Health Bills: Schwarzenegger Signs Insurance Rescission, Drug Labeling, LA County Hospital Funding--Vetoes Mental Health Parity

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

ALERT: U.S. Congress, Child Health Insurance Veto Override Vote This Week

By Anthony Wright
Executive Director of Health Access California

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger capped the 2007 Legislative session this past weekend by signing and vetoing more than 300 bills, including several of interest to health care consumer advocates. All told, Schwarzenegger signed 750 bills this year of the bills placed on his desk by the Legislature, and vetoed 214.

MAJOR HEALTH REFORM BILL VETOED FRIDAY AFTERNOON

Most notably, Schwarzenegger vetoed AB 8 (Nunez/Perata), the legislative leaders’ comprehensive health reform legislation that was supported by many health, consumer, labor, and community groups.

AB 8 would have expanded coverage to nearly 95 percent of California’s population by making coverage more available, affordable, and automatic in each of the three ways that Californians get coverage: through on-the-job benefits, public programs, and the individual insurance market.

AB 8 would have been the biggest expansion of public program coverage since Medicare, for both children and parents; it would have set a minimum employer contribution to health coverage, much like the creation of the minimum wage, and also offer a new, affordable option for employers to buy coverage through a statewide health insurance pool, to allow smaller businesses and workers to reap the benefits and protections of group-negotiated coverage rates. It would also have limited insurer's ability to deny people based on their "pre-existing conditions."

Under the concept of "shared responsibility," individual would need to take up group coverage offered by an employer, but AB 8 would have established affordability guidelines to assure Californians would not have to pay more than 5 percent of their income for premiums and out-of-pocket costs. AB 8 also reined in the underlying costs of health coverage by requiring providers to disclose price and quality information, among other cost containment measures.

Read Schwarzenegger’s press release and veto message for AB 8. Read Health Access’ analyses of AB 8 and a rebuttal and fact check to the governor’s veto.