Insurance

How Hillary Won Over the Health-Care Industry

September 17, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>She was persona-non-grata in the early 1990s, when the then-first lady's dramatic health-care reform package went down. These days Hillary Clinton is winning raves among health-care-industry groups -- and attracting their campaign dollars.</h3><p class="source">Newsweek</p> <p>"There's nobody in this race with her knowledge to make health care available to every American at a cheaper cost, but it would take going after the insurance industry that's funding her candidacy," say Jamie Court, president of ConsumerWatchdog.org. "I don't know if there was a smoky back room, but her positions are certainly not threatening her cash stream, and their cash stream is helping her maintain her position as a front runner. In politics there aren't too many coincidences."</p>

Sen. Clinton’s health-care plan would require all to buy coverage

September 17, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">CBS MarketWatch.com</p> <p>Clinton's plan doesn't go far enough in reining in insurers' power, said Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a consumer advocacy group in Santa Monica, California. "Sen. Clinton's plan is a declaration of war on middle-class families who cannot afford $12,000 a year for a health insurance policy because the Clinton plan doesn't cap premiums or regulate them," Court said in a statement. "The only reason to force Americans to buy health insurance is to bail out an industry that's failed to make its products attractive enough to the market."</p>

California Stem Cell Agency Swipes Key Australian Researcher as New President

September 17, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">WIRED Blog</p> <p>John M. Simpson, a sometime critic of CIRM and longtime observer of the agency, said in an interview that he had the "highest regard" for Trounson. The Australian can "make a major contribution to CIRM, California and stem cell research in general as president, so long as he never forgets his responsibility and accountability as a public official to the citizens of California," Simpson said.</p>

FTC official apologizes for hot fuel miscalculation

September 12, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The Kansas City Star (Missouri)</p> <p>Although the FTC has promised to take another look at the hot fuel issue, some consumer groups would prefer that it now recuse itself. Judy Dugan, research director for The Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights, said the initial letter sent by FTC was so blatantly political that the federal agency has lost its credibility, especially since it made such a serious error about hot fuel's impact. "This should remove the FTC from any authority to comment on the hot-fuel issue," Dugan said.</p>

Insurers back new deal for quake fund;

September 6, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Under pressure, they raise their financial support, eliminating a need to hike premiums for state homeowners.</h3><p class="source">Los Angeles Times</p> <p>Instead of cutting insurers' obligations by $1 billion, the proposal "lessens their risks by about $900 million and makes it less likely for them to ever have to pay claims," said Douglas Heller, executive director of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica. "The proposal today is not geared toward stabilizing the CEA or making policies more affordable. The only way to do that is to maintain the current system."</p>

Corporate leaders’ compensation can include many extras that don’t count as income — Do perks really work?

September 2, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Ventura County Star (California)</p> <p>Carmen Balber, consumer advocate with the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica, said the perk system in general is "over the top." There are examples of perks that benefit all employees, such as a company gym open to everyone, she said. But she argued that other extras, such as club memberships for the CEO, don't help the company's bottom line. "Rather than giving a CEO a salary, then adding on dry cleaning, a chauffeur, golf clubs... it makes sense to pay the executive what you think they are worth and have them handle the extras," she said.</p>

Stem cell patent fight gets personal: Challenge is ‘demeaning,’ foundation head declares

September 2, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin)</p> <p>The groups challenging the patents are concerned that WARF's licensing policies are squelching embryonic stem cell research, said John M. Simpson, stem cell project director at the Santa Monica consumer watchdog group. Thomson's work is important, but the patents "overreached," he said. "I don't see where there's any reason for embarrassment whatsoever in raising a question about the validity of a patent that was being asserted in a way that virtually everyone else in the field believed was detrimental to stem-cell research," Simpson said.</p>

Allstate Rebuts Stinging Criticism

September 1, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Claims Magazine</p> <p>Allstate also has been recently targeted by public interest law firm Public Justice and consumer rights group Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights to prevent the company from sealing court records in the case Weiss v. Allstate, which was settled after Weiss was awarded $2.8 million in a bad-faith ruling. The two groups say that the documents reveal claim practices and policies the company used to shortchange homeowners after Hurricane Katrina.</p>

Bill to lower insurance industry support for earthquake coverage

August 31, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Associated Press</p> <p>"The chief policy objective should not be, 'What legislation does the industry support?'" Doug Heller, executive director of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a Santa Monica-based consumer group, told the committee. "The only question (should be), 'What makes the CEA more stable and CEA policies more affordable?' This proposal goes in the opposite direction."</p>

Rules against health plan cancellations are delayed;

August 29, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>A state agency drafting the regulations says the variety of policies is slowing the process.</h3><p class="source">Los Angeles Times</p> <p>Her comments came after a letter from a Santa Monica-based consumer advocacy organization accused the department of dragging its feet. "Patients cannot afford for you to allow another company's rescission policy to leave more Californians uninsured, uninsurable and facing unpayable medical bills," Jerry Flanagan, a patient advocate for the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, wrote in a letter submitted to the department Tuesday. The foundation filed a petition demanding regulations nearly a year ago.</p>

Appellate Ruling Puts Insurers Outside Consumer Remedies Act

August 24, 2007  ·  Harvey Rosenfield

<p class="source">Los Angeles Daily Journal</p> <p>A leading activist says consumer protections for Californians are being eroded in a way not seen since the 1980s, and warns of a potential backlash at the ballot box if the trend continues. The comments, from Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR) founder Harvey Rosenfield, followed an appellate court ruling handed down Wednesday that concluded a landmark consumer protection law does not apply to the sale of insurance in California.</p>

Things you need to know about flood insurance

August 24, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">NBC TV News - Today Show</p> <p>Mr. DOUG HELLER (Consumerwatchdog.org): Insurance companies use a host of different tricks to get people to accept low-ball settlements. They will have an adjuster come in and say that you haven't met the deductible. They will ask people to sign on the dotted line and sign away their rights.</p>