Insurance

Industry Greed, Not Patients’ Interest, Drives Consolidation of Health Insurers

January 9, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Los Angeles Business Journal</p> <p>Two recent mergers, PacifiCare with United Health and Anthem with WellPoint, reveal that getting bigger is, in fact, all about insurance industry greed, not better value for the businesses that pay for coverage or the patients who use it. Take a look at what the stakeholders won and lost.</p>

Insurer: ZIP codes vital to fair rates;

January 7, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>INITIATIVE AIMS TO UNDO ORDER TO HALT THE PRACTICE</h3><p class="source"> San Jose Mercury News (California)</p> <p>"Anybody that believes that the insurance industry is going to change this law for the benefit of consumers is dreaming,'' said California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi. "The insurance industry is going to change this law for the benefit of the industry.''</p>

Insurance Industry Files Ballot Initiatives to Repeal Prop. 103, Raise Auto, Home and Business Rates by Hundreds of Dollars Per Year

January 5, 2006  ·  Harvey Rosenfield

Consumer Advocates See Rematch of $80 Million 1988 Battle

Prop. 103 Changes May Join Ballot;

January 5, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Mercury Insurance's chief is pushing a measure to rewrite the 1988 initiative that governs auto insurance premiums in the state.</h3><p class="source">Los Angeles Times</p> <p>If Joseph's (Mercury Insurance) proposal makes it to the November ballot, Rosenfield vows to launch a counter-campaign that could include ballot measures to regulate workers' compensation insurance rates, prohibit insurers from canceling homeowners' policies after claims have been filed and outlaw the use of consumers' credit scores in underwriting, he said.</p>

Rebates: Get what’s coming to you

January 5, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">CNNMoney.com</p> <p>According to the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, some rebate companies will reject the rebate if the form is torn, dirty or otherwise "mutilated." Use a street address instead of a post office box. Rebate companies will not send rebates there. And often original receipts are required, not copies.</p>

Insurer proposes measure to alter California insurance reforms

January 5, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Associated Press</p> <p>"California motorists, homeowners and businesses can expect to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars more every year for insurance if the insurance industry is able to trick the voters into passing their initiatives," Harvey Rosenfield, author of Proposition 103 and head of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumers Rights, said in a statement.</p>

Jet Setter

January 4, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<font face="verdana,sans-serif" size="2">The <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/14035111p-14867100c.html">Sacramento Bee</a> reported another shady Schwarzenegger business deal yesterday: One of the gov's companies...</font>

Insurance Suits and Administrative Actions

January 2, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Everyday, FTCR attorneys battle insurance companies in the courts and before the California Department of Insurance to stop illegal overcharges, excessive rate hikes, and other abusive insurance practices that are prohibited under...</p>

Doctor insurer’s rates and perks up;

January 2, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Big bonuses alleged for top executives</h3><p class="source">Belleville News-Democrat (Illinois)</p> <p>Goyal's charges foreshadowed conclusions reached in a report issued Friday by the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, of Santa Monica, Calif. The group describes itself as a non-profit consumer education and advocacy organization. The report, titled "False Accounting," accuses medical malpractice insurers nationwide of exaggerating the amounts paid out in claims as part of a campaign to justify high rate increases.</p>

60% of Californians Support Universal Health Care — What’s Your Vote?

January 1, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Which would you prefer — the current health insurance system in the United States, in which most people get their health insurance from private employers, but some people have no insurance, or a universal health insurance program,...</p>

Current Proposals for Universal Health Care

January 1, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> <strong>Proposal:</strong> Senate Bill 840 (Senator Sheila Kuehl) </p> <p> <strong>Status:</strong> Pending in California Legislature </p> <p> <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/SB840"><img src="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/images/SFtownhall.jpg" border="0" align="right"/>...</a> </p>

False Accounting: How Medical Malpractice Insurance Companies Inflate Losses to Justify Sudden Surges in Rates and Tort Reform

December 29, 2005  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<!-- excerpt --> <p> In this study, the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR) reviews the loss projections of medical malpractice insurance companies, beginning with the 'insurance crisis' of the mid-1980s. The data show that medical malpractice insurers have historically inflated their loss projections and then revised their reported losses downward in subsequent years. The 'incurred losses' that medical malpractice insurance companies initially reported for policies in effect in each of the years examined were, on average, 46% higher than the amount the insurers actually paid out on those policies. </p>