The Drag Queen Posse

We recently asked our community to help us determine our 2010 agenda by ranking eight issues that will define California's future. In addition to supporting our ongoing fight for equality, respondents told us that their #1 priority is to bring single-payer health care to California.

Read Robert's email below to see how we are going to build the case for single-payer health care, starting by going after the insurance companies. Or just click here to tell Gov. Schwarzenegger to take action now:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/TakeActionArnold

Rick Jacobs Chair, Courage Campaign

It's one of the most shocking and outrageous acts of corporate greed we've seen in a long time.

Anthem Blue Cross, a California health insurance company owned by WellPoint, is socking its individual policyholders with a massive 39% rate hike, despite the fact that WellPoint generated over $4.75 billion in profit in 2009.

Since the news broke last week, enraged Californians have demanded action to stop the rate hike. WellPoint is trying to appease the public by postponing the hike until May. They hope we'll forget all about it so they can continue their pattern of unaffordable rate increases over the last decade. We won't let that happen.

While health care reform is stalled in Congress, insurance companies are taking advantage of lax rules that enable them to price gouge customers during tough economic times. We can't rely on WellPoint to postpone the increase -- we have to change the law to protect Californians from all the health insurance profiteers.

Insurance companies can impose outrageous rate hikes like this because California law does not limit unfair and unaffordable increases. That needs to change. That's why we are demanding that Gov. Schwarzenegger support legislation to regulate health insurance rates and rein in skyrocketing premiums. Click here to add your name to our letter: http://www.couragecampaign.org/TakeActionArnold

Anthem Blue Cross isn't the only insurer socking its customers with unaffordable rate increases. Aetna has increased rates for small group policies by 40% and California's other large insurers will soon follow suit.

Why are insurers price gouging people? Because our state laws place no limits on their greed for exorbitant profits. According to Health Care for America Now, the five largest health insurers -- WellPoint, UnitedHealthGroup, Aetna, Humana and Cigna -- saw their profits increase by 56% last year.

The best way to fix this is for the state legislature and the governor to enact SB 810, the single-payer health care bill that Courage Campaign members ranked as their #1 priority for 2010. The first step towards passing that bill is to regulate insurance companies so they stop price gouging customers right now.

Both the California Nurses Association and State Senator Mark Leno, leaders of the single-payer campaign, believe we can check the insurance companies' obscene greed and achieve better health care by forcing health insurers to open their books, justify their rates, and secure state approval for any increases.

We agree. Please join the Courage Campaign and sign our letter to Gov. Schwarzenegger demanding he support a bill to shine the light on insurance company price gouging and regulate the rate increases. We need to act now while the issue is still burning in the minds of Californians. Click here to sign: http://www.couragecampaign.org/TakeActionArnold

Thanks for helping us fight back against corporate greed.

Robert Cruickshank Public Policy Director, Courage Campaign