Governor Schwarzenegger Friday unveiled a plan to provide health care to all Californians. The proposal would expand Medi-Cal and Healthy Families programs and require all Californians to have health insurance. Families above the Medi-Cal threshold, but with incomes below 250 percent of the federal poverty level ($41,500 for a family of three), would be able to purchase insurance from a subsidized purchasing pool. The proposal would also require employers to offer insurance or pay 4 percent of their payroll into the purchasing pool.

CMA applauds the governor for addressing the long-ignored health care policies of this state, but urges policy-makers to remember that the center of the health care system is patients and their ability to see and be treated by a doctor.

“Health care is the interaction between patients and their doctors – everything else is just the where, how, and when,” says CMA President Anmol S. Mahal, M.D. “Preserving and enhancing the ability of patients to see a medical doctor and be treated is central to any policy prescription our elected leaders consider in the coming months.”

CMA is concerned that the governor’s proposal is not adequately funded and relies on funds from inappropriate sources.

The $12 billion proposal would be paid for in part by a 2 percent “provider tax” on health care services. CMA believes that taxing physicians and hospitals only penalizes the very people and entities already providing care often for free or below the cost of care.

The governor’s proposal would also expand the scope of practice of medical practitioners, including nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants, such that they could practice without physician supervision. CMA is concerned that eliminating physician supervision of medical practitioners would jeopardize patient safety.

Acknowledging that Medi-Cal rates are unsustainably low, the proposal includes a significant increase to Medi-Cal rates. However, the increases would be tied to participation in a new and unspecified pay-for-performance program and adoption of health care information technology, such as electronic medical records.

CMA will work closely with the Schwarzenegger administration to ensure that any plan to reform health care does not jeopardize the viability of an already fragile health care delivery system. All policy proposals need careful consideration based on a central question, says Dr. Mahal. “How can we assure that the sick, suffering and infirm are able to see a doctor when they need to?”

More than 100 medical students and resident and young physicians from across the state gathered in Sacramento Tuesday to deliver this message to lawmakers. White coats blanketed the halls of the Capitol as materials were delivered to each member of the Senate and Assembly prior to the governor’s State of the State address.

Click here for a summary of the governor’s proposal.

Contact: Susan Bassett, 916/444-5532 or sbassett@cmanet.org.