring Dana Christensen and FTCR Advocates</h3> <p>   </p> ... <p>   </p>

Botched Surgery Leaves Nurse Disabled, Unable To Work

June 29, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Dana Stinson - Seal Beach, CA</h3>

Wisconsin and California locked in stem-cell struggle

June 18, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Wisconsin State Journal</p> <p>The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a nonprofit watchdog group in California, called on CIRM to challenge WARF's patents in court. "It would truly be a shame if a research organization in Wisconsin threw up a blockade to vital, publicly funded research in California," John Simpson, stem-cell project director for the group, wrote in a letter to WARF.</p>

US Physician-Senator Bill Frist Disappoints On Health

June 17, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The Lancet</p> <p>Frist has also sought to gain legal protections for vaccine makers, in some cases giving them near total immunity from lawsuits. A citizen advocacy group opposed to the measure, the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, argued that Frist and 41 other senators have a conflict of interest in this case, because they own US16 million in pharmaceutical stock.</p>

Gov. Romney, in San Diego, touts Mass. insurance law;

June 9, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Critics say law doesn't fit in California</h3><p class="source">The San Diego Union-Tribune</p> <p>Some critics of the law say it creates a new pool of customers for insurance companies without protecting consumers from potentially discriminatory premium increases based on past medical conditions, place of residency or gender. "This model would be a disaster for California because (the state) is dominated by for-profit insurance companies," said Jerry Flanagan, a health care advocate with the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.</p>

For-Profit Health Insurance Carriers Getting the Blues

May 23, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Arkansas Business</p> <p>"The merger of WellPoint and Anthem, which formed the new WellPoint company, gave away close to $450 million in executive compensation," said Jerry Flanagan, health care policy director for the Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights in Santa Monica, Calif. "With those execs' salaries and golden parachutes, it means only one thing: We pay more for less coverage."</p>