California Health Care Plan
The plan, which Mr. Schwarzenegger estimated would cost $12 billion, calls for many employers that do not offer health insurance to contribute to a fund that would help pay for coverage of the working uninsured. It would also require doctors to pay 2 percent and hospitals 4 percent of their revenues to help cover higher reimbursements for those who treat patients enrolled in Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program.“Everyone in California must have health insurance,” Mr. Schwarzenegger said.
This seems to be a lot like the Massachusetts plan, which has quite a bit going for it. I remain somewhat agnostic on what the ‘best’ plan is, but I am convinced that health care reform is coming, and that we can improve on our current system even if we have to go closer to state health care to do it. Indeed, I think that if conservatives and libertarians insist on not compromising on this subject, hoping for a laissez faire system that does not, and will not, exist, they will be greatly hurting their cause and the nation. We have to deal with what is, and what is possible, and that leaves us with looking at the ‘best’ plans that use the market as much as possible to provide competition and medical advances while at the same insuring everyone and removing risk and uncertainty from a lot of peoples lives.
