Insurance

Regulating State’s Health Premiums Could Hurt Exchange, Report Says; Nonsense, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones Says of Industry Concerns

May 8, 2014 · Mark Reback

Obamacare in California could suffer setbacks, delays and legal challenges if voters this year approve a statewide ballot initiative to regulate insurance rates, a new industry-backed report warns. Those predictions drew immediate fire from Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. He said the concerns are nonsense and passage of the ballot measure is essential for consumers to reap the full benefits of the Affordable Care Act.

Healthy Athlete Premium Raised 44% for Bare Bones Plan

May 8, 2014 · rob

"For me, paying $260 per month for something I almost never use, plus having to pay $4,500 before coverage kicks in, and 100% of out-of-network care is like not having insurance at all."

Kaiser, Blue Shield Contribute $28 Million To Defeat Rate-Regulation Initiative

April 23, 2014 · Mark Reback

Kaiser Permanente and Blue Shield of California have contributed $23.8 million to defeat a November ballot initiative that would allow California's insurance commissioner to deny health premium increases seen as excessive. The funding went to Californians Against Higher Health Care Costs, a lobbying group backed by insurers, the California Medical Association, the California Hospital Association, the California Chamber of Commerce, the Bay Area Council and many other medical associations, business groups and even a few labor entities.

Cheerios Maker Gets Bowled Over

April 21, 2014 · Mark Reback

General Mills reverses course on right to sue after backlash by consumers. General Mills, maker of Cheerios and Wheaties, thinks it deserves credit for reversing itself after quietly trying to strip customers of their constitutional right to a day in court. But that's like a homeowner saying he deserves credit for putting out a house fire after deliberately setting his living room ablaze.

Autumnwood: A Community Living in Toxic Fear and Uncertainty

April 17, 2014 · Consumer Watchdog

Autumnwood is a show-home suburbia of stucco fronts and primly kept lawns nestled in the heart of Wildomar, California, about an hour and a half southeast of Los Angeles. Tranquil, sleepy, Autumnwood could be a poster-child for any modern housing tract. But beneath the façade, Autumnwood is a community riven by a fear held by many that the land on which the houses were built is contaminated with toxic chemicals. And despite the findings of two separate governmental agencies, more questions continue to be raised than have thus far been answered.

Big Campaign Spending Due in June

April 16, 2014 · Mark Reback

<div class="block__content block--article__content" id="page_0_content_0_BlockContent"> Before Californians have a chance to vote in November on a controversial ballot measure to regulate health insurance rate hikes they will be bombarded by advertising and media campaigns on both sides of the issue. Television and print blitzes are expected to begin at the end of June after the Secretary of State assigns numbers to propositions on the statewide ballot.

THE TOXICS DENIAL DEPARTMENT

April 14, 2014 · Consumer Watchdog

What is a polluter’s shill to do when trying to save a client hundreds of millions of dollars in cleanup costs? Well, one tactic is to manipulate the public living near the site of a partial nuclear meltdown into believing that nothing at one of the most polluted sites in California can hurt them. And hint that maybe, just maybe, this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44gDy9iUc7k">well-documented partial meltdown</a> never happened in the first place.

What’s the Point, WellPoint? Could It Be to Satisfy Wall Street?

April 7, 2014 · Mark Reback

Executives at health insurance giant WellPoint are predicting they will have to implement "double-digit plus" rate increases next year, demonstrating once again just how politically tone deaf and profit-obsessed they apparently are.

WellPoint Leads $13 Million Battle on California Insurance Rates

April 7, 2014 · Mark Reback

WellPoint Inc. (<a class="ticker" data-symbol="WLP:US" href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?ticker=WLP:US">WLP:US</a>), the second-largest U.S. health insurer, is leading companies that have poured $13.4 million into defeating a ballot initiative that would give California regulators the power to reject increases in health policy premiums.

A Single Moving Violation Will Boost Insurance Premium

March 29, 2014 · Mark Reback

<div id="text-pages"> <div class="page" style="display: block;"> Getting a single traffic ticket on your license could raise your auto insurance premiums, in some cases substantially, according to a study released last week by InsuranceQuotes. This is especially true in California, where your driving-safety record by law must be the most important factor in determining your rate.

Consumer Watchdog Billboard Campaign: A provocative new billboard suggests that 2 in 10 doctors are impaired by drugs or alcohol. But is that really true?

March 26, 2014 · Mark Reback

Driven around Oakland lately, and noticed anything, well, large and troubling? That would be a billboard at 22nd Street, almost at Grand, boldly declaring that 2 in 10 doctors will be alcohol or drug impaired, with a toll-free number to report suspected abusers. Say what? That’s 20 percent. And what does “will be … impaired” mean, exactly? Bending over a fractured tibia while in the operating theatre? At a weekend barbecue? Happy hour poolside at the retirement community?

Political Savvy Could Help Comcast Overcome Public Opposition To TWC Deal

March 25, 2014 · Mark Reback

Deep pockets for lobbying, political connections that cross borders from municipalities to the federal government, and just plain political savvy could help Comcast (<a href="http://www.fiercecable.com/tags/comcast">Nasdaq: CMCSA</a>) overcome opposition from consumer groups to its proposed multi-billion-dollar acquisition of Time Warner Cable (<a href="http://www.fiercecable.com/tags/time-warner-cable">NYSE: TWC</a>).

Prop 103 California Insurance Reform

New Bill Requires Insurance Companies to Offer and Renew Insurance Coverage for Fire-Safe Homes

Homeowners Dropped by Insurers