News

2009

August

23

• Myths about health care around the world. As Americans search for the cure to what ails our health-care system, we've overlooked an invaluable source of ideas and solutions: the rest of the world. All the other industrialized democracies have faced problems like

• Dropping arbitration, but not class action ban. Consumer advocates have long maintained that one of the more unfair practices in the business world is a provision in many service contracts preventing customers from joining class-action lawsuits and having to submit instead to

• Calls to tax junk food gain ground. "Sin taxes" on cigarettes have turned out to be the most effective weapon in the campaign to reduce smoking. Why not try it on Flamin' Hot Cheetos, vanilla Coke and Twinkies?

• The uninsured. One of the major goals of health care reform is to cover the vast numbers of uninsured. But how vast, really, is that pool of people? Who are they? And how important is it to

• Shrinking Social Security payments. Millions of older people face shrinking Social Security checks next year, the first time in a generation that payments would not rise. The trustees who oversee Social Security are projecting there won't be a cost

22

• Coalition has financial sector in its sights. At a crowded Capitol Hill news conference recently, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) had just promised a "national debate" this fall on the Obama administration's proposed financial reforms when a pending House vote demanded his presence.

21

• Health care debate turns to co-ops. SEATTLE — After 30 years of punishing caseloads and never-ending stacks of paperwork, Harry Shriver was getting ready to hang up his doctor's coat and retire when he tried something new. Shriver's practice, part of a health

19

• Tackling the mystery of medical fees. You go to a restaurant, peruse the menu, take your waiter’s suggestions, and order a meal. But there is something odd: the menu has no prices and you have no idea what you will

18

• California coalition sets August legislative priorities. Nine consumer rights organizations, including Consumer Action, have sent a letter the California Legislature outlining pro-consumer legislative priorities during the final month of the 2009 session. The consumer coalition list highlights the high stakes pro-consumer and

• Health care: Coverage vs. costs. What began as an attempt to provide decent health care to all Americans has metamorphosed into a battle over health-care costs. [...] both Republicans and some Democrats are saying that the top priority for health-care reform,

• Alternate plan as health option muddies waters. The White House has indicated that it could accept a nonprofit health care cooperative as an alternative to a new government insurance plan, originally favored by President Obama. But the co-op idea is so ill

• El cazador del equipaje perdido. La misión de Andrew Price es mejorar la gestión de maletas en los aeropuertos, pero no puede evitar perder las suyas. Andrew Price llevaba apenas un año en su nuevo trabajo y

17

• Obama may drop public option in health care. The Obama administration signaled Sunday it may drop the idea of a publicly financed insurance option as part of a health care compromise. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the public option "is

12

• Like your health insurance? Maybe you shouldn't. If we fail to reform our health care system this year, a major reason will be that a majority of Americans are satisfied with their health coverage and believe that reform could hurt them. According

10

• Obscuring end-of-life decisions. As an example of how opponents of health care reform have been able to twist facts to scare older Americans, look no further than a comment made to President Barack Obama during a recent town

• Health care splits public. As supporters and opponents of overhauling the health care system try to shape public opinion at congressional town-hall-style meetings, both sides face a big complication: Public opinion on the issue is complex in ways that

09

• Healthcare debate framed by fear-mongering ads. How did the healthcare reform debate - arguably the country's most important policy discussion in decades - turn into such a miserable cesspool of scheming and disinformation? This past week we were treated to images

• Good luck getting job loss insurance. The latest figures from the Department of Labor show that 247,000 more jobs disappeared last month. And right about now, many of the people who had those jobs probably wish they had something more coming to

06

• A fresh look at rental car insurance. If you’ve ever rented a car, you know the pitch. “Would you like the collision damage waiver to protect you in case of an accident?” the sales agent asks. My insurance agent calls it “

• U.S. considers remaking mortgage giants. The Obama administration is considering an overhaul of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that would strip the mortgage finance giants of hundreds of billions of dollars in troubled loans and create a new structure to