The Plan for California Health Reform—2008 and Beyond

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

• Reform efforts continue in 2008 on individual market reform and transparency
• Consumer protection measures focus on balance billing and rescissions
• Health advocates oppose bills to lower coverage standards

By Anthony Wright
Executive Director of Health Access California

Undaunted by last year's failure to pass comprehensive health reform legislation , health advocates statewide are forging ahead on a three-year effort to win universal health coverage in California.

A number of bills have been introduced this year, which attempt to address various aspects of the health care market, and build upon last year's momentum and policy discussions. Many of the topics will be familiar to advocates who have worked on reform. In fact, many of the ideas being pushed this year were present -- in some form -- in ABx1 1 (Nunez). Those ideas include the disclosure of cost and quality data by health providers, a statewide public insurer to compete with private plans, and the organization of the individual insurance market into tiers and an ultimate ban on "junk" insurance.

In addition to health reform legislation, however, legislators have also introduced hundreds of bills, which will be heard in committee beginning in two weeks. Heath Access has focused the list of hundreds of bills to a couple dozen bills of interest to health consumer advocates.

Below is a list that includes the bill number, a description of the bill, and the position of Health Access California, as the statewide health care consumer advocacy coalition, as approved at a recent board meeting. A printable list can be found on our website.

2008 Bills

HEALTH CARE COVERAGE

Universal Coverage
• SB 840 (Kuehl) Would establish a single-payer health care system in California that would enable all citizens to have health coverage. Support
Children’s Coverage
• AB 1 (Laird/Dymally) and SB 32 (Steinberg) Would expand children’s coverage, including the Healthy Families program, to all children in families up to 300% of poverty ($49,800 for a family of 3). Support
• SB 1168 (Runner) Would allow adult dependent children, who are still covered under their parents’ health plan, to stay on that coverage even if the child takes a medically necessary leave of absence from school. Support