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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by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Working Californians blogs]

The desire for health care reform is so strong in the country that even the Republican Presidential candidates are promising massive changes to cover more of the 44.8 million uninsured and increase affordability for those who already have insurance. There is no one singular idea of how to reach those goals. Republicans are fearful to step into SiCKO territory and increase the numbers covered under governmental programs. The Democrats generally take the opposite tact. Here is a pretty decent NYT overview of the situation.

Their approaches are very different, reflecting longstanding divisions between the parties on the role of government versus the private market in addressing the affordability and availability of health insurance. Republicans, by and large, promise to expand coverage by using a variety of tax incentives to empower consumers to buy it themselves, from private insurers. Conservatives warn, repeatedly, of Democrats edging toward the slippery slope of “government-controlled health insurance,” as former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York puts it, and promote the innovation and choice offered by private insurers.

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