More Reactions and Statements About Defeat of California Health Care Reform Bill

After more than a year of advocacy and careful consideration, AFSCME affiliates supported the measure and urged its passage. After the Senate committee’s vote, AFSCME leadership reacted strongly, and expressed its grave disappointment in the lack of leadership shown by the Senate.

“The Senate leadership and committee members chose the wrong path today. They had an historic opportunity to make major, needed changes to our broken health care system and put before the voters a bill to protect the insured and provide coverage for millions of Californians,” said Willie Pelote of the American, Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), one of the state’s largest labor unions participating in the lobbying coalition advocating for the bill. “We are extremely disappointed in the outcome of today’s hearing and by the lack of leadership shown by key senators,” continued Pelote. “A bill of this magnitude should be brought to the voters to decide.”

“We missed an opportunity to secure billions of dollars in needed new funds for coverage from employers, the tobacco industry, and the federal government. This is a sad chapter in the Senate’s ability to step up to the plate and make major social change,” said Pelote. “ABx1-1 represented the best chance for comprehensive reform we’ve seen. The Senate walked away from providing relief to millions of families. They should be ashamed.”

Pelote also expressed AFSCME’s gratitude to supportive committee members, and to the Speaker and Governor for their dedication to providing health care for all Californians, despite opposition from powerful constituencies, especially insurers, drug companies, non-insuring corporations, and the tobacco industry. “We thank supportive senators, and the Speaker and Governor for taking a leap of faith that change is possible – literally working night and day, through the holidays, to negotiate a worthy package of change. They deserve our sincere thanks,” said Pelote.

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)

AARP CEO Bill Novelli made the following statement about today's vote against the health care reform bill, AB1X 1 (Nunez & Perata) by the California State Senate Committee on Health:

"Today, the California State Senate failed to seize an opportunity to fix their broken health care system. Unfortunately, this will mean that the status quo - which includes millions of uninsured and underinsured Californians and vastly inefficient health care - will continue. The California State Senate Health Committee had a chance to pass ABX1 1 and guarantee that every person could buy a health insurance policy, take steps to contain health care costs, and provide needed help to those who can't afford an insurance plan on their own.

"The bill would have been a giant step forward to provide health and financial security, not just for AARP's 3.3 million California members, but for the millions of Californians without any health insurance. Equally important, comprehensive health care reform in America's most populous state could have shown the way to cover the 47 million uninsured in this country.

"AARP has no plans to give up, however. We applaud the efforts of the Governor and leaders in the California legislature for coming together in an attempt to break the gridlock and put their state on track for comprehensive health care reform. We look forward to continuing to work with them along with other leaders in the legislature who are interested in putting us back on track toward making California a model of health care reform for a nation desperately seeking solutions."

Health Care for All—Andrew McGuire

In case you've not heard, ABX1 1 died in Senate Health Committee today, garnering just one yes vote from 11 Committee members. This is a huge victory for Senator Kuehl, the Legislative Analyst and all of us at HCA-CA and the State Strategy Group coalition.

We looked beyond the all-out power play of the Governor and the Speaker (and AARP, SEIU, Health Access,etc.) and scrutinized the fine print and the folly of ABX1 1.

As Senator Kuehl stated before she called for the final and fatal vote in her committee, "The Emperor has no clothes." Indeed, after the marathon hearing last Wednesday in her committee, it became clear that ABX1 1 was fatally flawed. The proponents stated that ABX1 1 was better than the status quo. However, ABX1 1 countered Kuehl's dictum: "Do No Harm." ABX1 1 would do harm and that became clear during the Wednesday hearing.

We will soon finalize strategies for passage of SB 840 without the distraction of a flawed health care reform proposal in the Legislature.

Congratulations to all of you across the state who lobbied your Senators!

P.S. Having lobbied in the state Capitol for nearly 35 years, this ranks as a major feat accomplished by the "good folks." However, we can't feel comfortable until we know that the Governor, Nunez and others are not contemplating some legislative trick. The odds are very, very slim, but ya never know.

Senator Sheila Kuehl Pledges to Continue Work for True Healthcare Reform

After an exhaustive hearing last Wednesday, praised by Democrats and Republicans alike for its fairness and depth, on Monday, January 28, the State Senate Health Committee voted to hold, rather than pass, ABX1 1, a bill that most committee members characterized as flawed, but, nonetheless, a step forward in an ongoing process toward comprehensive healthcare reform.

After the vote, Senator Sheila Kuehl, Chair of the Committee, and author of a separate healthcare bill, SB 840, now moving through the Assembly, released the following statement:

There is no question that the Speaker and the Governor, as well as Secretary of HHS, Kim Belshe, worked diligently on putting ABX1 together. However, after a ten and a half hour hearing last week, including a report by the Legislative Analyst’s Office, revealed major flaws in the funding assumptions contained in the bill, I agree with the action of the Senate Health Committee in deciding not to move the bill to the Appropriations Committee and the Floor of the Senate for a later vote.

As Senators Yee and Alquist indicated in their statements, explaining why they could not now vote for this bill, the bill as it is currently written does nothing to protect working class and middle class people from being burdened, to the point of breaking, by the individual mandate that requires each Californian to buy health insurance without adequate protection against unaffordable premiums and escalating out-of-pocket expenses. Furthermore, as Senator Steinberg reminded us, we must conclude, especially after seeing the report from the Legislative Analyst, this bill’s proposed revenues and expenses do not balance out and will leave the state exposed to increasing deficit costs as well.

As Chair of the Senate Health Committee, I promise that California will continue to move on the issue of healthcare reform. All over the state, people are letting us know that they are fed up with seeing their health insurance premiums rise, their coverage drop and their out of pocket expenses increasing every year. Just today, we heard from over 400 medical students in the Capitol to lobby for SB 840 that they simply want to be paid a fair reimbursement for the work they will do and who also don’t want to be put in the position of trying to extract every last dime from patients who already pay for insurance.

We in the State Senate will continue to work with the Assembly, the Governor’s office and with all stakeholders to put forward a healthcare reform plan that will go beyond fixing symptom after symptom and give the real cure: universal, affordable, choose-your own doctor, comprehensive coverage.

Speaker of the Assembly Fabian Nunez Words to Senate Health Committee Hearing

“Thank you very much Madame Chair and honorable members of this fine committee.

“Let me get right down to the point. It’s pretty clear to me, based upon conversations that I’ve had either with either members of the committee or other people who have spoken with members of the committee, and clearly public statements that are in the press, that today the bipartisan compromise that was struck with Governor Schwarzenegger to bring about health care reform to 3.6 million Californians, including 800,000 children, will not be making it’s way out of the committee today.

“I know that that’s the reality we’re going to be dealing with after your vote here today, so I don’t think there’s a whole lot for me to say other than I do want to pose a challenge to people who don’t support this bill. I want to do that here and now, because I think it’s appropriate, particularly given the fact that we have created an atmosphere up and down the state of California that those of who believe in democratic values and in listening to the voices of the people of this state. Ultimately we want to respond to their interests. And I believe that with all of its hurdles and challenges, this bill is a sound response to those needs. It’s not a perfect fix by any stretch of the imagination.

“But when you’re involved with negotiating something as difficult as health care, obviously there are some ups and downs here. At the end of the day, you have to be ready for defeat. Somebody once wrote that in order to be a good winner, you have to know when to lose. And I’m here not to point any fingers at any given members of the committee – and several folks I made appointments with didn’t show up and made calls to that didn’t return my calls – and that is not in effect something I am going to hold out against anybody. I think this is a time for us to be magnanimous.

“But it would be irresponsible of us to move forward without at least posing the following challenge, Senator Kuehl. As I was meeting with some members of my own caucus today, and we were talking about the fate of health care reform, I could hear the cheers outside of my office. There was a group of people out there, and I could overhear them saying something like “Health care for all,” or something about not leaving anybody behind. I can’t tell you how much I agree with those voices, and so absent this reform that got us part of the way there, albeit it not 100% of the way there, I would challenge the members of the Senate to come up with a plan that’s doable, and that can withstand the same type of scrutiny that AB 1X was put through in this committee, the same kind of analysis by the Legislative Analyst, that is going to respond to the needs of those poor families who have absolutely no health care today. And I would pose that challenge in a way that the voters of the state of California are open to supporting, and hopefully get us a signature from a Governor – if not this one, then maybe some Governor in the near future. I do think that the challenge of leadership is about working out our differences, and we did the very best we could. I don’t know that you, given the circumstances, could have had a better product before you to consider.

“So that said, I would propose that challenge, Madam Chair, to every member of this committee. And hope that, in you own deliberations, the vote that the Assembly took on this historic effort to reform health care reform is not undermined by any one of us, because I think we’re bigger than that. Because I believe that the California State Assembly did the right thing in its own wisdom. They voted on comprehensive healthcare reform, and I would hope that the vote that members of my house took is a vote that would also be respected by this committee. Having said that, I don’t think there’s much else I can say other than thank you very much for the opportunity to be here once again to close, a second time, on this bill and I look forward to your vote here today. Thank you very much.”

Senate President Pro tem Don Perata

For years, I have been working with the governor, Speaker and my Senate colleagues to reform health care in California. My goal has always been to bring high quality, accessible, affordable health care to all Californians. I believe that the only way to truly achieve this is through single-payer health care, for which I have long advocated. Insurance-based plans have the potential to help Californians, but should only act as short-term placeholders for greater reform. I had hoped that Assembly Bill X1 1 could be such an interim solution. Unfortunately, over the last few weeks, I have come to the conclusion that this proposal would not protect the safety net for the most vulnerable Californians nor be a financially responsible move with the current budget crisis.

Since our state faces a budget deficit of more than $14 billion this year alone, the cost of the plan merits scrutiny. For this reason, I requested that the independent, non-partisan Legislative Analyst (LAO) review it. The LAO’s report, released last Tuesday, identified significant General Fund risks. Even in the most optimistic scenario, the program will outpace funding in its second year (2011-12) by $354 million, and the deficit will increase each following year. The plan will use taxes collected before the 2010 start-date to help balance it, but if premiums are high or grow faster than projected, the potential shortfall could devastate a state budget already teetering on insolvency. Not only could the state suffer greatly, but individual Californians who have employer-sponsored health coverage could end-up in the insolvent plan.

I agree with public outcry expressing that the Legislature should restore base programs before creating new ones, whether they start today or in the next decade. In addition to proposed cuts to hospitals, the governor’s proposed 2008-2009 budget would eliminate or reduce other existing programs that provide health care services to vulnerable Californians. For example, the governor’s budget plan would reinstate Quarterly Status Reports for Medi-Cal eligible children; a change that assumes saving $83.5 million by eliminating 150,000 children. Another proposed cut saves $115 million by eliminating adult dental services.

For all these reasons, I cannot support ABX1 1 at this time. I take the responsibility given to me by both constituents and my fellow Senators to ensure the state is fiscally solvent and tending to essential needs of Californians to heart. I will continue to work towards a plan that protects these interests. I know that coverage for all Californians is imperative. We can achieve this goal through a more prudent and self-funding solution.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

“Despite the Senate’s rejection of our comprehensive health care reform bill, I want the people of California to know I will not give up trying to fix our broken health care system. The issue is too important and the crisis is too serious to walk away after all the great progress we have made. The problems will not disappear. In fact, they are likely to get worse.

“Hard-working Californians will still live in fear of having their coverage terminated if they get sick or of being denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition. Medical bills will still drive millions of people into personal bankruptcy. Too many people will still be one serious illness away from financial disaster. A mother with a sick child will still wait up to 10 hours in a jam-packed emergency room unless we stabilize hospital finances and get more people covered. Businesses and families will still get hit with double-digit cost increases until we rein in those costs. Chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease will continue to afflict people and cost us billions until our health care system gets aggressive about prevention and wellness.

“When I proposed comprehensive health care reform in my 2007 State of the State speech, I knew that it would be difficult to fix our broken system. If it were easy, California would have gotten universal coverage 60 years ago – that’s when Governor Earl Warren’s reform plan fell short by a single vote.

“I thank Speaker Núñez and the Assembly for their hard work in getting health care reform to this point.

“I am someone who does not give up. Especially when there is a problem as big and as serious as health care that needs to be fixed. One setback is just that -- a setback. I still believe comprehensive health care reform is needed in California. We will keep moving forward. I can promise you that.”