Coalition of Labor, Consumer Rights and Business Groups to Support a California Healthcare PlanA coalition of labor, consumer rights and business groups are backing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s plan to invest millions of dollars for universal healthcare access. The alliance includes the Service Employees International Union; the state's largest doctors lobby, the California Medical Assn.; the state's biggest nonprofit hospital chain, Catholic Healthcare West; and three major insurers: Kaiser Permanente, Blue Shield of California and Health Net. The coalition's members have not agreed to support all elements of any plan that emerges from negotiations with Schwarzenegger and the Legislature, and in fact several have expressed concerns about the governor's proposal. But the alliance members said they would support the effort to ensure access to medical care for all Californians and have accepted Schwarzenegger's notion of "shared responsibility" — that all participants in healthcare, including patients, insurers and businesses, must give up something. His plan includes a 2% levy on doctors' profits and a 4% fee on hospital operations. Insurers would have to provide coverage to all who wanted it, regardless of their healthcare history, and also would face limits on profits. "You're seeing a coalition of opposites ignite because they all believe the healthcare system is broken," he said. "That's a very dramatic statement." 02-07 |