Urgent Action Requested on Health Care Reform Vote

Dear HD37 Dems:

FYI, a request from Consumer's Union to send a message (on a provided template) to our CO insurance commissioner to not water down a key provision of health care reform in a vote that may occur in the next week. See the details and links in the below message.

It's no shock the insurance companies hate the new health reform law that requires them to spend most of your premium on your health care – not on their reams of paperwork, marketing, TV ads and CEO salaries. What is shocking is a plan that could put the money you deserve back in the insurance companies' pockets! Next week a group of little-known state insurance commissioners may vote to tell Congress to undermine this new law. Make sure they know you are watching what they do! Tell your state Insurance Commissioner to vote for consumers, not the insurance companies! What's at stake is one of the most pro-consumer rules in the much-maligned national health care law. This rule says insurance companies can't spend more than 20 percent of your premium on their administrative costs and profits. It finally holds companies accountable for how they spend your money – and helps hold down our rates as well. Even better, if insurance companies don't keep their costs down, they have to give YOU a rebate for how much they went over that 20 percent. It's estimated consumers could get at least $2 billion in rebates next year! Of course the industry hates this rule. And one way around it is to claim the money they pay insurance brokers to sell their policies shouldn't come out of that 20 percent. If the Commissioners vote to let them do that, then we may have to say goodbye to most of those rebates – and hello to spiraling rates! Tell your Insurance Commissioner to reject this anti-consumer scheme! We beat back this attempt once with your help. Now we need you to weigh in again with the Insurance Commissioners and tell them consumers are watching what they do – and there will be consequences! Please act, then forward this to others so they can too!