Insurance

Consumer Watchdog challenging earthquake insurance rate hike by GeoVera

January 8, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

CW attorney Todd Foreman is in San Francisco this week trying to block a proposed earthquake insurance rate hike by GeoVera Insurance.  The company wants to raise rates by about 6 percent.  But when we crunched the numbers, that the...

Text of Proposition 103

January 1, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<!-- excerpt --> <p> The full text, with amendments, of California's 1988 historic insurance reform law. </p>

Online consumer advocate resolves disputes

December 29, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<div class="postDetail"> <p style="font-size: 11px"> <span style="font-weight: bold">Contra Costa Times (California)</span><br/> December 29, 2007 </p> <p style="font-size: 10px"> by Janis Mara STAFF WRITER </p> <h2>Online...</h2> </div>

Online Consumer Advocate Resolves Disputes;

December 29, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

"This is fascinating. It's like having a John Edwards-style tort lawyer at a cut rate for smaller consumer complaints," said Judy Dugan, research director for Santa Monica consumer advocacy group, the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.

Senator Taps Unions, Firms to Aid Charity

December 22, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Mark Ridley-Thomas has raised $200,000 this year for a nonprofit he founded. The timing troubles watchdogs. </p> <p> As he vies for a seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas has tapped...</p>

The politics of the health care vote

December 20, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Capitol Weekly</p> <p>Jerry Flanagan of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights called the $25 million "slush-fund money to do the work the union should be doing themselves." Flanagan said these amendments were "stuck in at the last moment and hidden in the fine print of the bill."</p>

Do Austrian children play the game Telephone?

December 20, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Honest disclosure from Governor Schwarzenegger about who has been funding his luxury lifestyle as celebrity governor is long overdue.<br/> <br/> Admissions to the ...

Núñez sweetens deal for unions

December 20, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Los Angeles Times</p> <p>"We were waiting for the payoff to show up," said Jerry Flanagan, healthcare policy director for the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a Santa Monica-based nonprofit that believes the Núñez plan will be too expensive for some consumers. "It's really remarkable, in terms of the express aiming of this money toward two particular unions."</p>

Lisa Poplaski – Pittsfield, Massachusetts

December 18, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Mandatory Private Insurance Is Unaffordable</h3>

Watchdog Wants Spending on Travel, Meals, Gifts Justified

December 15, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<!-- content --> <p> <cite></cite>Sacramento, CA -- California's elections watchdog wants assurances that politicians aren't tapping campaign funds to pay for personal travel, meals and gifts. </p> <p> The Fair Political Practices...</p>

Poizner: Blue Shield canceled policies;

December 14, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>State insurance chief plans to pursue a $12.6 million fine for dropping patients.</h3><p class="source">Sacramento Bee (California)</p> <p>Consumer advocates accused Blue Shield of downplaying the issue and called for tougher regulations on health insurers. "All big insurers are making money for themselves by denying people coverage," said Jerry Flanagan of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. "Blue Shield refuses to acknowledge that they have done anything wrong."</p>

Health Insurance Issue Sparks Fight Among Democrats, Bogs Down Schwarzenegger

December 13, 2007  ·  Carmen Balber

<p class="source">The New York Sun</p> <p>The issue of requiring individuals to purchase health insurance is triggering an escalating fight between the top contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination even as the same question is bogging down Governor Schwarzenegger's plan to make sure all Californians are insured. "It's all connected and the connection here is a push for an individual mandate," a critic of Mr. Schwarzenegger's proposal, Carmen Balber of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, said. "If you're not limiting what private insurers can charge, then that is, in the end, an unlimited burden on individuals," Ms. Balber said.</p>