Proponents mourn Prop. 45

Supporters of failed Proposition 45 warn that health insurance rates will continue to skyrocket without state oversight.

On Nov. 4, about 60 percent of voters rejected Prop. 45, which would have given the state insurance commissioner authority to reject health insurance rate increases, according to California Healthline. Deep-pocketed insurers such as Kaiser Permanente and the Blue Shield of California raised about $57 million to defeat the measure, while supporters raised only $4 million.

Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones called the defeat “a major setback for California consumers and small businesses,” while Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog—which put the measure on the ballot—predicted that “insurance price gouging is going to continue without Proposition 45’s protection.”