"Health
insurance companies will stop at nothing to defeat Prop 45, including
using an actor to portray a small business owner claiming to be against
the ballot measure without revealing that he is a fake businessman,"
said Consumer Watchdog Advocate Liza Tucker. The tactic could violate
campaign disclosure laws and the consumer group has asked the Fair
Political Practices Commission to investigate, she said.
Under
California campaign laws, a TV ad must disclose on screen that an actor is being paid if the payment tops
$5,000. Any payment of more than
$500 must be disclosed in required financial filings. There is no disclosure that
Efrain Figueroa, who has appeared in roles such as Father Marquez in "Modern Family" and
Jorge Machado
in "The Shield" is an actor in the ad and financial filings don't show a
payment to him. Figueroa plays "George" in the No campaign's TV ad,
supposedly a small business owner opposed to Prop 45. KCRA's AdWatch
judges rated it a D Plus for vagueness and "hiding something."
San Jose Mercury News said, New anti-Prop. 45 TV ad misleads viewers. But Perhaps the actor just trying to survive or a
Desperate Measures to stay alive, better yet, to pay his health bills. So forgive him but the deceptive Insurance Companies like Health Net.
View Figueroa appearing as George in the
ad here:
View Figueroa's extensive
acting credits here:
Press Release;
SANTA MONICA, Calif., /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Health Insurer HealthNet has chipped in nearly $5 million
to defeat Prop 45 in a sign that the health insurance industry fears
rate regulation that a yes vote on the proposition would bring, Consumer
Watchdog said today. The insurance pot against Prop 45 now totals $43 million to pay for misleading and deceptive TV ads, radio spots, and "independent" opinion pieces.
"Health
insurance companies will stop at nothing to defeat Prop 45, including
using an actor to portray a small business owner claiming to be against
the ballot measure without revealing that he is a fake businessman,"
said Consumer Watchdog Advocate Liza Tucker. The tactic could violate
campaign disclosure laws and the consumer group has asked the Fair
Political Practices Commission to investigate, she said.
Under California campaign laws, a TV ad must disclose on screen that an actor is being paid if the payment tops $5,000. Any payment of more than $500 must be disclosed in required financial filings. There is no disclosure that Efrain Figueroa, who has appeared in roles such as Father Marquez in "Modern Family" and Jorge Machado
in "The Shield" is an actor in the ad and financial filings don't show a
payment to him. Figueroa plays "George" in the No campaign's TV ad,
supposedly a small business owner opposed to Prop 45. KCRA's AdWatch
judges rated it a D Plus for vagueness and "hiding something."
"Health
insurance companies are running scared that voters will actually vote
Prop 45 into law," said Tucker. "When was the last time you saw health
insurance companies spend this kind of money on your behalf? Now that
everyone has to buy heath insurance, these companies are too busy
growing billions in excess reserves through uncontrolled price gouging
that we have no way to stop."
HealthNet
is one of five health insurance companies that are the sole funders of
the campaign. Nurses and doctors in whose name the campaign operates
haven't contributed a penny. HealthNet's private market share in California stands at 8 percent. "The amount of money they are kicking in shows a rising desperation to stave off regulation," said Tucker.
Prop
45 would give the state's elected insurance commissioner, who answers
to voters, the power to make insurance companies open their books and
justify their premium hikes and to reject excessive rates. It would
allow consumer groups to challenge excessive and unfair premium
increases. No federal or California state agency currently has the power to do so, despite what insurance companies say. Recently, regulators determined that $250 million in premium hikes were excessive but could do nothing to stop them. They went into effect anyway.
35 other states have a system of preapproval of health insurance rate hikes, but not California. "Prop 45 is the missing piece of the Affordable Care Act now that everyone has to buy health insurance," said Tucker.
HealthNet CEO since 1998, Jay Gellert, was paid a salary of more than $9 million in 2013. The company has $4.7 billion in assets, and its second quarter profits were $120 million
— a 70 percent jump over the entire year's profits in 2013. "Health
insurance companies are holding far more in reserve than the state
requires," said Tucker.
The companies stand to lose some of what consumers will gain as it is estimated Prop 45 will save them up to $1 billion a year. Rate regulation for auto and home insurance, passed in 1988, and on which Prop 45 is modeled, has saved consumers $102 billion.
Paid
for by Consumer Watchdog Campaign – Yes on 45, a coalition of consumer
advocates, nurses, attorneys, and policyholders. 777 S. Figueroa St.,
Ste. 4050, Los Angeles, CA 90017. Major Funding by Consumer Watchdog Campaign and California Nurses Association.
SOURCE Consumer Watchdog
