Insurance

California initiative would limit corporate spending;

October 29, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Corporate contribution limits called ploy, fair</h3><p class="source">Sacramento Bee (California)</p> <p>A recent study by the Foundation for Taxpayer Rights, which supports Proposition 89, said the state's 10 top corporate donors had contributed half of the money raised for measures on the Nov. 7 ballot -- $132 million of $255 million, through Oct. 17.</p>

‘Orgy’ of spending on political ads — $500 million breaks state record

October 27, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE</p> <p>"The amount of money being spent in 2006 blows away every other record," said Carmen Balber, spokeswoman with the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, based in Santa Monica. "We have the most prolific fundraising governor in state history and ballot measures that are attracting record amounts of spending. "It's a half billion dollars, and most of it is being spent to protect the status quo," she said.</p>

State planning to fire health care official;

October 27, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>He worked on OK for acquisition by group he invested in</h3><p class="source">THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE</p> <p>Jerry Flanagan, of the Foundation for Taxpayers and Consumer Rights, called on the state auditor to review the UnitedHealth-PacifiCare merger in light of the conflict-of-interest charge. "What this means is that it (the department's review) was a sham and the outcome had been decided before," he said.</p>

Blue Cross settles lawsuits;

October 19, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Patients claimed they were dumped by their insurer</h3><p class="source">THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE</p> <p>Consumer advocates said settlements and fines don't go far enough. "Blue Cross settling these 70 lawsuits doesn't protect tens and thousands of Californians at risk," said Jerry Flanagan of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. "The only way to do this is for the regulators to establish new rules."</p>

Kaiser Told to Reinstate Coverage;

October 19, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Regulators' action in a kidney patient's case comes as scrutiny over cancellations grows.</h3><p class="source">The Los Angeles Times</p> <p>Consumer lawyers and patient advocates say changes implemented by health plans in response to lawsuits and other criticism do not go far enough. "Decisions about when insurance can be denied or revoked must be taken out of the hands of insurers who have a financial incentive to refuse to pay when we get sick and need it most," said Jerry Flanagan, a healthcare advocate with the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.</p>

Political ad replays on YouTube;

October 19, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>BACKERS HOPE EXTRA EXPOSURE SPURS PROPOSITION 89</h3><p class="source">San Jose Mercury News (California)</p> <p>The ad, which hit TV markets around the state this week, is the No. 1 political ad on YouTube, where it's been viewed 16,000 times in less than 48 hours, supporters said. That's 10 times more than the Proposition 87 ad featuring former President Clinton.</p>

Meds seizure policy shifting;

October 19, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Small shipments from Canada OK</h3><p class="source">The Record (Bergen County, NJ)</p> <p>Jerry Flanagan of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights said the government still has not done anything about the underlying problem; the high price of American drugs. His group thinks the federal government should adopt a Canadian-style approach to drug-cost management and negotiate with the pharmaceutical industry to buy American medicines in bulk.</p>

Blue Cross Settling Patients’ Lawsuits;

October 18, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>The big insurer, accused of illegally canceling some policies, agrees to pay its ex-customers.</h3><p class="source">The Los Angeles Times</p> <p>Consumer advocates said they feared that unless regulators got tough on insurers, the practice would continue and the opportunity for meaningful reform could be lost. "Regulators have to come in with a big stick, because otherwise Blue Cross and the other HMOs are going to buy off the individuals," said Jamie Court, president of FTCR, based in Santa Monica. "This has to be about more than money. It's got to be about forcing the companies to uphold the law, and that's the job of the regulators."</p>

PROPOSITIONS — Public Works Package Leads the Way

October 15, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The Los Angeles Times</p> <p>Prop 89 - Public financing of campaigns. What it would do:Â Raise corporate and banking taxes by $200 million a year to pay for public financing of campaigns for state office; cap donations to state candidates; limit the amount contributors could can give per year to candidates and political parties; and restrict corporate and probably union donations to ballot measures. Chief proponents: California Nurses Assn., state Treasurer Phil Angelides, California Common Cause, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, California Clean Money Campaign.</p>

Stem cell board plans to make big grants in ’07

October 12, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE</p> <p>"No matter how good the scientific strategic plan is, it's meaningless without the proper policies in place," said John Simpson, director of a Prop. 71 monitoring project at the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Los Angeles. "I don't think they're there yet."</p>

Schwarzenegger Cracks Jokes on Leno Show as Angelides Fumes

October 12, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The Los Angeles Times</p> <p>Meanwhile, supporters of Proposition 89, the campaign-finance initiative on the November ballot, attempted to capitalize on the situation by purchasing advertising time during the show. They have produced a 30-second ad that suggests that Schwarzenegger broke his promise to clean out special interests from Sacramento, and scheduled it to run in Monterey, Los Angeles, San Diego, Palm Springs and Santa Barbara during the show. "This initiative is finally giving people the opportunity to do something about the problem they thought they were answering in the recall," said Jamie Court with FTCR in Santa Monica, a backer of the public-financing initiative.</p>

So Much Cash, So Few Votes — Less Corporate Money, More Voters;

October 10, 2006  ·  Jamie Court

<h3>Proposition 89 would loosen corporations' stranglehold on elections, a major factor in keeping turnout low.</h3><p class="source">The Los Angeles Times</p> <p>Proposition 89 would start restoring sanity in political spending, and not just by reforming the financing of ballot measures. It also would provide for public funding for candidates willing to forgo private fundraising from special interests, which is likely to reduce overall candidate advertising. Ironically, the voters who would benefit most from the reform are the ones most likely to stay home, discouraged and disgusted by the power of money. The question is whether they will see past the blitz of deceptive, negative advertising to find out what the power of one more vote could be</p>