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Earlier this
month,
Governor
Arnold
Schwarzenegger
submitted
legislative
language to
the Senate
and Assembly
to continue
the
conversation
in earnest
and get
health care
reform
resolved. We
continue to
strive for
health
insurance
for all
California
families.
We need to
find a
solution
this year --
a solution
that
achieves the
Governor’s
goals of:
coverage for
all;
affordability
and cost
containment;
and,
prevention,
health
promotion
and
wellness.
The language
the Governor
submitted
makes a
number of
changes but
leaves
intact the
basic
premise of
the plan he
introduced
this past
January.
As in
January,
Governor
Schwarzenegger
is committed
to coverage
for all. To
achieve this
goal, the
Governor’s
plan
requires all
individuals
to have a
minimum
level of
health
coverage. We
believe this
is the most
effective
strategy for
ensuring all
Californians
are insured
and fixing
our broken
health care
system.
We also
recognize
that an
individual
mandate must
be paired
with a
requirement
that
insurers
offer health
insurance.
Market rules
will be
reformed so
that health
plans cannot
deny
coverage due
to age,
health
status or
pre-existing
conditions.
And, to
ensure
maximum
value,
insurers
will be
required to
dedicate no
less than 85
percent of
premiums on
patient
care. To
help keep
costs down
and make
health care
affordable,
Governor
Schwarzenegger’s
plan would
address the
issue of the
hidden tax
that
individuals
and
employers
pay for the
uncompensated
care of the
uninsured.
While
uninsured
individuals
can access
health care
services,
far too
often and
for far too
many, that
care is
provided in
the most
expensive,
least
appropriate
setting
possible –
the
emergency
room.
Emergency
rooms
throughout
the state
are
struggling
with the
financial
burden
associated
with the
uninsured.
It is
morally
right to
treat people
in their
time of
need, but
when their
bills go
unpaid, the
cost is
shifted to
those who
have health
insurance,
something
akin to a
hidden tax.
The hidden
tax insured
Californians
pay in the
form of
higher
premiums to
subsidize
care for the
uninsured is
estimated at
$1,186 per
year for
families and
$455 per
year for
individuals.
This hidden
tax is even
higher when
underpayments
from
government
programs
such as Medi-Cal
are added
in. Taken
together, it
is estimated
that
families pay
as much as
17 percent
more in
premiums due
to the cost
of
uncompensated
care for the
uninsured
and Medi-Cal
underpayments.
That’s why
the
Governor’s
plan calls
for $4
billion in
additional
Medi-Cal
payments to
ensure
adequate
compensation
and to
address the
hidden tax.
A final
essential
element of
the
Governor’s
health
reform plan
includes
strategies
to keep
Californians
healthy and
keep them
from having
to use
expensive
medical
services.
Chronic
illnesses,
like
diabetes,
and poor
health
choices,
such as
smoking and
inadequate
exercise and
nutrition,
drive up the
cost of
care. The
Governor’s
proposal
outlines a
comprehensive
prevention
policy that
encourages
and rewards
healthy
behaviors,
supports
diabetes
prevention
and
management
and
continues
nation-leading
innovative
strategies
to reverse
obesity
trends and
reduce the
smoking
rate.
The proposal
also
includes
measures to
reduce
medical
errors by
the use of
electronic
prescribing
and the
implementation
of new
health care
safety
measures and
reporting
requirements
to keep
Californians
from
expensive
preventable
procedures
due to
medical
errors.
All
Californians
are hurt by
our broken
health care
system and
all
Californians
will benefit
from
comprehensive
reform based
on coverage
for all,
shared
responsibility
and balanced
financing.
Working
together, we
can achieve
affordable
health care,
coverage for
all and a
healthier
California.
-###-
Kim Belshé
is the
Secretary of
the
California
Health and
Human
Services
Agency.
For further
information
on the
Schwarzenegger
Reform Plan,
please
click hereØØ |
