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Health Care

Issue | Health Care

Making Health Care Work

Fighting to control the skyrocketing cost of health care.

Report | NHPIRG | Health Care

Making The Grade

When it comes to health care, there are few magic-bullet solutions for the many problems consumers face in the marketplace: insurers don’t compete for their business, leading to higher prices and lower quality. Important information about coverage is buried in the fine print, making it hard to know what’s really covered or which plan is right. And costs are continuing their unsustainable rise.  Yet there are policy solutions that can make a difference and give consumers a better deal on health care. One of the most important of these is the creation of new state-based health insurance marketplaces, called exchanges. Exchanges give individuals and small businesses the same advantages that large businesses generally enjoy when it comes to buying health insurance. Large businesses have strong negotiating power, allowing them to get a lower rate for coverage as insurers compete for their business.

Result | Health Care

Young People Now Covered

This year, the federal health care reforms that NHPIRG worked to win have started to pay off for young people. In the past, teens saw their premiums soar or were denied coverage when they turned 19, even if they’d been insured their whole lives. Now, they can remain on their parents’ plans until age 26. 

Resource | Budget, Consumer Protection, Democracy, Financial Reform, Food, Health Care, Higher Ed, Safe Energy, Solid Waste, Tax, Transportation

Beat High Bank Fees

Banks rely on consumer indifference when they raise fees. They count on consumers not shopping around. PIRG’s Big Banks, Bigger Fees reports routinely find that small banks and credit unions are not following the big banks’ lead; they still offer many free or low cost accounts.

Resource | Budget, Consumer Protection, Democracy, Financial Reform, Food, Health Care, Higher Ed, Safe Energy, Solid Waste, Tax, Transportation

TIPS FOR TOY SAFETY

Thousands of toys are on the market, each promising to educate or entertain our children. Unfortunately, not every toy is safe. Toy buyers can help protect children from injury by being careful, vigilant shoppers.

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Some of the nation’s best-known companies—including GE, Google and Goldman Sachs—have avoided paying the taxes they owe, costing us $100 billion last year.

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