California Watch: Dozens of groups lobbying insurance legislation

Dozens of groups lobbying insurance bill

August 25, 2011 | Chase Davis, California Watch

 

Photo by José Goulão/Flickr


A bill that would give government agencies a strong hand in determining health insurance rates was lobbied by at least six dozen groups between April and July. This makes it possibly the most controversial of the bills before legislative appropriations committees as they move to clear their suspense files this week.

To be sure, AB 52, sponsored by Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles, has rankled insurance companies and attracted support from consumer groups. But it also has drawn lobbying fire from county governments, local pensions, engineers and machinists, utilities, and even the Hilton hotel chain, according to lobbying filings analyzed by California Watch.

The legislation is among about 300 bills with financial implications for the state, know as suspense bills, that must be acted on this week by the Senate and Assembly appropriations committees before they can be brought up for a floor vote.

Many of those bills were the focus of lobbying by dozens of interest groups between April and July – the most recent quarter for which lobby filings were available.

Among the other most heavily lobbied bills before both chambers’ appropriations committees this week are: SB 450, which proposes reforms to local redevelopment agencies; AB 6, which would reform aspects of state welfare and food stamps programs and has drawn broad support; and AB 29, which would create an Office of Economic Development for the state.

The insurance rate bill is the most heavily lobbied among them and is slated for a vote today. Opposition to the bill has been growing in recent days, particularly after the state Department of Finance recommended against its passage, citing high costs.

Supporters, which include consumer groups and unions, argue that the bill would protect consumers from rising health insurance premiums and often point to similar laws passed in 35 other states. Opponents, which include many insurers and business groups, have argued among other things that lower premiums could result in lower payouts to doctors and a lower quality of care.

Between groups that have registered support or opposition to the measure and lobbyists who are working to influence it, dozens, if not hundreds, of interests will have weighed in by the time lawmakers make their decision.

As of the April-July quarterly filing period, the interest groups registered to lobby the bill are below. The amounts each spent on lobbying the bill are not explicitly disclosed in the filings.

SPECIAL INTEREST
AETNA INC.
AMERICA'S HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS
ANTHEM BLUE CROSS (A SUBSIDIARY OF WELLPOINT, INC.)
ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIA LIFE & HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES
BLUE SHIELD OF CALIFORNIA
BUTTE, COUNTY OF
CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF EYE PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS
California Academy of Family Physicians
CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF COUNTY TREASURERS & TAX COLLECTORS
CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF HEALTH PLANS
CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF HEALTH UNDERWRITERS
California Association of Nonprofits
California Association of Physician Groups
California Association of Professional Scientists
California Clinical Laboratory Association
California Conference of Machinists
California Conference of the Amalgamated Transit Union
CALIFORNIA HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION/CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF HOSPITALS AND HEALTH SYSTEMS
California Medical Association
California Mortgage Association
California Physical Therapy Association
California Professional Firefighters
California Society of Anesthesiologists, Inc.
CALIFORNIA STATE ASSOCIATION OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS
CALIFORNIA STATE PIPE TRADES COUNCIL
CHILDREN NOW
CHILDREN'S DEFENSE FUND - CALIFORNIA
CIGNA HEALTHCARE OF CALIFORNIA, INC.
City & County of San Francisco
City of Sacramento
Consumer Federation of California
Consumer Watchdog
CORBETT AND ASSOCIATES, MICHAEL Y.
COUNTY ALCOHOL AND DRUG PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY MEDICAL SERVICES PROGRAM (CMSP)
COUNTY OF YUBA, AND THE YUBA COUNTY WATER AGENCY
DEL NORTE, COUNTY OF
Delta Dental of California
Engineers and Scientists of California Local 20, IFPTE AFL-CIO & CLC
FRESNO, COUNTY OF
Glendale City Employees Association
HILTON WORLDWIDE
International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Coast Longshore Division
KAISER FOUNDATION HEALTH PLAN, INC.
KEENAN & ASSOCIATES
KERN, COUNTY OF
Laborers' International Union of North America, Local 777
Laborers' International Union of North America, Local 792
MARIN COUNTY
MERCED, COUNTY OF
NAPA, COUNTY OF
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INSURANCE AND FINANCIAL ADVISORS - CALIFORNIA
National Multiple Sclerosis Society MSCAN
NEVADA, COUNTY OF
Organization of SMUD Employees
PETERSON CONSULTING, INC.
PICO CALIFORNIA
PLACER, COUNTY OF
Professional and Technical Engineers Local 21, AFL-CIO
Professional Engineers in California Government
PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCATES, LLC
San Bernardino Public Employees Association
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY UNIFIED AIR POLLUTION CONTROL DISTRICT
SAN JOAQUIN, COUNTY OF
San Luis Obispo County Employees Association
SAN LUIS OBISPO, COUNTY OF
Santa Rosa City Employees Association
SHASTA, COUNTY OF
SISKIYOU, COUNTY OF
SOLANO, COUNTY OF
SONOMA, COUNTY OF
STANISLAUS, COUNTY OF
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
SYNERMED, INC.
TIDES CENTER/CHILDREN'S PARTNERSHIP
TULARE COUNTY ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS (TCAG)
TULARE, COUNTY OF
UNITE HERE! AFL-CIO
UNITED HEALTHCARE SERVICES, INC.
UNITED HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION
United Teachers Los Angeles Political Action Council of Educators (PACE)
Utility Workers Union of America, Local 132
WESTERN DENTAL SERVICES, INC.

In order to determine the interest groups lobbying a bill, California Watch created a dataset based on lobbying firm disclosure statements filed so far this year with the secretary of state’s office.
Lobbying firms and their employers typically disclose their lobbied bills in blurbs of text that are not suitable for analysis, so California Watch hired data-entry clerks to extract that information and place it into a structured database.

The first-of-its-kind database, which California Watch plans to release publicly in the coming weeks, will allow users to easily see which special interests registered to lobby any given bill in the Legislature.