Insurance

Apple sued over $25 replacement fee for allegedly defective iPods

February 12, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> SAN JOSE, CA -- A consumer group has sued Apple Computer Inc., alleging the iPod nano player is defective because its screen is easily scratched and that the company is breaking its product warranty by charging $25 for replacements.</p> <p> The lawsuit by the Los Angeles-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights claims the pencil-thin nano introduced last fall cannot endure normal use without getting scratched to the point where it becomes unusable. The suit contends the Cupertino-based iPod maker should warn users accordingly.</p>

State may get stem-cell return

February 10, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>INSTITUTE'S BOARD TO CONSIDER SHARING 25% OF PROCEEDS FROM RESEARCH</h3><p class="source">The San Jose Mercury News</p> <p>John Simpson of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica also is encouraged by the proposed policy. But he thinks its language can be strengthened to ensure that any treatments derived from the stem-cell program are made available to Californians at low cost. And he disagrees with letting researchers earn $500,000 before having to give the state royalties.</p>

Auto insurance splits groups;

February 9, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Farm bureau says state proposal would cost drivers in rural areas more; consumer group backs plan</h3><p class="source">The Fresno Bee (California)</p> <p>Doug Heller with FTCR, said voters called for the industry to fairly apply insurance rates under Proposition 103 in 1988, and Garamendi has been trying to enact changes while facing industry opposition.</p>

Pasadena: Poster child for good government?

February 8, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Task force hashes out anti-corruption plan</h3><p class="source">Pasadena Star-News</p> <p>Carmen Balber, a consumer advocate with the watchdog group, said she opposes the exemption for nonprofits, saying it "opens a loophole for abuses." But, she added, the overall changes appear to uphold the voters' intent to crack down on influence peddling.</p>

Governor’s new chief of staff piles it on;

February 5, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Susan Kennedy now also is head campaigner </h3><p class="source">The San Francisco Chronicle</p> <p>"What's amazing is that you've got a situation where Schwarzenegger has become worse than Gray Davis,'' said Doug Heller, who runs the ArnoldWatch Web site on behalf of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. "It's almost like a Schwarzenegger movie where the hero kills the villain -- and takes over his personality.'' </p>

Ballot Fight Over Auto Insurance Is Averted

January 29, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Los Angeles Times</p> <p>"I think they realized that nobody's interests would be served," said Rosenfield, who wrote Proposition 103 and leads the Santa Monica-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. "We took their four initiatives very seriously, and I think they took ours very seriously."</p>

Health Care Confidential

January 27, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The New York Times</p> <p>Cries of "socialized medicine" didn't, in the end, succeed in blocking the creation of Medicare. And farsighted thinkers are already suggesting that the Veterans Health Administration, not President Bush's unrealistic vision of a system in which people go "comparative shopping" for medical care the way they do when buying tile, represents the true future of American health care. </p>

Prognosis Is Mixed for Health Savings;

January 26, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Though Enrollment Grows, Many Don't Bother to Save</h3><p class="source">The New York Times</p> <p>For those who criticized the idea of health savings plans from the start, the early results simply confirm their gloomier forecasts. The critics say this approach is increasing many people's out-of-pocket expenses and warn that it will make them less likely to seek routine preventive care that might stave off bigger problems down the road.</p>

‘Pirates’ spread healthcare message

January 26, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">UPI - United Press International</p> <p>"Our goal is to focus on young people who don't necessarily think about healthcare but are paying into the system nonetheless," Jerry Flanagan of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights told UPI.</p>

WellPoint triples its profit;

January 26, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Largest health insurer benefits from 2004 merger</h3><p class="source">THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE</p> <p>"When Wall Street analysts talk about efficiencies, they're talking about more money for HMO profits, not better care," said Jerry Flanagan, health care policy director for the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, which is based in Santa Monica.</p>

Darlene and Dave Henderson

January 26, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Couple Struggles Through Multiple Surgeries, Only To Find Insurer Won't Pay</h3>

Sacramento’s scandal-in-waiting

January 25, 2006  ·  Jamie Court

<p> The following op-ed commentary by JAMIE COURT, author of "Corporateering", and president of the Santa Monica-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, was published in the Los Angles Times on Tuesday, January 24,...</p>