In case there was any doubt where California Republicans stood on the issue, today they showed they believe Californians pay too little in health care costs and should pay much higher premiums whenever their insurance companies demand it. As the Sac Bee explains, Assembly Republicans voted unanimously to oppose a Dave Jones bill to regulate rate increases:
Health care insurers could not raise premiums, co-payments or deductibles in California without state approval under legislation approved Wednesday by the Assembly.
Assembly Bill 2578, by Democratic Assemblyman Dave Jones of Sacramento, passed by a vote of 43-28 with no Republican support. It now goes to the Senate.
...California already requires insurers to obtain state approval before hiking rates for auto, property or casualty insurance.
This comes as a direct result of Anthem Blue Cross's decision to raise rates on customers by 39% - and some customers saw much greater rate increases. Republicans are apparently supportive of those increases and others like them, judging by their mass opposition to any effort to rein in those cost increases that are so devastating to California's families during this recession.
