Insurance

Mary Feller – Santa Rosa, CA

October 5, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <strong><img class=" size-full wp-image-2265" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/images_fellers.jpg" style="width: 258px; height: 345px;" width="478" height="640" />Blue Cross Rate Hikes</strong></p> <p> I’m a freelance entertainment writer and my husband is an international urban development consultant. So, we don’t have employer health insurance. We’ve have had an individual Blue Cross family policy since 1992.  When we first signed on, the cost was $203 a month for our family of three.  In 2001 we were still only paying $318 a month.</p>

Cathy Kay – Sherman Oaks, CA

October 5, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> I have a Blue Cross PPO Share 2500 individual plan and just got my premium invoice for May 1^st. My premium increases by 17.3%, on top of a 19% increase last fall. That means my premium, which was $526 per month last October (prior to the fall increase), will now be $736.  In October of 2008, my premium was only $441. In addition, only four months into this year, my annual deductible is increasing from $2500 to $2950, my annual maximum is increasing from $7,500 to $8,850 and all of the other copays are going up substantially as well.</p>

“Fracking” for natural gas gets some attention, but so far it’s just yakking

October 4, 2011  ·  Judy Dugan

<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2206" alt="" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/images_judydrawingname.gif" style="margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; float: right; width: 133px; height: 200px; " width="133" height="200" />Exxon Mobil, which is making big bets worldwide on hydraulic fracturing for deeply buried natural gas, is also making big bets on its <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/ExxonMobil">sincere, earnest advertising</a> about clean, safe natural gas. The ads turn me into a crazy person, yelling at the television during halftimes and seventh-inning stretches.</p>

The U.S. Supreme Court Vs. Insurance Premiums?

September 29, 2011  ·  Jamie Court

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Amazon Goes After Apple with $199 Tablet

September 28, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Amazon, the ubiquitous Web retailer, took aim Wednesday at Apple's white-hot successby offering a tablet computer at less than half the price of the iPad.<br /> <br /> Armed with a massive retailing operation and a vast catalogue of movies, books and music, Amazon, with its $199 Kindle Fire, may pose the most significant challenge to one of Apple's signature products by making its multimedia device far less expensive to consumers, analysts said.<br /> <br />

Annuities Protection Bill Signed by California Governor

September 28, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> The Annuities Protection Bill (Assembly Bill 689) signed by California Governor Jerry Brown on September 21, 2011 is primarily meant to “help protect the hard-earned financial security of Californians, especially seniors, and end an alarming breeding ground for fraud,” according to the bill’s author Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield, D-San Fernando. The bill passed the State Assembly by a 75-0 vote and the Senate by a 34-0 vote. It was also supported by AARP, the Consumer Watchdog, and the California Department of Insurance.</p>

The Danger of Making Auto Insurance Unaffordable [The Reply]

September 27, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Auto insurance could become too expensive for some Californians if George Joseph, chairman of insurer Mercury General Corp., gets his way. He's proposed an initiative for the June 2012 ballot that would reward longtime insured drivers but could ultimately price out the people who haven't previously or consistently been insured. In a <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-court-mercury-20110921,0,4087545.story">Sept. 21 Op-Ed</a>, Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, helped people read between the lines:</p>

Does Employer-Sponsored Health Care Still Make Sense?

September 27, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <a href="http://www.scpr.org/programs/patt-morrison/2011/09/27/20847/does-employer-sponsored-health-care-still-make-sen/">Click here to listen to the audio of this radio broadcast</a>.</p> <p> Having trouble affording your health insurance? A new study out today shows that health premiums are rising at 9% a year, far outpacing increases in inflation and wages. Families are now paying $15,000 per year in insurance premiums on average.</p>

Consumer-Friendly Dave Jones Rubs Some in Insurance Industry the Wrong Way

September 26, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones is something of an anomaly.</p>

Hernandez Attacked in TV Ad

September 26, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<div id="articlebody"> <p> A consumer advocacy group took on the chair of the Senate Health Committee at the end of last week, and it has stirred up Sacramento.</p> <p> The ad was in reaction to the legislative decision to delay a vote on AB 52 by Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) and Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), the proposal to regulate health insurance rate increases.</p>

It’s Politics: More Dirt and Ironing in the AB 52 Battle

September 23, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> In these pages last week, we looked at recent attack ads against Sen. Ed Hernandez over his position on Assembly Bill 52, a bill that would mandate state regulation of health insurance rates.</p> <p> We talked to Consumer Watchdog, the group that paid for the television ads and is demanding Hernandez step down from his chair of the Senate Health Committee over what they cite as a conflict of interest.</p> <p> Hernandez, who objected to provisions of the bill, rents office space in Baldwin Park to insurance giant Kaiser Permanente, which fought the measure.</p>

Consumer Groups Get Health Grants

September 23, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> A portion of federal grants to help states monitor rate hikes will be going to consumer advocacy groups that regularly pick fights with insurers - and the insurance industry is calling foul.<br /> <br /> Earlier this week, the Department of Health and Human Services awarded $109 million in grants to 28 states and Washington, D.C., to strengthen their review process of proposed hikes. It marked the second round of rate review funds under the health care reform law, after HHS sent out $46 million to 45 states and the<br /> District of Columbia.<br /> <br />