Publications and Special Reports

Some of these reports are available in printed form for a small fee. Contact the office listed for details.

• Southwest Regional Office
• Washington D.C. Office
• West Coast Regional Office
• Consumer Policy Institute at Consumers Union
• Consumers Union OPI, New York

Southwest Regional Office

Consumers Union
1300 Guadalupe, Suite 100
Austin, TX 78701-1643
Phone: (512) 477-4431
Fax: (512) 477-8934

Raising the Floor, Raising the Roof: Raising Our Expectations for Manufactured Housing
May 2003
HTML Version
PDF Version

Hear This! Consumers Enjoy a Range of Hearing Aid Options, But Comparison Shopping Can Be Difficult
April 2003
PDF Version

Auto Finance Add-Ons: Little Bang for the Buck
March 2003
HTML Version
PDF Version
Press Release

Auto Dealers Sell More Than Cars...Excessive Charges Cost Millions
March 2003
PDF Version

Paper Tiger Missing Dragon
Poor Service and Worse Enforcement Leave Manufactured Homeowners in the Lurch
November 2002
PDF Version

Minority Subprime Borrowers
October 2002
HTML Version
PDF Version

Austin Focus Study
October 2002
HTML Version
PDF Version

Home Equity Reform
October 2002
HTML Version
PDF Version

Elderly in the Subprime Market
October 2002
HTML Version
PDF Version

Women in the Subprime Market
October 2002
HTML Version
PDF Version

Independent Review Organizations: Consumers Gain Needed Care When Unaffiliated
Medical Experts Review Health Plan Denials - A Report on the Texas Independent Review Process
May 2002

Check the Facts: New Electricity Market Offers Consumers Fine Print and Frustration (PDF format)
March 2002

In Over Our Heads: Predatory Lending and Fraud in Manufactured Housing
February 2002

City Should Relieve Seton of All Responsibility for Deliveries, Family Planning and Emergency Contraception at Brackenridge to Safeguard Reproductive Services
October 2001

Noncustomer Check Fees Reinforce Financial Divide
October 2001

Manufactured Homeowners Who Rent Lots Lack Security of Basic Tenants Rights
February 2001

Local Telephone Competition Still on Hold
February 2001

The Eyes Don't Have It. Yet.
January 2001

Southwest Regional Office Issue Papers for the 77th Texas Legislature
January 2001 (pdf format only)

Final Committal: Texas Problems With Pre-Paid Funeral Services And Other Tales Of Mishandled, Misrepresented, Or Overpriced Funeral And Burial Services
October 2000

Report: Texas No. 1 In Livestock Waste Pollution
May 2000

Access to the Dream: Subprime and Prime Mortgage Lending in Texas
April 2000

• Access to the Dream: Austin Focus 2000
  April 2000

Pesticides Report Card: Texas Schools Score from A to F in the Integrated Pest Management Program
September 1999

A User's Guide to the Amended Public Information Act
June 1999

Looking Back at the Promises of Medicaid Managed Care
April 1999

Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: Payday Loans Disguise Illegal Lending
February 1999

Texas Digital Divide: Telephone Competition Promise Falls Short
February 17, 1999

Preserving the Charitable Trust:
Nonprofit Hospital Conversion in Texas.
July 1998. $3.25

Access to the Dream:
Home Mortgage Lending in Texas.
February 1998. $6.50

Miles and Miles of Texas:
Moving Across the Lonestar State
December 1997. $3.00

Our Neighborhood Banks:
High Cost Loans for Low Income Borrowers
July 1997. $3.00

Rich House, Poor House:
The Two Faces of Home Equity Lending
March 1997. $3.00

Out of Focus:
Contact Lens Policy in Texas
March 1997. $3.00

The Eyes of Texas:
Consumer Access to Contact Lenses in Texas
June 1995. $3.00

A Poor Choice Check Cashing Services in Texas
March 1995. $3.00

Texas Non-Profit Hospital: Doing Their Fair Share
April 1992. $3.00

Washington D.C. Office

Consumers Union
1666 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 310
Washington, DC 20009-1039
Phone: (202) 462-6262
Fax: (202) 265-9548

Economic Justifications And Implications Of Taxing Windfall Profits In The California Wholesale Electricity Market
June 2001

Lessons From 1996 Telecommunications Act: Deregulation Before Meaningful Competition Spells Consumer Disaster - HTML Format
Report in PDF Format
February 2001

Reconsidering Electricity Restructuring: Do Market Problems Indicate A Short Circuit Or A Total Blackout?
By Dr. Mark N. Cooper, Consumer Federation of America
November 2000

Disconnected, Disadvantaged, and Disenfranchised: Explorations in the Digital Divide (pdf only)
By Consumers Union and Consumer Federation of American
October 2000

Mergers and Open Access: Public Concerns and Preferences
A Report produced for the Digital Media Forum
By Dhavan V. Shah, Ph.D.

Who Do You Trust? AOL And AT&T … When They Challenge The Cable Monopoly or AOL and AT&T …. When They Become The Cable Monopoly?
February 2000

Breaking the Rules: AT&T's Attempt To Buy A National Monopoly In Cable TV And Broadband Internet Services
August 1999

Blueprint For Fair Share Health Care: Incremental Steps Toward Universal Coverage
May 1999

Electricity Restructuring And The Price Spikes Of 1998 A Need
For More Vigorous Efforts To Protect Consumers
by Consumers Union and Consumer Federation of America, June 1999

Credit Insurance: The $2 Billion A Year Rip-Off
by Consumers Union and Center for Economic Justice, March 1999

Hidden From View, the Growing Burden of Health Care Costs
January 1998. $20 plus $5 shipping and handling.

The Residential Ratepayer Economics of Electric Utility Restructuring:
Balancing All the Costs and Benefits (press release)
by C.U. and Consumers Federation. July 1998. $10

Worst First:
High-Risk Insecticides, Children's Foods and Safer Alternatives
September 1998. $15

West Coast Regional Office

Consumers Union
1535 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA  94103
Phone: (415) 431-6747
Fax: (415) 431-0906

Building for a Healthy Future: Sustaining School-Based Enrollment in Health Insurance Programs
June 2003
PDF format only

Getting Action: How to Petition Government and Get Results
2002
PDF format only

An Advocate's Guide to Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) in California
November 2002
HTML format
PDF format

Drift And Disarray: The California Energy Crisis Continues
March 2002

Protecting California's Residential And Small Business Electricity Consumers
January 2002

Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Program: Best Practices to Serve Recipients
August 2000

Building Strong Foundations: Creating Community Responsive Philanthropy in Nonprofit Conversions
July 2000

Good as Gold: Preserving Community Resources in Nonprofit Conversions
June 2000

A Golden Opportunity: Improving Children's Health Through California's Schools
March 2000

The Tie That Binds: Linking Children's Health Insurance with School Nutrition Programs in California
December 1999

Balancing Mission and Market: Nonprofits Walk a Tightrope Between the Public and Private Spheres (pdf format only)
September 1999

There's No Place Like Home:
The Implications of Reverse Mortgages on Seniors in California
August 1999

Manage to Care: How California Can Better Inform Consumers About Managed Care
June 1999

White Knights or Trojan Horses?
A Policy and Legal Framework for Evaluating Hospital
Consolidations in California
April 1999

The Hard Sell:
Combating Home Equity Lending Fraud in California,
July 1998

The Land of Milk and Money:
Los Angeles Area Retailers Charge Too Much For Milk,
July 1998.

Creating Supporting Organizations:
An Option for Conversion Foundations,
June 1998.

The Land of Milk and Money:
San Francisco Bay Area Retailers Charge Too Much For Milk,
May 1998.

Home Equity Fraud:
Don't Lose Your Home Like I Did,
April 1998.

Reverse Mortgages:
Guarding the Golden Years,
April 1998.

Blue Cross Conversions:
Consumer Efforts to Protect the Public's Interests,
New York Academy of Medicine Health Policy Symposium, Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, Volume 74, Number 2, Page 256. Julie Silas, Eleanor Hamburger, Charles W.F. Bell, and Margo Hunter. Winter 1997.

Consumer Rights Under The Medi-Cal Managed Care Two-Plan Model,
August 1997.

Got Moo-La?
Los Angeles Grocers Continue to Gouge Consumers on Milk,
June 1997.

Got Moo-La?
Bay Area Grocers Continue to Gouge Consumers on Milk,
March 1997.

A Manual on The Conversion of Nonprofit Health Care Organizations into For-Profit Corporations,
Consumers Union of U.S., Inc., West Coast Regional Office and Community Catalyst. February 1997.

Milk Price Gouging by Grocers Hurts Los Angeles Families, Children and the Poor,
Elisa Odabashian. October 1996.

Milk Price Gouging by Grocers Hurts Bay Area Families, Children and the Poor,
Elisa Odabashian. September 1996.

Review of the Profitability of the California Private Passenger Automobile Insurance Market,
Wakely and Associates, Inc. and Consumers Union of U.S., Inc., West Coast Regional Office . William Ahern. June 1996.

Concealed Danger:
Who's Really Behind the Bid to Kill The California Corporate Criminal Liability Act, Elisa Odabashian. April 1996.

A Shot in the Dark:
The Department of Corporations Fails in its Job to Educate and Inform Consumers about Choosing an HMO,
Eleanor Hamburger. April 1996.

Congress Brings Back the Horrors:
Budget Bill Rolls Back Nursing Home Standards,
National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform and Nicole Gudzowsky and Jeanne Finberg. December, 1995.

What Congress Isn't Telling You: Families of Nursing Home Residents May Face Financial Ruin Under Federal Medicaid Bill,
National Senior Citizens Law Center and Patricia Nemore and Jeanne Finberg. November, 1995.

Dirty Deeds:
Abuses and Fraudulent Practices in California's Home Equity Market,
October, 1995.

The Pot of Gold:
Monitoring Health Care Conversions Can Yield Billions of Dollars For Health Care,
Eleanor Hamburger, Jeanne Finberg, and Leticia Alcantar. Published in 29 Clearinghouse Review, August/September, 1995.

Unraveling the Mystery of Medicaid Block Grants:
Proposed Cuts Threaten Consumers of All Income Levels,
Consumers Union of U.S., Inc., West Coast Regional Office and National Health Law Program, Washington Office, Jeanne Finberg and Stan Dorn. July, 1995.

Blue Cross' $2.5 Billion Grab:
A Report on How Blue Cross of California Captured Billions of Dollars Owed to Health Charities,
Maryann O'Sullivan. August, 1994.

California's Single Payer Initiative for Health Care:
What Will It Mean For California Consumers,
Jeanne Finberg. June, 1994.

The High Cost of Check Cashing,
Tip S. Phabmixay. May, 1994.

The American Dream:
Opening The Door To Credit and Ending Mortgage Discrimination,
Michael A. Terhorst. December, 1993.

The Thin Red Line:
How The Poor Still Pay More,
Consumers Union of U.S., Inc. West Coast Regional Office. David Dante Troutt. June, 1993.

UCC Articles 3 and 4 in the California Legislature:
A New Focus on Consumer Protection in Uniform Law Proposals,
Consumers Finance Law Quarterly Report. Vol. 47, No. 2. Gail Hillebrand. Spring, 1993.

The Health Care Crisis In the Latino Community,
Latino Issues Forum and Carlos Rodríguez. December, 1992.

Sold Short:
The Actual Cost of A Minimum Adequate Living Standard Compared to AFDC Levels in California,
David Hoffman and Nettie Hoge. June, 1992.

The California Corporate Criminal Liability Act:
A One year Perspective,
The Everhart Company for Harry Snyder. March, 1992.

Revised Articles 3 and 4 of the Uniform Commercial Code:
A Consumer Perspective,
Alabama Law Review. Vol. 42, No. 2. Gail Hillebrand. Winter, 1992.

How California Wastes At Least $10 Billion in Health Care Dollars Each year,
Health Access. April, 1991.

California's Health Access:
Marshalling the Political Will for Health Care Reform,
Stanford Law & Policy Review. Lois Salisbury, Maryann O'Sullivan, and Judith Bell. Fall, 1991.

The Affordability of Auto Insurance Among Low Income Families in Los Angeles,
Consumers Union of U.S., Inc., West Coast Regional Office and Latino Issues Forum. Juan L. Gonzales. Spring, 1991.

In Our Best Interest:
Why The U.S. Needs a National Health Care Program,
Health Access. April, 1991.

The Right Way to Spend California's 70 Billion Health Care Dollars,
Health Access. March, 1991.

Financial Information Bank for Refugees and Immigrants,
prepared in five languages by the Refugee Resettlement Program, Catholic Charities, Los Angeles, California. Funded by a grant from the California Credit and Finance Project, 1991.

Medicare/Medigap:
The Essential Guide for Older Americans and Their Families.
Carl Oshiro and Harry Snyder. Consumers Reports Books, 1990.

Community Reinvestment:
Putting Substance in Your Program, Community Investments.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Gail Hillebrand. Fall, 1990.

Code Blue:
The Medical Emergency,
Brenda Romney. November, 1990.

Using the Services of a Mortgage Broker, California Department of Real Estate and Gail Hillebrand. March, 1990.

Start Off Right:
First Steps Toward Solving California's Health Care Crisis,
Health Access. February, 1990.

CEB Action Guide:
Meeting Statutory Deadlines, Contractual and Financial Inquiry Litigation,
Continuing Education of the Bar. G. Hillebrand, S. Clark, W. Elfving, G. Flatt, D. Painter, and G. Robinson. Spring, 1990.

California Banker's Association Proposes to Rewrite California Banking Law:
The Ultimate Blank Check,
Regulatory Law Reporter, Vol. 9, No. 4. Gail Hillebrand. Fall, 1989.

The California Dream, The California Nightmare:
5.2 Million People Without Health Insurance,
Health Access. March, 1988.

Claims Procedures in Large Consumer Class Actions and Equitable Distribution of Benefits,
28 Santa Clara Law Review. 747. G. Hillebrand and D. Torrence. 1988.

Money and Politics,
Robert Shireman. 1987.

Public Scrutiny:
A guide to using Publicly-disclosed Information About Money and Politics in California,
Robert Shireman. 1986.

Getting Action:
How to Petition State Government,
Carl Oshiro and Harry Snyder. 1980.

Consumer Policy Institute at Consumers Union

Consumers Union
101 Truman Avenue
Yonkers, NY 10703-1057
Phone: (914) 378-2455
Fax: (914) 378-2928
 

Pesticide Residues In Conventional, IPM-Grown And Organic Foods: Insights >From Three U.S. Data Sets (summary)
May 2002

A Report Card for the EPA: Successes and Failures in Implementing the Food Quality Protection Act
February 2001

Taking out the Trash: A New Direction for New York City's Waste
Barbara Warren, M.S.
Organization of Waterfront Neighborhoods and Consumer Policy Institute/Consumers Union (5/31/00)
 

Pesticides

Do You Know What You're Eating? (Summary )
Do You Know What You're Eating? An Analysis of U.S. Government Data on Pesticide Residues in Foods (Full Report in PDF format)
February 1999

Pest Management at the Crossroads:
by Charles M. Benbrook with Edward Groth III, Ph.,D.,
Jean M. Halloran, Michael Hansen, Ph.D., and Sandra
Marquardt (Consumers Union. 1996, 272 pps., $19)
 

International Sustainable Agriculture

Progress and Roadblocks: Sustainable Agriculture at FAO
and the World Bank,
by Michael Hansen, Ph.D. with
Robbin Blaine, (1996, 33 pps., $5)

Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development:
FAO at the Crossroads,
Michael Hansen, Ph.D., (1993, 70 pps., $8)

Living Soils: Sustainable Alternatives to Chemical Fertilizers,
Hugh McGuinness, Ph.D., (1993, 411 pps., $20)

The Social Costs of Modern Agriculture,
Hugh McGuinness, Ph.D., (1991, 17 pps., $4)

Environmental Problems of Chemical Fertilizer Use,
Hugh McGuinness, Ph.D., (1991, 17 pps., $4)

The First Three Years: Implementation of the World Bank
Pesticide Guidelines 1985-1988,
Michael Hansen, Ph.D., (1990, 114 pps., $8)

Escape from the Pesticide Treadmill: Alternatives to Pesticides
in Developing Countries,
Michael Hansen, Ph.D.
English edition (1987, 185 pps., $12)
Indonesian edition (1990, 220 pps., $12)
Spanish edition (1990, 250 pps., $12)

Urban Toxic Chemical Pollution

Perchloroethylene Exposure From Dry Cleaned Clothes,
Deborah N. Wallace,
Edward Groth (1996, 8 pps., $5)
 

UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS: Perchloroethylene in the Air
in Apartments Above New York City Dry Cleaners,
Deborah Wallace, Edward Groth, Ellen Kirrane,
Barbara Warren and Jean Halloran (1995, 57 pgs., $5)

Toxic Chemical Accident Risks in New York City,
Barbara Warren and Eileen Nic, (1991160 pgs. , with 1993 udate, $8)

 Toxic Air Pollution from New York City Industry,
Eileen Nic and Beth Inabinett, (1990, 36 pgs., $5)
 

Bhopal in New Jersey? A Survey of Local Emergency Planning
Committees in New Jersey,
prepared by CPI and the New Jersey
Right to Know and Act Coalition (1990, 21 pps., $5)

Consumers Union
101 Truman Avenue
Yonkers, NY 10703-1057
Phone: (914) 378-2455
Fax: (914) 378-2928

How Good are Your State's Nursing Homes?
June 2003
HTML Version
PDF Version

Assessing the Impact of Speed Limit Increases on Fatal
Interstate Crashes
Sandy Balkin, Ernst & Young LLP
J. Keith Ord, Georgetown University