LOS ANGELES (AP) Gov. Gray Davis signed a bill Sunday that
makes California the largest state to require employers to offer
workers health insurance.
The bill, which was touted as a model for the rest of the
country, could give more than 1.1 million workers and their
families health insurance through a plan that would mostly be
financed by employers. Hawaii, Washington and Oregon have similar
employee-mandated health insurance systems.
``Today we take a bold step to reform health care,'' Davis told
a crowd filled with supporters holding ``No Recall'' signs. The
governor was joined at the bill signing ceremony at a Kaiser
Permanente medical facility by Rev. Jesse Jackson, actor Danny
Glover, labor leaders, health care workers and members of the state
Legislature who supported the bill.
The bill, by Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-San
Francisco, requires companies with more than 200 employees to begin
offering health benefits by 2006 to workers and their families.
Employers will pay 80 percent of the premium, with employees paying
the other 20 percent. Starting in 2007, smaller companies with 50
to 199 employees will be required to provide employee-only coverage
and share costs in the same manner.
``These are Californians who do exactly what we ask them to
do,'' Davis said. ``They work hard and play by the rules. They can
sleep easy at night knowing that if they're sick, they can go see a
doctor.''
Under the plan, employers can either buy insurance or pay a fee
to the state. The state will purchase insurance for the workers
through a new purchasing pool.
The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a consumer
advocacy group, welcomed the bill, but said the state must regulate
health insurance premiums and doctors' rates to make the plan work.
Davis said the plan, which covers about 32 percent of uninsured
employees, could provide a framework for the rest of the nation.
The measure was opposed by the California Chamber of Commerce
and other business organizations, which warned that it would be too
costly and threatened job growth.
The Employment Policies Institute, a business-backed research
group, said in a statement that the plan will cost California
businesses $11.4 billion a year, with employers offsetting the cost
by lowering wages, cutting benefits or laying off workers.
But Mike Garcia, president of the Service Employees
International Union Local 1877, said the California bill was a
strong model because it shifts health care responsibility to the
private sector.
``The public sector can't be expected to cover the whole costs,
especially in today's environment with the budget crisis and the
high cost of health care,'' said Garcia, whose union represents
more than 25,000 janitors and other building service workers in
California.
Christopher Mackin, president and CEO of clothing manufacturer
Team X Inc., said at the bill signing ceremony that he endorsed the
bill.
``As a business, we want to compete on quality and innovation,''
Mackin said. ``We don't want to compete on the back of workers.''
He also said the bill made good business sense because it would
reduce absenteeism.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., commended Davis and the state
Legislature for enacting the bill.
``It is a model for the nation and an important step toward the
day when the basic human right to health care will be a reality for
all Americans,'' Kennedy said in a statement.
Davis said nearly 50 percent of personal bankruptcies were
attributed to unpaid medical bills and the new legislation likely
would lower bankruptcies.
The governor also signed a companion bill that focuses on
restraining health care costs by creating a commission charged with
lowering the cost of health care coverage and prescription drugs.
The latest figures from the Census Bureau estimated there were
43.6 million uninsured U.S. residents at some point in 2002, up
nearly 6 percent from the previous year.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)