Insurance

Consumer Watchdog Wants Congress To Add Rate Regulation To Health Care Law

April 8, 2010  ·  Carmen Balber

The presidential signature on the health care reform bill doesn’t mean the battle’s over. A consumer group is calling on Congress and President Obama to fix what it calls “dangerous loopholes in the new law.”  The number one loophole, says Carmen Balber of Consumer Watchdog, is the lack of cost controls in the new health insurance law.  She says the legislation "will require most Americans to purchase private insurance, but doesn’t do enough to limit what health insurers can charge consumers for that coverage."

Editorial: Special-Interest Prop. 17 Won’t Benefit Drivers

April 5, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

The competition is on this year to see which company — Mercury Insurance or PG&E — is responsible for the worst abuse of California’s initiative process. PG&E’s $28 million assault on potential competition through Proposition 16 will be tough to top, but Mercury Insurance is doing its best. It’s pumping $3.5 million into the campaign to convince voters that Proposition 17’s change in insurance regulation is in their best interests. Don’t believe it. This is yet another in a long line of direct attacks on Proposition 103, which California voters passed in 1988 to rein in abuses of the insurance industry. It professes to be in consumers’ interest, but it is anything but. Vote no in the June 8 election.

Prop 17 Opponents Use Fools Day Spoof to Mock Mercury Insurance, Industry-Funded Initiative

April 4, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Using April Fool’s Day to its full political advantage, the Consumer Watchdog-funded StopProp17.org (a Campaign for Consumer Rights effort) has launched a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwkkN40fO_Y&feature=player_embedded">clever, tongue-in-cheek video</a> to mock the premise and talking points of the Mercury auto insurer’s ballot initiative.

Mass. Rebuffs Most Health Care Rate Hikes

April 2, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

The Massachusetts Division of Insurance has rejected 235 of 274 rate increases proposed by health insurers for small groups. Carmen Balber, Washington director of Consumer Watchdog, said, “Massachusetts has quickly come to realize that when the government requires everyone to purchase a health insurance policy or face tax fines, it must also exercise real oversight of what health insurers can charge.”

Consumer Group Expects New Mercury Ad; Tries to Pre-empt with Spoof Video

April 1, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

The Campaign for Consumer Rights is hearing through its own sources that Mercury Insurance is poised to begin its ad campaign for Prop. 17, the ballot measure that would allow drivers to carry their history of continuous coverage to new insurance companies but would result in increases in some drivers policies.

Drugs Savings In The Cards

March 29, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Even though discount drug cards are free, consumers still have to do some research before choosing a card, said John Simpson, consumer advocate with Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog.  "(Consumers) have to take the time to shop around and see what the best deal would be for them," Simpson said. Before selecting a card, make sure that it provides discounts on the drugs that you take, he said. "In all of these cases, the particular deal that the provider of the card has negotiated with the particular drug company can be different," he said. "Most (cards) have a Web site where you can go online and you can check the drugs you know you are using, which are the cheapest. You've got to do some research. Some of them can get better deals."

Insurers say ‘No, we won’t’ (cover sick children)

March 29, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Boy, that was fast. The ink was hardly dry on the health reform law when the insurance industry started saying that no matter what Congress thought and no matter what President Obama said, they didn't have to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/29/health/policy/29health.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y">let sick children have health coverage</a> right away. Clearly, the insurance industry just can't stop manipulating the fine print and denying care, even when it's a battle against babies. </p>

Sen. Corker’s time = Wall Street $$

March 26, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Pay to play policymaking is rarely spelled out as clearly in public as it was in a just-released fundraising email sent to financial industry lobbyists on behalf of Senator Corker, a key Republican negotiator on finanicial reform...

A summary of the health care change we got

March 26, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> With the health care reform overhaul near complete, here's a thumb-nail summary of the combined provisons in the reconciliation bill HR 4872 and and the new health care law <span class="nobreak"></span> it amends, prepared by<a href="http://www.cq.com/"> CQ </a>(subscription wall)... </p>

AM Capitol Alert: Chicken Suits and Spending Cuts

March 24, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Proposition 17 is up for a public airing at a joint hearing of the Assembly Insurance Committee and the Senate Banking, Finance and Insurance Committee. That would be the Mercury Insurance -funded ballot measure that would allow insurers to take a motorist's coverage history into greater consideration when determining rates. Opponents, led by Consumer Watchdog founder Harvey Rosenfield, point out that the change would also allow companies to raise rates for drivers who experienced a lapse in coverage. In the latest crossfire, consumer advocates plan to hold a pre-hearing press conference with a man in a chicken suit to call attention to the fact that Mercury President George Joseph isn't expected to show up in person to back the ballot measure his company is bankrolling. </p>

Proponent Of Prop 17 Accused Of “Chickening Out”

March 24, 2010  ·  Harvey Rosenfield

Harvey Rosenfield is the founder of Consumer Watchdog and the lead opponent of Proposition 17. Rosenfield says if voters pass it, insurance companies will be able to add a surcharge to policies of new or former customers who have no existing policy. Rosenfield has called for Mercury Insurance founder George Joseph to appear before the committee. Joseph declined, so Rosenfield brought a man in a chicken costume in his place.

A Healthy Start… With Loopholes

March 24, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Conceived several years ago to save money, it has turned into a big money maker for the insurance business. Medicare Advantage offers some policies with more benefits and lower co-payments than Medicare. But members may have a limited choice of doctors or hospitals. “What Medicare Advantage patients get is very slick marketing, bells and whistles like ‘free gym membership’—and tough HMO-style restrictions on doctors and treatment if they happen to fall seriously ill,” said Judy Dugan of Consumer Watchdog.