By a vote of 5-3, the California Senate Health Committee voted this afternoon in favor of AB 52, a bill that will allow the California Insurance Commissioner to regulate health insurance rates. The bill has already passed the Assembly.
A California legislative committee has approved a bill that would give state officials the power to reject proposed health insurance rate increases.
However, even supporters say it will need major changes if it is to survive.
The Senate Health Committee voted 5-3 along party lines Wednesday to advance the bill, with Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed. It will go before another committee before coming to the full Senate.
I don't know which committee it has to go to next According to the helpful staffer at the other end of the Senate Health Committee's phone line, the bill now goes to the Appropriations Committee, which also has nine members, six Democrats (Kehoe, Alquist, Lieu, Pavley, Price and Steinberg) and three Republicans (Walters, Emmerson and Runner). (I was previously under the impression that it would go directly to the Senate floor.)
You might think that with 60% of the California Senate being Democrats that this would now be a slam dunk. But you are forgetting the power, clout and money the health insurance industry wields in the California legislature. It's going to take the continued collective power of all the organizations and individuals that have lobbied to-date for this bill to get it to have a reasonable chance of passing in the California Senate. Despite the fact that plenty of states already give this power to their Insurance Commissioner without the world-ending consequences the insurance company lobbyists claim will happen.
To see what we are still up against, consider Senate Health Committee Chairman Hernandez's statement as reported by the AP:
The committee's chairman, Sen. Ed Hernandez, voted for AB52, but the Baldwin Park Democrat says he wants substantial changes before he'll vote for it in the Senate.
Getting it through the Senate without being watered down to ineffectiveness will be a major challenge...
Thanks should go here to Kossacks Seneca Doane and Nyceve, who have each put up multiple action diaries laying out why this bill needs to pass and begging California Kossacks to call their own Senator and Senators on the Health Committee.
Calitics blog also helped, and the Courage Campaign has made passage of this bill a major thrust recently, according to Courage staffer and Kossack Adam Bink.
If you live in California, why not call your Senator right now and tell them to support the bill?
Find your Senator here. Just type in your zip code.