Insurance

Kaiser income enjoys big gain

May 1, 2004  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Oakland Tribune</p> <p>Consumer advocates say the first-quarter earnings show the need for passage of legislation that would require Kaiser and other health plans to go through a state approval process before raising premiums.</p>

A CURE FOR COSTS

May 1, 2004  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>A California group is proposing a three-pronged attack to counter the rising price of health care.</h3><p class="source">Governing Magazine - May 2004</p> <p>FTCR is not just making noise. There's an underlying goad in the proposal. In its report "Crisis and Opportunity: Forging a Universal Health Care Consensus," the nonprofit organization throws down the gauntlet.</p>

Fighting Mad Doctors’ Disease

April 29, 2004  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Marketplace - National Public Radio</p> <p>Mad doctors disease is out of control. Striking doctors are not targeting insurance companies even though their profits went up a 1000 percent last year. Or threatening the few doctors who commit the majority of malpractice. They're targeting patients.</p>

Fighting Mad Doctors’ Disease

April 29, 2004  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Marketplace - National Public Radio</p> <p>Mad doctors disease is out of control. Striking doctors are not targeting insurance companies even though their profits went up a 1000 percent last year. Or threatening the few doctors who commit the majority of malpractice. They're targeting patients.</p>

Los Angeles Times Op-Ed
“L.A. Could Cut Drug Costs With Bulk Buys”

April 28, 2004  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>City Council plan would ease the prescription bite for residents</h3><p class="source">Los Angeles Times</p> <p>Hardly a day goes by that we don't hear from senior citizens and others who cannot afford prescription drugs. Faced with gridlock in Washington, a proposal being considered by the Los Angeles City Council offers a meaningful solution at the local level. Insured or not, from the Eastside to the Westside, in Hollywood or South L.A., we are all paying too much for prescription drugs. </p>

COMMENTARY: L.A. Could Cut Drug Costs With Bulk Buys;

April 27, 2004  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>City Council plan would ease the prescription bite for residents.</h3><p class="source">Los Angeles Times</p> <p>Los Angeles can take the lead by approving the proposed plan and showing the nation how to get a better deal for seniors and others who need more affordable prescription drugs.</p>

Regulating insurers touted as solution

April 25, 2004  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Tulsa World</p> <p>Stringent regulation of insurance companies has kept medical malpractice insurance rates stable for 13 years in California, a national consumer advocacy group says.</p>

X-RAYING WORKERS’ COMP

April 23, 2004  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">LA Weekly (California)</p> <p>"The reason rates are so high is not because of a sudden spate of injuries or litigation or anything that's particularly new, but because the insurance industry has absolutely gouged businesses in this state.", said Doug Heller, executive director with FT</p>

Regulating Damages vs. Regulating Insurance Rates: The California Experience

April 22, 2004  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Testimony of Douglas Heller to Oklahoma State Legislature</h3>

Step right up – taxpayer advocate puts money where mouth is

April 20, 2004  ·  Doug Heller

<p class="source">The Recorder</p> <p>Dou Heller, executive director of the rabble-rousing Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, issued a "I Read It and I Get It" contest, which challenged lawmakers to prove they had read the workers' comp bill before voting. There were no takers.</p>

Some Are Unsettled by Gov.’s Victory;

April 18, 2004  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Schwarzenegger used his clout to quickly win workers' comp reform, but some note that a 77-page bill passed with little public scrutiny.</h3><p class="source">Los Angeles Times</p> <p>FTCR went to the Capitol rotunda Friday, offering to make a $1,000 charitable donation on behalf of any lawmaker who could correctly answer 10 questions about the bill. There were no takers.</p>

Governor beams over workers’ comp overhaul

April 17, 2004  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The San Francisco Chronicle</p> <p>Watchdog groups wondered how many lawmakers knew much of what they had sped into law. After the bill emerged Thursday, the nonpartisan FTCR gave each legislator a statement that, along with a 12-question quiz, asked them to declare they had read the entir</p>