Sacramento Bee
January 4, 2007

Governor plans health care for all children

By Clea Benson
Bee Capitol Bureau

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will call for universal insurance for California children in the health care proposal he unveils next week -- but isn't likely to suggest a way to pay for it, advocates who have been briefed on the plan said Wednesday.

Of the approximately 6.5 million uninsured in California, about 800,000 are under 18.

The governor's plan would cover those children by expanding eligibility for current government health insurance programs, said Jim Keddy of PICO California, a group that is among many lobbying for children's coverage.

When he delivers a "state of health care" speech on Monday, the governor also is expected to propose covering more uninsured adults by requiring individuals to have insurance and employers to help pay for that -- a model his administration refers to as "shared responsibility."

Adam Mendelsohn, a spokesman for the governor, declined to confirm the details.

"Nothing is 100 percent final in the governor's health care plan," Mendelsohn said. "The governor is focused on tackling California's broken health care system without raising taxes. The rest of the proposals are all being finalized."

Keddy said he had been told the governor would propose allowing children whose families make up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level -- almost $50,000 for a family of three -- to enroll in Healthy Families, a program subsidized by the state and the federal government.

The governor vetoed a Democratic bill that would have done a similar expansion of children's coverage in 2005, saying the $300 million price tag was too high. But he has said he believes all children should be covered and last year proposed extra funds in the budget to help more children obtain insurance. That proposal was dropped because Republicans in the Legislature opposed using the money to cover the children of undocumented immigrants. Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has said he supports coverage for undocumented children.

It is unclear how the governor would cover the costs. Keddy and others said they did not expect the governor to include funding details in the initial budget proposal for the 2007-08 fiscal year that he is also expected to release next week.

Legislative Democrats are also proposing health care programs that would insure all children and require employers and individuals to shoulder some of the costs of insurance.

In remarks to reporters Wednesday, Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles, said he expected the governor's plan to "look a lot like mine."

"If you're going to require the employee to pay for a percentage of the health care, the employer has to do their share," Núñez said. "I don't know what (the governor's) threshold is going to be, but I do think he's going to have a mandate for employers."

Meanwhile, children's advocates are planning to keep pressure on lawmakers to enact universal care for young Californians. They are organizing viewing parties around the state for the governor's health care speech on Monday and are urging their supporters to lobby.

Keddy said advocates "commend" the governor for including children's coverage in his plan. "Investing in children has a long-term payoff for the state," he said.