Massachusetts Teacher Facing Unaffordable Mandatory Health Insurance Speaks Out Against...

Massachusetts Teacher Facing Unaffordable Mandatory Health Insurance Speaks
Out Against CA Mandate Proposal

New Poll Finds Californians Overwhelmingly Oppose Mandatory Health Insurance,
Favor Regulation of Insurance Companies

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jan. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is
being issued by Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights:

What:
At a press conference, a Massachusetts teacher who cannot afford mandatory
insurance in that state will discuss his plight and why Californians should
not be required to suffer the same fate under pending legislation by Governor
Schwarzenegger and Speaker Fabian Nunez. Consumer advocates will also release
a new poll commissioned by the Campaign For Consumer Rights that shows
Californians overwhelmingly opposed mandatory health insurance while voicing
large support for regulating health insurance premiums. The most popular
proposal is giving all Californians access to the same health coverage
available to Sacramento politicians.

When: Wednesday, January 16, 2008 - 10:30 am

Where: State Capitol, Sacramento, CA - Capitol Rotunda, 1st Floor

Who:
Ron Norton, adjunct professor of radiology at Massachusetts community college
who is classified as an "independent contractor" and does not have insurance
from his state employer. He makes about $40,000 a year, too much to qualify
for an exemption from the state's requirement that individuals buy private
insurance policies. But he can't afford the high combined premiums and
deductibles of the policies that state is calling "affordable." He will
discuss the unaffordability of such private insurance, in Massachusetts or
under the proposed California health insurance legislation, for middle-class
workers.

Jerry Flanagan and Carmen Balber of the Campaign for Consumer Rights are
releasing a statewide poll of likely voters showing that nearly two thirds of
California voters are opposed to legislation, backed by Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, that requires Californians
to show proof of private health insurance.
Voters surveyed voiced overwhelming support for measures that require greater
accountability for health insurers, such as limiting the amount patients must
pay out of pocket when sick and requiring insurers to get approval from state
regulators for rate increases. These provisions are not included in the
Nunez/Schwarzenegger legislation scheduled to be voted on by the California
Senate Health Committee on January 23, 2008.

The Campaign for Consumer Rights is the advocacy and campaign affiliate of the
Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR)

SOURCE Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights

Jerry Flanagan, +1-310-889-4912 (cell), or Carmen Balber, +1-310- 403-0284
(cell), or Judy Dugan, +1-310-392-0522 ext. 305, all of Foundation for
Taxpayer and Consumer Rights