Insurance

Will DWP Reimburse Overcharged Customers?

November 3, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p>A Judge will decide today if to go ahead with a proposed settlement plan to reimburse overcharged DWP customers.  But Consumer Watchdog says it’s a bad deal.</p> <p>“This settlement is a sweetheart deal for DWP and a BAD deal for consumers.”</p> <p>Consumer Watchdog’s Jamie Court says the settlement puts the fox in charge of the hen house.</p>

An Allergan-Pfizer Deal Could Be Biggest Merger This Year

October 29, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Drug giant Pfizer Inc. and Botox maker Allergan confirmed Thursday that they're in early talks to merge in a blockbuster deal that, if completed, would cap a remarkable consolidation wave roiling the U.S. healthcare industry.</p>

Anthem Blue Cross To Pay Consumers $8.3 Mln Over Mid-Year Changes

October 29, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Anthem Blue Cross of California has agreed to pay $8.3 million to settle a pair of class action lawsuits challenging mid-year changes it made to customers’ deductibles in 2011, a consumer advocacy group announced Tuesday.</p> <p>The health insurer has also agreed not to make similar changes in the future, unless new laws or regulations specifically allow it to do so, said Consumer Watchdog, which represented the plaintiffs along with Shernoff Bidart Echeverria Bentley.</p>

Anthem Agrees To Refund $8.3M to About 50,000 Calif. Policyholders

October 28, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

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Class Action Settlement Forces Big Insurer To Refund $8 Million To California Consumers

October 27, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p><strong>Anthem Blue Cross</strong>, one of the state's largest health insurers, has agreed to a class-action lawsuit settlement that requires it to refund $8.3 million to roughly 50,000 policyholders, and refrain from making mid-year changes to consumers' annual deductibles, co-pays and other out-of-pocket costs.</p> <p>The settlement resolves two lawsuits challenging mid-year changes Anthem made in 2011. The consolidated suits, brought by <strong>Consumer Watchdog</strong> and Shernoff Bidart Echeverria Bentley LLP, were filed in Los Angeles Superior Court two years ago.</p>

Anthem Blue Cross Will Refund $8.3 Million To California Consumers

October 27, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p><a href="http://www.kpbs.org/news/2015/oct/27/anthem-blue-cross-will-refund-83-million-consumers/">Click here to listen the audio segment of this radio broadcast</a>.</p> <p>Health insurance giant <a data-ajax="false" data-transition="none" href="https://www.anthem.com/health-insurance/home/overview">Anthem Blue Cross</a> will refund $8.3 million to California consumers to <a data-ajax="false" data-transition="none" href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-blue-cross-settlement-20151027-story.html">settle</a> two lawsuits.</p>

Anthem Agrees To Forgo Mid-Year Hikes Of Deductibles, Out-Of-Pocket Limits

October 27, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p><a href="http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/10/27/55284/anthem-agrees-to-forgo-mid-year-hikes-of-deductibl/">Click here to listen to the audio segment of this radio broadcast</a>.</p> <p>Anthem Blue Cross has settled a class action lawsuit <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/kassouf_taub_-_settlement_agreement.5.29.15_noe.pdf">by agreeing to forgo mid-year changes </a>to the deductible and out-of-pocket limits on its members' annual plans. The company, California's second-largest health insurer, also agreed to refund $8.3 million to tens of thousands of its members.</p>

Anthem Blue Cross Will Pay $8.3M To Customers To Settle Class-Action Suit Over Mid-Year Policy Changes

October 27, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p>When you sign up for an insurance policy, you’re given a price for that plan for the year. So when California consumers discovered changes to their Anthem Blue Cross policies in the middle of the year that came with extra out-of-pocket costs, two policyholders filed a class-action lawsuit against the insurance provider in 2011. Anthem Blue Cross has now agreed to a settlement that includes reimbursing about 50,000 customers in California almost $8.3 million.</p>

Anthem Blue Cross TO Pay California Consumers Over $8 Million, Stems Back To Lawsuit

October 27, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p>SANTA MONICA (KRON) — Anthem Blue Cross will pay more than $8 million to California consumers.</p> <p>It stems back to a lawsuit, challenging mid-year changes that the insurance company made to individual plans in 2011. The lawsuit claimed Anthem illegally increased “annual deductibles” and other out-of-pocket costs.</p> <p>Consumers do not need to file a claim to receive reimbursement.</p> <p>In December, checks will be mailed to those who paid more as a result of the mid-year changes.</p>

El Niño: Californians Urged To Buy Flood Insurance Even If They’re Not Near Water

October 23, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p>With the strongest El Niño conditions in nearly 20 years already underway in the Pacific Ocean and chances increasing for heavy storms this winter, federal emergency officials on Friday urged Californians to buy flood insurance -- even those who don't live near creeks or rivers.</p> <p>"We encourage everyone to take the threat seriously," said Roy Wright, a deputy associate administrator at the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Washington, D.C. "If there ever was a time to buy flood insurance, this is that time."</p>

State Farm Defends Homeowners’ Hike Request in California Against Consumer Watchdog Challenge

October 22, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p>State Farm's proposed 6.9% homeowners' insurance rate increase for 1.7 million California homeowners faces a challenge from Consumer Watchdog, which claims the rate would overcharge consumers $210 million annually if it takes effect.</p> <p>But State Farm defended the hike, saying exposure to catastrophic losses in California is possibly "the most challenging factor in doing business in this state."</p>

Consumer Watchdog Challenges $210 Million Excessive State Farm Rate Hike on 1.7 Million California Renters and Homeowners

October 20, 2015  ·  Carmen Balber

Santa Monica, CA — Consumer Watchdog has challenged a rate increase proposed by State Farm, the state’s largest homeowners insurance company, that would overcharge consumers...