by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Working Californians blogs]

Negotiations have clearly not been going well on health care reform. It was truly puzzling to see the make-up of the revised plan from Arnold. He had not moved much towards the Democrats plan. Obviously, loads had been going on behind the scenes, so it was tough to get a good read on it. However, the pace was troubling. We know a lot more now that the labor coalition has broken radio silence. They will be officially campaigning against Arnold's plan. It will be a mix of field and media. LAT:

Abandoning their facade of cooperation, a coalition of California labor unions and consumer groups says it is gearing up a campaign to discredit Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's healthcare proposal as too expensive for many workers.

Organizers say they will trail Schwarzenegger throughout California to challenge and rebut him, hold prayer vigils and news conferences, press elected officials to oppose his proposal and run critical ads on television. They plan to deride the governor's program as the "Arnold Middle-Class Gouge."

The coalition, which includes most major unions and two prominent consumer groups -- Health Access California and Consumers Union -- has hired one of the nation's most aggressive Democratic strategists to run the campaign.

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[courtesy of California Progress Report]

• Tuesday Hearing Brings Insurer and Provider Opposition to Consumer Protections
• Consumer Groups Say Delayed Care is Denied Care; Seek Stronger Regulations

By Anthony Wright
Executive Director of Health Access California

The Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) held another hearing this Tuesday, September 18, 2007 in Sacramento to seek public comment on their second proposed revision to the new regulation governing timely access to care.

by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Working Californians blogs]

It looks like the affordability issues have been taken care of with regards to AB 8 and it now has the pretty much full support from the labor and consumer groups. The bill is now on the Assembly floor and seemed destined for Arnold's desk. While, he has promised a veto, the more pressure that is brought to bear on him the better. This bill does an excellent job creating large group pools, from both programs open to all to join and an expansion of governmental programs that will help reduce expenses. Naturally, Blue Cross et. all strongly oppose the plan.

He has been pledging to bring the legislature back for a special session. The goal would be to hash out a compromise. Weintraub has a good overview of what's going on and how such an agreement will be likely created. (h/t to Dave). He starts off talking about AB8.

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