Bill to Bolster Insurance Companies Harms Consumers [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?post_type=press_release&p=2893]
The bill erodes tool for reigning in insurance companies and fighting rising costs ... 
Consumers Union Comments to FTC on Facial Recognition Technologies [http://hearusnow.org/?post_type=document&p=1000]
January 31, 2012 Federal Trade Commission 600 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. Room H-113 (Annex P) Washington,DC20580 Comments of Consumers Union Face Facts: A Forum on Facial Recognition Project Number P115406 Consumers Union,[1] the public policy and advocacy division of...
Holding health insurance companies accountable [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?p=2890]
Keeping your health insurance costs down is one of our top priorities. Which is why we’ve been working both publicly and behind the scenes to make sure insurance companies adhere to the new national health care law that says they...
Feds reject Texas’ request to delay insurance reform [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?post_type=article&p=2888]
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has rejected the Texas Department of Insurance’s proposal to delay implementation of a federal health care reform provision aimed at curbing rising premiums....
HHS rules in favor of Texas consumers, insurance companies to rebate up to $160 million [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?p=2887]
In another major win for consumers, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has denied Texas’ request to delay implementing part of the health reform law. The rule at issue, known as the Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) rule, requires...
Groups applaud federal rejection of Texas effort to delay health reform consumer protection [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?post_type=press_release&p=2885]
The decision is a victory for Texas consumers who buy insurance on their own ...
Every step you take: DNT must include geolocation and mobile apps [http://hearusnow.org/?p=994]
Geolocation is an increasingly popular Internet feature with many benefits. With geolocation, you can let your friends know where you are, locate places like restaurants or gas stations nearby, or find out location-specific information like weather and directions. There...
AT&T Call for Restrictions on FCC Spectrum Auctions: Statement by Consumers Union [http://hearusnow.org/?post_type=press_release&p=992]
News Release Consumers Union Thursday, January 26, 2012 WASHINGTON — According to news reports, AT&T today called for Congress to mandate how the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) would structure and operate its next spectrum auction, a move that would take...
Consumer groups fear White House may water down rule on user-friendly health plan summaries [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?post_type=article&p=2883]
One of the most popular provisions of the health care reform law — consumer-friendly summaries of what your insurance plan covers — suddenly seems to be at risk....
Google’s “simple” new policy to track you across websites [http://hearusnow.org/?p=986]
Google has done it again. The company that pledged to “do no evil” has recently been plagued by numerous privacy missteps, including the collection of Wi-Fi data from unsecured hotspots via Street View vehicles and automatically revealing Gmail users’ contact...
Do Not Track: Set it and forget it [http://hearusnow.org/?p=983]
The World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Tracking Protection Working Group released the first public working draft of a proposed Do Not Track standard in November 2011. While these standards are still in the very early stages of development, we are eager...
Community Group comments on W3C DNT [http://hearusnow.org/?post_type=document&p=981]
Date: Jan. 8, 2012 Editors: Lee Tien (EFF) and John M. Simpson (Consumer Watchdog) This draft document represents the current consensus views of the following organizations: Center for Digital Democracy, Center for Media and Democracy, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers...
Were your holiday gifts naughty or nice? Report any unsafe products. [http://buysafeeatwell.org/?p=2943]
The decorations are down and the tree is long gone, but how are your holiday gifts and toys holding up? If you received any products that turned out to pose safety hazards, report them to www.SaferProducts.gov. Thousands of people have...
Affordable Care Act is increasing coverage, study confirms [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?p=2873]
In September, we reported on a Census survey showing that the Affordable Care Act expanded health care access to over 500 thousand young adults in 2010 alone. Although some were skeptical of the data, it strongly suggested the increased coverage was...
Will California label GE fish? [http://buysafeeatwell.org/?p=2939]
GE salmon grow twice as large as wild salmon in half the time With the FDA poised to approve genetically engineered (GE) salmon, California legislators are taking preemptive action to protect consumers from being blindsided when it hits the market...
CU urges Blue Shield of California to withdraw rate hike [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?post_type=press_release&p=2872]
Rate hike expected to force more than 30,000 Californians to drop Blue Shield coverage...
Report: Selecting health plans can be difficult [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?post_type=document&p=2870]
"What's Behind the Door" finds consumers can't shop for coverage. Here's what we need to do 01/17/12
...
Report: Creating Usable Measure of Actuarial Value [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?post_type=document&p=2869]
Identifies policies needed to ensure the ACA's actuarial value requirements are usable by consumers ...
Do Not Track: The option to refuse tracking by third-party websites [http://hearusnow.org/?p=972]
Almost every web site out there tracks user information to some degree. Some forms of tracking can make your online experience more convenient and efficient. For example, certain cookies save your usernames and passwords, so you don’t have to...
Will California label GE fish? [http://buysafeeatwell.org/?p=2937]
...
Google Chrome Gets “Do Not Track” Tool [http://hearusnow.org/?p=997]
Google Chrome now has Do Not Track! This tool, developed by privacy expert Jonathan Mayer from Stanford University, allows Chrome users to tell websites that they do not wish to be tracked as they surf the net. Major browsers such as Microsoft...
Google Chrome Gets “Do Not Track” Tool [http://hearusnow.org/?p=971]
Google Chrome now has Do Not Track! This tool, developed by privacy expert Jonathan Mayer from Stanford University, allows Chrome users to tell websites that they do not wish to be tracked as they surf the net. Major browsers such as...
HHS calls Trustmark’s rate increases in five states ‘unreasonable’ [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?post_type=article&p=2867]
Under the 2010 federal health law, states – or in some cases, the federal government – must review premium increases of 10 percent or more, and insurers must publicly justify those deemed unreasonable. Information is also posted on a federal...
Oregon’s health reform to save billions [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?post_type=article&p=2864]
A healthcare consultant hired by the Oregon Health Authority to analyze the possible financial savings by overhauling the Oregon Health Plan predicted that the state could save as much as $3.2 billion within five years—and perhaps more....
NC, WI applications complete; HHS to rule on rebates soon [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?p=2862]
Like Texas, Florida and several states before, insurance departments in North Carolina and Wisconsin have now finalized applications to delay an important new rule that could slow rising insurance premiums or even give you a rebate. On Wednesday, the Federal Department of Health and...
FDA announces new restrictions on antibiotics for animals [http://buysafeeatwell.org/?p=2935]
The FDA revealed new restrictions this week on the use of one type of antibiotics, cephalosporins, in food animals in order to help reduce the risk of resistance to these drugs in humans. Cephalosporins are used to treat human illnesses...
Collaborative efforts can save money and improve care [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?post_type=article&p=2861]
Physicians and hospitals share cost savings with the employers and insurers, and in some cases share losses if savings targets aren’t met. Medicare has launched a similar program under the 2010 health reform law aimed at developing so-called accountable care...
Health care consumers win again in Kansas, Oklahoma [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?p=2858]
Despite their requests to soften its implementation, health insurance companies in Kansas and Oklahoma will have to immediately comply with the Affordable Care Act’s rule that they spend at least 80% of their customers’ premiums on health care bills, not...
U.S. denies bids by Kansas, Oklahoma for health law waivers [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?post_type=article&p=2857]
Health insurers in Kansas and Oklahoma can’t take more than 20 percent of the revenue they collect in premiums for overhead and profit, after the U.S. today denied requests from the states for more generous limits....
HHS rejects looser insurance rules in two states [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?post_type=article&p=2856]
HHS denied Kansas’s and Oklahoma’s requests to soften the healthcare law’s medical loss ratio (MLR) provisions. The law requires insurers selling policies to individuals to spend 80 percent of their premiums on medical costs, with the remaining 20 percent for...
Texas Dems drag Perry into fight over health waiver request [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?post_type=article&p=2855]
Texas House Democrats sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Wednesday urging her to reject the state’s request that insurers be allowed to spend a larger portion of premiums on profits and overhead....
CA Taking Major Strides Toward Quality, Affordable & Secure Health Insurance [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?post_type=document&p=2850]
Yesterday, the California Health Benefit Exchange Board (HBEx) held its final meeting of the year. 2011 was an eventful year for the Exchange, leaving California well positioned to create a competitive health insurance marketplace for millions of Californians by Jan 1, 2014. The...
Health Insurer Template for Justifying Rate Increases [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?post_type=article&p=2848]
Under the Affordable Care Act, health insurers must complete and file this Summary Worksheet as part of their justification for rate increases of 10 percent of more. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services uses the data contained in...
Summary of Rate Information on State Insurance Websites – December 2011 [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?post_type=document&p=2847]
This chart summarizes the information about rate increases and rate review available on state insurance agency websites as of December 20, 2011....
PPACA Rate Increase Disclosures – Worksheet Template for Rate Justifications [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?post_type=article&p=2842]
Health insurers must submit the attached form to the Department of Health and Human Services as justification for a rate increase of 10% or more. PPACA Rate Increase Disclosures – Summary Worksheet of Rate Data...
Rate Information Available on State Insurance Websites as of December 2011 [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?post_type=document&p=2839]
This chart summarizes information about health insurance rate review and rate increases available on the website of state insurance agencies as of December 20, 2011. Consumers_Union_State_Rate_Review_Websites_12-2011...
Summary of PPACA Rate Increases as of December 2011 [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?post_type=document&p=2836]
This chart summarizes rate increases of 10 percent or more that were listed on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services healthcare.gov website as of December 14, 2011....
Fed ruling forces health insurers to pay $89 million in rebates [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?post_type=article&p=2833]
The federal government has denied a request by the Michigan Office of Insurance Regulation to delay a regulation under health care reform that requires insurers to return $89 million to people who have purchased health insurance....
HHS rejects Michigan’s request for MLR adjustment [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?post_type=article&p=2830]
The Health and Human Services Department rejected Michigan’s request for an adjustment to the law’s medical loss ratio (MLR) requirements. The law requires insurance plans for individuals to spend 80 percent of their premiums on medical costs. Only the remaining...
Like sprinkling antibiotics on Cheerios [http://buysafeeatwell.org/?p=2922]
Fourteen illnesses, half of which required hospitalization, have now been linked to an outbreak of Salmonella-tainted beef sold at Hannaford’s, a New England supermarket chain. The company issued a recall last week of all ground beef with a sell by date...
AT&T Drops Bid for T-Mobile: Consumers Union Statement [http://hearusnow.org/?post_type=press_release&p=955]
News Release Consumers Union Monday, December 19, 2011 AT&T and T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom today announced that they have agreed to drop their bid to merge the two wireless companies. Parul P. Desai, policy counsel for Consumers Union...
How Creepy is Face Scanning Software? [http://hearusnow.org/?p=952]
Imagine passing a digital ad board that silently and instantly determines your gender and age, possibly even your current emotional state, and targets you with personalized ads. Or what if you walked into a clothing store and immediately received gender...
How to Opt Out of Tag Suggestions on Facebook [http://hearusnow.org/?p=949]
Facebook recently got in some trouble when it automatically began analyzing users’ photos and suggesting photo “tags” to friends. The company claims this technology was implemented to allow us to quickly identify and tag our friends in our photos all...
HHS ruling a big win for Florida health insurance consumers [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?p=2828]
In a major win for consumers, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has rejected Florida’s request to delay a new rule requiring health insurance companies to spend at least 80% of their customers’ premium dollars on actual medical...
Millions of young adults getting coverage under new healthcare law [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?post_type=article&p=2826]
The healthcare law signed by President Obama last year has now helped as many as 2.5 million young adults get health insurance over the last year despite the lagging economy, new data released by the federal government indicates....
Is your holiday Made in the USA? [http://buysafeeatwell.org/?p=2908]
Are you part of the 1-in-3 people who haven’t started their holiday shopping yet? Or maybe you still have a few more gifts to cross off your list? Then it’s not too late for you to pick up a few...
Report: 1 million in Washington lack health insurance [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?post_type=article&p=2825]
Kreidler said that if the major provisions of the federal health care reform are able to take effect in 2014, more than 800,000 uninsured people in the state will be eligible for expanded Medicaid eligibility or subsidies, and the rate...
About 2.5 million young adults gain health insurance under U.S. overhaul [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?post_type=article&p=2824]
About 2.5 million Americans under the age of 26 received medical insurance because of a rule in the health-care overhaul that allowed them to remain on their parents’ plans. The percentage of people ages 19 to 25 with insurance rose to...
Florida rebate decision coming soon; Tampa Bay news breaks down the issue [http://prescriptionforchange.org/?p=2821]
We’ll soon know the fate of a new rule aimed at helping Floridians who buy health insurance on their own get better value for their money. Federal regulators are set to decide whether to grant the state a waiver from...
Consumer Groups Applaud Decision by OECD on Internet Principles [http://hearusnow.org/?post_type=press_release&p=946]
News Release Consumers Union/Consumer Federation of America December 13, 2011 Washington, D.C. – Consumers Union (CU) and the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) today applauded the decision of the Council of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to...
