Schwarzenegger

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today proposed a health care plan for the state, which he hopes would cover all residents. His plan would “require” all Californians to have health insurance, and would provide extremely low income residents financial help.

Some worry that the financial assistance to uninsured low income workers via a “state-administered purchasing pool” would include a tax on the middle class. Medi-Cal would still be available for the very poor.

The governor mentioned a “broken system” where hospital emergency rooms have been forced to close and some citizens have been declined for health insurance because of pre-existing conditions. He said today “More than 60 emergency rooms have closed over the past decade because they didn't want to keep treating people without insurance.

"Unpaid medical bills mean billions of dollars in hidden taxes for the rest of us because those services all have to be paid for. So we pay higher deductibles, costs for treatment, premiums and co-pays.

"Companies stop offering coverage, which leads to more people without insurance and the whole cycle keeps repeating. Nearly three million people in California whose jobs do provide coverage turn it down because they think they're healthy and don't need it, or they don't want to pay their share of ever-higher premiums. We have to aim high and attack the entire system from top to bottom. We can create a model the rest of the nation can follow."

If his plan is passed by the legislature, California would be the largest state with near universal care. Other states that have attempted near universal health care are Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont.

One fifth of California citizens are without health insurance. The governor would like to shift the burden of providing health insurance onto businesses, government and the uninsured themselves. He is also calling for new requirements on health insurance companies.

Some conservatives worry that the plan would drive even more businesses away from state. The governor promised to not raise taxes, but just days after being sworn in for a second term he unveils a plan that he estimates would cost $12 billion.

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By Tom Madison
Best Syndication Writer

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