Viewpoint: Improving the Marketplace for Consumers

Stop Medical Sticker Shock

Whether it's a sky-high charge for an emergency-room visit or a last-minute switch to an out-of-network anesthesiologist that triples your cost, Consumer Reports has long fought for protection against unfair medical bills. As we've previously reported, almost one-third of Americans have received a medical bill that wound up costing them more than they expected.

Congress is now considering the End Surprise Billing Act of 2015, sponsored by Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a Democrat from Texas, which will require hospitals to get advanced consent if a patient's provider isn't in his or her insurance network.

Go to EndSurpriseMedicalBills.org to learn more and to support the legislation. You'll also find a list of resources that can help you challenge inflated bills.

Fight for FDA Funding

The Food and Drug Administration recently released new rules that focus on preventing outbreaks of food poisoning. Rather than reacting to contaminations after they arise, the agency is now requiring food-processing facilities to identify and fix potential safety problems in their plants before they can trigger dangerous outbreaks. But the rules will work only if the agency has enough funding to fully implement them. (It doesn't.)

Get involved by going to ConsumersUnion.org/fundfda and tell Congress it's time to give the FDA the money it needs to keep our food safe.

Keep the Internet Open

Back in February, the Federal Communications Commission approved new rules that give Americans unrestricted access to websites and online businesses—known as net neutrality. Why was that necessary? To stop Internet service providers from giving preferential treatment (and higher Internet speeds) to sites willing to pay extra fees.

The cable and telecom industries pledged to fight the net-neutrality rules in court, and on Dec. 4 a federal appeals panel will hear their arguments.

Consumer Reports has filed a legal brief in support of the FCC because we strongly believe that Web providers shouldn't be able to block or slow access to some websites while giving priority treatment to favored pages. By putting Internet start-ups and innovators on a level playing field with more established businesses, net neutrality fosters competition and could result in more choice for consumers.

Learn more about how this debate has an impact on consumers and get the latest news about the legal challenge at HearUsNow.org.