Single Payer Update – Post Election Edition, January, 2019
By: Dorothy Cociu, RHU, REBC, GBA, RPA, OCAHU V.P Communications and Public Affairs, County of Orange Insurance News (The COIN)
The post-election concern about Single Payer legislation in California is very much warranted… because as many at CAHU have stated recently, we now are experiencing the “perfect storm” in Sacramento for Single Payer. We have of course a newly elected Governor and Insurance Commissioner, plus Democratic majorities in both houses, so many are concerned that it’s the perfect beginning to what the Democratic party has been wanting for some time… Single Payer healthcare.
The Blue Wave may have started slowly, but grew increasingly strong and hit California hard in November. Democrats of course, as we all know, swept the statewide elected offices once again. But will this have much impact on us? What should we most be concerned about at this point? To help answer these questions, or at least ponder them, I asked a few OCAHU and CAHU leaders for their comments.
“The California Blue Wave was really just a blue wave in Orange County and a small part of Fresno,” stated Brad Davis, CAHU V.P. Public Affairs. “ For the rest of the state, there weren’t any surprises—it felt more like a shift in the tide.”
We here in Orange County are familiar with the election swings, and as Brad Davis stated, the Blue Wave hit Orange County hard, as we lost prominent Republican Orange County Congressional incumbents (Mimi Walters lost to Katie Porter and Dana Rohrabacher lost to Harley Rouda), plus the loss of Republican candidate Young Kim to Democrat Gil Cisneros in Dist. 39, Ed Royce’s long-held seat, and Darell Issa’s retirement, which resulted in the win for Dem. Mike Levin. All this resulted in Orange County, a previous strong-hold for conservative republicans in the past, now has for the first time since the 1930s, not a single Republican in Congress.
On the state side, the State Assembly now has (as of Nov. 6, 2018) 55 Democrats and 25 Republicans, moving to 60 Democrats and 19 Republicans in 2019-2020, and the State Senate moves from 26 Democrats and 14 Republicans to 29 Democrats and 11 Republicans in 2019-2020.
“The industry should be aware that the flood gates have opened, “ stated Rob Semrow, OCAHU V.P Legislation. “ I think that we will see a large number of revisited as well as new ideas and initiatives be brought forward. The super majority will have the ability to move ideas forward without much hesitation or pushback.”
And it’s that super majority that many members are indeed concerned about. A super majority gives the party veto and override power that a regular majority does not have, as I’ve discussed in previous Single Payer columns and related articles in the COIN.
“I don’t really see much of a change with a blue wave in California,” said Dave Fear Jr., CAHU President. “This state was already run by Democrats top to bottom and that did not change. They did pick up super-majorities in both houses, but as long as the governor is a progressive democrat, I don’t see them using their veto override on any issue.”
“CAHU has been working in a Democratic majority and supermajority for the last 8 years and we are getting pretty good at finding the right angles to push our agenda,” commented Brad Davis. Our members should remain concerned about a push for single payer health insurance, as the CNA and other organizations have promised to introduce a Bill to accomplish this. CAHU has already aligned itself with a large coalition against single payer that will be funding some research and white papers to address the unintended consequences of a government-run healthcare system. The more our members can continue the narrative of how detrimental the cost would be to taxpayers and the amount of quality doctors and services we will lose as a result, the better that will be for our consumer clients and agent members.”
Rob Semrow, OCAHU VP Legislation, stated “I think that single payer, in some fashion or another, will get a boost in discussion and consideration. There will be little to stop it or push it back.”
CAHU President Dave Fear Jr. stated that he was recently on a call with the Single Payer coalition and listened to Bernie Sanders and other prominent single-payer supporters provide a post-election update. “I will summarize by saying that they will not let cost or Trump or common sense stop them. You will see a push similar to what happened in California with SB 562 on the federal level in the House of Representatives. They plan to make Democrats support it or turn on them to do the same thing to Senators.”
What can we do?
“We expect to find CAHU making new bedfellows in a joint effort to lobby against new taxation,” stated Brad Davis. “The incoming leadership seems to have an appetite to find new and creative ways to tax its citizens. For example, a new tax on services (including the advice of an agent) would have a profound effect on our ability to deliver services. CAHU has had to expand the scope of its efforts beyond just healthcare in order to protect the agent members from many different adverse affects.”
“I think the game plan for single payer is similar to what we saw before,” commented Dave Fear, Jr. “The far left and the nurses will not accept the excuse ‘I support single payer but…’ from democrats. I think they will try to use social media and grass roots efforts to force elected representatives to take a public stance. They are leaving no room for moderates.”
“[Our members] need to stay involved and stay engaged,” said Rob Semrow. They have to stay vigilant and communicate with their consumers/clients. We are their advocates and if we are removed, they will have to do much more for themselves than they are used to or comfortable with.”
“Members have to know their stuff on why single payer is not the best solution for our state or country,” said Dave Fear Jr. “They need to be able to talk about cost, and lack of competition and lack of innovation associated with government-run health care. CAHU will continue to provide information to its members on single payer and other government run systems to help in that debate.”
Please stay tuned for further updates! ##
