SAFE MEDICINE—Californians should have access to as much information as possible about the safety and effectiveness of the medicine they take.

CALPIRG Takes On Health Insurance Industry
On March 23, a Los Angeles Times front page story revealed that Blue Cross of California had cancelled health insurance coverage of customers who became pregnant or sick.

The article highlighted a recent study by state regulators that deemed Blue Cross’ routine practice of dumping customers “harsh” and illegal.

“The Blue Cross cancellations illustrate that if 2007 is going to be the ‘year of health reform,’ then reforming the health insurance industry is a must,” said Steve Blackledge of CALPIRG.

Since Gov. Schwarzenegger declared 2007 the “year of health reform” last fall, he, Speaker Fabian Núñez (Los Angeles), and Senate Pro Tem Don Perata (Oakland) have each introduced major health care reform proposals.

CALPIRG is calling for the following health reforms.

First, insurance companies must be required to take all who apply for insurance, rather than only taking healthy people, and they should not be allowed to set outrageous rates for people who have had past health problems, pricing them out of the market.

Second, insurance company profits must be monitored by state regulators in order to keep consumer costs down, and companies should have to open their books to regulators to justify substantial new rate increases.

Third, consumers must be able to buy into a public health insurance plan. Currently the only options for consumers are private plans that devote big chunks of money to advertising, executive salaries and profits. Studies have shown that these plans are less efficient than public plans, and fewer dollars go to providing health care.

The first two provisions currently exist in at least one major policy proposal in Sacramento, and CALPIRG’s advocates are working to add the third.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us, and we are already running into opposition from the health insurance industry,” said Blackledge. “But legislators know that their constituents rank health care as a top issue, and this year they have a golden opportunity to enact something meaningful.”

CALPIRG advocates are also working at the state and federal level to address another major health care issue, the affordability and safety of prescription drugs.

U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (Los Angeles) has introduced The Enhancing Drug Safety and Innovation Act of 2007, which will give the U.S. Food & Drug Administration greater enforcement powers to ensure that drugs on the market are safe.

The bill also prevents drug companies from advertising a drug in its first three years on the market. Many of the harmful side effects of drugs are not known early on, and advertising creates safety concerns by greatly accelerating the usage of a drug before many side effects are fully understood.

At the state level, Senator Jack Scott (Altadena) has reintroduced legislation to require drug companies to make public their clinical studies so that doctors and patients will know of potential harmful side effects.

“Lawmakers at the state and federal level appear to have caught health reform fever,” said Blackledge. “And we’ll be there working to make sure their reforms are enacted.”