By Walter Dartland Consumer Federation of the Southeast “We are aware of organized criminal groups which stage phony car accidents. Many of the staged automobile accidents involve highly structured groups…” With the rampant auto insurance fraud we see today in Florida, it would be easy to believe that quote came from the Governor or Chief Financial Officer. Actually, it came from then-FBI Director Louis Freeh, speaking back in 1995. Here we are 17 years later, still grappling with the same … →

Tallahassee, FL – As Florida lawmakers consider budget proposals that raid the Lawton Chiles Endowment and propose deep cuts to health care services – threatening some of the Sunshine State’s most vulnerable citizens – the Consumer Federation of the Southeast today urged lawmakers to impose an equity fee on cigarettes made by manufacturers who do not participate in the state’s historic tobacco settlement. Depending on federal matching dollars, the fee could generate anywhere from $50 million to $200 million to … →

Consumer Federation of the Southeast Warns Public Employees Against Investing in Unvetted Indexed Annuities ~Educators among the top targets of those ensnared by unscrupulous brokers selling unvetted indexed annuity plans~ 2011 — In an era in which budgets are being cut drastically and public employees are being asked to carry a larger burden for their own retirement and healthcare costs, the Consumer Federation of the Southeast today issued a warning to educators to “beware” of purchasing unvetted investment plans.

A FDA warning about high doses of the cholesterol-lowering drug Simvastatin was not aggressively advertised to patients or physicians after they were pushed to switch from Lipitor to the less-expensive drug by pharmacy-benefit plans, according to physicians familiar with the drug. Click to view the full report: http://www.thebostonchannel.com/video/29729841/detail.html#ixzz1dPiq9cgJ

Reposted from NPR: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/06/09/137078525/critic-faults-fda-for-tardy-warning-on-simvastatin-risk?ps=sh_sthdl Critic Faults FDA for Tardy Warning on Simvastatin Risk By Richard Knox Thu., June 9, 2011 12:30pm (EDT)  The fact that 80 daily milligrams of simvastatin (brand name Zocor) can cause serious muscle damage has been known for years. So why did it take the Food and Drug Administration so long to tell doctors and patients they should avoid that dose? The answer reveals a lot about the FDA’s reluctance to restrict use of a popular drug … →

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –Attorney General Pam Bondi today joined Senate Majority Leader Andy Gardiner (R-Orlando) and Representative Eric Eisnaugle (R-Orlando) to unveil a legislative initiative that will protect consumers from timeshare resale fraud, the number one complaint that the Attorney General’s Office has received for the past two years.  The bill strengthens existing laws by addressing unfair and deceptive marketing and advertising practices by timeshare resale companies. From January 2011 to date, the Attorney General’s Office has received nearly 6,863 complaints.  In 2010, the Attorney General’s Office received more … →

By Bob LaMendola, Sun Sentinel August 12, 2011 Health insurers are increasingly charging patients sharply higher amounts for the most expensive drugs, often causing sticker shock for the sick people who need them. Health plans that have hiked co-payments say affected patients must pay hundreds of dollars more per month for drugs that can cost thousands, in order to prevent big jumps in premiums for everyone else. But patients and their advocates say the practice discriminates against people who are … →

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Consumer Federation of the Southeast (CFSE) today praised efforts within the pharmaceutical industry to crack down on widespread prescription drug abuse. Following the implementation of Florida’s new laws to crack down on pill mills, CFSE Executive DirectorWalter Dartland also recognized Florida Governor Rick Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi and state lawmakers as national leaders in the fight against the nationwide epidemic of prescription drug abuse. A new Florida law intends to shut down pill mills by increasing penalties for overprescribing controlled substances … →