Schwarzenegger Did a Bit of His Own Kabuki on Health Care Yesterday

So, the Governor started off yesterday's press conference by referencing the remarks he made in his State of the State speech in January, and then segued into "We've made tremendous progress since then. Today is another important milestone because we are releasing the language in bill form."

Then this mish-mash of a little money from here, a little from there, that sounded like a cross between Rube Goldberg and those promises of painless dentistry that were outlawed at the turn of the last century. This is how he described the financing:

"Well I think that the important thing is not that you just get, you know, the funding from one source. But I think that everyone has agreed that it is better to be spread, the responsibility, and that, you know, employers should pay some, individuals should pay some, the counties, the state, the federal government, everyone chips in, including as I said the hospital association. So everyone here chips in on this. This is the important thing and that's what makes it work. And what you are looking for is--Do you have the right amount of funding. Because there's approximately $14 billion that you need and I think with the various entities that I've listed, you will get this $14 billion together."

Every time he was asked about the numbers, he revealed that this proposal is still a ways from being fully cooked, starting with this response to a question about the financing of the bill--where the money comes from: "This is our proposal. We think that's the best way to go. But this is not final because it is still being negotiated. A lot of this stuff is still being negotiated."

Counting on money from the Feds seems tricky to me, given the veto of SCHIP by President Bush. That will leave a gaping hole as far as children's coverage, and paying for it, are concerned.

When asked about affordability and what Californians at different income levels would have to pay out of pocket, he said: "Well first of all, the numbers that I have given you--this is our proposal. So these are not the final numbers. Because like I said, with the numbers, those things are still being discussed--what the numbers should be." Maybe we should be happy that the exact shape and form of affordability, a key part of the bill, are not yet written in stone. With an individual mandate, that seems to me to be an area to really scrutinize.

He also was a bit vague about whether he had a member of the legislature who was going to introduce the bill, saying it might become a "committee bill." I'd like to see it in print and see how the office of Legislative Counsel keys it--as a majority vote bill or a two-thirds bill because of the taxes or fees involved and any appropriations.

There is some more information about the nascent bill on the Governor's many sites, including a handy chart that in broad brushstrokes compares it to the concepts the Governor first put forward in January. On the minimum benefit, it advises that the $5,000 deductible plan with maximum out-of-pocket limits of $7,500 per person and $10,000 per family had been changed. Good, I thought until I read about the bill that it: "Does not define the minimum health insurance level. Instead, it directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish and adopt the minimum benefit level via the regulatory process, which then cannot be changed except by legislative action." Don't know whether to trust this to this process rather than spelling it out in the bill.

We're also told that a study shows that "the Governor's health care proposal will provide health insurance for an additional 4.1 million Californians out of the 4.8 million uninsured Californians at any given time." Then we're told that: "According to a recent U.S. Census Bureau report, approximately 6.7 million Californians - more than ever before - are uninsured." Sound to me like there still will be a fair number of uninsured folks out there. In fact, a more recent study seems to show that there may be as many as 13 million uninsured Californians out there.

There's this whole concept of "hidden taxes" that the Governor has been fond of talking about this year. Well, it seems to me that by privatizing the lottery here to raise money to pay for the health bill without raising taxes through the front door, what is going to happen is that the poor are going to be paying a hidden tax of their own in the form of increased gambling by them. It's what Senator Perata derided as the "bake sale" approach to funding state government. These games are going to have to be revamped and marketed more. Since the poor spend more of their money already on lotteries, this sounds regressive to me. But it's in tune with the Guv's ideas of how to raise money elsewhere with exaggerated claims (according to the Legislative Analyst's Office) of what can be made with expansions of casinos, and other schemes such as selling off the Ed Fund.

But you know, speaking of hidden taxes, it's not without a sense of irony that I thought about the Governor's need to nick everybody to the tune of $14 billion--that number seems eerily similar to the double barreled attack on Phil Angelides on taxes before the last election. Remember George Skelton's August 24, 2006 LA Times article that basically called the Governor a liar for saying Angelides was going to raise taxes by $18 billion? You may want to check out that column, but here is a bit to think about as we ponder these numbers"

"How do Schwarzenegger's spinners come up with an $18-billion Angelides tax hike? With bizarre contortions.

"They add up all of Angelides' promises - some now moot, invalid or irrelevant - exaggerate a few costs and arrive at a total funding figure that allegedly will require an $18-billion tax increase.

"The biggest, most absurd calculation is that a proposal to require employers to provide health insurance for workers amounts to a $7-billion tax increase. First, that figure is based on a different, much more expensive bill sponsored by former state Senate leader John Burton (D-San Francisco) that voters repealed.

"Second, it would be a mandated cost on employers - not a tax. It would be no more a tax than the minimum-wage hike that Schwarzenegger is about to sign."

Arnie likes to talk about the Kabuki dancing in the legislative process. He's shown yesterday that he can dance a pretty good Kabuki himself.