Insurance

Upholding of WARF Stem Cell Patent Reversed

May 3, 2010 · Consumer Watchdog

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Board of Appeals and Interference has reversed an earlier decision from the Patent Office's re-examination division that upheld the claims of one of the stem cell lines held by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. John Simpson, Consumer Watchdog's Stem Cell Project director, had a different opinion. "This is a major victory for unfettered scientific research that could lead to cures for some of the most debilitating diseases," Simpson said. The consumer watchdog groups said that under current patent law only one of the three patent rulings could be appealed by the two groups. However, the groups say the latest ruling by the Board of Appeals is a strong decision that could set a precedent leading to the revocation of the other two patents as well.

Wisconsin Loses Round in Stem Cell Patent Battle

May 3, 2010 · Consumer Watchdog

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled Wednesday in favor of the two consumer groups that challenged one of the patents held by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. Two other patents, which also cover discoveries made by UW-Madison scientist James Thomson, were not challenged and are not affected by the decision. Consumer Watchdog in Santa Monica, Calif., and the Public Patent Foundation in New York City argued that Thomson's work should not qualify for patents and that patent enforcement has hindered U.S. stem cell research.

In Sacramento, Videos Provide Politicians On-The-Job Framing

May 2, 2010 · Consumer Watchdog

Political grandstanding comes with the territory in Sacramento. But the line between government service and career advancement is ever blurrier as legislators perform for their own camera crews. Watchdog groups say that practice is legally and ethically questionable. <a href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode%3Fsection=gov%26group=08001-09000%26file=8310-8317">State law</a> strictly forbids the 'use of public resources for a campaign activity.' "Taxpayers should not pay for campaigns," said Doug Heller, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, a Santa Monica-based nonprofit. "It's not the job of the Legislature to make politicians look good."

WellPoint Cancels Premium Hikes After Analysis Found It ‘Overstated Future Medical Costs To Justify Increases’

April 30, 2010 · Consumer Watchdog

Consumer Watchdog has also <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/patients/articles/?storyId=34012">put out a release</a> urging Congressional investigators to look into “whether Anthem Blue Cross executives made misrepresentations to Congress in testimony claiming the company’s rate increase was actuarially sound,” arguing that if Americans are required to purchase coverage, insurance companies should be required to show that the premiums they charge are reasonable.

If Proposition 17 Passes, Who Would Qualify for the New Discount?

April 29, 2010 · Consumer Watchdog

<a href="../../../">Consumer Watchdog’s</a> Harvey Rosenfield, a leading opponent of Proposition 17 (not surprisingly, given that he wrote Proposition 103), said the only logical interpretation of the “deemed to exist” clause is that a driver must have five years of nearly uninterrupted coverage before becoming eligible for the continuity discount. But what about new drivers who’ve spent four years or less behind the wheel? You wouldn’t say their coverage “lapsed” before they started driving, would you?

Regulator Gives Insurers Good News

April 28, 2010 · Consumer Watchdog

Initial Study Shows Health Overhaul Won't Have the Profit Impact They Feared Consumer Watchdog, an advocacy group, is pushing to keep "medical management" expenses as administrative because insurers often use "medical management" personnel to deny payment for expensive medical services, said the group's Jerry Flanagan.

Mercury’s Self-Serving Insurance Initiative

April 27, 2010 · Consumer Watchdog

Lawyer Harvey Rosenfield, who wrote Proposition 103 and founded the Consumer Watchdog advocacy group, has videotaped a test case where he filled out insurance applications via computer, pretending to be a Nevada resident applying for Mercury coverage under that state’s laws, which allow a penalty for letting insurance lapse. Listing qualifications identical in every way except that one “applicant” had allowed his insurance policy to expire, Rosenfield found the rate 73 percent higher.

No on 17

April 25, 2010 · Consumer Watchdog

<h3>If it sounds too good to be true, it is — yet again</h3> <div> The state should be doing more to help uninsured drivers obtain coverage, not laying more traps to ensure they stay away. This is why so many consumer organizations across the state, including Consumers Union and Consumer Watchdog, are opposed to Proposition 17. The California Community College trustees also recently came out in opposition, noting the measure’s “disproportionate impact” on low-income Californians, including many community college students. </div>

Industry’s Prop. 17 Won’t Help Drivers

April 24, 2010 · Consumer Watchdog

Mercury Insurance sells Proposition 17 as benefiting consumers, but it’s easy to see through the claim. Look at who’s opposing the proposition and who’s backing it. Serious consumer protection groups such as Consumers Union and Consumer Watchdog are absolutely against Proposition 17. So is U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, the former insurance commissioner, who is a longtime advocate of insurance customers’ rights.

Feds Must Watch for Unhealthy Insurance Moves

April 23, 2010 · Consumer Watchdog

Hold onto your health plan. In an effort to get ahead of the new restrictions and regulations of health care reform, insurers are taking steps to increase their profits now. "These are things we're going to see fairly quickly and they will set a tone and a course for the health reform," said Judy Dugan, research director of the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog. "Even though reform has already been passed, the health care industry is lobbying hard to get their own definitions passed into code, and to have a say in writing many of the other regulations. The only answer for consumers is that the Department of Health and Human Services has to insist on the most expansive definition of the law."

The Health Premiums Puzzle

April 23, 2010 · Consumer Watchdog

(<a href="http://www.onpointradio.org/2010/04/the-health-premiums-puzzle">Click here to listen to the audio broadcast of this program</a>.) In March, President Obama signed health care reform into law. But skyrocketing insurance premiums are still a concern. For now, regulation of rates is left chiefly to the states. On Tuesday, Senate Democrats proposed a plan for the Federal government to step in when states can’t – or won’t – act to rein in hikes.

Finance: Consumer, State Groups Oppose Senate Insurance Provisions

April 21, 2010 · Consumer Watchdog

Consumer groups and state insurance commissioners are fighting broad powers granted to the Treasury Department in the Senate's financial regulatory bill to negotiate international insurance agreements they argue could undermine consumer protections. "The broad concern we have as consumer organizations is that somehow, incongruously, a measure that would undermine state insurance commissioners has somehow been incorporated into what is Congress' re-regulation of the financial sector," said Carmen Balber, Washington director of Consumer Watchdog. "And we think it is completely out of place."

Prop 103 California Insurance Reform

Law Signed to Give California Consumers New Paths to Keep Home Insurance

Homeowners Dropped by Insurers