Insurance

Voters Reject Corporate-Backed Ballot Measures

June 9, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Voters rejected two business-backed measures that would have changed the electric power and auto insurance industries in California. Harvey Rosenfield, the noted consumer advocate who led the fight against the proposition, was scheduled to make a statement later. Existing law lets insurers offer loyalty (or “persistency”) discounts to long-term customers. Mercury has been fighting for years for the right to extend the discounts to other insurers’ long-term customers in an effort to lure them away. Rosenfield says that because of the “zero sum” regulations governing insurance premiums in California, companies that give discounts to one group have to raise premiums on others. He said newly insured motorists, or those who’d let their insurance expire temporarily, would pay big surcharges as a result.

California Voters Reject Mercury General-Funded Ballot Question

June 9, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

The outcome was a victory for consumer groups that argued the referendum would effectively legalize surcharges outlawed since the passage of Proposition 103 in 1988. Because those with lapses in coverage or payments would be disqualified from discounts, the initiative would allow insurers to charge those customers more, they argued.

California Election Results: Insurance, Electricity Initiatives Backed By Major Corporations Are Rejected

June 9, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<!-- sphereit start --> <p> California voters rejected the two initiatives put on Tuesday's ballot by major corporations -- Proposition 16, requiring voter approval before cities can get into the electricity business, and Proposition 17, giving auto insurance companies more leeway in setting rates. </p>

Anthem Blue Cross: Fight health reform, then take credit for health reform

June 8, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Anthem Blue Cross just sent out the <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/AnthemLetter.pdf">warmest, fuzziest letter to policyholders,</a> touting the generous, caring steps it is taking since the health reform bill passed. It made me gag. The first thing the letter brags about--that Blue Cross won't cancel your policy when you get sick--is what it is being forced to do after <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/patients/articles/?storyId=27967">ruining the lives of seriously ill people </a>for decades. </p>

Businesses Question Insurance Tax Credits Some Fear Premium Hikes Will Cut Gains

June 7, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Consumer Watchdog founder Harvey Rosenfield wrote and lobbied for Proposition 103 in 1988. With its passage, the state regulated auto and homeowners' insurance and challenged rate hikes, he said. "In California, five companies control 96 percent of the health insurance market. It's almost a cartel," he said. "After a decade's worth of double-digit increases, and you get them again in a recession, there's just no more money to pay the price." </p>

Insurers Weigh in on Democratic Races

June 4, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

“Insurers are spending millions of dollars to influence the outcome of Tuesday’s election, but most voters don’t know insurance companies are out there propping up initiatives and attacking candidates,” said Doug Heller, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, which is virtually single-handedly taking on Mercury Insurance Corp.’s Proposition 17. Mercury has outraised Consumer Watchdog’s PAC $15.9 million to $1 million."

Two Health Care Adversaries Find a Need to Collaborate

June 4, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

After squaring off as political foes for more than a year, the Obama administration and the health insurance industry have suddenly discovered that they need each other. Carmen L. Balber, director of the Washington office of Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit advocacy group, said: ''The success of health care reform depends, in part, on the cooperation of the insurance industry. Insurers have endless opportunities to throw up roadblocks. If they try to hold on to the old way of doing business, it will be much harder for the administration to achieve the goal of high-quality, affordable care.''

Corporate “smart initiatives” will test California voters’ smarts Tuesday

June 3, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> During my two decades battling in California's ballot initiative process never before have large corporations been poised to gain so much so cleverly as in next Tuesday's election. </p> <p> Industries have long tried to lard ballots...</p>

VC Reporter Endorsements

June 3, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Those opposed to Prop. 17, including groups like Consumer Watchdog, project that the surcharges will leave more motorists, especially low-income residents, driving on the road uninsured. No $250 courtesy discount can compensate for that. The measure is a metaphorical lemon with a flat tire on ballots next week.

Appointments of Federal Watchdogs Suggest More Tough Scrutiny for Insurers

June 1, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Pounded by the Obama administration for raising premiums, health insurers now must reckon with a foursome of longtime industry watchdogs who are helping steer the federal government's effort to overhaul the private insurance market. Earlier in Jay Angoff's career, he worked for Ralph Nader's Congress Watch, where he became friends with Harvey Rosenfield, who founded the California-based advocacy group Consumer Watchdog. Rosenfield describes Angoff as "shrewd, analytical, incisive, politically astute and a detail guy."

Auto Insurance Debate Drives Prop. 17

May 27, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Mercury is the culprit, according to No on Prop. 17 campaigners, led by the Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog. Its director, Doug Heller, says that it’s rarely mentioned that Prop. 17 would give Mercury and other insurers free will to hand down hefty $1,000 surcharges to drivers — four times the savings touted by Prop. 17 supporters.  </p>

Proposition 14, the Open Primary

May 27, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> <strong>What happens to ossified Sacramento if California voters get to shop around?</strong> </p> <p>   </p> <p> Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit consumer-advocacy group that regularly deals with the state Legislature, thinks fear is a good thing. "I believe in the power of fear to get progressive change," says Court. "Right now, there are too many safe seats occupied by unresponsive politicians."  Court, whose outfit has no position on Prop. 14, says, "The more politicians worry at every stage of the election process, the more good it will be for the public." </p>