A Proposal to Cover the Uninsured in California
George C. Halvorson, Francis J. Crosson, and Steve Zatkin
December 2006
By asking for contributions from individuals, employers, government, and health care providers, California could achieve near-universal coverage in two years, according to an article published by the Health Affairs journal.
The proposal by Kaiser Foundation Health Plan President and CEO George Halvorson and colleagues offers a detailed blueprint to cover 85% of the state's more than five million uninsured.
The plan includes mandated coverage for all individuals filing state income taxes, as well as premium subsidies for low-income residents. It would be financed by extending the state sales tax to health care providers, imposing a new payroll tax on employers not offering coverage, and drawing on new federal matching funds for Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (Healthy Families).
In a related commentary, Rick Curtis and Ed Neuschler from the Institute for Health Policy Solutions applaud the authors for their "clear presentation of alternatives and difficult trade-offs," but lament the lack of measures to prevent sicker people from being charged more in the individual market.
The complete article and commentary are available free of charge on the Health Affairs site through the links below.