Universal Healthcare Expected to Take Center Stage in California

The issue of universal healthcare in California is poised to take center stage on the political agenda after this summer, analysts say. State Senate Leader Don Perata and Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez laid out the latest details of their plan in May. Under their proposal, fewer people would be covered but they would have more comprehensive benefits.

The governor's plan would require everyone to have at least basic insurance, would require employers of 10 or more people to provide coverage for their workers or else pay 4 percent of their payroll costs to the state, and would tax hospitals and doctors as part of a financing scheme to generate several billion dollars in extra revenue from the federal government.

The legislative leaders, while differing from each other slightly on the details, are both proposing to require employers to spend 7.5 percent of their payroll on health care or else pay into a state fund that would provide comprehensive coverage for the uninsured. Workers who got their insurance through the state pool would be required to share in the premium, but nobody would be forced to pay more than 5 percent of their income.

05-22