Insurance

State to grill Allstate on premiums;

May 24, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Hearings are ordered that could lead to refunds to homeowners. The company says its rates are fair.</h3><p class="source">Los Angeles Times</p> <p>Douglas Heller, executive director of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica, contends that Proposition 103 puts Poizner on firm ground to call for premium refunds, if merited. "Proposition 103 is very clear that insurance companies can't overcharge customers," he said.</p>

California demands Allstate justify homeowner rates

May 24, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Associated Press</p> <p>Allstate was also criticized Wednesday by the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, which said the company has been overcharging residents by $326 million a year. The group called for a 40 percent reduction in rates under Proposition 103, which it says would result in average individual savings of about $362 a year.</p>

PROPOSITION 103 FINALLY NEAR TO THE END OF A LONG ROAD

May 23, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The Daily News of Los Angeles</p> <p>Over the course of the next year, customers of other companies will see the changes, said Doug Heller, executive director of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. "Sometimes the only thing worse in the delay of justice is to give up the pursuit of it,'' Heller said. "Here we have resolution. Finally the peoples' word will finally take hold. It's taken a darn long time though.''</p>

Insurance companies try to cut losses in wildfire hotspots

May 21, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Associated Press</p> <p>The inspections have angered homeowners and watchdog groups that accuse the companies of trying to cut risk at the expense of customers, even while industry profits soar. The complaints echo concerns raised after Hurricane Katrina, when many insurance companies increased rates or dropped policies along the Gulf Coast. "It certainly isn't fair for these insurers to be dumping these last-minute requirements on homeowners," said Carmen Balber of The Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights.</p>

Quick Route to the Inner Circle

May 17, 2007  ·  Carmen Balber

<font face="verdana,sans-serif" size="2">In my shock at the size of Arnold's latest $250,000 contribution, I misread the name of the donor. Bill Powers, not Bill Gross, was the PIMCO donor noted below. It's still Powers' first...</font>

Lawyers Slam Blue Cross Settlement

May 17, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Los Angeles Daily Journal</p> <p>Jerry Flanagan of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights said, "Blue Cross is now agreeing to live by the letter of the law. "But the fact that they will not reinstate rescinded policies is absolutely reprehensible. Those people are now uninsurable unless the DMHC, as the regulator, requires Blue Cross to reinstate."</p>

Court Rejects Mercury Insurance Overcharge Case Settlement for Second Time

May 17, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">City News Service (Los Angeles, CA)</p> <p>Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Victoria Chaney turned down the proposed deal on Tuesday in part because it would have allowed Mercury Insurance to offer $45 coupons requiring policyholders to buy more insurance from the company instead of refunding the alleged $76 million in overcharges, according to the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.</p>

Democrats prescribe bigger health levy

May 16, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Los Angeles Times</p> <p>"Four million people in a bulk purchasing pool isn't going to drive down premiums," said Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a Santa Monica advocacy group that is pressing for insurance rates to be directly regulated by the state.</p>

California Democrats unveil health plans;

May 16, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>PROPOSED FEE WORRIES BUSINESSES</h3><p class="source">San Jose Mercury News (California)</p> <p>For example, the Democrats assume it would cost $224 a month to insure a person covered by the state insurance pool -- a price significantly lower than the average private health insurance plan. Democrats said the state can use its financial might to leverage lower rates from insurers, but others argue that's naive. The Democratic proposals "overestimate the willingness of insurers to offer lower premiums," said Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, who is calling on the state to regulate health insurance premiums.</p>

Expose state’s stem cell funding to sunlight

May 15, 2007  ·  John M. Simpson

<p class="source">Baltimore Sun (Maryland)</p> <p>Stem cell research is such a potentially contentious field, so fraught with political minefields, that it is imperative the public funding process be completely transparent. For the long-term benefit of the research, every opportunity to build public faith in the Maryland commission's procedures must be taken.</p>

Expose state’s stem cell funding to sunlight

May 15, 2007  ·  John M. Simpson

<p class="source">Baltimore Sun (Maryland)</p> <p>Stem cell research is such a potentially contentious field, so fraught with political minefields, that it is imperative the public funding process be completely transparent. For the long-term benefit of the research, every opportunity to build public faith in the Maryland commission's procedures must be taken.</p>

CONSUMER-DRIVEN PLANS DON’T HAVE SEAL OF APPROVAL UNDER MASS. HEALTH REFORM LAW

May 14, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">BestWire</p> <p>"Some people may be able to afford these plans, but many will be left out in the cold," said Carmen Balber, a consumer advocate with the California-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. With one of the cheapest plans, a 56-year-old would pay $5,600 a year, she said. That person would have to pay 35% coinsurance, she said, noting many of the plans rely heavily on coinsurance.</p>