The California Medical Association (CMA), a health insurance organizations coalition, the California Hospital Association (CHA), and other groups have announced their intentions to work together to oppose a ballot measure that is meant to create California insurance regulation for rate increase on health plans and policies.
According to the CMA president-elect, Paul Phinney, this ballot initiative doesn’t do anything to help control the causes of the cost increases in the healthcare system. He added that “I just think this initiative is the wrong idea.”
Ballot measure advocates have said that the opposition does not surprise them as both the CHA and CMA as well as the large California insurance companies had all opposed AB52 last year, which was a regulation bill that did not pass in the state Legislature, and it was that bill which provided a foundation for this latest proposition.
Carmen Barbour from Consumer Watchdog, said that the effort to gather signatures is merely to get the proposition onto the ballot. She went on to say that “We’re well on-pace to make the ballot by May 1.”
Barbour added that Consumer Watchdog is hoping to be able to bring in between 30 and 35 percent more signatures than the minimum 505,000 that are required to have it qualify for the ballot in November. She explained that this is “just to make sure that there’s no question.”
Both the advocates and the opposition questioned each others’ financial motivations. While one side spoke of the consumer rights trial attorneys, the other indicated that large California insurance companies sponsor a single organization.
