Keeping health care costs down under the Affordable Care Act depends significantly on increasing particiption in private health care plans (which, if the Act works as contemplated, would be spurred in part by subsidies provided under the law). As explained in this article by Sarah Kliff, because many people do not know about the law's […]
Author Archives: Brian Wolfman
Just in time for the holidays, U.S. PIRG warns us about all the toys that will choke, cut, and otherwise harm our kids in its "Trouble in Toyland" report. And read PIRG's tips for avoiding the purchase of hazardous toys in the first place. Here's the report's executive summary: The 2012 Trouble in Toyland report […]
Just in time for the holidays from Consumer Reports, which has surveyed corporate policies on consumer refunds, fees, etc., and described what it thinks are the 10 naughtiest and the 10 nicest.
By Brian Wolfman I'm writing about U.S. Airways v. McCutchen, an ERISA case set for argument in the U.S. Supreme Court on November 27. The case's outcome may affect the viability of some personal-injury suits. When people are harmed by consumer products, doctors' negligence, or in car crashes, for instance, they often incur medical expenses. […]
Does BP's settlement of criminal charges with the federal government do enough to deter and punish? Law professors talk about that question in this video, with one calling it "a drop in the bucket" given BP's deep pockets, the extent of the wrong doing, and the death and destruction caused by the BP spill in the […]
As many of our readers are aware, the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) makes it difficult for consumers to enforce their rights in court when the standard form contracts that govern their employment relationships or their consumer purchases contain arbitration clauses. The Supreme Court has interpreted the FAA broadly. Does the FAA apply in state courts […]
As the LA Times explains, "the Federal Housing Administration, which has played a crucial role in stabilizing the housing market, said it ended September with $16.3 billion in projected losses — a possible prelude to a taxpayer bailout. The precarious financial situation could force the FHA, which has been self-funded through mortgage insurance premiums since […]
Last Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affrimed a class-action judgment in favor of the plaintiffs in Matmaros v. Starbucks Corp., Nos. 12-1189 and 12-1207. The plaintiffs were Starbucks baristas who claimed that, under a Massachusetts wage law known as the Tips Act, they did not have to share the cash […]
Yes, according to Richard Posner. Posner says that people needing a kidney have to wait about six months on average. Meanwhile, they are often on expensive dialysis, which greatly diminishes the quality of their ilves. Here are some exceprts from Posner's piece: If kidneys were salable, the waiting time for a transplant would drop precipitately, […]
Many of the readers of this blog are advocates for consumers' welfare. Many of them are lawyers. But did they become financially literate in law school? Do they know enough about financial transcations to promote useful systemic reform? NYU law school has decided to require all of its students to take a course in financial […]