Insurance Commissioner Candidate Discusses How Position’s Health Care Responsibilities Should Be Expanded
State Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Huntington Park, Long Beach, is running against Steve Poizner, a former Republican turned independent. While the office holds broad authority over policies regulating homes, businesses and cars, it does not wield much authority over health insurance.
Orange County Register:
Health Care Among Issues Aired At Wilmington Forum For State Insurance Commissioner
State Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Huntington Park, Long Beach, discussed his ideas for expanding the role of the state Insurance Commissioner, a position he’s seeking on the November ballot, at a town hall Tuesday, Oct. 16, in Wilmington. Specifically, Lara talked about how technology will require the office to do more in the future. He also said he’d like to see the post have a bigger say in health insurance coverage. ... The California Insurance Commissioner has been an elected executive office position in California since 1991. Before that, it was an appointment made by the governor. (Littlejohn, 10/16)
In more election news —
The Desert Sun:
California's Prop. 8 Battle Pits Unions Against Dialysis Providers
The ballot initiative campaign with the highest price-tag in California's 2018 midterm elections isn’t about rent control or the gas tax, it’s about kidney dialysis, and specifically, how much profit providers can make from the procedure. Supporters and opponents of Proposition 8, the “Fair Pricing for Dialysis Act,” have contributed almost $120 million during the 2018 campaign season. The state’s largest kidney dialysis providers — including industry giants Davita Dialysis, Fresenius Medical Care and U.S. Renal Care — have contributed $99 million collectively to fight the proposition, while supporters, led by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), have contributed more $18 million in support of the measure collectively. (Metz, 10/17)