Consumers Council of Missouri 2018 event – Knowledge is Power will showcase our work over the last year, including successful negotiation of a $1M bill pay program for low-income Spire consumers to help families keep their heat on through challenging winters.

The event will feature New York Times best selling author, Wendell Potter who will discuss the rising costs of health care from the perspective of a former insurance executive. We will also be presenting our annual Alberta Slavin Award to Rev. Dr. Cassandra Gould for her work as executive director of Missouri Faith Voices in payday lending and other consumer issues.

December 7, 2018 at the Nine Network, 3655 Olive Street in St. Louis, Missouri.

Tickets are limited so sign up today!

Live music by Jenna Bauer and Dave Black.
Snacks by Milque Toast Bar
and drinks included

Consumer advocates rejected the initial plan citing overspending and inadequate benefits

Ameren, Missouri’s largest utility company, has reached an agreement with consumer advocates and environmental groups to launch an energy efficiency plan. The utility proposed a $550 million conservation program over six year, but consumer advocates fought to scale back the program duration and overall spending.

The modified plan calls for $227 million in spending and creates a “check in” at 3 years to ensure that the program is delivering results.

Consumer advocates hail the compromise. Cara Spencer of the Consumers Council of Missouri said “this is a good compromise and provides a net value to both consumers and the environment without placing an undue burden on ratepayers.”

The plan is intended to benefit a wide spectrum of Ameren consumers and includes $20 million in benefits low-income households. The agreement also sets up data sharing that will allow low-income consumer experts to ensure the program is working equitably.

Spencer adds, “This is not only good for the environment, but with this compromise we have protected rate payers and specifically low-income households.”

The Missouri Public Service Commission is expected to make a decision in the next couple of weeks.

The Trump Administration wants to take away the rights of states to protect their own citizens from air pollution and volatile gas prices through clean cars standards. 

Last year, the Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal net neutrality, a set of regulations intended to protect internet users. Now, leaders of eight St. Louis co-working spaces are calling on Missouri congressional lawmakers to join national efforts that could reverse the commission’s decision.

Their call came Wednesday as U.S. Sen. Ed. Markey, D-Mass., filed a petition that would force the U.S. Senate to vote on the future of net neutrality. The 2015 regulations bar internet providers from controlling internet speeds, among other things. The Senate must vote by June 12 on whether to allow or block the FCC’s repeal.

What is net neutrality? Read more.

Nebula Coworking owner Jason Deem coordinated with the founders of T-REX, HIVE44, Nexcore, CIC St. Louis, CLAIM, UCity Coworking and TechArtista to write an open letter supporting the measure.

Repealing net neutrality would hurt co-working space clients including small businesses trying to innovate in technology markets and nonprofit organizations seeking social reforms, according to the founders’ letter.

Deem said he was spurred to coordinate the letter by the concerns of small business owners and activists who are members at Nebula.

“The main issue is that the repeal of net neutrality could put small businesses and start-ups at a considerable disadvantage compared to large businesses that could afford to pay more for services,” he said.

The letter is addressed to U.S. Sens. Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt and U.S. Reps. Lacy Clay and Ann Wagner.

Asked for comment, a representative for Blunt’s referred tothe Republican senator’s  December 2017 statement where he supported repealing net neutrality. Blunt wrote that the net neutrality rules “created a barrier to the investment and innovation we need to grow our economy and close the digital divide between rural towns and bigger cities.”

Democrat McCaskill’s office responded to a request for comment by referring to a statement from January when she co-sponsored a Senate proposal to maintain net neutrality rules. In the statement she said that “consumers should have protected, free, and open access to the online content of their choosing.”

Co-working concerns

The Consumers Council of Missouri is among the concerned Nebula members. The nonprofit group work to inform Missourians about health care, personal finance and home utility issues.

Cara Spencer, executive director of the Council, said the potential for internet providers to block content could jeopardize the nonprofit’s work. Spencer also serves as alderwoman of St. Louis’ 20th ward.

“What happens if the content we put out is not in the best interest of the internet service providers or those that work well with them? Could they block content?” Spencer asked. “This is really a threat not only to consumers but to free speech, or anyone who’s advocating on issues that may not be popular with the folks that can pay for preferential internet access.”

She said net neutrality’s repeal could also make the internet look more like politics, where those with the most money have the ability to exert outsized influence. Spencer said the council is also concerned that if internet providers could charge companies for access fees, those increased costs could be passed on to customers.

FCC chairman Ajit Pai, who voted against the rules in 2015, has argued that repealing net neutrality would instead help consumers by creating more competition and encouraging internet providers to invest in networks in low-income areas.

The letter also urges Missouri’s representatives to reject bills that wouldn’t let states develop independent net neutrality laws and back an amicus brief for a potential lawsuit drafted by U.S. Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Markey.

Reps. Clay, a Democrat, and Wagner a Republican, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday afternoon.

http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/st-louis-co-working-spaces-petition-state-politicians-restore-net-neutrality#stream/0

https://www.eenews.net/energywire/stories/1060073547/

by the Editorial Board for the St. Louis Post-Dispatcth

Ameren Missouri’s cherished rate-reform bill, which has sat dormant in the Missouri House since being passed by the state Senate in mid-February, is meeting 11th-hour challenges — and a threat to force full disclosure of all the money spent to pass it. Missouri consumers’ best hope is for Senate Bill 564 to die before the legislative session ends May 18.

Groups representing both residential and large industrial power users have raised significant doubts about Ameren’s claims that it would benefit consumers by capping rate increases at 2.85 percent per year for residential customers and 2 percent for industrial users.

Opponents argue that changes to the way that the state’s three investor-owned utilities calculate expenses would lead to an effective rate increase of 8 percent to 10 percent — or as much as 20 percent in the view of the Consumers Council of Missouri.

In the Senate, despite political dangers from rate hikes in an election year, a few labor Democrats joined the GOP majority to pass the bill 25-6 in February.

The bill stalled while the House considered its own measure. But as the state’s attention turned to the drama of Gov. Eric Greitens’ upcoming trial in St. Louis, legislative leaders quietly pushed this week for the House to pass the Senate bill without amendments. That would enable it to go back to the Senate for final passage without the threat of a filibuster in the session’s last week.

House leaders indicated Wednesday they were willing to break their promise to allow full and open debate, and to push for a quick vote.

In response, Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, drafted a letter to Missouri Public Service Commissioner Daniel Hall to immediately require the three investor-owned utilities to disclose all of their political donations and lobbyist spending since 2014. In February, Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, calculated that the utilities had contributed $900,000 to legislators.

Greitens received about $180,000 from Ameren alone, not counting any undisclosed donations to his “dark money” committee. The PSC can order utilities to disclose dark money contributions.

Even with rate caps in place, SB 564 would allow utilities to potentially make tens of millions more each year from a tool called “Plant In-Service Accounting.” Almost every dollar spent on capital investments could be quickly charged to customers without having to gain PSC approval. Ameren argues that it needs the change to modernize its electric grid, but this accounting tool also would allow it to quickly charge consumers for maintaining the old grid.

Ameren also is holding hostage some $133 million a year in tax savings from the federal tax cut bill that should be returned to customers in the form of a 4.9 percent rate cut. Ameren has done so in Illinois but says Missouri regulators tie its hands. This is not a posture that inspires trust.

Today the Missouri House Financial Institutions Committee passed a bill that purports to regulate payday lending in several ways – some of which appear to be beneficial to consumers. However, HB 2657 currently lacks the real regulatory changes the state of Missouri needs to protect its citizens. In fact, passage of this bill leaves Missouri far behind the regulation of all of our surrounding states.

First, and foremost the bill modestly reduces interest limits from 75% to 35%. While this appears to be beneficial, this rate is still 2.3 times higher than the rate cap of all surrounding states. Kansas, Iowa, Tennessee, Kentucky, Nebraska, Illinois, and Oklahoma all cap their rates at 15%. A 35% interest rate on a two –week loan translates into a whopping 910% APR, no nowhere near the generally accepted preferred APR cap of 36%.

Secondly, the bill reduces the number of renewals from six to two. While this gives the appearance of protecting consumers, there is no rationale for allowing them at all. All of our neighboring states do not allow renewals of any number.

To add insult to injury, HB 265 reduces the fee for payday lending licensing from $500 to $300. We fail to see a reason that could justify this reduction. The fee for licensing is relatively small compared to the income generated by these lenders and the fee helps pay for oversight of the industry and a state annual report that provides valuable insight into the impacts of payday lending on Missouri households.

Finally, we’d like to applaud changes to extended payment plans, but would like to point out that this will have very little impact on consumers. States with similar provisions report that less than 3% of eligible transactions actually utilize the extended payment plan.

Payday lending has a major impact on the state of Missouri. The most recent report on payday lending shows that 1.62 million payday loans were issued in 2016 which means on average 1 in 4 Missourians took out a payday loan. The average loan was $314.93 and carried an average interest rate of 462.87%. Assuming they are all paid off in two weeks, at least $90 million in interest and fees are leaving our state’s poorest household and being collected largely by out of state banks annually. This is tragic not only for Missouri families but terrible for our state’s economy.

While we are grateful that the Missouri House is hearing a bill on such an important topic, this bill will do very little to address the impacts it has. We are writing to encourage the Rules Committee to reject this bill in favor of additional dialog prior to the passage of any regulatory bill, include consumer advocates in the discussion and work on reform that will have meaningful impact on Missouri families.

Jefferson City — Believe it or not, generic medicines can be less expensive than co-pays, making them cheaper to buy outright than with insurance – but your pharmacist may be banned from telling you that. The cost difference doesn’t go to the pharmacist, it doesn’t go to the drug manufacturer, it goes to the middleman: the drug benefit manager. That payback is called a clawback.

Clawbacks can range from $2 to $30 a prescription, boosting profits while unfairly charging consumers.

Patients shouldn’t have to pay more than a drug costs. Many states are moving to block the “gag clauses” that prohibit pharmacists from telling customers that they could save money by paying cash rather than using their health insurance. Missouri should be the next state to join that list.

HB 1542 sponsored by Representative Lynn Morris, prohibits clawbacks and eliminates gag clauses in Missouri. This bill will allow your pharmacist to tell you the least expensive way to pay for your drugs and will save Missourians money.

“With the costs of drugs skyrocketing in this country, consumers should be enabled to make informed decisions.” says Cara Spencer of the Consumers Council of Missouri. “Policies that prohibit a pharmacist from communicating pricing information to a patient should have no place in our state. HB 1542 deserves to be heard.”

Please contact our state leadership and let them know that the cost of drugs is important to Missouri consumers and we shouldn’t have to pay more unknowingly.

MO Speaker of the House Todd Richardson:  573-751-4039, Todd.Richardson@house.mo.gov.
Majority Floor Leader Rob Vescovo: 573-751-3607,  Rob.Vescovo@house.mo.gov