Insurance

The Tipping Point for Health Care Reform

September 30, 2005  ·  Jerry Flanagan

<p class="source">The Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA)</p> <p>The fact that the cost of providing a year's worth of health insurance for a family is now more than the entire annual income of a minimum wage worker could signal the tipping point for health care reform.</p>

Insurer discount tossed by court

September 29, 2005  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Sacramento Bee</p> <p>SB 841 was written by Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland, and signed by then-Gov. Gray Davis. Doug Heller of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights said both Davis and Perata - now the Senate leader - benefited heavily that year in donations from Mercury Insurance, a sponsor of the bill.</p>

Auto Policy Discount Rejected;

September 28, 2005  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>An appeals court says Mercury Insurance can't charge previously uninsured drivers more and others less.</h3><p class="source">Los Angeles Times</p> <p>"This is going to get uninsured motorists off the road," said Harvey Rosenfield, the author of Proposition 103 and an attorney with Santa Monica-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, which brought the original complaint against Mercury, a subsidiary of Mercury General Corp. of Los Angeles. Tuesday's decision by the three-judge panel upheld a 2004 finding by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Dzintra Janavs.</p>

Valley residents adding flood insurance;

September 25, 2005  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>New Orleans situation prompts many to inquire about coverage</h3><p class="source">Sacramento Bee</p> <p>Policies can differ greatly from company to company, so people should shop carefully and read every inch of fine print before buying insurance, said Doug Heller, executive director of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.</p>

Council moves to thwart Measure B

September 20, 2005  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Pasadena Star-News (Pasadena, CA)</p> <p>The Santa Monica-based FTCR wrote Measure B and successfully defended it in court. Carmen Balber of FTCR, said her group has no plans to challenge the task force on legal grounds, but will campaign to make sure the voters know what she believes is the real motive behind the council's action.</p>

SUSPICION FUELLED;

September 19, 2005  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>DO REFINERS KEEP CAPACITY LOW IN ORDER TO DRIVE PRICES HIGHER?</h3><p class="source">Calgary Sun (Alberta)</p> <p>The U.S.-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR) has unearthed internal documents from major industry players from the mid-to-late 1990s expressing the desire to limit refining capacity to pad their bottom lines. Stated one Chevron memo: "A senior energy analyst at a recent American Petroleum Institute convention warned if the U.S. petroleum industry doesn't reduce refining capacity, it will never see any substantial increase in refinery margins."</p>

Insuring a Fair Recovery

September 17, 2005  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The New York Times</p> <p>The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights calculates that the current Louisiana Insurance Commissioner, Robert Wooley, received more than half a million dollars in campaign contributions from insurance companies in 2003 and 2004, which leaves him wide open to criticism from taxpayers who feel shorted by insurance companies. In the end, everyone will benefit from the most open process possible.</p>

Surviving the insurance process

September 17, 2005  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The Houston Chronicle (Texas)</p> <p>The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a consumer group, has received complaints that companies have been slow about getting copies to policyholders. And it is concerned that policyholders will face delays in starting the claims process, which might force them to turn to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for assistance, when, under their policy, insurance coverage is due.</p>

Bill expands cheap car insurance plan;

September 17, 2005  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>SCHWARZENEGGER: If it's signed, low-income Inland drivers would be able to buy inexpensive coverage.</h3><p class="source">Press Enterprise (Riverside, CA)</p> <p>"For most low-income working people, not driving is not an option," said Doug Heller of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a Santa Monica-based group that supported the bill. "So long as we're going to require that people buy auto insurance, we have to come up with a way for folks to afford it."</p>

Angelides decries $315 million payout in planned merger

September 16, 2005  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">San Jose Mercury News (California)</p> <p>Jamie Court, president of the Santa Monica-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, agreed. "It's ridiculous that executives who are supposed to be managing costs would walk away with a third of a billion dollars," he said. "The quickest way to cut health care costs would be to cut out the executive payouts like this."</p>

Bill aids uninsured, poor drivers

September 15, 2005  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Low-cost policies could be offered in Fresno Co.</h3><p class="source">Fresno Bee (California)</p> <p>"Under the law, you are obligated to have liability insurance to protect the person you might hurt," said Doug Heller, executive director of the Foundation for Taxpayers and Consumer Rights, a sponsor of the legislation. "Now, they are protected in case you cause an accident."</p>

Rising Premiums Threaten Job-Based Health Coverage

September 15, 2005  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Health Insurance Costs Exceed Annual Minimum-Wage Earnings</h3><p class="source">Los Angeles Times</p> <p>Consumer advocates question why premium increases are needed as insurance industry profits rise. "What the HMOs can't explain is why premiums are increasing twice as fast as hospital and physician costs," said Jerry Flanagan of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a Santa Monica nonprofit.</p>