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Obama: Make Equal Justice for Patients a State of the Union Pledge & Re-establish White House Office of Consumer Affairs
January 26, 2010Consumer Watchdog urged President Obama to watch Sunday's Dateline NBC documentary on patients who have insurance but not adequate coverage, then pledge in his State of the Union address tomorrow to deal with the lack of legal accountability for insurers and lack of adequate representation for consumers in the federal government. The nonprofit consumer group called upon Obama to close a legal loophole that currently bars 132 million Americans from holding their health insurance providers legally accountable for denials and delays of care—even if those denials or delays result in serious injury or death. Consumer Watchdog also asked Obama not to wait for Congress, but to re-establish a Special Assistant for Consumer Affairs in the White House—a post every other Democratic president since President Kennedy has filled to be a voice for patients who lack legal remedies against insurance companies. Full release.