Share your story

If you've ever shaken your fist at the television and said, "Somebody ought to do something about that!" now's your chance: OKWatchdog is looking for people like you to share your stories and tell lawmakers about the problems you've faced.

If something is important to you, it ought to be important to your elected officials as well.

It's your right and responsibility to be heard.

Visiting the Capitol, picking up the phone or writing a letter can be intimidating, but special-interest groups are doing these things every day, strengthening their influence.

Remember, our elected officials serve us, not the other way around!

STAND UP AND BE COUNTED.

We're looking for Oklahomans who care about making our state safer and more progressive. We're looking for people who oppose letting bankers, corporate CEOs and insurance companies dictate our state's future because of the size of the checks they write.

If you have suffered medical malpractice or had an insurance company deny a medically necessary claim, we need YOU.

If you are worried about paying for retirement or a college education, we need YOU.

If you or a loved one has suffered neglect in a nursing home, we need YOU.

If you're concerned about health care disparities in our cities and towns, we need YOU.

We need YOU to take power back from special interests. We need YOU to help us take back our state.

Visit the "Contact Us" section of our site for more information.

Health care costs $2.2 trillion

Health care spending in the United States has topped $2.2 trillion, according to an annual report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Spending increased 6.1 percent, which amounts to $7,421 per person. Growth in 2007 was the slowest since 1998.

Prescription drug spending grew by 4.9 percent, its slowest since 1963.

Insurance complaints down in Texas; doctor complaints up

Complaints against insurers in Texas are down for the fifth year in a row, according to the Insurance Council of Texas.

However, complaints against doctors have skyrocketed since voters in 2003 approved caps on damages in medical malpractice cases.

Since 2003 the number of complaints against Texas insurers has dropped more than 50 percent.

During fiscal year 2008, physician and patient settlements through the state Medical Board increased by 202 percent.

Grocery tax credit debated

More than 20 organizations, including OKWatchdog, have teamed up with the Oklahoma Policy Institute to expand and increase the grocery tax credit for low-income Oklahomans.

As the job market tightens, the cost of basic necessities continues to increase. Yet the state's $40-per-household-member grocery tax credit hasn't been adjusted since 1990, and eligibility has been unchanged for a decade.

In the past year, food prices have increased by 6.3 percent, the Oklahoma Policy Institute reports.

Oklahoma is one of only 16 states to tax groceries.

Oklahoma Policy Institute, OKWatchdog and others are asking the Legislature to increase the credit to $60 per household member and expand eligibility.

Expanding the credit is a responsible way to help those in need without hurting the state budget during tough times.

Visit the "Contact Us" section of our site to support raising the grocery tax deduction.

Insurer announces deal over rate-setting controversy

UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation's largest insurers, has agreed to pay $350 million and scrap its self-serving rate-setting system.

United also agreed to spent $50 million to set up a database of rate data and fund a nonprofit organization to oversee the project.

The insurer and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced the deal Jan. 13. United is required to stop using a database of a wholly owned subsidiary to determine out-of-network payments. Other major insurers use the database to determine their "reasonable and customary" rates.

Cuomo argued that United provided skewed data to the subsidiary, Ingenix, and then claimed it was independent.

He called the system "riddled with conflicts of interest" that underpaid doctors and overcharged patients.

"With this agreement, the tide is turning against the corrupted reimbursement system that took hundreds of millions of dollars from the pockets of patients nationwide," Cuomo said in a statement. "Health insurers will no longer be able to distort their data, leaving patients with unfair bills."

The new database, which will be publicly accessible, promises to bring some much-needed transparency to health care pricing.

The Oklahoma Hospital Association has its own pricing Web site, www.okhospitalpricing.org.

Bill makes copying customer lists a crime

State Sen. Dan Newberry, R-Tulsa, has filed legislation to toughen laws on protecting business data.

SB 1013 updates state law over theft of trade secrets to include copying customer lists and business records without authorization.

Under the bill, "copying" includes transferring and emailing electronically stored trade secrets.

Violators could be charged with larceny.