A Call for Universal Health Care in California

The New York Times ^ | December 3, 2002 | MILT FREUDENHEIM

[sarcasm]

he chief executive of one of California's largest health insurers is calling for legislation that would provide public or private health coverage for every resident of California.

Bruce G. Bodaken, the chief executive of Blue Shield of California, a nonprofit insurer with 2.6 million members, said his plan would require most employers in the state to provide essential health benefits for every employee as part of a proposal to cover six million uninsured state residents.

Mr. Bodaken said smaller employers would be exempt under his proposal. But every state resident eligible to participate in California's public health insurance programs would be enrolled in them. Uninsured people who could afford insurance would be required to buy their own.

The state would provide subsidies, based on need, to help those who could not afford the full costs.

Although the state faces a budget deficit of more than 25 percent in the coming year, Tom Epstein, a spokesman for Blue Shield, said that "our presumption is that a new tax dedicated to this purpose would have wide political support."

Mr. Bodaken said universal coverage would generate savings through expanded preventive care, earlier treatment of people who postpone seeing doctors when they are uninsured, reduced use of hospital emergency rooms and more secure financing for hospitals, doctors and insurers.

Mr. Bodaken, who plans to spell out his ideas in a speech tonight at the Commonwealth Club, a public affairs forum, in San Francisco, said his plan would call for "an essential benefits package, designed by independent medical professionals, that would guarantee preventive care, physician services, hospital care and prescription drugs."

Those provisions would contrast with relatively inexpensive health policies with correspondingly limited benefits that a number of companies are offering to small businesses and individuals.

Analysts said it made sense for insurance executives, and Blue Shield of California in particular, to endorse proposals for universal coverage. "It would dramatically increase the size of the market and spread the risk better," said Todd B. Richter, a health care analyst at Banc of America Securities.

Lawrence C. Marsh, an analyst at Lehman Brothers, said the Blue Shield proposal could be good for the company's public image. "One reason a health insurance executive would propose universal coverage is to be seen as the good guy, not the bad guy, as a patient advocate," he said.

But Mr. Richter said the plan would probably face opposition from employers anxious to avoid adding to their health insurance costs, which have been rising rapidly in the 12 percent to 16 percent range, and even higher for some small companies. It would also be difficult to enforce, he said. For example, in states that require automobile insurance, there are still drivers who ignore that requirement.

Mr. Bodaken, a senior executive of Blue Shield since 1994 and chief executive since November 1999, outlined his plan in an op-ed article yesterday in The San Francisco Chronicle.

"While it may seem a bit unusual for a health plan to worry about the uninsured," he wrote, access to care at a reasonable price is a "core mission" for the insurer. "We will pursue universal coverage," he said, "even if it reduces our company's income and strains relationships with our constituents."

[sarcasm]

our presumption is that a new tax dedicated to this purpose would have wide political support."

From whom?

[goldstategop]

Hillary or is that Algore Care comes to California.

[Axenolith]

If this occurs, C-YA, last one out don't forget to turn out the lights...

[goldstategop]

Its bears watching to see if the GOP in the State Legislature breaks its "No New Taxes" pledge to get glowing coverage in the Los Angeles Times.

[gubamyster]

I hope the take the Matricula Consular card so we can insure all the illegals too. (/sarcasm)

Wide political support? Like Hell they will.

[AFPhys]

Gee ::: what a surprising story... an insurance company wants the state to pass legislation requiring that companies buy insurance. This is probably just his grand idea of how he can help out the little guys. With MY money. Into HIS pocket.

[MarkM]

Then all the illegal aliens can have health insurance at taxpayer expense.

[sarcasm]

Why would California need higher taxes? I thought that illegal aliens caused an economic boom.

[DoughtyOne]

If that's a tax that can be paid in lead, I'm all for it.

[sarcasm]

How could you be opposed to paying this tax in pesos dollars?

[John Lenin]

From whom?

The RATS are confident that they got the voter fraud apparatus down.

[Nick Danger]

Gee ::: what a surprising story... an insurance company wants the state to pass legislation requiring that companies buy insurance. This is probably just his grand idea of how he can help out the little guys. With MY money. Into HIS pocket.

Isn't that funny? And here's the New York Times hyping it up, as if a pitch from an insurance salesman is some big social program.

[goldstategop]

I guess he figured its not the time to run those commercials that beat the stuffing out of HillaryCare back in the mid-90s.

[DoughtyOne]

Dollars? Get with the program fella. LOL

[A CA Guy]

This has worked nowhere else, what makes anyone think this will do anything in California but kill people faster and raise health costs out of sight.

You want health costs to go down around the country?
Tort and jury award reform is needed.

[goldstategop]

Who do you think is the biggest contributor to the California Democrats? Pick your first guess and you'll understand what's driving this state towards adopting full blown socialized medicine here.

[purkinje]

The illegal aliens already get free heath care in California at taxpayer expense. I am a UCLA med school graduate, now practicing in Nevada. when I worked in an ER setting it was not unusual for critically ill patients to show up in the ER from Mexico with their records translated into English . Mexican citizens would show up in chronic renal failure and eventually get put on chronic dialysis/ Medi-cal to the tune of $36000.00 per year.
Last year I visited a clinic at LA County USC to observe their physicians give BOTOX injections to patients with spasticity and dystonia. Out of the 20 patients that showed up that day only one guy had insurance but because no one bothered to even contact the insurance company ( this guy was not even a California resident) they didn't get paid. The drug is idiotically expensive ( ie $400.00/ 1cc) and the MD's there gave it out indescriminately.One lady drove up to the clinic I recall from central Mexico to get her shots, she at least "paid" for her thousands of dollars of medications with some home made tamales that she brought for the doctors. The taxpayers of California spend perhaps $250,000 on this one clinic that meets once a month based on my observations. If this guy at Blue Cross has his way, think how much health care will cost once it's free.

[A CA Guy]

So you think they are going for it while they still posses all the power in California? Makes sense, but this will bring on the biggest Republican conversion ever if they try this socialized baloney.

[Joe Boucher]

And who will pay for this?
I've heard that Calif can't aford a big mac more less universal health care.

[bayareablues]

This makes me physically ill. I just cannot believe that elected officials have so little disregard for the working people of this country. California is careening off of the planet. A study of what can happen on a national scale if the Democrats ever get control of the executive and the legislative branches.