Insurance

Your health reform: Powered by biofuels?

November 4, 2009 · Consumer Watchdog

A <a href="http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2009/November/04/Rules-Committee-Dingell-Amendment.aspx">final batch of amendments </a>to the big House of Representatives health reform bill pokes a few sharp sticks at insurance companies. It also changes the tax law on production of biofuels. Say again? For me, it's a hallelujah moment--health policy and energy policy in the same bill! But it's still completely unrelated to the health bill--or maybe not. Maybe it all comes back to getting the conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats on board.

SF Chronicle calls on AG Brown to clear the air about secret tape recordings

November 4, 2009 · Consumer Watchdog

The San Francisco Chronicle urged Cal. Attorney General Jerry Brown to "clear the air" today <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/03/ED181AE2SP.DTL">in an editorial</a> about his now-resigned spokesman's secret tape recording of conversations with reporters.

Jerry Brown’s Aide Quits Over Taped Calls

November 3, 2009 · Consumer Watchdog

A spokesman for Attorney General Jerry Brown who admitted last week that he had secretly recorded telephone conversations with journalists, including a reporter for The Chronicle, resigned Monday. Scott Gerber was placed on administrative leave Friday after telling Chronicle political writer Carla Marinucci that he had recorded her interview Wednesday with two attorneys in Brown's office without seeking her permission.Gerber admitted taping the conversation with Marinucci after the newspaper published a story about consumer activist Harvey Rosenfield charged that Brown changed the wording of the summary of a proposed ballot measure on car insurance after pressure from Mercury General, one of the state's largest insurers and a Brown campaign donor.

Health-Care Insurance Cheaper In The Suburbs

November 2, 2009 · Consumer Watchdog

Firm's Data Show The Farther You live From Downtown Chicago, The Less Expensive Your Monthly Coverage. Judy Dugan, research director for Consumer Watchdog, a Santa Monica-based public policy advocacy group, said that while she couldn't reach specific conclusions without the underlying data, the findings point out that today's individual-coverage insurance market "is the Wild West" partly because each person is buying customized coverage that is largely unregulated. Dugan speculated that many insurance companies don't want to do business in an urban area because "they like a mommy and a daddy and three healthy kids" as clients. "It's one reason we need health-care reform -- to get rid of this kind of weird disparity in pricing," Dugan said.

California Consumer Advocate Slams Brown Over Taping Of Phone Calls

November 1, 2009 · Consumer Watchdog

Ties To Insurance Company Questioned With the sudden announcement that San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom -- the rival to Attorney General Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown for the Democratic nomination for Governor of California in 2010 -- was dropping out of the race, things might seem pretty smooth for the former governor. But Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog is taking Brown to task for changing the language of a ballot initiative designed to protect consumers from auto insurance hikes, allegedly at the behest of campaign donor Mercury Insurance.

For Those Denied Insurance Because Of Pre-existing Conditions, Health Reform Would Bring Major Change

October 31, 2009 · Consumer Watchdog

AG’s office secretly taped conversation with reporter on Mercury initiative

October 31, 2009 · Consumer Watchdog

I can't believe this! Two days ago, I told you about how Attorney General Jerry Brown rewrote the official summary of a ballot measure sponsored by Mercury Insurance Company to omit the fact that it will raise auto insurance premiums. This morning The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Brown's spokesman secretly taped a conversation with reporter Carla Marinucci in an effort to keep a story about Brown's action out of the newspaper.

Brown Under Fire For ‘Gift’ To Mercury Insurance

October 30, 2009 · Consumer Watchdog

SACRAMENTO, CA — Attorney General Jerry Brown is facing accusations that he cleared the way for a ballot measure summary that was favorable to an insurance company that has contributed to his campaign coffers. "If it was an insurance company trying to get us to ask them to raise their rates, this is exactly what they'd want," said Harvey Rosenfield, founder of Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog and author of the 1988 voter-approved Proposition 103, the measure that restricts the insurance industry's ability to raise rates. "It's a massive gift to Mercury. The attorney general needs to explain why this changed and why it's no longer important to tell the public about the consequences of this initiative." Rosenfield has filed a Public Records Act request to gain access to all communications between the attorney general's office and Mercury. Meanwhile, the attorney general's office admitted that it recorded the conversations with journalists inquiring about the ballot measure issue.

Jerry Brown’s Office Taped Reporters’ Calls

October 30, 2009 · Harvey Rosenfield

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- A spokesman for Attorney General Jerry Brown acknowledged Thursday that he taped a phone conversation with a reporter for The Chronicle this week without disclosing the fact or asking permission - and admitted he has taped conversations with other news reporters. Scott Gerber, spokesman for Brown's office, made the admission after the publication of a story in the newspaper that detailed consumer activist Harvey Rosenfield's criticisms of revisions the attorney general made to the summary of a ballot measure that deals with car insurance rates.

Jerry Brown Accused Of Caving In To Donor

October 30, 2009 · Harvey Rosenfield

SACRAMENTO, CA -- A leading California consumer advocate charged Wednesday that Attorney General Jerry Brown caved to pressure from a powerful insurance company - and campaign donor - when he reworked the summary of a ballot measure to omit mention that it could boost premiums for thousands of drivers. Harvey Rosenfield, founder of Consumer Watchdog.org of Santa Monica and author of Proposition 103, the landmark measure protecting insurance consumers that voters approved in 1988, said Brown's office engaged in "shameful" behavior by rewriting the measure, which was backed by Mercury General.

Shame on Jerry Brown

October 28, 2009 · Consumer Watchdog

Our Attorney General is charged with telling the truth when he prepares the official title and summary for proposed ballot initiatives. Jerry Brown did that two months ago when, in accordance with previous legal rulings, he described a measure backed by Mercury Insurance as allowing insurers to raise or lower premiums based on whether a driver had a lapse in insurance coverage.

More Details On Federal Insurance Office Legislation

October 27, 2009 · Consumer Watchdog

"We are at a loss to understand why you have proposed a measure to deregulate the insurance industry by preempting state laws as part of the financial re-regulation package," Consumer Watchdog officials said. "Each version of the bill would restrict the ability of state lawmakers and regulators to protect insurance consumers by granting the Treasury Department and a new Federal Insurance Office the authority to preempt state laws and regulations on prudential matters on behalf of foreign insurance firms. This proposal is even more perplexing in light of the strong fight, on the part of both the administration and majority members of the Financial Services Committee, to preserve states’ ability to protect their citizens during the debate over the Consumer Financial Protection Agency," the letter continued.

Prop 103 California Insurance Reform

New Bill Requires Insurance Companies to Offer and Renew Insurance Coverage for Fire-Safe Homes

Homeowners Dropped by Insurers