Labor & Medical Industry Give 56% of Prop 93 $$ to Win Concessions in Health Care L...(df target _new http://www.consumerwatch...),Health

Proposition 93's largest donor, the Service Employees International Union, received a special provision in AB 1x that allows it to expand its membership by replacing licensed physicians and nurses with medical assistants it represents.

The FTCR analysis found:

-- The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and affiliates contributed $1,110,000 (including $600,000 last week) to get changes to AB 1X allowing clinics at WalMart and other retail outlets to be staffed with minimally trained and unlicensed "medical assistants" organized by SEIU, rather than registered nurses.

-- The American Federation of State, County, Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and affiliates contributed $610,633 while seeking changes to AB 1X to increase the number of dues-paying home health care workers (organized by AFSCME & SEIU) by including coverage for those services in benefits packages.

-- The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) contributed $35,000 to eliminate the ability of the new state insurance pool to bulk purchase cheaper drugs.

-- Blue Cross of California contributed $50,000 to require Californians to buy private health insurance policies with no oversight over what insurers charge or the quality and scope of benefits that patients receive.

-- The California Optometric Association and the Doctors of Optometry Issues PAC contributed $50,000; the California Dental Association contributed $250,000; the California Chiropractic Association and California Orthopaedic Association contributed $45,000. All seek to increase patients and revenue with the widest possible inclusion of their members' respective fields in benefit packages in AB 1X.

-- The California Hospital Association contributed $100,000 to increase funding for, and expand commercial access to, previously uninsured patients through taxpayer-subsidi
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