Consumer Watchdog Updates

Justice Is Probing Google's Book Deal

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:15:00 PDT

The Justice Department on Thursday said it had launched a formal antitrust investigation into the proposed settlement over the Google Inc. project to scan millions of books into a digital format. In recent months, a number of parties have objected to the settlement, including Consumer Watchdog in Santa Monica, the American Library Assn. and the Internet Archive, a nonprofit organization that seeks to digitize public domain books and make them freely available online. Many of the objections involve concerns that Google would create a monopoly on digital books.

DOJ letter shows Google anti-trust probe is serious

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:41:00 PDT

The U.S. Justice Department is serious about probing the Google Books settlement for possible anti-trust violations. Consumer Watchdog was one of the first organizations to ask the department to investigate.

How oil bucks lubed climate bill

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:46:00 PDT

Here's a great explanation, copublished by Greenwire and the New York Times online, of how the oil and energy industries steadily weakened the big climate change bill in Congress, and why they expect even more energy-friendly goodies from the Senate. All it took was tens of millions of dollars worth of lobbying, and uncountable millions more in advertising greenwash.

Suit Alleges California Lets Insurers Deny Treatment For Autistic Kids

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:23:00 PDT

A nonprofit consumer group has filed a lawsuit against state regulators alleging they allow insurance companies to deny necessary but expensive treatment for autistic children in violation of state law. Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog filed the lawsuit against the California Department of Managed Health Care Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Mercury General Using Guise Of Benevolence To Assault Prop. 103

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:17:00 PDT

...one should wonder why Mercury, which is already one of the leading insurers in the state, would spend heavily to make its home market more competitive. I'm inclined to think the company has something else on its mind, and I'd bet that giving customers a break isn't it. Forewarned is forearmed: Hang on to your wallets.

Autism Patients' Treatment Is Denied Illegally, Group Says

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:24:00 PDT

Consumer Watchdog asks a judge to order the state Department of Managed Health Care to enforce the law and require insurers to serve autistic members. The agency says it's doing its job.

"Californians, including those stricken with autism and their parents and caregivers, expect regulators to enforce the law, not to side with insurance companies seeking to boost their profits by denying patients the care they need," said Harvey Rosenfield, founder of the nonprofit Consumer Watchdog and author of the landmark automobile insurance reform initiative Proposition 103.

Group Sues Calif. Regulators Over Autism Care

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:00:00 PDT

Consumer Watchdog, a Santa Monica group that monitors insurance practices, has asked the court to order the Department of Managed Health Care to require insurers to provide autistic children with treatments ordered by their doctors. The group also wants the department to turn over records showing the agency's violations in this area.

State Sued Over Handling of Autism Complaints

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:02:59 PDT

LOS ANGELES, CA -- California regulators are being challenged in court for siding with insurance companies, rather than patients, over some costly autism therapies. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, consumer advocates complain that the Department of Managed Health Care broke state law by precluding expert doctors from deciding whether an insurer must provide treatments for autism.

Schwarzenegger Administration Sued for Allowing Health Insurance Companies to Deny Autism Care

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:27:24 PDT

Santa Monica, CA -- The mother of an autistic child joined Consumer Watchdog and its attorneys today to announce a lawsuit against the California Department of Managed Health Care (“DMHC”), the Schwarzenegger Administration agency responsible for regulating many of California’s health insurers. The suit alleges that the DMHC has wrongfully allowed insurance companies to refuse to pay for autism treatments, resulting in the denial of critically needed, medically necessary treatment for autistic children.

State Agency Sued Over New Policy On Autism

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:20:00 PDT

Consumer Watchdog filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the state agency that oversees HMOs, accusing it of violating state law by siding with insurance companies in denying treatment for children with autism. The suit accuses the department of changing its policies, forcing parents to appeal insurance denials through an internal grievance process rather than letting an independent panel of doctors make treatment decisions. "We want the department to follow the law. Doctors - not insurance companies and government lawyers - decide what care kids should get," said Jerry Flanagan, Consumer Watchdog's director of health policy.

Pickens is back for your bucks

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:59:00 PDT

I choked on my black-bean enchilada when an e-mail alert popped up about a new bill in the Senate. Oklahoma oil and natural gas billionaire T. Boone Pickens, who failed miserably last year at picking Californians' pockets, is now reaching for the wallets of all Americans. Sens. Mark Pryor of Arkansas and James Inhofe of Oklahoma have introduced a bill to put federal subsidies for natural gas-fueled vehicles on steriods. Taxpayers would shell out tens of billions of dollars to the great benefit of Pickens' own fueling stations, and much cleaner vehicles would lose sales.

Chevron's $27-billion liability sticks. Again.

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:19:00 PDT

Chevron keeps throwing money against the lawsuit by Ecuadoran peasants whose land and water were spoiled by oil drilling's toxic leftovers. But the U.S. oil giant lost again in a Supreme Court ruling yesterday refusing to force Ecuador's national oil company to join the suit and share the liability. The ultimate bill to Chevron shareholders may be as much as $27 billion, which makes me wonder why the company's stock rose yesterday.

Is Congress deaf? Or does insurers' money just speak louder?

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:37:00 PDT

Congress is taking a holiday week off, heading home to wave flags and eat hot dogs. Some listening is in order, too. The latest national poll tells us that a whopping 70-plus percent of Americans want a health reform choice that lets them snub the giant insurance conglomerates that miserably abuse their customers.

Google Makes a Case That It Isn't So Big

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:26:00 PDT

Eyes are rolling, especially in reaction to the idea that Google is a relatively small player in a giant market. “They describe where they are in a market under a kind of a fairy-tale spun gloss that doesn’t reflect their dominance of key sectors,” said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. “Google search is an absolute must-have for every marketer in the world.”

'Pay-As-You-Drive' Auto Policies Could Become Option By Year's End

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 10:53:00 PDT

Doug Heller, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, a Santa Monica advocacy group, complained that Poizner's proposal would give insurance companies too much leeway to decide whether or not to offer a pay-as-you-drive option to potential customers. He said he feared that the regulations would allow companies to offer smaller discounts than they should for people who cut their driving by only modest amounts.

State Panel Critical Of Stem Cell Institute -- Commission Offers Structural Changes

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 10:32:00 PDT

John Simpson of the Santa Monica group Consumer Watchdog said many of the recommended changes could be implemented without delay. One example would be setting up a program to discipline board members who regularly miss meetings.

Treasury, GM Close to Reaching Deal on Legal Claims -- Accident Victims, Dealers at Issue

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 10:01:00 PDT

"It's hard for me to comprehend why, when taxpayers are funding so much of the transition, and we're making specific choices about who gets money, that there's no money for these accident victims," said Douglas Heller, executive director of Consumer Watchdog. He expressed outrage that GM is requesting court approval to pay more than $100 million to its financial advisers, Evercore Partners, a New York boutique investment bank headed by former deputy Treasury secretary Roger Altman, and AlixPartners, a turnaround consultancy.

State Stem Cell Board Needs Overhaul, Group Says

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:21:04 PDT

To reduce potential conflicts of interest in the state's $3 billion stem cell research program, a government watchdog group called Friday for an overhaul of the program's governing board. The recommendations drew praise from John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, who had sought such changes. "This is a thoughtful and thorough analysis from a bipartisan group with no ax to grind," he said.

Little Hoover: Reform Calif. Stem Cell Agency

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:17:00 PDT

California’s good-government agency approved a series of recommendations to reform the operation and governance of the state’s stem cell research funding organization. “This is a thoughtful and thorough analysis from a bipartisan group with no ax to grind,” John Simpson, a frequent critic of CIRM’s policies and stem cell project director for Consumer Watchdog in Santa Monica, said in a prepared statement. “CIRM’s management and board should listen to its advice.”

A one-cheer climate victory

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:18:00 PDT

I'm not a big fan of the House energy and climate bill that received a fake debate and a mini-filibuster before passing 219-212 in the House of Representatives today, but I felt a twinge of sympathy as the afternoon passed. Opponents called the bill "a twisted desire of the Democrat party" and "economic suicide" and even supporters who were still holding up Rep. Henry Waxman at near gunpoint for more pet concessions. You'd think Waxman was asking to outlaw electricity and make us huddle in the dark while China and India achieved robot-assisted world domination. No, wait. Was that the Transformers movie?

Marie Csete Resigns as CIRM Chief Scientific Officer, 15 Months Into the Job

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:42:50 PDT

Marie Csete will resign Aug. 1 as the chief scientific officer of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine after 15 months in the $310,000-a-year post, Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit group that monitors developments at the state stem cell agency, reported on Wednesday.

State's Good Government Agency Calls for Reforms At Stem Cell Agency

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:11:00 PDT

Key 'Little Hoover' Recommendations Follow Consumer Watchdog's Proposals

Santa Monica, CA -- California’s good government agency, The Little Hoover Commission, today called for management and structural reforms at the state stem cell agency after an eight-month study. Key Commission recommendations follow many proposals made by Consumer Watchdog in testimony to the panel last November.

Chief Scientific Officer Resigns from S.F.-Based State Stem Cell Agency

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:09:40 PDT

The chief scientific officer at California's stem-cell agency has announced that she will step down from her position in a little over a month. John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog says Csete's resignation "speaks volumes about CIRM's management... One doesn't walk away from a $310,000 a year job at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) without a very good reason."

Thanks for the bailout, suckers

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:54:00 PDT

The big banks just launched a supposedly 'grass-roots' campaign to try and rehabilitate their image.

Said Americans United for Change today: “What are they going to call it? The ‘Thanks for the Bailout, Suckers - Now Quit Whining’ Tour?”

Consumers Urge DC Council to Make Insurers Accountable In Court For Unfairly Delaying, Denying Insurance Claims

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:28:54 PDT

Washington, D.C. -- Insurance policyholders whose legitimate insurance claims were low-balled, delayed or denied by their insurance companies testified before the D.C. Council yesterday in support of legislation that would allow consumers to hold their insurer accountable in court. Consumer Watchdog joined policyholders, advocacy organizations and attorneys for insurance consumers to call on the committee on Public Services and Consumer Affairs to forward legislation swiftly to the full council.