Insurance

Californians: Urge Gov. Schwarzenegger to extend innovative Low-Cost Auto Insurance Program (UPDATE)

October 1, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Please <a href="http://gov.ca.gov/interact" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contact Governor Schwarzenegger</a> and urge him to sign AB 725 (Jones), which would extend California's Low-Cost Automobile Insurance Program through 2015.   </p>

Everything You Need To Know About The Baucus Bill In Two Minutes

September 29, 2009  ·  Jerry Flanagan

It's important to understand what a bill without that public option would actually do. Brave New Films got <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj6GyFEA3FI">Jerry Flanagan of Consumer Watchdog to explain</a> the elements of Baucus-care without a public option, and it's not a pretty picture.

Opinion: Insurance Rules Miss An Environmental Opportunity

September 29, 2009  ·  Carmen Balber

<p> Our cars have improved since the 1960s, but how we pay for the miles we drive hasn't. Drivers can pay as much for auto insurance whether they drive five miles a month or five hundred. Unfortunately for California drivers, regulations by California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner that became law this past Sunday do nothing to protect drivers from overpaying for auto insurance or protect the environment. </p>

Clipping coupons? Watch out for higher credit card rates

September 29, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> You may have seen the <a href="http://cbs4.com/business/credit.credit.card.2.1213759.html">reports today</a> about Kevin Johnson, whose credit card company lowered his credit line by $6,200 based in part on where he shops. Charging people more based on where they shop is just the kind of sketchy behavior financial regulators should be investigating... </p>

Health Overhaul Bills Await Governor

September 28, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> <strong>WOMEN'S POLICY COSTS, COVERAGE WOULD BE AFFECTED</strong><br /> </p> <p> Without clear standards, the law in California isn't strong enough to halt the practice of rescinding health insurance, said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog. Court said fines that state officials ordered companies to pay for rescissions were paltry -- $1 million for Blue Cross -- and that insurers are offering skimpy reimbursement. Consumer Watchdog tracked the case of Fort Bragg resident Lee Rider, for example, who was saddled with $92,000 in medical bills when his policy was canceled after his insurer said he failed to disclose that a doctor had diagnosed him with neck strain. The insurer offered him $5,000 to close his case. He turned it down, and the matter is in arbitration. </p>

65% want public health option — Can lobbyists still kill it?

September 25, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Message to fence-sitters in Washington: A <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2009/09/25/us/politics/25pollgrx.html">major national poll</a> today from CBS and the New York Times finds that 65% of Americans still want a public insurance option as a voluntary alternative to private insurance. In the face of that desire for a public option, its top opponents in Congress let the veil slip this week about about the lobbyists they're answering to. Time for fence-sitters to quit dithering and say whose side they're on. </p>

Reform Plans Not Expected To Halt Soaring Premiums

September 24, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<strong>The healthcare bills in Congress do not call for limits on prices, raising fears that costs will continue to grow.</strong><br /> <br /> WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In the drive to bring health coverage to almost every American, lawmakers have largely rejected restrictions on how much insurers can charge, sparking fears that consumers will continue to face the skyrocketing premium increases of recent years. nThe legislators' reluctance to control premium costs comes despite the fact that they intend to require virtually all Americans to get health insurance, an unprecedented mandate -- long sought by insurance companies -- that would mark the first time the federal government has compelled consumers to buy a single industry's product, effectively creating a captive market. "If the government is going to require people to buy an insurance policy, they have to guarantee it is affordable," said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog. "It is unconscionable not to."

Would someone please make Congress watch Will Ferrell?

September 24, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> No wonder Congress wasn't on the ball about the whole prisoner-torture thing. I watch a lot of Congressional hearings, but today's Senate Finance Committee on health reform was more than usually like a slow fingernail-pullng. What I heard was hours of political preening, scoring points to use against "big government" in next year's election. </p>

Senate health amendment follies

September 22, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

A lot of the public debate over the latest health reform proposal, in the Senate Finance Committee, is just noise--political gotcha statements for use in the next election campaign. But we read hundreds of proposed amendment and boiled them down to the key issues at stake. Here are the ones that matter to your wallet and your health.

Does Microhoo Raise Antitrust Issues For Consortium?

September 22, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

The impact of the proposed merger of Microsoft and Yahoo's search platforms raises "significant antitrust concerns" that include the impact on the Yahoo Newspaper Consortium, four groups argue in a letter Monday to the U.S. Justice Department Antitrust Division. "How will the transaction impact the operation of Yahoo's Newspaper Consortium, which now serves as a revenue source for the beleaguered newspaper industry?," asks the letter to Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney from the four groups: the Center for Digital Democracy, Consumer Action, Consumer Watchdog and U.S. PIRG (Public Interest Research Group).

Public-Option Protesters Target Anthem

September 22, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

WOODLAND HILLS, CA -- Activists and customers protested Tuesday at Anthem Blue Cross offices in Woodland Hills and nationwide to criticize the company's role in the national health care debate. "While Congress is debating the health care issue, we want Americans to stand up and show their support and debate all the issues," said Jerry Flanagan, policy director for Consumer Watchdog, who also was at the Woodland Hills protest.

Insurance Mandates Don’t Work

September 22, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

A cornerstone of President Obama's health-care plan is, as he said in his <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/09/AR2009090901771.html">speech</a> to Congress, "individuals will be required to carry basic insurance, just like most states require you to carry auto insurance." But the tarnished history of such laws shows that making insurance mandatory, and even making it more affordable, does not compel the uninsured to buy it.