Perata: Getting the Facts on Healthcare Reform

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Don Perata
President pro Tem
California State Senate

As you know, we’ve been working for months to reform healthcare in California, a critical step on the path to universal healthcare. Ultimately, we want everyone to get the care they need, at a price they can afford – without the worry that a sudden illness will lead to financial ruin.

As much as we want and need healthcare reform, we must recognize that the care Californians need will not come cheaply. Our state already spends $38 billion providing care to more than 7.4 million Californians each year. Expanding these programs will cost billions more.

Yesterday, the Assembly approved draft legislation that would provide health coverage for millions of Californians. Some would be allowed to join existing state programs, while others would gain coverage through a new form of health insurance.

While I applaud and share the goal of this legislation, I’m also deeply concerned. The plan relies entirely on an as-yet-unwritten funding initiative to cover at least $14 billion in annual costs.

What’s more, this action comes as our state heads into its most difficult budget year in a generation. The foreclosure crisis is driving home prices down – and tax revenues are falling with them. The Governor’s Office projects our state’s deficit at – strangely enough – at least $14 billion.

It falls to the Senate to ask the hard questions:

• How will the Governor balance the budget?

• How will his budget proposal affect the healthcare we already provide – along with funding our schools, police and fire services?

• And how will this new healthcare proposal affect the state’s budget, now and over the long term?

We cannot make sound decisions in the dark – about the Governor’s budget or about financing healthcare reform. That’s why I’ve asked the widely respected Legislative Analyst to examine these issues and report her findings to the Senate.