Consumer/Labor Coalition Statement on the Governor's Revised Healthcare Plan
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Contact: Sev Williams |
We are pleased that the Governor wants to do something real to fix our broken health care. In fact, he’s so committed to it that he has linked his legacy to getting healthcare reform done this year. He says that he wants it to be big and not incremental. That’s good, and his intentions are good. But he hasn’t found a way to do that yet.
After 10 months with concepts floating around and no real bill language, the Governor came out today with some incremental changes to his original plan, a plan that is not likely to pass through the legislature and is not likely to sell with a majority of voters.
He talks about universal healthcare, but what he proposes is a mandate that requires everyone to buy insurance even if they can’t afford the premiums. He says that people can buy cheap insurance, but that insurance will provide fake coverage: plans with such high deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses that people can’t afford to use them.
The good news is that the Governor is now talking about affordability. He acknowledged the need to go further on this idea, and that’s the right direction. 90% of voters have insurance and affordability is their number one concern. With a mandate to buy what may not be real healthcare, many people would still be forced to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket for premiums and out of pocket costs. Tax credits are only available for a narrow slice of Californians: those making 250%FPL-350%FPL who do not get health insurance on the job. That means an individual making as little as $38,000 a year would be forced to buy health insurance at full price.
The Governor is still asking too little of employers, far less than the average 11% spent now by employers who provide healthcare. If employers pay less, that just means that workers have to pay more. And the Governor’s plan doesn’t do enough to control future costs, potentially sticking consumers with an even larger bill in the future.
If the Governor wants real reform and a lasting legacy, he needs to rethink his stance on AB 8. AB 8 went through the scrutiny of public hearings and passed both houses. AB 8 addresses affordability and cost containment and is the right framework for reform. Californians can't afford to wait for real, affordable healthcare and time is running out.
It’s OUR Healthcare! is a coalition of seniors, healthcare consumers and labor representing more than 10 million Californians. Members include Consumers Union, Health Access, Service Employees International Union, AARP, California Teachers Association, Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, California Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, and more than 90 other groups. More information is available at www.ItsOurHealthcare.org.
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October 10, 2007 at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Blog Reactions
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