Gov. to seek insurance for all children
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will propose
that all Californian children, including those in the state illegally,
be guaranteed medical insurance as part of the healthcare overhaul
he intends to unveil next week, according to officials familiar
with the plan.
If enacted by the Legislature, his proposal would affect about
763,000 children who now lack insurance. Although the administration
has not revealed details of how it would pay for such a program,
officials estimate that extending insurance to all children could
cost the state as much as $400 million a year.
That would be a small piece of Schwarzenegger's stated goal: to
ensure medical coverage for all of the 6.5 million Californians
who now have none. Experts say that could cost upward of $10 billion
a year.
If successful, the governor's effort to cover all children would
be a substantial political feat. Only a few states guarantee coverage
for all those under 18. Schwarzenegger himself vetoed a measure
to cover all children in 2005, complaining that lawmakers offered
no way to pay for it.
California's Republican legislators, who blocked a more modest
effort to extend healthcare coverage last year, are sure to rebel
against a plan that includes children of illegal immigrants.
Schwarzenegger is scheduled to announce his full health plan Monday.
His office is still finalizing many parts of that package, but aides
have made clear that it will be an ambitious effort to restrain
healthcare costs and reduce the state's uninsured population.
All sectors of the healthcare industry, including hospitals, insurers,
doctors, patients, businesses and government, would pay some of
the costs under Schwarzenegger's plan. People familiar with the
proposal say that it includes new requirements for businesses to
cover employees, though the details were unclear. The more cost
shouldered by employers and workers, the less the state would have
to spend.
In addition, a number of measures favored by some aides, such as
limiting the profits of insurers, remain undecided.
"There is no final health plan," said Adam Mendelsohn,
Schwarzenegger's communications director. "As has been the
case from the start, all ideas are on the table and the final touches
are being applied. The administration is not confirming the inclusion
of any one piece."
References :http://www.latimes.com/news |
