Healthcare Advocates Press On, but California Reform May be Finished

A day after the Senate Health Committee rejected the healthcare reform plan, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and House Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez held a press conference with a slew of labor groups, insurance and health care professionals and consumer advocates to pledge to continue to work toward healthcare reform.

“We are here to say we will not turn our back on reforming a broken healthcare system,” Schwarzenegger said. “We will continue to fight.”

But the San Francisco Chronicle editorial board opined yesterday that reform “is all but dead,” after Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata said he would not revive a healthcare bill.

"It’s gone; it’s over," Perata told the Chronicle Tuesday.

“The state Senate Health Committee’s decision Monday to shoot down the governor’s painstakingly prepared universal healthcare proposal is dooming any chance for reform, and not just for this deficit-ridden year. Californians probably won’t see another universal health-care plan for years to come,” according to the Chronicle.

California’s healthcare efforts have been considered an indicator of the direction other states and possibly the country could take on the issue. Nonetheless, many states are expected to tackle the issue on their own, putting forth plans that meet the needs of their residents.

California’s state Senate Health Committee voted 7-1 Monday against a measure that sought to provide health care coverage for millions of the state’s uninsured. The committee cited the Legislative Analyst Office’s recent report that the plan would cost significantly more than expected. Perata also expressed concerned that the plan would jeopardize existing programs.

Earlier in the day, Perata sent Schwarzenegger a letter informing him that he no longer supported the proposal that Perata had helped to develop. However, Perata suggested the Senate consider elements of the reform proposal, including a higher tobacco tax, charging hospitals fees, and requiring insurers to spend a minimum of 85 percent of premiums on health care, to help confront the state’s $14.5 billion budget deficit.

Nunez said proponents of healthcare reform will consider other proposals, including a single-payer system. However, Nunez said they will not abandon the plan passed by the Assembly last month after a year of tenuous negotiations.

“This bill not something we’re throwing in the trash and say let’s start back and start from square one,” Nunez said. “I believe it’s a road map to getting the right type of healthcare that we need.”

Schwarzenegger suggested there may have been other political reasons the bill didn’t pass. He disagreed with a finding by the LAO that federal funding was uncertain.

“We have to find out what is the reason why it didn’t pass, not the public reason,” Schwarzenegger said.