In a narrow vote, the US House of Representatives signed off on the Senate’s national health care plan. The bill will now move onto the White House to, presumably, be signed by President Obama. [More]
insurance
Heath Reform Fears: Consumer Reports Interviews Obama Administration
By 3.16.10
Health reform is scary, which is why one of my grandma’s keeps forwarding me emails about how Obama is going to steal her walker. Will it save me money? What if I hate my employer’s insurance? What changes would I notice right away? Consumer Reports took your questions to the Administration to cut through the hype and get the facts. Nancy Metcalf interviews Secretary of Health & Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius. [More]
Credit Unions Ask Customers To Leave
By 3.16.10
Credit unions might be attractive alternatives to big commercial banks, but they’re not crisis-proof. OregonLive says about a fifth of the nation’s credit unions are having financial troubles right now. To get in better financial health, they’re introducing fees for services that have long been free, and even asking members to move their deposits to other institutions. [More]
Publix Giving Away Free Diabetes Drug
By 3.16.10
Publix wants people with diabetes to become their longterm customers, so they’re giving away 30-day supplies of generic metformin in 500 mg, 800 mg, and 1000 mg dosages, with unlimited refills. Although Publix would love it if you subsequently get all your prescriptions filled there, it’s not a requirement for the free drug. [More]
Humana Won't Let You Cancel Your Insurance Because Your Signature Doesn't Match Your Signature
By 3.15.10
I got cocky. I thought after several emails with a Humana communications person and a story on Consumerist, the insurance company would surely relent and let Dean’s father, Thomas, cancel his unnecessary supplemental Medicare insurance. Nope. After all our efforts, Humana called Thomas only to tell him, once again, that they won’t let him cancel. This time, because they say the signature on his request form doesn’t match the signature on his policy. Which is odd, because Thomas is the one who signed both. [More]
Ask The Administration Your Health Reform Questions
By 3.12.10
Consumer Reports is going to the White House to ask them what’s up with health reform, and they need your questions press to them. The Health Blog is going to interview Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, the crackerjack former state insurance commissioner of Kansas. What does health reform mean? How much will it cost? Are we going to get savings or will private doctors get run out of business? Leave your questions in the comments here or over on the Consumer Reports Health Blog or email it to tips@consumerist.com, subject “health reform.”
Ask a top administration official your questions about health reform [Consumer Reports Health Blog]
Access America's "Comprehensive Trip Protector" Insurance Isn't Comprehensive, So Enjoy Your Overnight Layover
By 2.26.10
Mark Smith just got suckered into buying travel insurance that turned out to be worthless to him. There was a huge hole in the middle of the coverage, which meant he and his two kids were stuck overnight in Denver on his own dime. Luckily the policy only cost $40, but that’s $40 that now belongs to Access America in exchange for providing a useless service. [More]
Humana Is Being A Little Dramatic About Alex's Health
By 2.24.10
Alex is 24 years old and was laid off last year. He’s trying to sign up for a high-deductible health insurance plan from Humana One, but they’ve rejected him because he’s got a mess of health issues: “At my last checkup I mentioned occasional knee pain, occasional indigestion, and the fact that I experienced palpitations extremely rarely.” Or as Human describes it, “a medical history of bursitis, tendonitis, osteoarthritis, palpitations and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).” [More]
Am I Going To Be Required To Get Government Health Care?
By 2.24.10
Every time the topic of national health care comes up, the prophets of doom put on their black cloaks and start their chants of “Big Brother,” “socialism” and “move to Finland,” painting a picture of a bleak, Orwellian future where baritone-voiced Death Panels decide your fate on a punch card that then gets sent through a pneumatic tube to the waiting Euthanasia Agent. But our smarter, better-looking kin over at Consumer Reports claim it’s not all that bleak. [More]
State Investigators Find All Sorts Of Dirty Tricks At Mercury Insurance
By 2.8.10
This summer Californians will be able to vote on Proposition 17, which if passed will allow insurers to bypass some legal restrictions on how much they can charge for auto insurance. Mercury Insurance Group is a big proponent of the proposition, but maybe that’s because it’s been possibly sidestepping the law in recent years anyway. Hey, making it legal will just prevent another state report like the one Carla Marinucci at the San Francisco Chronicle obtained, which contains findings that Mercury “has engaged in practices that may be illegal, including deceptive pricing and discrimination against consumers such as active members of the military and drivers of emergency vehicles.” [More]
Guy Refuses To Return Insurer's Calls, So Insurer Says It Doesn't Have To Pay For The Car He Hit
By 2.3.10
A woman in Philadelphia says her neighbor just laughs every time he sees her now, because his insurance company refused to pay a claim on her car that he hit. The company told her that the man won’t answer his phone, so there’s nothing they can do. Update: Right after I posted this, the OP emailed with an update. See the bottom of the post. [More]
Protect Yourself From Unexpected Fees At Medical Clinics
By 1.27.10
An anonymous reader wrote to us to ask what he should do about unexpected bills from a medical clinic. He chose the clinic precisely because he can’t afford hospital bills in the hundreds of dollars, and was led to believe that there’d be no out-of-pocket cost. It turns out there was. [More]
Why Aren't Cellphones Under Warranty For The Duration Of Your Contract?
By 1.11.10
Adam got a bad iPhone that stopped providing some key functions–he can’t make calls on it, for example–18 months into ownership. He didn’t buy Applecare when he purchased it, which would have covered him during the second year of his contract. But that shouldn’t matter, he argues: “[Why isn’t it] incumbent upon a device maker to guarantee a product’s proper function for–at the very least–the length of the contract required at purchase?” [More]
What Were The Top Ads Of 2009?
By 12.29.09
What were the top ads on TV this year for you? For me, it’s got to be GEICO’s googly-eyes-on-a-pile-of-money bits. At first I didn’t like them but after the 20th viewing or so, I got it. [More]
Senate Passes Health Care Reform Bill
By 12.24.09
In case you missed it, Senate Democrats managed to succeed at their goal of pushing through some sort of health care reform bill before Christmas Day–the chamber voted this morning 60-39 along party lines and passed the bill. Up next: the Senate and House have to get together and negotiate some final version. If you want to compare what’s in the House and Senate versions, the New York Times has put together an excellent side-by-side comparison tool.
AAA Canceled My Bro's Insurance Without Telling Him
By 12.10.09
Adam says his brother thought he had car insurance through AAA, but discovered when he was pulled over that the company had dropped him without notifying him. Then he got stuck with two $600 tickets in the same day for driving without insurance. [More]
