California health care reform gains momentum
(Adds details on ballot vote, quotes from Schwarzenegger, Nunez, background)
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Dec 17 (Reuters) - California's Assembly on Monday approved Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan for universal health insurance, as overhauling health care grows as a prominent issue in the 2008 presidential election.
The compromise legislation, which passed by a vote of 46 to 31, was hammered out by the Republican governor and Fabian Nunez, speaker of California's Democrat-led Assembly.
While a handful of other states have revamped their systems, California's plan for its 36 million people is seen as a potential model for a national reform.
"It is inexcusable the kind of health care system that we have right now," said Schwarzenegger.
The bipartisan, $14 billion plan must be approved by the California Senate, after which Schwarzenegger hopes to put it before voters in November.
In 2005, U.S. health care spending was higher than in any other country at $2 trillion, or about 16 percent of gross domestic product.
Although the United States spends at least twice as much as other industrialized countries, it has 47 million people without insurance and millions more whose existing health coverage is insufficient to cover a serious illness such as cancer.
Most of the U.S. uninsured either cannot afford expensive health insurance or have been denied coverage because of a previous illness. At the same time, some young and healthy people chose not to spend money on medical coverage.
Other industrialized nations, including Schwarzenegger's home country of Austria, have adopted government-sponsored programs that cover everyone. Many provide care that is of similar or better quality than in the United States.
The U.S. health care system is burdened by inefficiency and excessive administration by for-profit companies. In addition, the vast number of uninsured often seek needed care in hospital emergency rooms, which by law cannot turn anyone away.
In tackling the U.S. health care system, California's movie star governor picks up where reformers have failed for nearly a century.
"We see the finish line. I think we have a good shot," said Schwarzenegger, who added that the plan on the table pays for itself.
COVERAGE FOR ALL?
The bill would prohibit insurers from denying coverage regardless of age or medical history and require them to spend at least 85 cents of every premium dollar on patient care.
"Never again will people be denied coverage," Nunez said.
Everyone in California would be required to buy health insurance, which would be more affordable for the low-income individuals who are among the state's 6.5 million uninsured.
The bill would provide funding for community clinics in a bid to save money and ease stress on overcrowded emergency rooms, which act as a safety net for the uninsured.
Revenue to pay for the new plan would come from taxes on hospitals, cigarettes and employers who do not provide health insurance.
Amid concerns about how the state will pay for the ambitious program as it faces a $14 billion budget gap, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata said he ordered an analysis of the long-term fiscal effects of the bill.
"This analysis, combined with the governor's proposed budget, will help determine how we can move forward in a fiscally responsible manner," Perata, a Democrat, said. (Reporting by Lisa Baertlein and Jenny O'Mara, Editing by Mary Milliken and Sandra Maler)
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Dec 17 (Reuters) - California's Assembly on Monday approved Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan for universal health insurance, as overhauling health care grows as a prominent issue in the 2008 presidential election.
The compromise legislation, which passed by a vote of 46 to 31, was hammered out by the Republican governor and Fabian Nunez, speaker of California's Democrat-led Assembly.
While a handful of other states have revamped their systems, California's plan for its 36 million people is seen as a potential model for a national reform.
"It is inexcusable the kind of health care system that we have right now," said Schwarzenegger.
The bipartisan, $14 billion plan must be approved by the California Senate, after which Schwarzenegger hopes to put it before voters in November.
In 2005, U.S. health care spending was higher than in any other country at $2 trillion, or about 16 percent of gross domestic product.
Although the United States spends at least twice as much as other industrialized countries, it has 47 million people without insurance and millions more whose existing health coverage is insufficient to cover a serious illness such as cancer.
Most of the U.S. uninsured either cannot afford expensive health insurance or have been denied coverage because of a previous illness. At the same time, some young and healthy people chose not to spend money on medical coverage.
Other industrialized nations, including Schwarzenegger's home country of Austria, have adopted government-sponsored programs that cover everyone. Many provide care that is of similar or better quality than in the United States.
The U.S. health care system is burdened by inefficiency and excessive administration by for-profit companies. In addition, the vast number of uninsured often seek needed care in hospital emergency rooms, which by law cannot turn anyone away.
In tackling the U.S. health care system, California's movie star governor picks up where reformers have failed for nearly a century.
"We see the finish line. I think we have a good shot," said Schwarzenegger, who added that the plan on the table pays for itself.
COVERAGE FOR ALL?
The bill would prohibit insurers from denying coverage regardless of age or medical history and require them to spend at least 85 cents of every premium dollar on patient care.
"Never again will people be denied coverage," Nunez said.
Everyone in California would be required to buy health insurance, which would be more affordable for the low-income individuals who are among the state's 6.5 million uninsured.
The bill would provide funding for community clinics in a bid to save money and ease stress on overcrowded emergency rooms, which act as a safety net for the uninsured.
Revenue to pay for the new plan would come from taxes on hospitals, cigarettes and employers who do not provide health insurance.
Amid concerns about how the state will pay for the ambitious program as it faces a $14 billion budget gap, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata said he ordered an analysis of the long-term fiscal effects of the bill.
"This analysis, combined with the governor's proposed budget, will help determine how we can move forward in a fiscally responsible manner," Perata, a Democrat, said. (Reporting by Lisa Baertlein and Jenny O'Mara, Editing by Mary Milliken and Sandra Maler)
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