(Calif.) Assembly OKs health insurance regulation as GOP walks out

Source: Sacramento Bee

The Assembly passed one of the year's most controversial and intensively lobbied bills Thursday -- imposing rate regulation on health insurers -- after Republicans walked out of the chamber in protest.

GOP members wanted to call a caucus to discuss the measure, Assembly Bill 52 by Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles, but Speaker John A. Perez refused to call a recess. Democrats then defeated a recess motion with leaders saying Republicans were trying to stall long enough to kill the bill because of Friday's deadline for action.

The GOP retreated to the Rules Committee room off the chamber and closed the door.

Without Republicans on the floor, the remaining Democrats conducted a brief debate, with Feuer arguing that regulation by the insurance commissioner is needed because "health insurance rates are skyrocketing." Several Democrats were critical of the bill but just one, Sacramento's Richard Pan, voted against it as the measure was sent to the Senate on a 42-1 vote. Pan is a physician.

Read more: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/06/assembly-oks-health-insurance.html

1. Put health insurance price controls on the 2012 presidential election ballot as a BALLOT INITIATIVE.

2. Put SINGLE PAYER on the ballot as a ballot initiative.

I'm sick and tired of gold-plated plutocrats managing to put tax cuts on ballot initiatives in California. Why can't progressives play the same game???

Seriously, if health insurance rate PRICE CONTROLS had been on a ballot initiative, it would have passed overwhelmingly, and given this legislation some solid credibility. The only reason the Republicans walked out was so they could now claim the bill was passed "without bi-partisan support." I'm surprised Democratic poleticians can't see this stupid trick coming a mile away. You can't compromise with hostage-taking political terrorists.

California is the only state that has these strong laws about ballot initiatives. The only state where they're not just for show, and to generate wedge issues. So....why not put Single Payer health care on a ballot initiative?

the only reason you might need to send it to the ballot is to create a new tax to pay for it.

I think as long as the rich are allowed to buy their own insurance so they can goto a private hospital away from us proles, it might pass.

I add that because hateful as the rich are... do i REALLY want them clogging up the system?

I also have no problem with someone paying for premium service if they want to.

But for the rest of us health care will be free, paid for by our taxes, hopefully by a (enforced) 1% corporate tax, since most counties in California already have a low/no income medical system in place (I used to use the one in Contra Costa county, and it was very good)

just my two cents.

Such a strong base, is that when someone acquires money, and they are a Republican, they start seriously donating money to Republican causes.

Dems with money feel that a thirty dollar contribution will break them. Even though they have the yacht in the Tiburon harbor, even though they rent out homes, even though their kids are on their way to becoming millionaires. The Democrats I knew who had money were much more tight-fisted with it.

over. Insurance companies are going to recoup their losses due to the weather by dramatically increasing health insurance rates. Wait and watch.

so much that regular people will drop them, while the rich will pay the premiums. That's what they did in Florida, that's what they will do in tornado alley.

They've been dropping thousands of policies every year, and prices are still skyrocketing.

State Farm dropped me in February, and I had to go with state-run Citizens.

as described in the OP need to be enacted.

Assholes.

Californians, here is a PRIME example of what the Party of NO / GOBPers / RushThugs / T.HATERbaggers think of you, the citizens.

They will side with the Financial Terrorists at big industry, EVERY single time.

Vote them OUT of office! Better yet...start recalling them now.

The lobbyists still get what they want.

It has a lot to do with the inner workings of the doctrines espoused by the One Big Money Party.

1. A ballot initiative banning all corporate contributions from election campaigns. (It'll get overturned by the supreme court, or course, but at least it'll highlight the issue.)

then,

2. A ballot initiative that requires ALL corporate and pac donations be disclosed and made public, so that we can see the man behind the curtain. I don't think that kind of law could be overturned in the supreme court.

then,

3. A ballot initiative putting a tax on corporate donations to political campaigns.

(Incidentally, the last two initiatives were two bills put forward in the House by Alan Grayson a couple of years ago. One was called "The Corporate Sunshine Bill" and the other was called the "Business Should Mind its Own Business Bill." Damn, I miss that guy!)

If a corporation is a person, they need to have the same rights and responsibilities as a person. They should pay income taxe like a person, be limited to the same amount in donations, be liable for any actions they take. If corporations have First Ammendment rights, they have to pay for them.

And if they poison a town's drinking water, they can all go to jail, just like a person.

Off topic - loved your movie.

Often find myself thinking "Sanders and Grayson 2012!

or slow down, some terrorist Thug bills/plans (need I mention Texas and Wisconsin).

I think the Dems in California should have pressured Obama to pressure Holder to send the Air Marshalls out to round them up, like they did in Texas. Just for payback.

That proposed those actions.

Some areas of Texas, and many many areas of Wisconsin have quite progressive people.

But please don't mention that to the DLC. When they realize that, they will be sending someone like Rahm (if not Rahm himself) to see to it that the progressives don't get a shot again at being elected.

(And by the way, do you have any footage of Obama traveling to Wisconsin to cheer on the good people of the Unions, and all the progressives there? Nah, I thought not.)

How tragic! LOL! :rofl: Too bad they won't do that in DC as well.

This way they don't go on record as having voted to let health insurance companies raise rates, but they still made a symbolic gesture to appease their base and their corporate owners. The was the California legislature is set up, they could have blocked it. That's why this is such a nice victory. We can consider it a major victory when Republicans only get away with a symbolic gesture of defiance.

Fuck Republicans!

is probably not a smart thing for conservanazis. But, hey, look at it for what it is. The California assembly conservanazis are willing to support corporations over citizens.

If Joe Citizen can't see that, we are all in trouble.

Because they will be in the majority, soon! Walker will be gone too!

because they suck at politics and governerance. Their whole operation is nothing but PR.

Good for the Cali Dems!!!

In the 90's the repubs had a majority in the Assembly of 1.
Brown convinced the Dems to rally around a freshman republican who won by 1 vote allowing the Dems to keep control on the Assembly because the republicans refused to work with the new speaker

By which I mean they will go all out to see the American people repeatedly raped by the health insurance industry.

Yeah. Stand up and stamp their feet and walk out.

they say. They only have agendas and game plans.

I think we should be rubbing their noses in that insult now and forever more, amen.

THEN WALK ANOTHER MILE.

I'm surprised the republicans are acting like this. I've always thought that most California republicans are of the Tom Campbell mold. I actually admit I voted for Campbell in 2000.

but then beating a path back to get Aaron Rodgers autograph? Every one of them (along with Richard Pan) needs to be voted out.

:thumbsup:

The rest dodged the vote, cowards.

It's about time someone stood up to the Denial of Service Industry.

Let this be an example to you, National Democrats!

must realize that is immoral and must be made illegal to profit off of peoples illnesses, suffering and/or death. The U.S. Congress, if this were actually a government for and by (not buy) the people, should outlaw for-profit health care insurance.

The health professionals in the "civilized" countries agree. They earn good money, the price of health care per person in these countries, is a fraction of what we pay in America, and their level of care is better.

These are indisputable FACTS. Yet, we allow this brutal, existing practice.

If only the 95% of Americans would actively protest or even, dare I say it(?), VOTE. Any (non-wealthy person, the vast majority of Americans) voter who would vote for their own interests, would elect representatives who put people before profits.

Maybe start a state-sponsored buying cooperative for pharma, to negotiate lower prices

My experience is price controls work...

UAE barely has 4Million people...

That will be the next step for us.

The Republicans wanted to do something and the Democrats told them no? Can they do that? Aren't they worried that the Republicans will say mean things about them, or that the ghost of David Broder will rise from the grave to upbraid them about being partisan? What is government coming to? Why does the majority get to rule? Don't the Democrats know that after they gave the Republicans whatever the GOP wanted, the Democrats could always write a sternly-worded letter?

The Soviet Union made the mistake of walking out on the U.N. vote in 1950 to offer S. Korea military assistance. Vote took place with them and their veto. That allowed the measure to pass.

Russians and Rethuglicans. Whodathought?

Republicans don't even believe in a rate regulation on private health plans? This costs the government nothing other than the small legal defense bill to defend the law in court. Who in their right mind thinks that health care will magically become available by market principles for all sick and magically work out? Oh wait, that is how the "right mind" works.

....and I can see it being done much the same way utility and some other insurance rates are done. The regulation allows for reasonable profits.

What I find comical, but expected, is the outrage at the republicans walking out on the vote with claims of them not being there to do there job(s). As much as I didn't like what the republicans did in Wisconsin with the collective bargaining law, I felt the Dems abandoned those they represent with the way they ran to stop a vote that ultimately happened anyway. There job was not to run, but to debate the issue and be there to vote for the people they represent. I was very disappointed in the outcome and how they went about it.