We have posted frequently about the ramifications of the states' decisions to opt-in (or not) to the Affordable Care Act's massive medicaid expansion, including just a few days ago, when we noted the large number of states that have either decided not to opt in (19) or are still thinking about it (8). A new […]
A stunning revelation this week about consumer privacy: the federal government has obtained a secret order from a secret court to obtain "telephony metadata" — i.e. who's called whom when and for how long — for all Verizon calls made to or within the United States. The Washington Post story quotes an anonymous expert as […]
Allison has already noted that Sid Wolfe has relinquished his position as Director of Public Citizen Health Research Group in favor of Michael Carome, but I want to add my personal appreciation of his willingness to step aside after so many years of leadership. Organizations that hope to renew themselves depend on leaders who both […]
My office just submitted an amicus brief in the Second Circuit that I thought our readers might find interesting. The brief on behalf of 15 leading national disability rights organizations and academic researchers in Authors Guild, Inc. v. Hathitrust, No. 12-4547, urges the court of appeals to uphold a district court ruling that the HathiTrust's efforts to […]
by Deepak Gupta Whenever consumers use credit cards, merchants pay swipe fees, which are typically passed along to all consumers in the form of higher prices. American consumers pay the highest swipe fees in the world—eight times those paid by Europeans. These fees, which amount to about $50 billion annually, are highly regressive: low-income and minority cash […]
by Brian Wolfman Last October, we told you that California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill that establishes a regulatory framework for allowing self-driving cars on California roads. If self-driving cars work as planned they will greatly reduce crashes that kill and maim tens of thousands of people every year. They'll improve fuel economy too. […]
After 42 years as head of Public Citizen Health Research Group, Dr. Sidney Wolfe is handing the reins over to his deputy director Dr. Michael Carome, effective today. Sid founded the Group in 1971, with Ralph Nader. Under Sid’s direction, Public Citizen helped to have 25 dangerous drugs removed from the market and pushed the […]
by Brian Wolfman After the Supreme Court last summer held (7 to 2) that the Affordable Care Act's medicaid expansion could not be forced on the states under the Constitution's so-called Spending Clause, it was left to the states to decide whether they wanted the expansion. Medicaid expansion under the ACA is broad, providing coverage […]
by Deepak Gupta The Voice of San Diego has been publishing a muli-part series on mandatory arbitration by reporter Will Carless. The most recent installment explores the war on consumer class actions and the impact of AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion. Previous installments focus on arbitration secrecy, the National Arbitration Forum debacle, and the plight of an individual […]