Salem – Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) Director and Insurance Commissioner Andrew R. Stolfi was awarded the Bonnie Burns Excellence in Consumer Advocacy Award by consumer representatives to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).
Stolfi was given the award Nov. 30 at the NAIC fall national meeting. Stolfi chairs the NAIC’s Consumer Liaison Committee, which provides a forum for consumer views on insurance regulatory issues at the NAIC. He also serves as chair of the NAIC’s Consumer Board of Trustees.
The Bonnie Burns Excellence in Consumer Advocacy Award recognizes the state regulator who NAIC consumer representatives believe has most effectively represented and advanced the interests of consumers in NAIC proceedings. Stolfi has championed reform measures designed to maximize the value of Consumer Liaison Committee meetings and provide for meaningful interactions between regulators and NAIC consumer representatives.
“Commissioner Stolfi has been open, transparent, and committed to a participatory process in lifting up consumer voices and concerns at the NAIC,” said NAIC Consumer Representative Wayne Turner, a senior attorney for the National Health Law Program. “He embodies the principle that consumer protection is the core of state insurance regulation.”
Transparency, public engagement, and consumer protection are hallmarks of Stolfi’s service as Oregon insurance commissioner. For example, DCBS conducted a comprehensive review of insurer compliance with Oregon's Reproductive Health Equity Act. The department publicly posted detailed reports, explanatory materials, insurer responses, corrective action plans, and consumer resources to address noncompliance and ensure that Oregon residents have full access to health services they are entitled to under the law.
“My name may be on this award, but I share this honor with all of the employees of DCBS who strive every day to better the lives of people in Oregon,” Stolfi said. “Consumer protection and empowering the consumer voice are key pillars of our jobs, which makes this recognition so incredibly meaningful. I also couldn’t be more thrilled to receive an award from and in the name of Bonnie Burns, who is quite simply a consumer advocacy legend.”
DCBS continues to provide crucial support to Oregon residents affected by the catastrophic 2020 wildfires. The department has also prioritized the fair treatment of consumers in the purchase and pricing of auto insurance through recent legislative proposals that would end unfair discrimination by eliminating the use of non-driving-related socioeconomic factors in auto insurance. Also, the department has worked to enhance consumer disclosures on homeowners’ insurance policies for cancellations and non-renewals through recently passed Senate Bill 82 (2023).
“Oregon Consumer Justice congratulates Commissioner Stolfi on this well-deserved award,” said Oregon Consumer Justice Executive Director Jagjit Nagra. “We appreciate Commissioner Stolfi's leadership covering a wide range of consumer protection initiatives that put people first. His persistence over several legislative sessions to address racial and gender discrimination embedded in auto insurance pricing is admirable. We look forward to continued partnership with Commissioner Stolfi and his team on issues impacting Oregon consumers.”
About the award
The Bonnie Burns Excellence in Consumer Advocacy Award is given to a state insurance regulator who has most effectively represented and advanced the interests of consumers in NAIC. In 2022, consumer representatives renamed the award after longtime advocate Bonnie Burns. Burns is a nationally recognized expert on Medicare Supplement insurance (Medigap) and long-term care insurance, and currently serves as a consultant with California Health Advocates (CHA) and the national SHIP Resource Center. She has served as a NAIC consumer representative since the beginning of the program in 1992 and has served multiple terms on the board of the program.
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The Department of Consumer and Business Services is Oregon’s largest business regulatory and consumer protection agency. Visit dcbs.oregon.gov.
Salem, OR – A scholarship fund that helps finance higher education for family members of Oregon workers who have been fatally injured or permanently disabled on the job is open for applications, the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division (Oregon OSHA) has announced.
The Workers’ Memorial Scholarship awards are available to any high school graduate, graduating high school senior, GED recipient, or current college undergraduate or graduate student who is a dependent or spouse of an Oregon worker who has been fatally injured or permanently disabled while on the job.
“The impacts to families of a work-related death or permanent disability are profound and include potentially significant financial hardships,” said Renée Stapleton, administrator for Oregon OSHA. “The annual Workers’ Memorial Scholarship is an opportunity for us to help surviving family members pursue their higher education goals.”
The Oregon Office of Student Access and Completion (OSAC) – part of the state’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission – handles applications for the Workers’ Memorial Scholarship. The office is accepting applications for the 2024-25 academic year. Applications are due April 1, 2024.
Students may attend any Federal Title IV financial aid eligible institution in the United States. That includes four-year universities, two-year community colleges, private and nonprofit institutions, and vocational and trade schools. If the institution does not have a six-digit federal identification number on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), then it is not a qualifying institution.
The following OSAC resources are available to help students learn more about eligibility requirements, accessing an application, and how to get help with their application:
- Find up-to-date information about the requirements for the Workers’ Memorial Scholarship in the OSAC Scholarship Catalog. Enter the fund number 113, or the full name Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division Workers’ Memorial, in the search box near the top.
- Go to the OSAC Scholarship Application.
- Send an email requesting help with your application.
- Request application help by calling 541-687-7400 and pressing 1.
- Go online to learn more about OSAC and student aid.
- Go online to learn what Oregon OSHA says about the Workers’ Memorial Scholarship.
Workers’ Memorial Scholarship award recommendations are made by Oregon OSHA’s Safe Employment Education and Training Advisory Committee, an advisory group with members from business, organized labor, and government.
Scholarship award amounts vary. Oregon OSHA presents the awards annually to help in the postsecondary education of spouses or children of permanently and totally disabled or fatally injured workers.
The 1991 Oregon Legislature established the Workers’ Memorial Scholarship at the request of the Oregon AFL-CIO, with support from Associated Oregon Industries.
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Oregon OSHA, a division of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, enforces the state's workplace safety and health rules and works to improve workplace safety and health for all Oregon workers. For more information, go to osha.oregon.gov.
The Department of Consumer and Business Services is Oregon's largest business regulatory and consumer protection agency. For more information, go to www.oregon.gov/dcbs/.
Salem – The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation (DFR) is seeking information from anyone who has had insurance dealings with Joshua M. Bekhor or his company, Immediate Insurance Services. Bekhor is under investigation for being an unlicensed insurance producer in Oregon and misappropriating insurance premiums.
The division received a complaint from an Oregon consumer who said Bekhor sold several policies to him for more than $11,000, only to find out the policies did not exist or were for much lower coverages than the insured believed he was purchasing. The consumer was only made aware of these issues after an insurance investigator contacted him to let him know Bekhor had either never purchased the insurance policies the consumer paid for or had purchased much smaller policies.
The consumer contacted the insurance companies he was led to believe he had purchased policies with and in each instance he found Bekhor never purchased the policies the consumer paid for.
Bekhor is also accused of collecting premiums for the purchase of a property insurance policy for a company in Oregon but never forwarding the premiums to the insurer. The company found out when the roof of one of its warehouses collapsed from snow and ice, and the company suffered $100,000 worth of property damage. The insurance company denied the claim because the policy had been canceled due to nonpayment.
Bekhor held an insurance producer license in California from 2018 to 2021 but had it revoked for, among other things, fraudulent practices and diversion of funds.
DFR has issued an order for Bekhor to immediately cease and desist selling insurance in Oregon as an unlicensed producer and fined him for $8,000. Bekhor has an opportunity to contest these findings and allegations before an administrative law judge.
The division would like to remind people to only do business with insurance producers who are licensed in Oregon. You can check for a license on DFR’s website as well as file a complaint if you feel you have been defrauded or been the victim of a scam.
Anyone who may have purchased insurance from Bekhor is asked to contact DFR immediately. You can do so by calling 888-877-4894 (toll-free) or emailing dfr.insurancehelp@dcbs.oregon.gov.
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About Oregon DFR: The Division of Financial Regulation is part of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, Oregon’s largest business regulatory and consumer protection agency. Visit dfr.oregon.gov and www.dcbs.oregon.gov.
Salem – A two-day training conference in central Oregon will offer multiple training opportunities for workers in the residential, commercial, and industrial construction industries to increase their safety and health while on the job. The Mid-Oregon Construction Safety Summit, held Jan. 29-30, 2024, will address a variety of topics, including fall protection, excavation safety, silica exposure risks, electrical safety, and safety technologies.
Attendees will have access to a range of training sessions, including the OSHA 10-hour training for construction, work zone safety and flagging, rigging and signaling for cranes, and first aid. Certifications and recertifications will be available. Also, the conference will offer opportunities to earn continuing education credits, including through Oregon’s Construction Contractors Board and Landscape Contractors Board.
Oregon Occupational Safety and Health (Oregon OSHA), a division of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, encourages employers and workers to attend the 21st annual Mid-Oregon Construction Safety Summit at the Riverhouse on the Deschutes in Bend. Oregon OSHA is one of several partners presenting the summit.
The event’s keynote presentation, “Extraordinarily Average Guy,” will be delivered by Dan Plexman, who nearly lost his life in an industrial accident 15 years ago. Since that near-death experience, Plexman has transformed himself into a champion arm wrestler and speaker on workplace safety. His presentation will reinforce critical points to keep in mind when it comes to on-the-job safety and health, including that all workplace accidents are preventable.
The Mid-Oregon Construction Safety Summit’s other sessions include:
- Preventing fall hazard exposures
- Serious injury fatality prevention
- Mental health awareness
- Employment law update
- Construction A to Z
- Underground line safety
- Safety committees and meetings
Registration for the event’s pre-conference workshops (Monday, Jan. 29) is $70. Conference registration (Tuesday, Jan. 30) is $100. Registration for the OSHA 10-hour training for construction is $150 for both days. The cost of attending the workshop on rigging and signaling for cranes (Monday, Jan. 29) is $295. To register, go to safetyseries.cventevents.com/summit24.
For more information, contact the Oregon OSHA Conference Section, 503-947-7411 or oregon.conferences@dcbs.oregon.gov. For information about other upcoming safety conferences, visit Oregon OSHA’s online conferences page.
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Oregon OSHA, a division of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, enforces the state's workplace safety and health rules and works to improve workplace safety and health for all Oregon workers. For more information, go to osha.oregon.gov.
The Department of Consumer and Business Services is Oregon's largest business regulatory and consumer protection agency. For more information, go to www.oregon.gov/dcbs/.
Salem – The 2023 holiday shopping season is here and the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation (DFR) is reminding people to watch out for financial scams that can target their pocketbook, particularly gift card scams.
Gift card scams often start with a call, text, email, or social media message. Scammers will say anything to get you to buy gift cards – such as Google Play, Apple, or Amazon cards – and hand over the card number and personal identification number (PIN) codes.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, here are some common tactics scammers use:
- Scammers will say it is urgent. They will say to pay them right away or something terrible will happen. They don’t want you to have time to think about what they are saying or talk to someone you trust. Slow down. Don’t pay. It is a scam.
- Scammers will tell you which gift card to buy (and where). They might say to put money on an eBay, Google Play, Target, or Apple gift card. They might send you to a specific store – often Walmart, Target, CVS, or Walgreens. Sometimes, they will tell you to buy cards at several stores, so cashiers will not get suspicious. The scammer also might stay on the phone with you while you go to the store and load money onto the card. If this happens to you, hang up. It is a scam.
- Scammers will ask you for the gift card number and PIN. The card number and PIN on the back of the card lets scammers get the money you loaded onto the card — even if you still have the card itself. Slow down. Don’t give them those numbers or send them a photo of the card. It is a scam.
Scammers tell different stories to get you to buy gift cards so they can steal your money.
- Scammers say they are from the government. They say they are from the IRS, the Social Security Administration, or even the Federal Trade Commission. They say you have to pay taxes or a fine. However, government agencies will not contact you to demand immediate payment, and they never demand payment by gift card. It is a scam.
- Scammers say they are from tech support. They say they are from Microsoft or Apple and there is something wrong with your computer. They ask for remote access and say to pay them to get it fixed. Don’t give them access to your computer. It is a scam.
- Scammers say they are a friend or family member with an emergency. If the scammer uses voice cloning, they may even sound just like your loved one. They ask you to send money right away – but not to tell anyone. It is a scam. If you are worried, contact the friend or relative to check that everything is all right.
- Scammers say you have won a prize. But first, they tell you to pay fees or other charges with a gift card. It is a scam. No honest business or agency will ever make you buy a gift card to pay them for a prize. And did you even enter to win that prize?
- Scammers say they are from your utility company. They threaten to cut off your service if you don’t pay immediately. Utility companies don’t work that way. It is a scam.
- Scammers ask for money after they chat you up on a dating website. Romance scammers will make up any story to trick you into buying a gift card to send them money. Slow down. Never send money or gifts to anyone you have not met in person – even if they send you money first.
- Scammers send a check for way more than you expected. They tell you to deposit the check and give them the difference on a gift card. Don’t do it. It is a scam. That check will be fake and you will be out that money.
To help prevent yourself from getting scammed, DFR offers these reminders:
- Don’t answer unknown numbers – block unwanted calls and text messages.
- Don’t give personal identifying information to unsolicited calls, texts, or emails. Hang up, look up their number, and call them to verify.
- Be skeptical. Ask questions and be wary of offers “too good to be true.”
- Resist the pressure to act immediately. Scammers use urgency as a tool.
- Stop and talk to someone you trust. Talking about it can help you spot the scam.
- Never pay someone who insists you pay with a gift card, money transfer, or cryptocurrency.
Remember, if it is too good to be true, it probably is.
If you feel you may have been scammed, the division’s consumer advocates may be able to help. They can be reached at 1-888-877-4894 (toll-free) or dfr.financialserviceshelp@dcbs.oregon.gov.
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About Oregon DFR: The Division of Financial Regulation is part of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, Oregon’s largest business regulatory and consumer protection agency. Visit dfr.oregon.gov and www.dcbs.oregon.gov.
Salem – The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) will be hosting a public hearing on prescription drug prices on Thursday, Dec. 7, from 1:30 to 4 p.m. via Zoom.
The public is invited to participate and here are some ways you can:
Share your stories. DCBS is asking for the public’s help before the 2023 public hearing on prescription drug prices. The department has set up a brief survey for consumers to share their stories about rising prescription drug prices. Drug prices play a major role in health care decisions of Oregonians, and the cost of prescription drugs have steadily increased. The department wants to hear your stories about the costs of prescription drugs and how it has affected you and your family. The previous testimonials are available on our website.
Attend the hearing via Zoom. There will be opportunities for public comment, and Oregon legislators will serve as moderators for panel presentations. We encourage you to testify at the hearing or provide written testimony. For more information about the hearing, email rx.prices@dcbs.oregon.gov.
Some of the agenda items this year will be highlights and recommendations from the Drug Price Transparency team, including:
- Diabetic drugs approved for weight loss. There will be presentations on drugs approved to treat diabetes that are now also approved for chronic weight management for nondiabetic adults with obesity.
- What determines the costs of a generic prescription drug and why are they so expensive? There will be presentations about why some generics are so expensive and have a very small discount when compared to the brand-name drug.
You can learn more about the agenda on our website.
The Prescription Drug Price Transparency Act (ORS 646A.689) directed the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services to establish a transparency program to accept reports and disclose certain information from prescription drug manufacturers, health insurance carriers, and consumers on drug prices.
The goal of the program is to provide accountability for prescription drug pricing through the notice and disclosure of specific drug costs and price information from pharmaceutical manufacturers, health insurers, and consumers.
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About DCBS: The Department of Consumer and Business Services is Oregon's largest business regulatory and consumer protection agency. For more information, visit oregon.gov/dcbs.
About Oregon DFR: The Division of Financial Regulation is part of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, Oregon’s largest business regulatory and consumer protection agency. Visit dfr.oregon.gov and www.dcbs.oregon.gov.