It was a shocking figure. Some Blue Shield policyholders were going to pay rate increases of 86%. Consumer Watchdog, together with nurses and patients, showed up at Blue Shield's headquarters in San Francisco to protest the greed that could lead to such an attempted rip-off.

As we arrived, Blue Shield announced they were delaying the intended hike and a few weeks later they decided to withdraw it altogether. The insurance giant eventually refunded an additional half-billion dollars to customers in response to the public's outrage.

When Consumer Watchdog takes on big health insurance companies, we save policyholders millions of dollars. But we can't do it without you.

There are only 72 hours left for us to reach our 2011 fundraising goal. Will you support our efforts by making a year-end tax-deductible contribution to Consumer Watchdog?

Making patients protest in order to be charged a fair health insurance premium is no way to run a healthcare system. Right now, in California and dozens of other states, regulators don’t have the power to say “No” to insurance companies that charge too much for the coverage they provide. That’s why Consumer Watchdog has taken the lead across the nation in calling for regulation of health insurance rates.

The health insurance industry will spend millions of dollars to stop our reform efforts, but we won’t let them get away with it. Fixing our health care system is too important to be intimidated by these insurance giants.

Don't miss the opportunity to get a 2011 tax deduction by making a year-end contribution to Consumer Watchdog today.

Thanks for all you do,

Doug Heller
Executive Director, Consumer Watchdog