January 29, 2008

Points For Trying

As Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius noted in her Democratic response to the State of the Union address last night, states and municipalities are experimenting with health care reforms in the absence of what many agree is a badly needed overhaul on the federal level. One of the leaders in this movement is California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who negotiated last year with Democratic state lawmakers over a universal health insurance program for his state.

The $14.9-billion proposal was eagerly anticipated by other states eyeing similar measures. Congressional lawmakers were also keen to learn from California's experience. They'll all have to wait a little longer, though, because yesterday the state Senate rejected Schwarzenegger's plan.

Per the Los Angeles Times: "Senators said it was too risky a financial commitment when California faces a $14.5-billion budget gap that could force them to cut existing healthcare programs. Schwarzenegger has proposed $2.9 billion in healthcare cuts over the next 18 months."

Lawmakers apparently got cold feet because of the example set by Massachusetts. In 2006, then-Gov. Mitt Romney spearheaded a first-in-the-nation law requiring all citizens to have health insurance. The bill contained huge subsidies to finance insurance for the poor -- something Romney doesn't exactly campaign on in his bid for the White House. Today, Massachusetts is facing "$400 million in cost overruns" because of those subsidies, the Times reports.

Schwarzenegger developed his program with the help of Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, a Democrat, and the state Assembly passed the legislation in December. He never won the support of his party, but established a coalition that included unions, AARP and major corporations. The program's costs were to be offset in part by new taxes, which repelled state GOP lawmakers.

"We have 6.7 million people uninsured. We have hospitals that are closing emergency rooms because they can't afford it anymore, the hospitals that get stuck with unpaid bills, with billions of dollars of unpaid bills," Schwarzenegger said yesterday, before the Senate vote.

Had the measure passed, voters would have weighed in this November. That's not going to happen now, but Schwarzenegger signaled he wasn't giving up on expanding health care coverage for Californians.

"I'm not taking 'no' for an answer," Schwarzenegger told the editorial board of the San Francisco Chronicle. "We've come a long way to get as far as we have... this is the last mile."

Posted at 2:32 PM
Posted to: Campaigns, Health, Mitt Romney, Republicans, WH 2008
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