[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.

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Boy, if you managed to stumble upon pages M8 and M9 of Sunday's LA Times yesterday, you sure picked up a great deal of information.  On M8 was our buddy Robert's excellent critique of the Times' coverage of tax policy.  And on M9 was a column by Anthony York of Capitol Weekly, which seeks to explain why legislative Democrats appear to be negotiating with themselves on health care reform.  We learn that the Governor is basically holding his endorsement of Prop. 93 hostage in exchange for getting his way on health care.

Nu?ez is scheduled to be termed out of the Assembly in November. If Proposition 93 passes, however, he could serve in the Assembly -- and presumably as speaker -- for six more years. If the measure fails, Nu?ez would immediately become a lame-duck speaker, and talk of a successor would begin Feb. 6.

That's why he desperately needs Schwarzenegger's endorsement of Proposition 93. Most observers believe that voters will defeat the measure if it lacks the governor's seal of approval.

But Schwarzenegger's support comes at a price. The governor has consistently used Nu?ez's desire to change the term-limits law as leverage in his negotiations with the speaker about healthcare reform, and it seems to be paying off.

over...

by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Governor Schwarzenegger has ordered all state departments to plan for 10% budget cuts after state officials warned that the housing market will create a shortfall.

Democratic leaders have agreed to parts of the governor'shealthcare plan, including individual requirements to buy insurance.Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez (D-Los Angeles) outlined a fundingproposal Monday that calls for a 2 to 6.5 percent sliding scale ofemployer contribution and a $2 per pack tax on cigarettes.

Henry Aaron, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, explains why healthcare reform has failed in the past. "If there's any chance of success this time, we need to understand the barriers that prevented reform in the past."

There's more...

Image courtesy of Calitics.

by Matt Ortega [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

(Disclaimer: I am an online organizer with It's OUR Healthcare!)

This Wednesday, the Legislature will be holding its first hearing on Governor Schwarzenegger's proposal to require everyone to buy insurance, whether or not they can afford it and regardless of whether it actually protects them.

Healthcare advocates have engaged Governor Schwarzenegger ever since he declared this year to be "the year of healthcare reform."

After months of talking to the Governor about the need for meaningful healthcare reform this year and the need for healthcare to be affordable, the Governor has stuck with a plan that's just won't work for regular people, who could be stuck with thousands of dollars in deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses.

The Governor needs more convincing and tomorrow It's OUR Healthcare! will be in the Sacramento to lobby the Governor. We are asking Californians to text message the Governor on healthcare. We will park a giant jumbotron-type screen on the grounds of the State Capitol and display the messages sent in by thousands of Californians. Lobbying your Governor has never been so easy!

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Key bills and issues we’ve been following during the past week and beyond

By Hannah Beth Jackson

Now that the regular session of the legislature has ended and a variety of bills are waiting the Governor's approval or veto, the special session is in full gear. The big battles over water and health care reform have taken over the stage front- and -center. And with Hillary Clinton's unveiling of her version of healthcare reform, the issue has become even more prevalent in political debate not only in California, but nationwide.

With a new report from the Public Policy Institute of California this week as well, we've seen how the failure to produce meaningful healthcare reform and a swift resolution of the annual budget stand-off has impacted the popularity of our Governor and the legislature. Not good news for either side.

by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Back when AB 8 passed, I said it didn't accomplish everything I would like it to do.  And I think that's abundantly clear to everybody, from every which way you look at it.  The obvious failure in the healthcare system is the employer-based system itself. It is now falling apart, and the individual healthcare system is not yet full stabilized to be a replacement.  So, you end up with people, even perfectly healthy people like myself, denied coverage.

But the no-brainer in there? A state health insurance pool. The state needs to organize a pool that will allow people to buy insurance, at a reasonable price, backed up by the power of the state. There are thousands, probably millions, of people who would be happy to pay for health insurance, if they could just get it.

So, without getting too personal about my situation, I'm going to tell you my story. Not that being too personal has really stopped me in the past, but oh well.  All future Oppo researchers, flip the page.