Insurance

Proposals Clash On States’ Role In Health Plans

January 14, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Should someone in Idaho or Nevada have significantly different health care coverage from someone in Massachusetts? That, essentially, is one of the biggest questions Congress will be wrestling with as it tries to meld House and Senate bills into a single law to revamp the nation’s health care system. Even some consumer advocates agree that the states should continue to serve as insurance regulators, even if the federal government sets the ground rules. “You always want the states to be the first responder,” said Jerry Flanagan, a health care advocate for Consumer Watchdog in California. </p>

U.S. State Officials, Advocates: Health Reform Could Undermine Authority

January 11, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Some advocates and officials across the political spectrum said they believe federal health care reform could undermine states' rights and responsibilities -- a mutual conclusion reached from different perspectives. The Senate bill includes state-based insurance exchanges and an opt-out provision for states. It specifies certain roles for state regulators and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in developing rules and regulations. According to Consumer Watchdog, 17 states representing 54% of the U.S. population could be the most strongly affected. Those states have more than 50 health benefit mandates. </p>

Mandatory Purchase Of Health Insurance Becomes An Issue

January 11, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

"Our work now is to make this bill, in these final throes, as good as possible," said Jerry Flanagan of Consumer Watchdog, a left-leaning advocacy group. "If the public option is off the table, you have to have strict regulations on what health insurance companies can charge – or the individual mandate becomes a profit machine for the industry," Flanagan said. 

California Insurers Lose Bid To Block Payments To Advocates

January 8, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

LOS ANGELES, CA -- A California appeals court upheld changes to state insurance regulations that clarified that insurers must pay the cost of challenges to rates deemed excessive. The appellate panel rejected a challenge from the Association of California Insurance Companies and others. Hoping to discourage consumers from challenging rate applications, insurance companies argued that they were not required to pay the legal costs if they withdrew or settled challenges to rate applications before a formal hearing on their application was called, Pam Pressley, Consumer Watchdog's litigation director, said in a statement.  The revised regulation stemmed from a 2005 court case that said a consumer group was not entitled to reimbursement because there was no hearing, Sorich said.

Calif. Court Says Insurers Must Pay Consumer Advocate Fees

January 6, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

A California appeals court ruled that the state’s insurers must compensate consumer advocacy groups when they take action to have a carrier’s rates rolled back, even when a settlement is reached without a hearing. For consumer groups, the ruling was viewed as a major triumph. “This important victory ensures that California motorists, homeowners and businesses will pay the lowest insurance premiums possible,” said Consumer Watchdog’s litigation director, Pam Pressley, in a statement. “Like many other provisions of Proposition 103 that the insurance industry has tried to attack with lawsuits, this one has helped save Californians billions of dollars. Companies can only be made to obey the law when the public can challenge insurers’ attempts to illegally hike rates and actively participate in the rate review and approval process as Prop 103 requires,” said Ms. Pressley.

Listen to the Insiders

January 5, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> If our semi-reformed health care system is going to stay in the hands of private, largely for-profit insurance companies, we're all going to need the help of insiders--the people who know the inner workings of the health insurance industry. For instance, former corporate insurance adviser Richard Eskow has <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/im-the-guy-who-cut-your-h_b_410999.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a Huffington Post piece today</a> that's an eye-opener on the "give them less and make them think it's more" tactics used by both employers and health insurers. </p>

Insurance-Rate-Hike Foes Can Recoup Legal Fees

January 5, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Consumer groups that successfully challenge insurance rate increases can recoup their legal fees from the insurers, even when the companies drop their requests or agree to a compromise, a state appeals court has ruled.  The author of the ballot measure said the ruling was an important victory for consumer advocates and would encourage them to hire experts who could take on insurance company witnesses. "The insurance industry was attempting to escape accountability when they ask for permission to raise rates," Harvey Rosenfield, founder of an organization called Consumer Watchdog, said Monday. "If they can prevent consumer groups from scrutinizing rates, they're more able to overcharge."<br />

Mercury Is Poison

January 4, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Now that we’re about to entrust health reform to the tender mercies of the insurance industry, it’s sobering to see the skullduggery that one of California’s largest auto insurers is trying to pull on the state’s drivers. If you want a preview of what health insurers may do to premiums if they’re forced to cover people with pre-existing medical conditions, <a href="http://stopthesurcharge.org/2009/12/17/mercury-insurance-submits-sigs-to-raise-car-insurance-rates/">have a look at what Mercury Insurance</a> wants to do to drivers with pre-existing driving conditions. 

The massive ponzi scheme at Goldman Sachs

December 31, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> In what might as well be called a perfect ending to the year - and maybe a reasonable summation of the decade - <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/81465.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">McClatchy is reporting</a> on newly revealed documents from Goldman Sachs that point to a massive ponzi scheme by the Wall Street titan. (Credit to <a href="http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/goldman_sachs_duped_investors_investigation_finds_20091230/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Truthdig</a> for putting it on our radar).  </p>

What’s more dangerous: a fetus or a gun?

December 31, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Those of us who spend a lot of time watching insurance companies are worried about a seemingly innocuous provision in the Senate health reform bill: Insurance companies and employers could provide up to a 50% "wellness incentive" in the major health reform bill. My thought: Who is it that insurance companies want to discourage from buying their policies? </p>

It’s Not Too Late To Mend The Ailing Health Care Bill

December 29, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Consumer Watchdog, an organization fighting for more regulation, <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/politicians/articles/?storyId=32001">notes that a loophole in the Senate bill</a> would give leeway to the big insurers in raising rates. The legislation does this by permitting the companies to impose so-called reasonable rate increases. Jerry Flanagan of Consumer Watchdog warned that most Americans would be required “to buy health insurance without adequate constraints on what insurers can charge for coverage.”

State Voters Can Expect A Packed Ballot

December 27, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<b>Signatures Are Being Collected For More Than 50 Initiatives, Including A Potential Labor-Business Battle.</b><br><br> SACRAMENTO, CA -- With heated contests looming for U.S. Senate, governor and other statewide posts, 2010 stands to be a blockbuster year in California politics. The state could also see a bumper crop of ballot measures.