Posted on 08/31/2007 8:12:33 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is scheduled to appear in San Diego today to promote a universal health care proposal whose faint prospects seemed to improve yesterday.
Schwarzenegger, who barely mentioned health care during his first term in office, has become a tireless champion for an ambitious plan to overhaul the state's health care system and cover California's estimated 6.5 million uninsured residents.
But time is quickly running out. The Legislature is scheduled to adjourn Sept. 14.
After clashing this week, Schwarzenegger and Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles, said yesterday that they had made progress in working out the differences between their competing proposals.
Schwarzenegger's plan relies on new fees for doctors, hospitals and employers who don't provide insurance for their workers; changes in insurance regulations; subsidies for those who can't afford coverage; and a mandate that all residents buy insurance.
Núñez's proposal centers on requiring employers to spend 7.5 percent of their payroll on health insurance for their employees or pay into a state fund to cover those workers.
This week, the governor threatened to veto Núñez's bill, which is backed by Senate President Pro Tempore Don Perata, D-Oakland. In response, Núñez said he would bring up Schwarzenegger's proposal for a vote of no confidence in the Assembly to prove that the Republican governor's plan has no support from Democrats or Republicans, who oppose the proposed fee increases.
But yesterday the speaker backed away from a vote, after he and Schwarzenegger had what aides called a productive meeting Wednesday.
The question now is whether all this maneuvering is the prelude to an eventual compromise or the harbinger of a doomed effort.
Republican legislators have strongly opposed any new taxes or fees. This week, they said there isn't time for a comprehensive deal.
“I don't think we are going to get the entire plan done this year. Obviously we don't support a lot of it,” said Senate Minority Leader Dick Ackerman, R-Tustin.
Time is short mainly because Republican senators refused to supply the votes for the two-thirds majority needed to pass the budget until Aug. 21. The long budget stalemate diverted attention from health care negotiations for nearly two months.
According to the Legislature's lawyer, GOP votes are needed to enact Schwarzenegger's plan because his “fees” are actually a tax that requires a two-thirds vote.
But GOP votes aren't required to pass the Democrats' proposal, according to the opinion by deputy legislative counsel Linda Dozier. She concluded that the Democrats' plan truly includes a fee increase on employers that needs only a majority vote in the Democratic-controlled Legislature.
The critical difference, Dozier said, is that the employer fees proposed by Democrats would cover those employers' workers, giving those business owners a direct benefit.
By contrast, the fees proposed by Schwarzenegger would go to a variety of places, including subsidies for low-income Californians.
The legal opinion opens up the possibility that Schwarzenegger could strike a compromise with Democrats that bypasses Republican lawmakers.
Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access, which supports expanded coverage, believes that Núñez's decision to drop a vote on Schwarzenegger's plan is a positive sign.
“It means that they are getting down to serious negotiations,” he said.
Wright contends that there are far more similarities than differences between the two proposals.
Both would cover millions of uninsured Californians and require that insurance companies spend 85 percent of their premium dollars on patients.
Schwarzenegger, who has said that solving the health care crisis could be part of his legacy, expressed optimism Wednesday.
“There will be a lot of minefields in front of us. There will be a lot of stumbling blocks in front of us,” he said at a news conference. “But we have almost three weeks. We're going to do it. The willingness is there.”
In the Capitol, advocacy groups and special interests are pressuring legislators from all sides.
One group, the California Hospital Association, worked behind the scenes to refine Schwarzenegger's call for a 4 percent fee on hospital payrolls. Although the association opposes any new fees, it has suggested an array of what it considers more acceptable levies that could provide a road map for lawmakers who want to raise revenue.
Under the governor's plan, revenue from hospitals would provide state funds needed to match increased federal funding for Medi-Cal, the health insurance program that covers the poor.
A wide variety of groups – including AARP, doctors, insurers and hospitals – have run advertising campaigns this summer urging an overhaul of the health care system, even though they support different approaches.
The California Endowment, a nonprofit foundation, has launched a $6 million TV ad campaign in support of change.
Its president, Dr. Robert Ross, said the signs of a broken health care system are everywhere: increasingly congested emergency rooms, soaring health care costs and growing numbers of uninsured residents.
“The wisest course of action is to develop some forward motion,” said Ross, former health director for San Diego County.
He cited recent surveys suggesting that Californians want action. The nonpartisan Field Poll released this month showed that nearly 70 percent of the state's residents are dissatisfied with the health system.
Without legislative action, advocacy groups may launch ballot measure campaigns that offer only partial solutions, Ross said.
One group, the California Restaurant Association, has pledged to back an initiative that raises the sales tax by 1 cent on the dollar to pay for health insurance.
The proposal, which is strongly opposed by the association's staunch Republican allies in the Legislature, has gained support from the California Retailers Association.
Jot Condie, president of the California Restaurant Association, said his group opposes any employer fee on businesses that don't cover their workers, whether it's the 4 percent proposed by Schwarzenegger or the 7.5 percent sought by Democrats.
As an alternative, the restaurant association believes that everyone who buys something in California should pay for health care. “Our goal is to see this problem solved once and for all,” he said.
Some believe that if lawmakers can't agree on a comprehensive plan for universal coverage, they should start by agreeing to cover the 800,000 California children without health insurance.
“We ought to achieve comprehensive health care reform, but our first priority must be children,” said state Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento.
Schwarzenegger doesn't want just a partial fix. “We should look at this as a big problem and find a big solution to the whole thing,” he said.
This will drive the last decent businesses out of teh state for sure.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has said that solving the health care crisis could be part of his legacy.
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His legacy will be one of rampant spending and ecoglobal pandering all under the guise of being a Gub of the voters and residents of KallefoorneeeyaaaaH!
Our Gob says our private health care system is broken.
The fact is, the largest employer in the state, the government, is broken and he refuses to fix it.
WHERE’S THE FENCE!!!!
If the Governor and state legislature wants universal health coverage, cut spending to the extent that they can pay for it. No new taxes. The main ones that will benefit from a program like this though is the illegals. In California, the law states that a hospital cannot turn anyone away for any reason. Even if you stub your toe or have a cold, emergency rooms cannot turn you away.
That is what I wanted to know is whether or not it covered illegal immigrants. If it does, it is a prescription to bankrupt the California since those outside of California and the country will flock there to get FREE HEALTH INSURANCE.
DOH!
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
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