Some tips for using money and experience wisely traveling abroad – National Consumers League

I just returned from a weeklong tour of Morocco. While on the plane I overheard two women who appeared to be veteran travelers discussing currency exchange. One told the other she gets $100 of the local currency from her bank before leaving town. I cringed. Banks charge hefty fees and lousy exchange rates even though they tell you they don’t. I stopped doing that years ago when ATM machines sprung up in airports all across the world.

Sure, having a wad of local cash brings peace of mind. And naturally, you’re always worried the foreign ATM machine will eat your card and then—boom—you’re out of cash for the entire trip. But relax! That’s never happened to me. I’ve traveled the world in the last few years and in cities as diverse as Cape Town, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Ho Chi Min City, Beijing, Tokyo, Athens, and Casablanca, and ATM machines at the airports abound and they work great. (Cuba is the only exception; you have to exchange currency in official government outlets). I just make sure they have a logo and name of a local bank, then I stick that card in and voila! get the best rate of exchange.

How do I know? Because I have an App called CurrencyPlus that I use to test the rate. ATMs are close to the exact exchange rate. I often compare ATMs with those ripoff currency counters you see at airports. They gouge fees from you—sometimes 20 percent—while advertising “no commission.” Don’t believe it!

By the way, make sure your bank doesn’t charge you for ATM transactions. It shouldn’t! Mine (PNC Bank) has no ATM fees in the United States or abroad, and that brings huge peace of mind.

Once on terra firma, using credit cards also gets you a good rate of exchange when you are buying stuff. (But make sure you’re not in debt to your credit card company and paying 27 percent interest on outstanding balances!) And don’t pay foreign transaction fees on your credit card. None of my cards have those anymore, but boy did they make me mad when they did. Those charges added up: if I spent $1,000 traveling, that was $30-40 extra just for using my card! Such chutzpah! And I felt compelled to carry a card abroad I never used at home, like Capital One, that didn’t charge for foreign transactions. Fortunately, because of healthy competition in this part of the industry, my Amex and Visa cards no longer have foreign transaction fees.

Another piece of advice while traveling. Don’t buy keepsakes (rugs, jewelry, potter, clothes, lotions, spices) your first few days into the trip. Take your time to compare the prices and merchandise. On our first day in Morocco the guide took us to a beautiful rug merchant in the Fez Souk; they had beautiful stuff but also hugely inflated rates we didn’t understand. While my friend was negotiating for a rug she fell in love with, I decided to Google the place on Trip Advisor. I learned that tourists bargained in some cases $2,000 less than asking for a $3,400 rug; they did even better when they walked away. It’s the same everywhere—almost no offer is insulting. Three days later we went to a village in the Atlas Mountains outside Marrakesh, and I bought a Berber kilim made by local women. It was a fraction of the Fez Souk’s asking price and still I overpaid. But I was much better informed and knew what I was doing. One funny reality check: on my last day in Casablanca, I ventured into a supermarket and saw every one of the items we had shopped for in the Souk or in the mountains for 1/10 of the price. Pottery, rugs, lotions, oils, spices, clothing. I can’t speak to the quality of those items, but I suspect some were pretty similar to the stuff we bought for far more money. So if you want trinkets to bring home to friends, try the local supermarket where the locals shop. They know what they are doing.

NCL statement on Association Health Plans – National Consumers League

March 8, 2018

Washington, DC–The National Consumers League is deeply concerned by the Trump Administration’s proposed rule that would broaden the purview of Association Health Plans (AHPs) and significantly alter the way in which they are regulated. This directive is another step towards the dismantling of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) under the guise of promoting “consumer choice,” and counteracts efforts to realizing a health system in which every American has access to quality, affordable health care.

Association Health Plans allow affiliated small businesses and employer trade associations to band together to sell low-cost plans to the individuals they represent. The proposed rule expands the definition of “employer,” which will allow businesses, associations, and self-employed individuals — regardless of affiliation — to join together for the sole purpose of offering health insurance.

While AHPs are less expensive, these savings are achieved through eliminating vital consumer protections and offering significantly less coverage. Under the proposed rule, AHPs will not have to adhere to the same standards as ACA-compliant plans, including the provision of essential health benefits that guarantee coverage of items and services such as mental health treatment, maternity and newborn care, and prescription drugs. They would also be exempt from cost-sharing rules that cap out-of-pocket spending on deductibles, copays, and coinsurance. Unfortunately, many consumers who buy these plans for their low premiums often do not realize until their healthcare needs change that they have purchased a plan that will not cover certain services. Consumers may be forced to forgo necessary care because of a prohibitive price tag or be left with astronomical debt due to the cost of uncovered services.  

Moreover, bolstering AHPs as a suitable alternative to ACA-compliant plans undermines and destabilizes the individual marketplace through heightening adverse selection. AHPs would likely attract younger and healthier individuals, exacerbating the risk pool, and leaving older, sicker individuals who need more robust care vulnerable to skyrocketing premiums and insufficient plan choice. The proposed rule also allows AHPs to establish rates or preclude coverage of certain services based on health status, work industry, age, or gender, which unduly places a broad range of consumers at risk for higher out-of-pocket costs.  

Prior to regulations established by the ACA, AHPs were historically wrought with fraud and predatory practices that left consumers with a litany of pervasive negative financial and health outcomes. The National Consumers League worries that the Trump Administration’s proposed rule would once again expand the pathway for AHPs to operate in a manner that puts consumer protection on the backburner and affordable health care out of reach for so many among us.  We remain committed to ensuring every American has meaningful health coverage and will continue to work with our colleagues to explore ways we can expand access to care without compromising quality.  

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About the National Consumers League
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit https://nclnet.org.

Knowledge is power: What consumers need to know about safe use of pain treatments – National Consumers League

Sally GreenbergThe National Consumers League has long worked to inform consumers about the safe use of medication. Sadly, today many American communities are struggling with an epidemic: the misuse of prescription opioids, which seems to know no socioeconomic or demographic bounds. In 2016, more than 11 million people misused prescription opioids in the United States, and the latest data show that 115 Americans die each day from an opioid overdose.

The explosion of opioid abuse has complicated roots, but among them is the mistake of keeping unused prescriptions in the medicine cabinet long after they are prescribed. In that vein, NCL recommends specific steps consumers, families, and the public can take to mitigate the chances of opioid abuse.

Since as many as one in four people prescribed opioids long term struggle with addiction, the conversation about treatment and safe use must start before a medicine is prescribed.

Consumers should engage their healthcare provider and/or pharmacist before they take home a prescription opioid.

Be prepared ahead of medical appointments or surgery.

We have all walked out of a doctor’s office failing to ask important questions. Before your next doctor’s appointment, write down all your questions ahead of time and include an updated list of the medications you are taking. If you are prescribed a painkiller, ask about safe use and ask whether it’s habit forming. Some drugs are, while some are not.

Understand the risks and benefits of any new medicine.

If opioids are truly needed to manage pain, understand the potential benefits, risks, and side effects associated with them.

Here are a few questions to ask your healthcare provider when prescribed a new medicine:

  • What side effects should I expect and what should I do about them?
  • Will this medicine interact with any other medicines I am taking?
  • How should I safely store this medicine?

We recommend checking out the National Council on Patient Information and Education’s Talk Before You Take website.

Ask about partial-fill options.

When prescribed a prescription painkiller, consider asking to only partially fill your prescription, an option available in some states. If you need to fill the rest of the prescription, you can pick up the remaining dose at the pharmacy.

Use opioids only as prescribed — do not share your prescription.  

About 40 percent of those who misused prescription opioids in the past year said they obtained the medicine from a family member or friend for free, according to a national survey.  That’s a problem; opioids should only be taken as prescribed by your healthcare provider and stored in a secure place.  

Immediately dispose of unused pills.

As noted in my December blog post, disposal of unused prescription medications is critical.  Allied Against Opioid Abuse has compiled a list of national and state resources to assist you.

Consumers using the strategies outlined here have gone a long way toward reducing the chance of opioid abuse and misuse, which is one of the country’s biggest public health challenges.

Knowing your rights, risks, and responsibilities with prescription opioids can help all of us prevent abuse and misuse before it occurs.

NCL statement on demise of ATC privatization bill – National Consumers League

March 1, 2018

Contact: NCL Communications, Carol McKay carolm@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2831

Washington, DC – On Tuesday, House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) announced that his proposal to privatize the Federal Aviation Administration’s critical air traffic control (ATC) function will not receive sufficient support to move the bill forward. The National Consumers League (NCL), which has long opposed the proposal to hand control over critical ATC infrastructure to an unaccountable body dominated by the nation’s largest airlines, welcomed the development.

The following statement is attributable to Sally Greenberg, NCL executive director:

“We are glad to see Chairman Shuster dropping this ill-conceived plan to allow the nation’s largest airlines to take over America’s air traffic control system. This is a win for the flying public. Congress should instead focus on restoring consumer rights and protections to the flying public. We urge the House to take up the Senate’s FAA reauthorization bill, which includes bipartisan support for the pro-consumer FAIR Fees Act that would help balance the scales and curb the industry’s ever-expanding appetite for fees and penalties that come at the expense of the flying public.”

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About the National Consumers League
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit https://nclnet.org.