Insurance

“Health insurance mafia” — Or is it pirates?

June 11, 2009  ·  Judy Dugan

Blogger and multimedia guy Bob Cesca doesn't pull his punches when he talks about how much he hates health insurance companies, especially the one that rhymes with "Screw Costs." If you like his story (below), you'll love this goofy Austin Lounge Lizards cartoon and song about health insurance pirates, titled <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk23AtoTzMM&feature=channel_page">"Go Ahead and Die."</a> It's a couple of years old, yet totally current. <p>   </p>

‘Blue Dogs’ stand in circle, pull ‘trigger’ over health care option

June 11, 2009  ·  Judy Dugan

<p> The 50 or so moderate/conservative House Democrats called Blue Dogs <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/patients/articles/?storyId=27780&topicId=9882">announced last week </a>that they all support the health insurance industry's proposal to essentially kill any option to private health insurance. The Blue Dog "plan" was little more a cut-and-paste of insurance industry desires. But the <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/patients/articles/?storyId=27829&topicId=9882">backlash was fast</a>, and not-so-united Blue Dogs started backing way, way off from the group's position. </p>

Google Receives Federal Request For Book Settlement Info

June 10, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

The U.S. Justice Department is reportedly investigating Google's digital books settlement with publishers, which Google claims will make millions of volumes accessible to all but which has critics crying antitrust issues. Google's books project has run into opposition from a number of groups, including Consumer Watchdog, arguing that it gives the search engine company too much control over content with little oversight.

Private Insurance Companies Push For ‘Individual Mandate’

June 7, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> In a recent letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Jerry Flanagan of the Santa Monica-based advocacy group Consumer Watchdog wrote that adopting an individual mandate without a public alternative would amount to "a bailout for HMOs -- whose greed, waste and indifference to our health have created the current mess."<br /> </p>

TOSback: Keeping tabs on the Web’s fine print

June 5, 2009  ·  John M. Simpson

Among the most frustrating things about online services and Internet companies are the "terms of service" policies governing how the businessses interact with you and use your personal information.<br/> <br/> Internet companies claim...

Insurer pals in Congress “cut and paste” industry demands

June 5, 2009  ·  Judy Dugan

<p> I'd rather trust Grandma's pearls to a guy with a mask and a crowbar than let insurance companies control national health reform. In Friday's New York Times, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/opinion/05krugman.html?_r=1">columnist Paul Krugman</a> distills the case against these bandits. But conservative Democrats are still acting like health insurers are the solution, not the problem. And they're so lazy they can't even write their own ultimatums. </p>

Fighting Healthcare Rescissions

June 5, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<strong>A just-passed bill in Sacramento, and a proposal by California's insurance commissioner, would help end abuses by insurers.</strong><br /> One advocacy group, Consumer Watchdog of Santa Monica, estimates that up to 30% of the people who apply for individual policies get rejected. Cracking down on bad-faith rescissions will help some people maintain their insurance, but others may just find out sooner that they can't get coverage for the illnesses for which they're most at risk, if they can get coverage at all.

Poizner Takes Action Against Arbitrary Health Insurance Cuts – Says Unfair Rescissions Must Stop

June 5, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

"The rules proposed by the Department of Insurance go a long way to protect innocent patients from losing their coverage when they are sick and need it most," says Jerry Flanagan of Consumer Watchdog. "The Schwarzenegger Administration must also follow through with its planned rules applying to HMOs and PPOs, which are separately overseen by the Department of Managed Health Care. Without such rules, health insurers will be able to discriminate against patients on the basis of which agency regulates their insurer.”

Personal responsibility for health insurance but no legal accountability for insurers?

June 4, 2009  ·  Jamie Court

If Americans are going to be personally responsible for purchasing a health insurance policy, what will Congress do to make health insurers legally responsible for how they process claims. Remarkably, all the Congressional outlines of reform legislation leave out the HMO patients' bill of rights measures the same Democrats championed 10 years ago but never succeeded in passing.

Regulation May Bar Insurers From Dropping Policies

June 4, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Proposed state regulations announced Wednesday call on health insurers to provide clearer applications and proactively collect medical information before granting policies. However, the new policies would not affect the 22 million managed-health care policies — typically obtained through employers — that are regulated by the Department of Managed Health Care, said Jerry Flanagan, health advocate for Consumer Watchdog, a Santa Monica-based consumer advocacy group. "The problem is if the Department of Managed Health Care doesn't act, then the insurers can discriminate based on what regulates their policy," Flanagan said. </p>

Health Care Ruling Raises Questions for Other Cases

June 3, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

California's health insurance industry claimed victory and vindication last week when Blue Shield of California won the first ever jury trial in a health insurance rescission lawsuit, brought by an injured policyholder and his wife. Some health care advocates saw the Hailey verdict as a good sign for future lawsuits. "Blue Shield lost by winning here," said Jerry Flanagan, health advocate for the Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog. "Blue Shield said all along that the standard is too high, we can't meet it--and then they did it here."

Google’s Former Policy Exec Faces Objections To Appointment As Deputy CTO

June 3, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<strong>Two consumer groups object to Andrew McLaughlin's potential appointment, saying it would violate President Obama's ethics guidelines.</strong><br /> <br /> Andrew McLaughlin is slated to become the new deputy CTO, under federal CTO Aneesh Chopra, according to a New York Times report citing two unnamed sources. Google has acknowledged McLaughlin's departure, but not his destination. The White House has not yet announced plans to appoint McLaughlin. Nonetheless, the Center for Digital Democracy and Consumer Watchdog on Wednesday asked President Obama in a letter not to complete the rumored pending appointment because doing so would violate the President's ethics guidelines.