Healthcare

Merger would bring multimillion dollar windfall to WellPoint CEO

November 17, 2003  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Health & Medicine Week</p> <p>"Our insurance premiums should not be used to finance golden parachutes for company executives," said FTCR's Jerry Flanagan.</p>

Answering the Challenge

November 17, 2003  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Groups start contests to help fix Healthcare system</h3><p class="source">Modern Healthcare</p> <p>The not-for-profit FTCR has launched a statewide contest seeking the best new ideas on how to remove "profiteering, waste and bloated administrative costs" from the healthcare system without cutting existing programs or limiting access to care.</p>

Kaiser reports jump in income;

November 4, 2003  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>HMO says double-digit rate hikes to continue</h3><p class="source">Alameda Times-Star (Alameda, CA)</p> <p>"Kaiser's latest profit reports come at a time when skyrocketing premium rates are uninsuring the insured and creating incredible roadblocks for Californians who don't have access to care," said Jerry Flanagan, spokesman for FTCR.</p>

Justices to rule on HMOs;

November 4, 2003  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Supreme Court takes on suits over denial of coverage</h3><p class="source">The San Francisco Chronicle</p> <p>Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica, also welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to resolve what to date has been a patchwork of inconsistent state laws and lower court rulings.</p>

High court to consider Texas law on HMOs

November 4, 2003  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The Houston Chronicle</p> <p>In Washington, the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights asked President Bush to speak on behalf of patients by sticking up for the Texas law.</p>

Meet the new WellPoint;

November 3, 2003  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Providers wonder how they and their patients will have to change to cope with the biggest managed-care merger to date.</h3><p class="source">Modern Healthcare</p> <p>"When an HMO CEO is handed a third of a billion dollars, patients will get shortchanged because there is less money for medical care," said Jerry Flanagan, an advocate at the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.</p>

Deal in works to form largest U.S. health plan

October 28, 2003  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Sacramento Bee</p> <p>Even in markets where the newly merged health plan would get an upper hand in negotiations with hospitals, doctors and drug companies, it does not necessarily mean that insurance premiums would decrease or consumers would pay less</p>

Davis signs bill requiring health insurance for workers

October 5, 2003  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Associated Press</p> <p>The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a consumer advocacy group, welcomed the bill, but said the state must regulate health insurance premiums and doctors' rates to make the plan work.</p>

Devil in details of state health care mandate

September 29, 2003  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The Oakland Tribune</p> <p>Jamie Court, executive director of FTCR, a consumer advocacy group, said an unlikely alliance between consumers and business could form over the mandate. Court worries that employers might refrain from hiring new workers - full and part time - to avoid th</p>

Contest between brand-name drugs and cheaper generics

September 21, 2003  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">CBS-TV Evening News (6:00 PM ET)</p> <p>Mr. JAMIE COURT (Health-Care Advocate): What patients may see is less out-of-pocket costs because they would have paid more for a brand-name than a generic.</p>

New rules for hospitals raise some concerns

September 19, 2003  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The San Diego Union-Tribune</p> <p>"It is clearly giving hospitals some fudge room to cut back on taking people in, keeping them there and having an ample network of specialists ready to meet people's needs," said Jamie Court, executive director of FTCR.</p>

Commentary: California insurance squeeze

September 17, 2003  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">United Press International</p> <p>"The plan's fatal flaw is the absence of cost controls," the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights said in an op-ed piece in Wednesday's Los Angeles Times.</p>