[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By David Dayen
d-day

Yesterday I spent some time at an often contentious debate in the race for the 2nd District of the LA County Board of Supervisors. The two most high-profile candidates for the seat, State Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas and former LAPD Chief and current City Councilman Bernard Parks, squared off in a pretty lively debate which featured a lot of sniping and criticism.

Why the heated exchanges in a county Board of Supervisors race? Why is a state Senator and a very highly recognized City Councilman running in this race? Why is Sheila Kuehl planning to run for the Board of Supes when Zev Yaroslavsky's term is up in the near future?

Because these are unbelievably powerful positions.

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Yesterday I spent some time at an often contentious debate in the race for the 2nd District of the LA County Board of Supervisors.  The two most high-profile candidates for the seat, State Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas and former LAPD Chief and current City Councilman Bernard Parks, squared off in a pretty lively debate which featured a lot of sniping and criticism.

Why the heated exchanges in a county Board of Supervisors race?  Why is a state Senator and a very highly recognized City Councilman running in this race?  Why is Sheila Kuehl planning to run for the Board of Supes when Zev Yaroslavsky's term is up in the near future?

Because these are unbelievably powerful positions.

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

by Mark Leno Campaign [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

• Lawmakers question Department of Managed Healthcare’s oversight of health insurers
• Inquiry into regulations for timely access, discount plans, rescissions, language access and mental health parity
• Laws passed more than five years ago still not implemented

By Hanh Kim Quach
Health Care Policy Coordinator
Health Access California

At a special hearing of the Senate Health Committee on Thursday, Department of Managed Health Care Director Cindy Ehnes was questioned for over nearly seven hours about her department’s handling of five separate regulations and whether it had met its charge as a consumer protection agency in implementing and enforcing laws to help patients.

“This hearing is meant to provide a level of oversight to ensure that legislation that is passed gets implemented in a way that is consistent with the way it was intended,’’ said Sen. Sheila Kuehl, chair of the Senate Health Committee.

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Rose Ann DeMoro
Executive Director
California Nurses Association

With its vote today, the Senate Health Committee deserves the thanks for all Californians for its thorough, deliberative process and for taking a principled courageous stand despite the enormous pressure brought to bear by those who were pushing for hurried passage for a badly flawed healthcare bill

Following this vote, the nurses of California offer our pledge to work with legislators, community groups, and labor for genuine healthcare reform that avoids the serious shortcomings of AB x 1.

AB x 1 was rejected not because Californians and the legislature like the status quo or do not yearn for fixing our broken healthcare system. The bill collapsed because it was fundamentally flawed on its merits on access, quality, and cost.

Among our key concerns were the mandate forcing individuals to purchase insurance with no controls on costs or a minimum standard for benefits or quality, the failure to provide meaningful protection to families facing a huge spike in out-of-pocket costs, and the danger that the low employer mandate would encourage employers to drop current coverage.