New Analysis: Pending California Health Reform Would Go Well Beyond Massachusetts Measure

The report lists "top ten" major differences between the California 's AB x1 1, and the health reform law, Chapter 58, passed in 2006. In contrast with Massachusetts, the California proposal includes:
1) New, Broader Financing, including a Tobacco Tax
2) A More Meaningful Employer Contribution
3) General Fund Protection
4) Significant Cost Containment
5) Subsidies up to and above 400% of the federal poverty level
6) Key Differences in the Individual Mandate, Affordability and Enforcement
7) A Transition to Guaranteed Issue
8) Medical Loss Ratios and Increased Insurer Oversight
9) Not Just a Connector, but a Negotiator
10) New and Improved Public Health Care Options

The report shows that while there are similarities in the framework, California's pending proposal goes far beyond Massachusetts in numerous areas.

At the same time, even with their more limited reform, Massachusetts has taken the major step of covering over half of uninsured--over 300,000 people through public program expansions--in a short amount of time, and is on path to close the gap further. The biggest critique is that this success in signing up patients quickly has led to higher-than-expected general fund costs.

The report explains how the Massachusetts plan never raised significant new revenue--it mostly redistributed existing state and federal funds, and relied on new funding from the general fund. In stark contrast, the California proposal would raise $15 billion in new funding, to be in a lock-box protected from the general fund, and vice versa. The new funds raised are from a much more meaningful employer contribution, individual contribution, a hospital fee, significant new federal matching funds, reinvested savings from county and state governments, and a tobacco tax.

In fact, research into the history of the Massachusetts law shows the California's proposal is much more like the ballot measure originally proposed by the consumer and community advocates, which included significant employer contributions, middle-income subsidies up to 400% FPL, and a tobacco tax--none of which made it in the final Massachusetts package, but is included in the pending California plan. The study goes into the details of the different iterations of these measures.

The conclusion of the report is that Massachusetts and California start from different places, and the plans are different enough, that they will end up having different results. Critiques of the Massachusetts plan simply do not apply to California 's

Again, a full copy of the 8-page analysis is available at the Health Access website.

For more information on health reform, visit the Health Access website and blog.

To view other resources from the Year of Health Reform, visit our website.

CALL TO ACTION: With the new hearing time, letters are due into the Senate Health Committee TOMORROW, Wednesday, January 16th, in order to be included in the committee analysis.

Health Access California has sent a letter expressing support, while also seeking amendments to get clarifications on affordability and benefits. The letter is available on our website. Letters of support should be sent to the Senate Health Committee at:

The. Hon Sheila Kuehl
Chair, Senate Health Committee
State Capitol, Room 2191
Sacramento , CA 95814
FAX: 916-324-0384

Advocates should also write letters to the individual members of the Senate Health Committee:

Senator Sheila Kuehl (Chair)
Senator Samuel Aanestad (Vice Chair)
Senator Elaine Alquist
Senator Gilbert Cedillo
Senator Dave Cox
Senator Abel Maldonado
Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod
Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas
Senator Darrell Steinberg
Senator Mark Wyland
Senator Leland Yee

Health Access will continue to provide updates on ABx1 1, the initiative and other health reform efforts, including late-breaking developments that will be posted on our blog.

This includes a new analysis, "Who Gets What Help?" so that California consumers can find out how they would be helped under the proposal in getting health coverage.

Health Access California is a statewide health care consumer advocacy coalition of over 200 groups. This article has also been published on the Health Access Weblog.